I live in Durham, NC and sent the letter to both the Durham City Council (and mayor) and the Durham County Commissioners. Here's the introduction I wrote in my email to them:
"Nearly 250 years ago, the colonies found themselves in a desperate situation, ruled by a mad king who had no interest in their physical or economic wellbeing. They joined together, thirteen disparate regions with different needs, and realized that they were stronger together. We face a similar situation today, with a president who thinks he can do whatever he pleases, regardless of the pain and damage inflicted on the country. I think it is time that we lean into our federalism and work together across America to stand up against an executive branch drunk on power and hellbent on revenge. To this end, I offer you a Letter to America in the style of the Declaration of Independence that will serve to express Durham's commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.
Feel free to make any changes you think would strengthen the resolution or make it more specific to the challenges faced by Durham.
On a personal note, I want to thank you for doing what you can to make Durham such a special place to live. I have three children, and although I am terrified for their future if we cannot get our country back on track, there is nowhere else I would rather live.
I have attached the draft and copy it here. If you feel that other cities in North Carolina (or America!) would be inclined to join in, please pass along the draft to their governing bodies."
Fingers crossed!
Edited to add that Hopium's own Rachel Poliner has offered to collect these letters: rapoliner@gmail.com
I would beg that you read the Declaration of Independence and consider that its claims were against the British Parliament -- and not a "mad king." Yes, we are faced with a madman who wants to be a king. But like the founders and framers, we are confronted with a Congress that is completely unfaithful to upholding the Constitution. I WISH that all the troubles could be wrapped up and directed to one man.
Thank you so much, Simon. I love the Democratic electeds that you introduce to us here. Haley is extraordinarily impressive - another exhibit from a Democratic bench that is deep, smart and effective. This gives me a lot of comfort.
I called the 4 leaders of the Republcan Party this morning at the DC offices: Emmers, McClain, Scalice and Hern. I told the staffer, that the reconciliation bill is reckless, will blow a hole in the deficit, giving money to billionaires and making us pay more to get less. The reaction of all the staffers were studders and hesitant responses to tell their Congressperson.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduct. The proposed rule lets policy-influencing positions be moved into Schedule Policy/Career. These positions will remain career jobs filled on a nonpartisan basis. Yet they will be at-will positions excepted from adverse action procedures or appeals. This will allow agencies to quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or undermine the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives.
Here's the comment I left:
The Federal govt is hemorrhaging knowledgeable civil servants at our peril! We do not need to increase the number of political appointees in any of our agencies, nor should we allow their easy removal if they report or do something not to the liking of the Executive who would be king. Career civil servants have expertise and institutional memory. We do not need any more Pete Hegseths, incompetent appointees who owe their allegiance to their benefactor at the expense of the Constitution and our county. Nor do we need sycophants who sacrifice excellence and truth on the altar of keeping their jobs in an overtly politicized atmosphere.
This was just what I needed this afternoon. What a wonderful candidate for the Senate. How refreshing to hear someone sane, direct, and intelligent, and who wants to get things done and knows how to do it. I listened to Trump's ridiculous talk with the President of South Africa, and boy, honey, is that one dumb man. I think he has had his marbles removed or frozen. We must beat MAGA, and that is where my energy and focus will be until we do. Stupidity, incompetence, and made-for-reality-TV moments are no way to run a country.,
Great interview with Haley. Love her! She was my Rep until they did some redistricting in MI. I really miss her. She’ll make an awesome Senator! I will vote for her, for sure!
I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about the attack on the rule of law hidden in the budget reconciliation bill. David Pepper has highlighted it in the link. The key part of the bill are these lines:
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.”"
This seems to be designed to make it so that there is no penalty for the regime to ignore TRO's and other court orders. I think this is five-alarm fire dangerous and probably should be something that receives serious attention. Link below:
Thank you for that link. Excellent revelation/explanation by David Pepper. I don't happen to watch Rachel Maddow but lots of people mention her to me: this seems to be exactly the kind of item she could expose and break down for mass viewers. Hope this gets full exposure on substack etc.
If you haven’t already heard, today’s Treasury bond auction was an utter disaster as demand was far less than expected. As a result, the 20-year yield spiked to 5.1% rattling investors and the stock market closed down 816 points.
Great talk -- Great person thank you to Simon & to Haley -- agree with all the other positive comments. Interesting, why then did Trump win in Michigan? BTW, I'm re-reading (audiobook) 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I was shocked by one of the passages -- describing the tactics of Trump (flood the zone with BS). But I suppose for those who have studied tyranny/autocrats, authors like Timothy Snyder & Ruth Ben-Ghiat, it is a common tactic -- but I was still shocked now having lived with this tactic in 21st century USA.....
Reposting from today's earlier post:
I took Deborah Potter's draft resolution and adapted it (with inspiration from Randy Gold and perhaps David E?). You can see it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17RfR5buiIw6-lqZWcEo7-f8HkKk1wN-Nk9VDxnX3VFw/edit?usp=sharing
A stab at a letter to America!
I live in Durham, NC and sent the letter to both the Durham City Council (and mayor) and the Durham County Commissioners. Here's the introduction I wrote in my email to them:
"Nearly 250 years ago, the colonies found themselves in a desperate situation, ruled by a mad king who had no interest in their physical or economic wellbeing. They joined together, thirteen disparate regions with different needs, and realized that they were stronger together. We face a similar situation today, with a president who thinks he can do whatever he pleases, regardless of the pain and damage inflicted on the country. I think it is time that we lean into our federalism and work together across America to stand up against an executive branch drunk on power and hellbent on revenge. To this end, I offer you a Letter to America in the style of the Declaration of Independence that will serve to express Durham's commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.
Feel free to make any changes you think would strengthen the resolution or make it more specific to the challenges faced by Durham.
On a personal note, I want to thank you for doing what you can to make Durham such a special place to live. I have three children, and although I am terrified for their future if we cannot get our country back on track, there is nowhere else I would rather live.
I have attached the draft and copy it here. If you feel that other cities in North Carolina (or America!) would be inclined to join in, please pass along the draft to their governing bodies."
Fingers crossed!
Edited to add that Hopium's own Rachel Poliner has offered to collect these letters: rapoliner@gmail.com
I would beg that you read the Declaration of Independence and consider that its claims were against the British Parliament -- and not a "mad king." Yes, we are faced with a madman who wants to be a king. But like the founders and framers, we are confronted with a Congress that is completely unfaithful to upholding the Constitution. I WISH that all the troubles could be wrapped up and directed to one man.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
She's great. Just compare her to the moronic cabinet members who are testifying before Congress!
Thank you so much, Simon. I love the Democratic electeds that you introduce to us here. Haley is extraordinarily impressive - another exhibit from a Democratic bench that is deep, smart and effective. This gives me a lot of comfort.
I called the 4 leaders of the Republcan Party this morning at the DC offices: Emmers, McClain, Scalice and Hern. I told the staffer, that the reconciliation bill is reckless, will blow a hole in the deficit, giving money to billionaires and making us pay more to get less. The reaction of all the staffers were studders and hesitant responses to tell their Congressperson.
I am catching up with stuff.
https://youtu.be/4Dtuf3AdMfg?si=vdvrZY1ejzLgwRXV
I've caught up enough, cause, I don't think I can take any more of catching up.
I'm repeating a comment I submitted a few days ago because it's time sensitive and important:
Trump, of course, wants to fire any civil servants who don't spew the lying line and already does. You can help stop this problem by stopping him from officially changing the rules of employment. Go here to voice your views--the Dept. of Personnel Management --as they are taking public comments until May 23rd about changing the rules of employment: ( https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/23/2025-06904/improving-performance-accountability-and-responsiveness-in-the-civil-service?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#open-comment ). All the better, but not necessary to have some credentials to underscore your stance. As in calling our representatives, numbers matter here, not length of comment or even cogency.
Here's the proposed new rule:
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduct. The proposed rule lets policy-influencing positions be moved into Schedule Policy/Career. These positions will remain career jobs filled on a nonpartisan basis. Yet they will be at-will positions excepted from adverse action procedures or appeals. This will allow agencies to quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or undermine the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives.
Here's the comment I left:
The Federal govt is hemorrhaging knowledgeable civil servants at our peril! We do not need to increase the number of political appointees in any of our agencies, nor should we allow their easy removal if they report or do something not to the liking of the Executive who would be king. Career civil servants have expertise and institutional memory. We do not need any more Pete Hegseths, incompetent appointees who owe their allegiance to their benefactor at the expense of the Constitution and our county. Nor do we need sycophants who sacrifice excellence and truth on the altar of keeping their jobs in an overtly politicized atmosphere.
Great discussion here of Democratic Party superiority - vast superiority - on industrial policy.
This was just what I needed this afternoon. What a wonderful candidate for the Senate. How refreshing to hear someone sane, direct, and intelligent, and who wants to get things done and knows how to do it. I listened to Trump's ridiculous talk with the President of South Africa, and boy, honey, is that one dumb man. I think he has had his marbles removed or frozen. We must beat MAGA, and that is where my energy and focus will be until we do. Stupidity, incompetence, and made-for-reality-TV moments are no way to run a country.,
He isn’t what I’d call very intelligent that’s for sure. Do I think he’s crazy? Why, yes I do.
I try not to watch him, but what I saw today definitely looked crazy to me🙃
Great interview with Haley. Love her! She was my Rep until they did some redistricting in MI. I really miss her. She’ll make an awesome Senator! I will vote for her, for sure!
I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about the attack on the rule of law hidden in the budget reconciliation bill. David Pepper has highlighted it in the link. The key part of the bill are these lines:
“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.”"
This seems to be designed to make it so that there is no penalty for the regime to ignore TRO's and other court orders. I think this is five-alarm fire dangerous and probably should be something that receives serious attention. Link below:
https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/the-budget-bills-hidden-attack-on
Thank you for that link. Excellent revelation/explanation by David Pepper. I don't happen to watch Rachel Maddow but lots of people mention her to me: this seems to be exactly the kind of item she could expose and break down for mass viewers. Hope this gets full exposure on substack etc.
Robert Reich wrote about this on his substack today as well.
If you haven’t already heard, today’s Treasury bond auction was an utter disaster as demand was far less than expected. As a result, the 20-year yield spiked to 5.1% rattling investors and the stock market closed down 816 points.
Do you know where this fits in historical context? Record high? Near record high?
Great talk -- Great person thank you to Simon & to Haley -- agree with all the other positive comments. Interesting, why then did Trump win in Michigan? BTW, I'm re-reading (audiobook) 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I was shocked by one of the passages -- describing the tactics of Trump (flood the zone with BS). But I suppose for those who have studied tyranny/autocrats, authors like Timothy Snyder & Ruth Ben-Ghiat, it is a common tactic -- but I was still shocked now having lived with this tactic in 21st century USA.....
This interview with Haley Stevens is wonderful. Crystal clear explanations of economic realities. Thank you for bringing it to us, Simon.
Oh, I like Haley! I don't live in MI, but I'll send a donation when she runs for sure! Thanks for sharing the conversation.
I like her too! So much that I went to haleyformi.com and made a modest contribution to her campaign.
What a remarkable, wonderful interview. Haley Stevens has what it takes to be a remarkable US Senator.
These Michigan Dem women are so smart, authentic, and tough as nails.