#the resistence

Our job: Invite disaffected Trump voters to join Team Democracy

October 15, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

Trump seems intent on reminding us why we desperately need a No Kings Day and a second, peaceful American Revolution to preserve the Constitution and redeem democracy. Multiple news stories reminded us that Trump is attempting to exercise dictatorial powers that far surpass those of the British monarch from whom Americans freed themselves in the original American Revolution.

I take no pleasure in listing Trump’s daily transgressions, and I do so only to urge us on to victory, not to proclaim doom. Most of Trump’s unconstitutional behavior is barely recognized as such by the media. It is important that we not give Trump’s lawlessness a “free pass.” Instead, we must restore the Constitution and the rule of law to their rightful places of primacy in American democracy.

As we review Tuesday’s stories, our reaction shouldn’t be, “That’s outrageous,” but rather, “That’s outrageous and the people must rise up to demand fealty to the Constitution and respect for the law.”

With that prologue, let’s see the many ways that Trump violated the Constitution on Tuesday.

The US military killed six alleged drug smugglers in international waters.

Continuing a string of extrajudicial killings that violate US civil and criminal law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, international laws and treaties, and the law of war, the Trump administration destroyed another boat off the coast of Venezuela. See AP News, US strikes another boat accused of carrying drugs off Venezuela.

Per the AP report, even Republicans in Congress are worried about the legality of the Trump administration’s killing of non-combatants in international waters.

For a deeper dive into the unlawful nature of the killings, see The Hill, (9/06/25) Extra-judicial military killing is not a legitimate answer to drug trafficking.

Per the analysis in The Hill,

Extrajudicial killing is the use of deadly force by agents of a government absent the ordinary processes of criminal law — most basically a trial at which guilt is adjudicated by a fair tribunal. In the U.S., that means a judge and a jury. This an essential element of our constitutional system. The Fifth Amendment directs that “no person shall be deprived of life … without due process of law.” The Constitution contains no exception allowing the president to deprive any person, even an alleged drug smuggler, of his life without due process.

Trump promises $20 billion to Argentina, but only if his political ally wins in the upcoming presidential election

During the federal shutdown, in which hundreds of thousands of federal workers are not being paid, Trump announced that he would give Argentina $20 billion in “aid” that would go to political and social elites in that country. See HuffPo, Elizabeth Warren Will Attempt To Block Trump’s Argentina Bailout.

But it gets worse. Trump backtracked on the promise of the financial bailout, saying that the aid would be granted only if Trump’s preferred candidate wins in the upcoming presidential election in Argentina. See WSJ, Trump Says Argentina Bailout Depends on Milei’s Party Winning Upcoming Elections. (“Trump praised Milei as “MAGA all the way.”)

Trump’s corruption has become so ubiquitous that he no longer tries to hide it. Using US taxpayer dollars to advance the political fortunes of Trump’s personal favorite in the presidential race is corruption—plain and simple, not to mention “fraud, waste, and abuse.” Every member of Congress should be standing on their desks in protest of this grotesque misuse of taxpayer money.

Trump forces the resignation of US Attorney who refused to prosecute attorneys who investigated Russia’s interference in 2016 election

Trump has ordered the DOJ to prosecute attorneys and agents of the DOJ and FBI who helped to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. To the surprise of no one, the US Attorney tasked with initiating that prosecution found that there was no basis to prosecute the DOJ attorneys and FBI agents who investigated Russia’s 2016 interference.

So, as Trump has done on numerous occasions previously, he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to fire the US Attorney (Todd Gilbert) who refused to file a corrupt indictment against Trump’s political enemies. See NYTimes, U.S. Attorney Was Forced Out After Clashes Over How to Handle Russia Inquiry. (Accessible to all.)

Per the NYTimes,

After reviewing the evidence, Mr. Gilbert told his superiors that he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to justify a grand jury investigation, these people said. Frustrated by that answer, aides to Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, blamed a senior career attorney in the office who they believed had swayed Mr. Gilbert: Zachary Lee, a veteran prosecutor with more than two decades of experience involving public corruption and narcotics, among other issues. [¶]

Pressed to further sideline or remove Mr. Lee, Mr. Gilbert refused, these people said. Department officials then informed Mr. Gilbert that he would be fired, and he resigned shortly afterward, posting a GIF on social media with a joke from the movie “Anchorman,” in which the lead character exclaims, “Boy, that escalated quickly!”

As before, there is now a frantic search in the DOJ to find an attorney, any attorney, who will file a bad-faith indictment against the DOJ attorneys and FBI agents who investigated Russia’s 2016 interference.

In the meantime, the House Judiciary Committee plans to call former Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify about his investigation of Trump. The Republicans may regret that decision. On Tuesday, Smith made his first public comments since resigning from his post as Special Counsel after the Supreme Court said Trump could commit crimes with impunity. See NYTimes, Jack Smith Calls Idea That Politics Infected Trump Prosecutions ‘Ludicrous’. (Accessible to all.)

Per the NYTimes, Jack Smith said the following:

The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case, or who got chosen, is ludicrous.” Mr. Smith offered a dour hourlong assessment of Mr. Trump’s campaign of retribution against his enemies, rebuking the indictments of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and Letitia James, the New York attorney general, over the objections of career prosecutors. He also called out the forced resignations of prosecutors who unsuccessfully opposed White House efforts to drop the bribery case against Mayor Eric Adams of New York. “Nothing like what we see now has ever gone on,” he said. “There are rules in the department about how to bring a case — follow those rules,” he added. “You can’t say: ‘I want this outcome. Let me throw the rules out.’”

I think having Jack Smith testify before the House Oversight Committee to revisit the evidence against Trump is a brilliant idea. That would force the House to come back into session, allowing the discharge petition to become effective, and forcing a vote on the Epstein Transparency Act, which calls for the DOJ to release the Epstein files.

Acting US Attorney Lindsey Halligan removes career prosecutor in Eastern District of Virginia

Former insurance attorney turned acting US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, has apparently fired or transferred the senior prosecutor in that office, Maggie Cleary. Although there is no word on why that has happened, the reason seems clear: Maggie Cleary’s name did not appear on the indictments of James Comey and Letitia James, forcing Lindsey Halligan to appear as the sole attorney on the indictments.

See CNN, Senior prosecutor removed as Lindsey Halligan reshapes key US attorney’s office.

This appears to be another case of firing DOJ attorneys in retribution for refusing to bring politically motivated prosecutions to please Trump.

Trump threatens to remove the World Cup Tournament from Boston and the Olympics from Los Angeles

Trump has no authority to decide where FIFA plays the games of its World Cup Tournament or where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decides to hold the Olympics. But Trump has threatened to pressure the presidents of FIFA and the IOC to move the venues away from Boston and Los Angeles. See The Guardian, Trump threatens removal of World Cup games from Boston, Olympics from LA.

The worst thing that could happen to Trump, from his perspective, is to get between sports fans and their ability to watch the World Cup and Olympic Games. Trump isn’t going to move the games because it would be logistically impossible to do so. But if he did, he would have a whole new constituency of voters who hate him. Heck, they will hate him for threatening to do so.

U.S. airports refuse to run video of Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for government shutdown

The Hatch Act prohibits government employees from engaging in partisan politics while performing their official duties. The Trump administration has reduced the Hatch Act to a quaint relic of the beforetimes. For example, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has distributed a video of her blaming Democrats for the government shutdown—at a time when Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the presidency.

Fortunately, airports across the nation are refusing to subject travelers to the blatantly improper use of government communications to blame Democrats for the shutdown. See The Guardian, US airports refuse to air Kristi Noem video blaming Democrats for shutdown.

Although airports are subject to FAA jurisdiction, they are owned and operated by various municipal and state agencies. They are right to resist the politicization of the shutdown by Homeland Security. The refusal to comply with the prohibitions of the Hatch Act is another sign of Trump’s wannabe status as dictator!

Concluding Thoughts

Trump is struggling with the voters—and Republicans know it. That is why they are working so hard to engage in even more gerrymandering in red states to increase the number of “safe” Republican seats in the House. If they weren’t worried, they wouldn’t do it. They are worried, so they are increasing partisan gerrymandering, bigtime!

A recent analysis in The Economist provides a stark view (for Trump) of just how widespread and deep his unfavorability ratings are. Before looking at The Economist, let’s say it together: Polls aren’t votes, it’s the trend that matters over time and across polls, and nothing is over until the last vote is counted.

But it should give you confidence that there is nothing wrong with your grip on reality when you read the most recent nationwide polling described in The Economist, Donald Trump’s approval rating. The article is behind a paywall, so it may not be available to all (but I was able to read the article without signing in, so perhaps it is unlocked.)

The polling and discussion are impressive in their detail, but here is the big takeaway: In every leading issue, in every major cohort of voters, and in 43 states (excluding MT, ND, ID, WV, TN, AR, and AL), Trump is underwater in approval ratings.

He has moved from positive to negative territory on inflation, healthcare, jobs, immigration, and crime. He has lost ground in every voting cohort except for white males with a high school diploma or less, and even there, Trump is slightly underwater.

None of this means that we can ease up. But it should give us confidence that our feelings are shared by millions of Americans who supported Trump in 2024 and are now disappointed (at least) in his performance.

Although Trump isn’t on the ballot in 2026 and 2028, we know that every Republican on the ballot will defend Trump to the hilt—including on the Epstein files, tariffs, healthcare cuts, mass firings, attacks on universities, military occupation of cities, and more.

As we protest in the coming weeks, we should remember that there is a receptive audience who are unhappy with Trump and willing to be persuaded. Let’s focus on inviting them to Team Democracy rather than blaming them for the crisis we find ourselves in. Our job is to convince more Americans to join us in the streets in peaceful protest until our numbers are so large that we cannot be ignored.

Poe, inevitably awake: I don’t know, pass me that recorder.

*Poe plays recorder*

Rey: who the fUCK IS PLAYING THE RECORDER AT 2AM!?!?!?!?!

Cartoon by John Deering.

* * * *

No Kings Day: Pro-democracy and love for America!

October 14, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

Hi, all. I am sending a short(ish) newsletter because Jill and I have been making the most of our short time with our granddaughter in D.C. Also, the domestic news cycle slowed as Trump traveled to Israel in connection with the release of the remaining hostages.

In the US, Trump administration officials continued to malign the peaceful intentions and pro-democratic nature of the No Kings Day rallies on October 18. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy repeated Mike Johnson’s claim that the rallies were sponsored by “antifa”—a non-existent organization in the US fabricated by Trump to create division in America. See The Hill, Sean Duffy claims ‘No Kings’ protests are ‘part of antifa’.

Duffy also claimed that No Kings Day protesters were being “paid” by antifa—which is a desperate, pathetic lie that only someone who has spent much of his life as a reality TV star could believe.

It is true that there is an “anti-fascist” ideological set of principles that motivates some activist groups in the US. Those principles include opposition to fascism, racism, and far-right extremism.

The US experienced a huge wave of anti-fascism during World War II. Indeed, the US War Department published an “orientation” brochure to educate troops about the dangers of fascism. See History News Network, The Army Warned Troops in 1945 of the Danger of Fascism. That Warning Rings True Today.

The War Department pamphlet said, in part,

(1) Fascism is more apt to come to power at a time of economic crisis; (2) Fascism inevitably leads to war; (3) It can come to any country; (4) We can best combat it by making our democracy work.

The War Department Pamphlet warned about “home-grown” fascism in the US:

The War Department acknowledged that the United States had “native fascists who say that they are ‘100 percent American’ . . . [A]t various times and places in our history, we have had sorry instances of mob sadism, lynchings, vigilantism, terror, and suppression of civil liberties. We have had our hooded gangs, Black Legions, Silver Shirts, and racial and religious bigots. All of them, in the name of Americanism, have used undemocratic methods and doctrines which experience has shown can be properly identified as ‘fascist’.”

More than 407,000 US soldiers died in WWII fighting fascism. Those brave soldiers were the ultimate anti-fascists, along with the 16 million other soldiers of the Alliance who defeated the fascist powers of the Axis.

The claim that “antifa” is “undemocratic” arises from the fact that some anti-democratic groups, mainly in Europe (like communists and anarchists), have adopted the banner of “anti-fascism” to describe their efforts to overthrow their respective states. The adoption of the “antifa” label by communists and anarchists is the basis for Trump’s attempt to slander the pro-democracy principles of the No Kings Day rallies.

It is also true that small, local activist groups in the US have included “antifa” in their name. One of the most prominent is the Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, which was founded to shut down a neo-Nazi skinhead festival in Portland (called “Hammerfest”). Rose City Antifa has also protested activities by the Ku Klux Klan and Volksfront (a neo-Nazi, white separatist organization founded in Oregon).

But we need not resolve the debate over the proper use and meaning of the phrase “antifa.” The participants in the No Kings Day rallies are pro-democracy Americans dedicated to the peaceful exercise of their First Amendment right to petition the government. (“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”)

See also, NoKings.org. (“A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events.”)

Given the confusion over the historical meaning and current usage of the term “antifa,” claims by the Trump administration that No Kings Day rallies are sponsored by “antifa” is propaganda intended to obfuscate the pro-democracy and peaceful nature of the No Kings Day rallies. It is also a coded dog whistle intended to provoke right-wing extremists to action. In short, the efforts by the Trump administration to discredit the No Kings Day rallies are reckless and dangerous.

The only appropriate response is to show up by the tens of millions—and to be absolutely clear about our support for America, the Constitution, and democracy. The first “Protest Photo” below was submitted by reader William R., who plans to display his protest sign in Strongsville, Ohio, on No Kings Day. There is no mistaking the message in William’s protest sign. Rather than “hating” America as Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News, William’s sign makes clear that “we love America.”

American flags should be prominent at the No Kings Day rallies, as well. We are not protesting America. We are protesting Trump’s assault on America, the Constitution, and democracy.

The fact that the Trump administration is lying about the true purpose of the No Kings Day rallies demonstrates his nervousness over the message and scale of the protests. Trump is right to be nervous. Let’s make his fears come true by holding the largest single-day political protest in American history!

This is why the American people are blaming Republicans for the shutdown.

Trump and Republicans believe that punishing the American people during the shutdown will somehow make the American people blame Democrats for the shutdown. That’s a bit like saying, “The beatings will stop when morale improves.”

Late last week, the Department of Education laid off most of its staff responsible for distributing aid to special education programs. See The Guardian, Majority of special education staff in US education department laid off – report.

Per the Guardian,

One department employee told NPR: “This is decimating the office responsible for safeguarding the rights of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.” Chad Rummel, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, told the outlet: “The rumored near elimination of the Office for Special Education Programs is absolutely devastating to the education of people with disabilities.”

It is cruel and callous to cut funding for students with disabilities and special needs. But it is worse because Trump misled parents of children with autism that he would be their champion in office. Instead, he has decimated the staff in the Department of Education that administers, among other things, federal support of $15 billion per year for 7.5 million students with disabilities, including autism.

Targeting programs for children with disabilities is cruel and callous. The people responsible for those cuts are millionaires and billionaires who haven’t a clue about the struggles faced by parents of children with disabilities—or the struggles faced by those children. But the American people understand those struggles and will remember that Trump chose to target programs for disabled children while floating a $20 billion loan to Argentina during the shutdown.

This is why Trump has lost the support of the American people on immigration.

Trump promised to deport “criminals and gang members.” Instead, he has deported productive, law-abiding residents who are raising families and contributing to the economy. It is nearly impossible to pick and choose between the daily parade of horrors in Trump’s assault on immigrants. But a case over the weekend illustrates everything that is wrong with Trump’s deportation blitz.

See Raw Story, Marine’s parents nabbed by ICE as they visited pregnant daughter on military base.

Per Raw Story,

Steve Rios, a U.S. Marine and resident of Oceanside, was traveling with his parents to Camp Pendleton to visit his sister who, along with her husband who’s also a U.S. Marine, is expecting her first child. The trio was stopped at the base’s entrance, however, when ICE agents detained Rios’ parents, who have no criminal history and have pending green card applications.

The parents were released after a brief detention at the main gate of the military base, but they promised to return for further questioning by ICE. The parents returned, and the father was immediately deported, and the mother was detained indefinitely.

Per Raw Story,

Wearing a shirt and hat that bore the phrase “Proud dad of a U.S. Marine,” Rios’ father, alongside Rios’ mother, made good on their pledge to check back in with ICE officials, only for the father to be deported on Friday and the mother detained indefinitely, according to the report.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that both parents have pending green card applications. They had no criminal history. They were parents and parents-in-law of Marines on active duty. They cooperated with ICE. And they were deported and detained because of their cooperation.

The administration’s implementation of its deportation policies is cruel, racist, and harmful to America. It is destroying families who are making America stronger and more productive. Trump duped millions of voters into believing he would deport only violent criminals and gang members. That fact explains why Trump and the Republicans have lost substantial support among independents and Latino voters since 2024.

While we cannot rely on Trump and Republicans to defeat themselves, we can take confidence from the fact that our views align with millions of voters who have changed their minds about their support for Trump.

Concluding Thoughts

In a hopeful sign that the mainstream media may finally be waking up, major news organizations appear to be taking concerted action to push back against the Pentagon’s new policy that restricts the ability of journalists to publish stories that include confidential or classified information. See WSJ, Major Media Outlets Rebuff New Pentagon Press Policy.

Mainstream media outlets are given press passes that allow journalists access to public areas of the Pentagon. Reporters with passes are free to knock on the office doors of Pentagon officials to ask questions of interest to the American people.

Under the new policy, the passes would be granted only to news organizations that agree not to publish confidential or classified information about the defense department. News organizations must advise the Pentagon of their acceptance of the new policy by Tuesday evening—or risk losing their press passes granting access to the Pentagon’s public spaces.

As of Monday evening, the NYTimes, WSJ, Washington Post, and CNN have said they will not sign the pledge. Pete Hegseth posted a message on Truth Social listing those organizations with an “emoji” signaling “Bye-bye.” What an infantile Secretary of Defense!

Here’s the point: The only way for professions or industries to resist Trump is by organized resistance. Universities blew it by sitting silently when the first victims were pummeled into submission by Trump. So, too, with law firms. Having allowed Trump to pick off the week and greedy, universities and law firms exposed all of their members to Trump’s blackmail.

While the media’s resistance has been tardy, it is never too late to do the right thing. If the major news organizations refuse to give in to Pentagon censorship, it will provide cover for smaller, weaker organizations to do the same. Of course, that will leave Fox News and One America Network with access to Pentagon insiders, but those organizations will be unable to publish confidential or classified information.

It is a small sign of hope, but it is a sign, nonetheless. Every time someone stands up for the Constitution and the rule of law, it emboldens others to do the same. Remember that as we prepare for No Kings Day on October 18.

Lance Rosen

Everything Trump Does From Here On Will Backfire, As We Watch Him Visibly Fall Apart--

A Dialogue With A Friend Who Dreads What's Coming In His Speech Thursday

[Hi Lance. I have the worst feeling of dread this week. I honestly feel that the speech that is supposed to happen Thursday is going to be declaring an emergency to control the elections. I've certainly done my part to get out and protest and make phone calls, but here we are. I know our country is much larger than European countries, but when I see them out in the hundreds of thousands protesting, I wonder why we don't have that same kind of effect, even when we have 8 million people protesting. First, I think "No Kings" on a sign doesn't really convey the message. Second, these protests need to be happening in DC. Third, how do you really get a solid message across when every day there are new horrors to address? Talk about flooding the zone. The only thing I hope is that if he does pull this s*** out of his hat, that's when all hell finally breaks loose. I know you are not living here and you have a good finger on the pulse, but I swear, it's like a powder keg ready to blow. People are fed up... some of us since 2015!

What are your thoughts on this?]

My Reply

[First thing, sometimes it helps to have a good cry. You've earned it, we all have, and sometimes we just need to get it all out.

I saw the news coverage of the club fire in Bangkok this morning and it broke me. We have loved ones there, our former homestay students. We were blessed to visit with them eight years ago and fell in love with Thailand, and of course we love our extended family there.

We all get tied up in knots lately, either feeling paralyzed with fear, worry, doubt, and as you said, dread. I deal with it by forcing myself to identify with those who are suffering, and seeing their faces in my mind.

The families of those shot by ICE. The people in ICE concentration camps. The American soldiers on bases being killed, the Ukrainians, the Russian boys being wasted by Putin and his insane eliminationist war. The list of the victimized just grows, and it makes me bleed inside. I remind myself that they all matter, and that they deserve justice. Also that there is always going to be a point in time where they grow tired of being victims and are compelled to take unified actions to resist.

Yeah, I'm stressed out sometimes. But I put myself in their places and realize that I can do a lot more about these injustices than most of them can. I don't have all the answers. I'm not a credentialed expert on anything really. All I have is my voice and I'm determined to use it.

Pretty much every topic I write about is just a pretext to make a subjective intervention, for the purpose of strengthening ourselves for what is ahead. The one thing which is my main talent is having a bit of foresight gained through my experiences, the ability to see ahead what could happen, and I try to prepare people for the moment when it does so they can think about what might be the best course of action.

If we are looking for signs of hope I always tell people that it is right there in the mirror staring back at us. People are much better than they think they are, more able to handle both the truth and greater levels of responsibility than they want to believe. In a crisis they can do great things which they previously thought impossible.

As far as Trump's Thursday night upcoming nationally televised projectile vomit episode, they aren't letting on yet what it's about as far as I know. It will be some new form of recycled insanity meant to throw raw meat to the stupidest of his supporters, and to feed his Fox propaganda network shills some new Stephen Miller talking points. I think it will be a brainsalad of something on Iran to talk up the markets, mashed up with a pile of Fourth Reich law and order horseshit. He might include some new announcement on the Save Act again because he is so desperate, and maybe he'll even try to impose it with an executive order.

Whatever Trump does at this point will backfire, you can be sure of it. He is fueling the opposition to himself now, like a drunken club fighter who is in the boxing ring with a Judo black belt who knows how to use his opponent's strength and body weight against him. Every lunge he makes can be turned against him and he'll wind up on the ground.

The Chinese have an expression for what happens to men like him who abuse their power. They lose "The Mandate Of Heaven." Which means that the person is at odds with the universe itself and is therefore self-doomed.

I start with that, the idea that there is a limit to the tyrants power. Trump is reaching his. Every insane action is a desperation attempt to counteract his own increasing failure, the exposure of his "monumental" impotence. His public audiences are sparse and scattered, the same faces of paid attendees looking at their watches. All of his staged events are fiascos. His renovations, ie: his monuments to himself, are either being blocked or falling apart, because everything he builds is cheap shit, all glitz, veneer, and fake glamor like his bordello-style Casinos and golf clubs. Everywhere he goes he is booed, shunned, ridiculed, and most of the world's leaders disrespect him to his face. His approval ratings are subterranean.

He's got nothing but the threat of violence, persecution, and prosecution. In a way, he is our best recruiter, doing more to get people off of their couches than anyone...except of course for J.D. Vance, who is still busy getting off on his.

I think the big nationwide protests have become a tired tactic. Also, if we do them in DC that is running into a buzzsaw because they will call it an insurrection, and they are massively overdeployed there on security with the National Guard, so it's a kamikaze mission and will not draw many people. Otherwise they are becoming routine, and at this stage I think we need a total organizing focus on our political campaign activity and financial backing for the midterm election mobilization, directed at boosting our candidates and denouncing the GOP opposition's policies, with more of a programmatic approach.

The spontaneous demos are what will move the needle far more in these circumstances, like the big crowd assembled in front of Susan Collins's office in Maine in response to the last shooting. They also catch the Nazi counter-protesters by surprise and it's harder for them to disrupt us and provoke incidents. There was nothing staged about the Maine demos, and the mood was one of barely controlled fury. If you saw the coverage, that is the kind of energy we need, not people out for a day at the parade and taking selfies to share on Instagram.

I think Collins is finished, now that her Orangenführer is sending his rent-a-goons out on the streets of Maine to murder her constituents. In general I see us running the table in November, if he doesn't pull off some Reichstag Fire first. If he tries anything like that then he'll really bury himself.

So, I too get frantic, scared, depressed, just like you. I remind myself to breathe and step back, and look at the big picture, look at history, and remember that every man like him, every movement like his, destroys itself in the end. The question is how much damage will they do, how many will suffer, how we can help them become whole again, and how we go about reconstruction. (With a capital "R")

Don't worry so much about "what to do." We'll think of what to do as various situations unfold, and we will not be alone in doing it. Never allow ourselves to be wedded to a single tactic, we have to be flexible and ready to shift on a dime. But ultimately, the leadership responsibility will be in the hands of the younger people rising from the ranks who believe there is a future worth fighting for.

Young people make their own rules, they bring energy, enthusiasm, they innovate, and we will be seeing them swing into new forms of action when the bloodbath reaches them and their loved ones. Youth in general, with exceptions, won't risk everything, neither their lives or career plans, over issues like climate or their college debt. They will however when their best friends are shot in the face with rubber bullets or real ones.

Trump is like the Japanese fleet that hit Pearl Harbor, he is "awakening a sleeping giant." We need to internalize this in order to overcome the fear, panic, and despair.

At a certain point, people will realize that their fears of getting in trouble are nothing compared to what they'll be going through if they don't make personal decisions that now is the time to get into some "good trouble."

I'm betting the house on a majority Americans recapturing something which they've lost, but still lives in their historical memory. That is, to finally, at long last, find unity against a greater evil. We had that after 9-11. During WW2. That spirit is still alive, and has been hibernating, but not for long. Let's not squander the most important potential which we have.

I'm certain it is there.

****************

Update--

Now We Know What His Speech Will Be About...It Is More Than It Seems On The Surface--

My Reply to A Comment--

"OK, now we know. He's been obsessed with that (the fake Georgia election theft conspiracy) for six years. It's a pile of crap of course, but what he is really doing is trying to incite an assassination of Raffensberger, Ossoff and Warnock. I have zero hesitation in writing this and posting it publicly.

Who will he cite as the authority on this, Lindsey Graham? Maybe he'll show an AI video of still very much dead Lindsey detailing all of the "hard evidence" which never existed except in Trump's own decomposing brain. I would give my right arm to see the real videos which the FBI took out of his house this week. (Check that, just hear about, not see.)

He will never get away with unseating these Senators. Remember, he is a career criminal who is losing his mind and his enablers are riding the wave. It is just a new terrorist threat and stunt meant to give himself emergency powers to void elections. He's also scared shitless of being impeached, which is why he's targeting Democratic Senators. It is yet another in a long list of diversions from his failures on every front, as we have witnessed his political, physical, and cognitive collapse.

We need to stay focused and organize to deliver a landslide in November which removes all doubt. Don't get played, don't play his game on his terms.