From Today’s Post: “Congressional Democrats have been slow to make this historic and dangerous lawlessness central to our conversation with the American people.” Amen
Congressional Republicans have been quick to support historic and dangerous lawlessness. PLEASE stop regurgitating the talking points targeting Dems to blame Dems instead of doing actual work to fix things.
Echoing what Simon has said, Edwin Eisendrath observed: “In this fraught moment, Donald Trump does what he always does. He buys time. He changes the subject... Congress today must not settle for the status quo, amended only so that ICE agents don’t murder Americans on our streets. That, too, would be a betrayal. Americans are demanding that Congress rescind funding meant to build a network of domestic concentration camps and to stop the creation of an expansive federal domestic police force. We are demanding this Congress rise to the moment as others have, to enact laws that both reach back to our founding ideals and reach forward to inspire generations to come. They must not fail to do it.”
Hi Simon…I’m struggling with the difference between your take on current Dem maneuvering in the Senate and Robert Hubbell’s…he is outraged at the idea that Dems are willing to vote for a CR for the next two weeks for DHS and that they aren’t pressing for enough re ICE changes…you seem to feel that Dems are standing strong and strategizing well…I depend on both of you for my sanity each day, so seeing the difference between your views is puzzling and rattling…I want to feel good about the Senate Dems apparent waking up and smelling the coffee and using their power that the brave people of Minneapolis have caused them to have, but it feels to me, deep down, that they’re not being tough enough. I’d love to hear more about your thinking re how the Senate Dems’ current negotiations and positions are actually wise and strategic and moving in the right direction, as opposed to Robert’s view that they are being cowards, as usual…I know they are the only legislators we can even hope to depend on, but they have disappointed us a lot and frequently…it would be helpful to understand your thinking more clearly on this process…could you elaborate a bit more, perhaps? I know your Dem consultant mind is sharp and insightful!
When things are this voalitile it is hard to know exactly the best course. But as I've been writing we got a huge win yesterday - the White House agreed to allow a separate track for DHS funding that lapses in two weeks. Not sure this is a cave, but getting a win, and building for the next one. Of course Graham then blows the whole thing up, and who knows whats going to happen in the House. But to be very clear - Thune and the White House made an enormous concession yesterday. How much of our wish list will we get in the negotiations? It depends on how hard we fight. But right now are on offense and they are defense, and their guy has completely lost his shit.
I like Robert Hubbell too, and was surprised at his reaction. I think things change in an instant as the gas from the Oval Office blows constantly and changes direction in a heartbeat, so it's truly impossible to predict anything. Except we need to keep fighting.
I think both Simon and Robert Hubbell are correct. This was indeed a huge win for Senate Dems, and I think their objectives were clearly communicated. But I also believe that wont be enough, given the Trump administration’s record of flagrantly violating the law and ignoring court orders (in many areas, not just immigration). So, in line with what Hubbell is saying, we need to tell Congress to reduce ICE’s funding. Their budget is enormous, far greater than is needed to deport the “worst of the worse.” Their budget, as it is now proposed, will allow them to create a nationwide paramilitary police force and to build a massive network of detention centers. THAT is what Dems should focus their message on in the next step of negotiations. Reduce ICE’s funding to only what it was before Trump and before the OBBB. That’s a reasonable position that I think will resonate with the American people, if communicated clearly and loudly and firmly. That’s how we go on offense, to use Simon’s words.
It is possible that in the delay the regime and ICE will continue to escalate and this will give more strength to the view that ICE must be completely taken apart. Well, I can hope.
Remember we are working here with a Dem strategist (Simon).Robert is summarizing and reporting the news for us, and giving us his personal take often from a solid legal perspective. He is amazing at what he does. He, like Jessica Craven, offers immediate to dos. Notice that all Simon's TO DOS are strategic and meant to effect the longer term. Also he and we are focusing ALL on democracy, not so much kitchen table issues. There is a difference. AND it is much more nerve wracking for me, anyway, to stay steady and keep focusing on our work here. What is happening daily is SO outrageous, so upsetting, so awful... and the suffering is so awful. Easy to lose track of this particular approach and directives. Simon.... if you disagree, please say something here. Im just talking to myself and trying to make sense, since I too, saw Robert's post this morning.
Thanks for sharing that Jay Kuo piece, it's a good companion to Simon's posts today, and cool that he quotes Simon directly. Would be cool to see him on Hopium sometime.
Don Lemon's attorney is Abbe Lowell. Georgia Fort's attorney is Leita Walker. These will be landmark cases for free speech if not dismissed outright. Here are remarks from Georgia Fort
Other groups are rallying as well, such as The Freedom of the Press Foundation, Reporters Without Borders’ United States branch, and The National Press Club.
Trump is now legally adverse to the US government, having sued it. You can't both control the US government and be adverse to it. At a minimum, someone with standing needs to move for the action to be held in abeyance until after Trump leaves office.
You have pointed out something I believe we have been slow to recognize, or maybe don't want to recognize: Trump is NOT going to stop. We're exhausted, infuriated, and on the brink of giving up because it seems easier than continuing to mud wrestle these pigs. That's just what we must not do. We have to find the strength to keep up the resistance until we get rid of them. The whole GOP must be voted out.
To that end, I think we also MUST be prepared for all the crap they're going to pull to keep us from voting. Make sure we're registered. Have the documents we need if we have to re-register. Get ready to vote in person if he shuts down mail-in voting. IOW, don't just allow him o steal the election. Prepare for it and work around it.
I believe we can win this; Minnesota has shown us the kind of grit we have to have to see this through to the end. Unfortunately, it's going to cost some of us our lives. We know that now.
But all this flailing around--arresting Lemon, ICE outrages, Bondi's ransom demand, Trump's wild statements and threats--are symptoms of a losing regime, IMO. Let's accelerate their ruin.
Well said, I posted about that this morning. I volunteer for VoteRiders once a week, they help folks get voter ID. Register voters, donate to orgs like VR & League of Women Voters & others doing the work. And support Marc Elias!
You are one of the heroes Prof. Carol Anderson wrote about in her book One Person, No Vote! It’s a history book, and more optimistic and inspiring than the title suggests.
LOL! Check out the Eyeores on Daily Kos. There are far too many people there who either complain that Dems aren't fighting, or that nothing will make a difference. It's become a very gloomy place, and since I'm on the verge of getting kicked out anyway, I'm not sure I need to revisit them. :D
I still drop in on Good News Roundup there sometimes when I need help focusing on the positive and celebrating the wins (which I get a lot of here too). And the regular "Russian Stuff Blowing Up" help keep me updated on the status in Ukraine.
Yes, Karla! No giving up. They’re weak not strong. He’s a failure not a success. He’s emperor marmalade not the donroe doctrine. He’s a predator not a savior. Let’s keep fighting peacefully. But fight nonetheless.
💯 We’re in a very dangerous time with the “mad king” unleashing his internal distress on ALL of us. Minnesotans have inspired us to find a higher gear and NEVER back down. As the chaos accelerates, so will OUR determination. Be safe Y’all! We’re in this TOGETHER! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
If Ukraine can fight a shooting war where they're outnumbered tirelessly for four years, we can fight a political war where we're in the majority for four years. No giving up.
Remember, a lot of the internet is full of bots and trolls whose whole purpose is to tire us out. Don't waste your energy fighting them.
He is quite literally mad. When a person with his level of narcissism and psycopathy has his self-aggrandizing bubble of lies, half lies and outrageous lies burst, he will 'decompensate,' that is, lose all ability to think and reason. He may also lash out from an instinct for self preservation. If that fails, he might, as the British say, 'top himself.' Let's all hope that he does that before he bombs Iran, invades Greenland, or sends ICE agents armed with howitzers into another American city.
Let me understand: The DOJ does not have the people power to release the Epstein files by the time limit but has endless resources to arrest journalists on trumped up charges, steal voting records from Fulton County, and investigate the two people--not their killers--that DHS murdered in Minnesota. Meanwhile Trump, sues the IRS (US government for 10 billion dollars), even though he has made billions illegally since assuming the presidency, is planning to bomb Iran, and is taking over public golf courses in DC, while fighting the historical commission trying to stop his further destruction of the White House.
If this had been the plot of a film, I would lambast it for its lack of reality.
And have you noticed how the number of Epstein documents keeps going up? As I recall, just a few weeks ago we "learned" there were at least a million docs/pages yet to review. (If my math is correct, that'd be roughly equivalent to a thousand copies of "Gone With the Wind." Right? But I digress. Couple days ago, that one million went up to two! And today I heard Todd Blanche refer to THREE million, which he then indicated was half of the SIX million out there --- apparently he (?) and his group have somehow determined the "other three million" are irrelevant. Or something. Utter madness.
No arrests for masked federal thugs who publicly execute and then desecrate the bodies of two American citizens, but the black journalist gets nabbed for reporting on a protest.
Yesterday, federal agents seized all voting records—ballots and tabulations—from the largest county in Georgia, completely breaking the chain of custody and the federal government can now tabulate and match votes as it wishes to concoct sham voting fraud allegations to disrupt future elections.
CODE RED FOLKS: This is a coordinated effort to destroy democracy before the November elections. It’s happening now. Only we can save it. Now is not the time to be silent.
P.S. - For all those folks who protest voted in 2016, still think there’s no difference between Trump and HRC? I know this a gratuitous, but I’ll never forgive.
I, too, look to Simon and Robert Hubbell. Both guided by intelligence, background, and love of country and its people. Their backgrounds are different; maybe that’s the difference we see at times. Both continue to be my guideposts
Good question. Because it points straight to why some of us are losing our minds. Because we don't EXPECT anything to happen. Where are these purloined Georgia voting records now? Sitting unsecured in another Mar-a-Lago bathroom?
Its not a government; its a playground ! ...Without monitors...And the big bully is running around, off his head, and screaming: "You have to do what I say! You have to do what I say!" And pushing at people, and smacking at them with his pudgy little hands, and stamping his swollen feet in his own epsteiny muck.
And, maybe a bit shocked, a bit winded pushing back, we are NOT doing what he is braying at us to do. We are standing against him; we are recording his craziness; wishing the damn November bell would ring earlier so we could sweep this playground clear of the bully and his creeps!
Simon, thank you for your insights and leadership. Re-watched last week's paid subscriber video yesterday. Such thoughtful and strong guidance. I so value your willingness to rethink and so value that you are committed to the long term.
Thanks for the update - just made my calls! He is NOT stopping, as Karla V. posted. Unhoused people FROZE TO DEATH here in NJ last night. This is not the country any of us deserve, and we need to KEEP GOING to make it so!
I stick with my earlier prediction of a crisis in the next month. I don't see how we will make it to fall elections with the current escalation. And we must keep working on all fronts, local and federal.
Not splitting hairs, but it seems like we have something pretty profoundly bad just about every week. Crisis on the level of a stock market crash, maybe?
Trump is insane and self-destructive. He hates himself. He will burn the world if he is allowed to.
From Today’s Post: “Congressional Democrats have been slow to make this historic and dangerous lawlessness central to our conversation with the American people.” Amen
Congressional Republicans have been quick to support historic and dangerous lawlessness. PLEASE stop regurgitating the talking points targeting Dems to blame Dems instead of doing actual work to fix things.
Is Trump suing the IRS for 10 billion illegal, and will anyone act on that?
Isn't he suing his own administration?
bizarro world.
who's going to tell him? LOL
Can you imagine the squirrels that run around in that man's head when it's the middle of the night and no one is around?
I’d rather not. 🤣🤮
They're not squirrels--more like rats.
Eh, squirrels, pigeons, rats: Same difference here in NYC.
Like Vader force choking his own people?
Echoing what Simon has said, Edwin Eisendrath observed: “In this fraught moment, Donald Trump does what he always does. He buys time. He changes the subject... Congress today must not settle for the status quo, amended only so that ICE agents don’t murder Americans on our streets. That, too, would be a betrayal. Americans are demanding that Congress rescind funding meant to build a network of domestic concentration camps and to stop the creation of an expansive federal domestic police force. We are demanding this Congress rise to the moment as others have, to enact laws that both reach back to our founding ideals and reach forward to inspire generations to come. They must not fail to do it.”
https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/congress-clawing-back-ice-funding
Hi Simon…I’m struggling with the difference between your take on current Dem maneuvering in the Senate and Robert Hubbell’s…he is outraged at the idea that Dems are willing to vote for a CR for the next two weeks for DHS and that they aren’t pressing for enough re ICE changes…you seem to feel that Dems are standing strong and strategizing well…I depend on both of you for my sanity each day, so seeing the difference between your views is puzzling and rattling…I want to feel good about the Senate Dems apparent waking up and smelling the coffee and using their power that the brave people of Minneapolis have caused them to have, but it feels to me, deep down, that they’re not being tough enough. I’d love to hear more about your thinking re how the Senate Dems’ current negotiations and positions are actually wise and strategic and moving in the right direction, as opposed to Robert’s view that they are being cowards, as usual…I know they are the only legislators we can even hope to depend on, but they have disappointed us a lot and frequently…it would be helpful to understand your thinking more clearly on this process…could you elaborate a bit more, perhaps? I know your Dem consultant mind is sharp and insightful!
When things are this voalitile it is hard to know exactly the best course. But as I've been writing we got a huge win yesterday - the White House agreed to allow a separate track for DHS funding that lapses in two weeks. Not sure this is a cave, but getting a win, and building for the next one. Of course Graham then blows the whole thing up, and who knows whats going to happen in the House. But to be very clear - Thune and the White House made an enormous concession yesterday. How much of our wish list will we get in the negotiations? It depends on how hard we fight. But right now are on offense and they are defense, and their guy has completely lost his shit.
I like Robert Hubbell too, and was surprised at his reaction. I think things change in an instant as the gas from the Oval Office blows constantly and changes direction in a heartbeat, so it's truly impossible to predict anything. Except we need to keep fighting.
I think both Simon and Robert Hubbell are correct. This was indeed a huge win for Senate Dems, and I think their objectives were clearly communicated. But I also believe that wont be enough, given the Trump administration’s record of flagrantly violating the law and ignoring court orders (in many areas, not just immigration). So, in line with what Hubbell is saying, we need to tell Congress to reduce ICE’s funding. Their budget is enormous, far greater than is needed to deport the “worst of the worse.” Their budget, as it is now proposed, will allow them to create a nationwide paramilitary police force and to build a massive network of detention centers. THAT is what Dems should focus their message on in the next step of negotiations. Reduce ICE’s funding to only what it was before Trump and before the OBBB. That’s a reasonable position that I think will resonate with the American people, if communicated clearly and loudly and firmly. That’s how we go on offense, to use Simon’s words.
It is possible that in the delay the regime and ICE will continue to escalate and this will give more strength to the view that ICE must be completely taken apart. Well, I can hope.
Nancy - read Jay Kuo's piece today. He quotes Simon. And Simon's answer covers it too.
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/so-whats-up-with-ice-funding.
Remember we are working here with a Dem strategist (Simon).Robert is summarizing and reporting the news for us, and giving us his personal take often from a solid legal perspective. He is amazing at what he does. He, like Jessica Craven, offers immediate to dos. Notice that all Simon's TO DOS are strategic and meant to effect the longer term. Also he and we are focusing ALL on democracy, not so much kitchen table issues. There is a difference. AND it is much more nerve wracking for me, anyway, to stay steady and keep focusing on our work here. What is happening daily is SO outrageous, so upsetting, so awful... and the suffering is so awful. Easy to lose track of this particular approach and directives. Simon.... if you disagree, please say something here. Im just talking to myself and trying to make sense, since I too, saw Robert's post this morning.
Thanks for sharing that Jay Kuo piece, it's a good companion to Simon's posts today, and cool that he quotes Simon directly. Would be cool to see him on Hopium sometime.
I view it as idealism vs pragmatism, the latter being the views expressed here, and we need both.
Democrats are in the minority. They are making remarkable strides. And their demands will make sense even to Republicans.
Legal defense fund for the arrested journalists?
Don Lemon's attorney is Abbe Lowell. Georgia Fort's attorney is Leita Walker. These will be landmark cases for free speech if not dismissed outright. Here are remarks from Georgia Fort
via FB video she posted. https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=912031984668455&rdid=eC5zHyBaRINbdN8z
also posted on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/farrahfazal.bsky.social/post/3mdnrb665222w
The Society of Professional Journalists says this. https://www.spj.org/spj-strongly-condemns-arrests-of-journalists-covering-anti-ice-demonstration-in-minnesota/
Other groups are rallying as well, such as The Freedom of the Press Foundation, Reporters Without Borders’ United States branch, and The National Press Club.
Trump is now legally adverse to the US government, having sued it. You can't both control the US government and be adverse to it. At a minimum, someone with standing needs to move for the action to be held in abeyance until after Trump leaves office.
You have pointed out something I believe we have been slow to recognize, or maybe don't want to recognize: Trump is NOT going to stop. We're exhausted, infuriated, and on the brink of giving up because it seems easier than continuing to mud wrestle these pigs. That's just what we must not do. We have to find the strength to keep up the resistance until we get rid of them. The whole GOP must be voted out.
To that end, I think we also MUST be prepared for all the crap they're going to pull to keep us from voting. Make sure we're registered. Have the documents we need if we have to re-register. Get ready to vote in person if he shuts down mail-in voting. IOW, don't just allow him o steal the election. Prepare for it and work around it.
I believe we can win this; Minnesota has shown us the kind of grit we have to have to see this through to the end. Unfortunately, it's going to cost some of us our lives. We know that now.
But all this flailing around--arresting Lemon, ICE outrages, Bondi's ransom demand, Trump's wild statements and threats--are symptoms of a losing regime, IMO. Let's accelerate their ruin.
Well said, I posted about that this morning. I volunteer for VoteRiders once a week, they help folks get voter ID. Register voters, donate to orgs like VR & League of Women Voters & others doing the work. And support Marc Elias!
Happy B'day from a fellow Jan 30th Aquarian. Lots of small wins will eventually add up to some really big ones. As you say, keep going!
You are one of the heroes Prof. Carol Anderson wrote about in her book One Person, No Vote! It’s a history book, and more optimistic and inspiring than the title suggests.
Wait...who's on the brink of giving up?
Not us!
LOL! Check out the Eyeores on Daily Kos. There are far too many people there who either complain that Dems aren't fighting, or that nothing will make a difference. It's become a very gloomy place, and since I'm on the verge of getting kicked out anyway, I'm not sure I need to revisit them. :D
I still drop in on Good News Roundup there sometimes when I need help focusing on the positive and celebrating the wins (which I get a lot of here too). And the regular "Russian Stuff Blowing Up" help keep me updated on the status in Ukraine.
Yes, Karla! No giving up. They’re weak not strong. He’s a failure not a success. He’s emperor marmalade not the donroe doctrine. He’s a predator not a savior. Let’s keep fighting peacefully. But fight nonetheless.
I ain’t giving up. I don’t think the American people are either.
To quote my political hero, Nancy Pelosi, we don’t agonize. We organize.
It’s us or him, and I choose us
OK, "mud wrestle these pigs" made me smile. I needed that.
💯 We’re in a very dangerous time with the “mad king” unleashing his internal distress on ALL of us. Minnesotans have inspired us to find a higher gear and NEVER back down. As the chaos accelerates, so will OUR determination. Be safe Y’all! We’re in this TOGETHER! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
If Ukraine can fight a shooting war where they're outnumbered tirelessly for four years, we can fight a political war where we're in the majority for four years. No giving up.
Remember, a lot of the internet is full of bots and trolls whose whole purpose is to tire us out. Don't waste your energy fighting them.
Amen to this, Calvin! Well said!
He is quite literally mad. When a person with his level of narcissism and psycopathy has his self-aggrandizing bubble of lies, half lies and outrageous lies burst, he will 'decompensate,' that is, lose all ability to think and reason. He may also lash out from an instinct for self preservation. If that fails, he might, as the British say, 'top himself.' Let's all hope that he does that before he bombs Iran, invades Greenland, or sends ICE agents armed with howitzers into another American city.
Let me understand: The DOJ does not have the people power to release the Epstein files by the time limit but has endless resources to arrest journalists on trumped up charges, steal voting records from Fulton County, and investigate the two people--not their killers--that DHS murdered in Minnesota. Meanwhile Trump, sues the IRS (US government for 10 billion dollars), even though he has made billions illegally since assuming the presidency, is planning to bomb Iran, and is taking over public golf courses in DC, while fighting the historical commission trying to stop his further destruction of the White House.
If this had been the plot of a film, I would lambast it for its lack of reality.
And have you noticed how the number of Epstein documents keeps going up? As I recall, just a few weeks ago we "learned" there were at least a million docs/pages yet to review. (If my math is correct, that'd be roughly equivalent to a thousand copies of "Gone With the Wind." Right? But I digress. Couple days ago, that one million went up to two! And today I heard Todd Blanche refer to THREE million, which he then indicated was half of the SIX million out there --- apparently he (?) and his group have somehow determined the "other three million" are irrelevant. Or something. Utter madness.
No arrests for masked federal thugs who publicly execute and then desecrate the bodies of two American citizens, but the black journalist gets nabbed for reporting on a protest.
Yesterday, federal agents seized all voting records—ballots and tabulations—from the largest county in Georgia, completely breaking the chain of custody and the federal government can now tabulate and match votes as it wishes to concoct sham voting fraud allegations to disrupt future elections.
CODE RED FOLKS: This is a coordinated effort to destroy democracy before the November elections. It’s happening now. Only we can save it. Now is not the time to be silent.
P.S. - For all those folks who protest voted in 2016, still think there’s no difference between Trump and HRC? I know this a gratuitous, but I’ll never forgive.
I, too, look to Simon and Robert Hubbell. Both guided by intelligence, background, and love of country and its people. Their backgrounds are different; maybe that’s the difference we see at times. Both continue to be my guideposts
Any thoughts on what can we do about the FBI seizure of voting records?
Good question. Because it points straight to why some of us are losing our minds. Because we don't EXPECT anything to happen. Where are these purloined Georgia voting records now? Sitting unsecured in another Mar-a-Lago bathroom?
Its not a government; its a playground ! ...Without monitors...And the big bully is running around, off his head, and screaming: "You have to do what I say! You have to do what I say!" And pushing at people, and smacking at them with his pudgy little hands, and stamping his swollen feet in his own epsteiny muck.
And, maybe a bit shocked, a bit winded pushing back, we are NOT doing what he is braying at us to do. We are standing against him; we are recording his craziness; wishing the damn November bell would ring earlier so we could sweep this playground clear of the bully and his creeps!
Simon, thank you for your insights and leadership. Re-watched last week's paid subscriber video yesterday. Such thoughtful and strong guidance. I so value your willingness to rethink and so value that you are committed to the long term.
Thanks for the update - just made my calls! He is NOT stopping, as Karla V. posted. Unhoused people FROZE TO DEATH here in NJ last night. This is not the country any of us deserve, and we need to KEEP GOING to make it so!
The other purpose to this flurry of activity is to distract from a release of Epstein files, taking place now. "Look! Shiny Object!"
I stick with my earlier prediction of a crisis in the next month. I don't see how we will make it to fall elections with the current escalation. And we must keep working on all fronts, local and federal.
Not splitting hairs, but it seems like we have something pretty profoundly bad just about every week. Crisis on the level of a stock market crash, maybe?
We've endured stock market crashes before. The scariest unprecedented scenario I've been reading about is a bond market crash.
good point, thanks.