GOOD NEWS!!! Judge Chutkan has a new ruling in response to the lawsuit of 14 AGs led by Raúl Torrez of NM. It orders Elon Musk and DOGE to "comply with five requests for document production, six interrogatories, six requests for admission, and two depositions." The information that must be turned over concerns "(1) eliminating or reducing the size of federal agencies; (2) terminating or placing federal employees on leave; (3) cancelling, freezing, or pausing federal contracts, grants, or other federal funding; and (4) obtaining access, using, or making changes to federal databases or data management systems." (Newsweek March 13, 2025) This is the information needed for a preliminary injunction against DOGE.
Send thanks and support to the following AGs on this lawsuit: New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
I'd analogize voting against the continuing resolution as going on strike. Strikes are tough for workers, but if workers never go on strike management takes advantage of them.
Events are happening around noon on Friday March 14, in Washington, D.C. (National Mall?) and in State Capitols across the nation. In Santa Fe it is being promoted by DPNM Veterans and Military Families Caucus and linked to the Veteran's organization Common Defense. I attended a Common Defense zoom meeting, and it was impressive, with veterans who are experts in investigating extremist organizations and domestic terrorism. https://commondefense.us/
I see some protests listed on mobilize.
Newsweek says it is being organized by this group, Fourteenth Now! although I see no history for them. https://nowmarch.org/
I work with Fourteenth Now! I try to get as much info on the social media sites I use. On my feed are flyers if you would like to restack them. And there is a press release of speakers you can also restack. Harry Dunn is one of our speakers for tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
It’s much easier to create a national org like this for vets given the infrastructure that already exists in each state. Vets aren’t going to follow not vet led groups.
Tomorrow, I will attend the rally in Denver to support my daughter (who works at the Aurora, CO VA Hospital treating cancer patients) and to support Ukraine. Will report back on attendance and enthusiasm.
Don't forget, we always have the right to walk around our State Capitols carrying signs and engaging in redress of grievances every day if we can!
Denver Metro Coloradoans, please call Rep. Gabe Evans regional offices this week of recess and voice your outrage.
And a village needs a leader! Thank you Simon for directing our energies and lifting our spirits. When i get overwhelmed with donation requests, i grit my teeth and come to Hopium to targeted donations with the rest of this activist community.
I whole heartedly agree!! I look forward our weekly zooms!! They are informative and energizing. I leave and think we can do this!! Thank you Simon!!! You are truly an amazing, thoughtful, well organized leader.
Last evening I wrote that our representatives are quite busy and that maybe we should write the Letter to America. I said that I would write something up and others could let me know what should be altered or added. I posted it here a few minutes ago. If you have time, could you take a look/see?
Almost 250 years ago, a group of patriots met in Philadelphia to protest the usurpations of the rights of men (sadly, just men). They presented to the public from Congress, July 4, 1776, a marvelous document that has stood the test of time…until now.
Here we present an updated letter to the American citizen:
We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all peoples are created equal with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to resist.
Prudence will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes, but when a President, or dare we say “King”, as he has coined himself more than once, and has mentioned that after 2024 it would not be necessary to vote again, we should take his words and actions as an affirmation that he means what he has proclaimed. We should then consider new guards for our future security.
This current “King” has a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
Our nation is exposed to enemies without. He has betrayed our allies and positioned himself with authoritarian countries, making our once great nation into a pariah.
His tariffs are causing harm to our former allies and is slowly, but surely, reducing our economy to rubble.
His attempts to demonize and to deport migrant workers who provide invaluable aid to agriculture and construction further decimating a once robust economy.
Our nation is a nation of laws, but he continuously threatens thru court proceedings, dissolution of birthright citizenship, which was legally validated in the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.
He has threatened lawyers who have worked against him, thereby violating the First, Third, Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution according to Judge Beryl Howell.
He has obstructed the rule of law, by refusing to abide by court orders or skirting them.
He has disrupted, within weeks of taking office for his second term, federal agencies established by law and funded by the federal government to keep us safe, healthy and educated. This in order to use funds for massive tax cuts for his oligarchic friends.
Finally, the enemy is within our gates. When in 2020, the “King” lost the elections he sent an army of dangerous supporters to Congress to disrupt through violence, a less than peaceful transfer of power. This may be why through, greed or fear and intimidation, his once great party has allowed this usurpation.
Nevertheless, we will continue to resist, protest and WE WILL PERSEVERE!
I probably would have just hidden behind the couch last year instead of canvassing and writing postcards, if not for Simon inspiring me to stay on my feet.
QUESTION: Is this all on purpose (tariffs etc) so Trump can put us at war- and all elections will cease and he can remain our dictator? This makes me very nervous. If this is his intent- he will try to make everyone angry until someone finally has had enough of him and a war begins!! Please tell me I’m wrong about this!!
I too am trying to figure out Trump's motive here. We call him stupid but he's demonstrably not. He's sly, or he would not have survived all the twists and turns of his life. I'm especially looking at what benefits him and Putin both. Trump is wiping out our credibility with other nations (see Iran this morning) but I think he/they did not count on how his actions are coalescing the Western nations' center leaders to defeat the extreme right. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/world/europe/trump-starmer-europe-centrists.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k4.Ybq8.5168WhfzRWbU&smid=url-share (paywall free)
I would say it's possible. Also, the whole taking over Canada thing is probably being instigated by Putin's takeovers in Eastern Europe. But he's too dull-witted to be efficient at it. That may just save us. However, speculating about all this is taking time away from actually doing things to stop it. :)
I woke up thinking about the 90s classic movie Wag the Dog, in which the president created a fake war to distract the public from his misdeeds with a girl scout (particularly funny as it was filmed before the Lewinski news became public, but aired just as it happened). Is there anything we can do to prevent the mad king from creating an actual international incident (giving him an excuse to declare martial law)? I hate to be alarmist and a conspiracy theorist, but I fear that the good news that the public -- by which I mean Fox News nation -- is beginning to wake up puts us in dangerous territory. Is there anything that we, the general public, and the Democrats can do to shine a light on the mad king's moves to prevent this sort of scenario?
he wont need an excuse to declare martial law. he will just do it. insurrection act. his plan anyway. think he already has declared two national emergencies since 1/20/25.
It's not really productive unless there are specific actions we can take if we see behaviors that could lead us down these paths. Otherwise it's just my brain's version of doomscrolling. Thanks for keeping our focus on concrete actions we can take!
Especially since there is NO predicting the GOP. They decided all the days of the congressional session are one calendar day, just to avoid exercising power. That’s really outside the box thinking! They are far too twisty to guess what they might do.
Thanks! I'm on a Mac and the request didn't auto-fill for me. I exported as a PDF and will print out/mail. Any worries about actually giving DOGE this information when mailing it to them?
The same concern gives me pause. It's like voluntarily giving DOGE/Trump a list of their "enemies" they can take action against and sic their violent supporters on.
The form requests our mailing address and an email. I will contact my Democratic State Attorney General about this idea. If there is a class action lawsuit at the state level I would participate. But I am not providing DOGE with my address and email. I do not at all feel this is a good idea. Who are they - They do not have security clearance, the agency has not been approved by Congress, and we don't even know the names of these people at DOGE. I will leave this up to Judge Chutkan and my State Attorney General.
BTW, called my electeds yesterday, will drop 200 postcards to WI voters tomorrow, and will be encouraging my electeds to coordinate with Dem caucuses to write a Declaration of Emergency.
just called schumer's ofc begging for no dem senate votes on cr. we have a tiny bit of leverage. use it. the cr is bad. kill it. hope schumer is leading this thing for once. dem senators: stand strong, hold together, vote down the cr!!! get a better budget deal. hold out. you can do it!!!
You are right, Simon. We need to be loud, very, very loud right now. Thank you for encouraging us to do our all. I gave an annual Hopium gift subscription to my best friend, sent five, one-month gift subscriptions to friends, called and emailed my two Wisconsin Senators (including MAGA Ron Johnson), sent postcards for Judge Susan Crawford. I will be traveling out of state on Friday the 14th, so won’t be able to go to my State Capitol to protest for veterans. 😒 But will be visiting my Milwaukee offices of Senators and Reps next week. As well as our Tesla dealership. 🪧
Dan is an incredible smart guy. And nothing he writes is anyway inconsistent with what I've been arguing. Don't appreciate you jumping on me here Juli.
Two voices I give a lot of weight to regarding political discussion: Simon and Dan. May not agree with everything either one says, but at least their takes are well informed, and very thought provoking.
I read Dan's post today and also found it extremely interesting, just as I did Simon's talk yesterday.
I will remove my comment also, and I also apologize for not fully understanding the part of Joy's post that you were replying too. This is, sadly, the danger sometimes of trying to respond to substack posts; getting the full context. I feel that you are always trying to support the many voices that we bring to Hopium, and I should have shown more grace before jumping to conclusions. I hope you will continue to allow me to comment, even if my passion gets the best of me sometimes. I concur with many of the other posts that you are helping us not only understand the need for action, but guiding us in our daily activities so that what we are doing is meaningful. I am eternally grateful that after the shock of the election you decided to continue with this important community. My best!
While I realize that this is a tough issue, I'm disappointed that Schumer et al. appear to have scraped together enough Dems to vote *for* cloture on the lousy 6-month "dirty" CR on the condition that they get to propose a (presumably doomed) 30 day clean CR...
Also, what if they make that deal and the the Republicans don't even let them make that amendment? I hope I'm wrong about what's going on.
Stop whatever you're doing and read this ProPublica piece on social security. It's unbelievable that our social safety net is in the hands of a low-level yes-man. For those contacting their elected officials about social security, this article needs to be cited. An excerpt- apparently Dudek thinks he works for trump and not for us and the constitution, and needs some civics 101 education.
"“I work for the president. I need to do what the president tells me to do,” Dudek said, according to the recording. “I’ve had to make some tough choices, choices I didn’t agree with, but the president wanted it and I did it,” he added later. (He didn’t name specific actions that Trump did or did not direct.)
At still another point, Dudek said that “I don’t want to fire anyone” but that “a lot of the structural changes that you’ve seen me make at headquarters, I’ve had long conversations with the White House about, and the DOGE team. … And that’s not to say I don’t have some more hard choices to come. The president has an agenda. I’m a political appointee. I need to follow that agenda.”
Oh and don't worry: "He confirmed that the DOGE team members had broad access to Americans’ Social Security numbers and other personal data, but he claimed that if they were to do anything illegal with that information, he’d have them investigated and potentially prosecuted." Yeah, I feel reassured by that (hard eye roll).
I received a reply from Senator Durbin last week on March 5.
"Social Security is not a "Ponzi scheme" as Mr. Musk claims, it is a bedrock promise to our seniors. As millions of baby boomers enter retirement over the next decade, we must maintain our commitment to ensuring the program is there not just for today's seniors and retirees, but for generations to come. Social Security is an earned benefit that more than 70 million Americans rely on to help meet their most basic needs. I am troubled by these proposals that would threaten the financial stability of retirees and seniors and risk their ability to retire with dignity.
I have helped protect Social Security from efforts that would have cut or eliminated the program, including Budget Requests from President Trump's first term, proposals to cut or eliminate payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, and a Senate Republican plan that would have automatically eliminated all federal programs every five years unless reauthorized by Congress.
While we successfully defeated these proposals, we must be prepared for any future efforts to undermine Social Security, including efforts by the Trump Administration, Mr. Musk, and DOGE. I will keep your views in mind as I work to preserve this program for current and future retirees."
It makes me feel better that people are starting to make the connection between Trump's actions and the economy before the freight train makes a direct hit. The brunt of the effects have been against Feds and contractors thus far and the knock-on effects haven't quite hit consumers directly yet with the exception of the stock market which is a bit of a leading indicator, I think. Once the effects of the tariffs are in full force, the lack of tax-dollar investment in communities, and the high unemployment start causing the recession, that approval rating is going to really crater. I'm hoping maybe some MAGA's start coming out of the frenzy when the hangover hits.
First: Simon, I was in the zoom last night. I felt you so strongly, the weight of leadership, the passion, the determination that I was moved to tears. Thank you more than I can say.
Now my question, which relates to the Dems holding unofficial hearings. I am wondering where those fired Inspector Generals are now. Shouldn't the public be hearing from them? I especially recall that at least one, maybe two were looking into Musk in terms of his misconduct with respect to his government contracts. The significant issue with Musk is that it is he who seems to be the poster child for "waste, fraud and abuse" when it comes to taxpayer dollars, and now in his present position, self dealing -- such as dismantling government agencies/existing contracts in order to put his businesses in their place. So one either believes he is a "great patriot" or we believe he is a guy who bought a presidency in order to be in a position for self enrichment. If hearings could focus on Musk's activities as a government contractor this would get some serious media coverage everywhere. Most voters understand this sort of crookery, and they really, really hate it.
To paraphrase, when it comes to this regime, "It's the corruption, stupid!"
GOOD NEWS!!! Judge Chutkan has a new ruling in response to the lawsuit of 14 AGs led by Raúl Torrez of NM. It orders Elon Musk and DOGE to "comply with five requests for document production, six interrogatories, six requests for admission, and two depositions." The information that must be turned over concerns "(1) eliminating or reducing the size of federal agencies; (2) terminating or placing federal employees on leave; (3) cancelling, freezing, or pausing federal contracts, grants, or other federal funding; and (4) obtaining access, using, or making changes to federal databases or data management systems." (Newsweek March 13, 2025) This is the information needed for a preliminary injunction against DOGE.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/12/elon-musk-judge-orders-discovery-00227924 and
https://www.newsweek.com/doge-department-government-efficiency-elon-musk-tanya-chutkan-federal-court-washington-new-mexico-2044006
Send thanks and support to the following AGs on this lawsuit: New Mexico, Arizona, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Thanks Julie for the list.
I have called the MN AG 2x the past month to thank him for his efforts and to encourage him to keep at it.
Norm Eisen was talking about this in this morning's Contrarian but didn't give details. This is fantastic news!
I'd analogize voting against the continuing resolution as going on strike. Strikes are tough for workers, but if workers never go on strike management takes advantage of them.
Musk is having meltdowns in the Oval Office. He’s going dark and freaking people out. Crying frequently.
Mike what’s your source for this? I want to read more
It’s being leaked that Trump saw him crying about Tesla so he gave him that photo op. Unsurprising though, he’s an unstable sociopath drug addict.
Sry, but as much as we might like to embrace this, until evidenced by multiple news sources, this remains in the realm of wishful thinking.
I do wish though
Good thing I've recently purged my empathy weakness.
Aspiring “post-apocalyptic warlords” also cry
Hope you come to the protest in DC on the 14th! 3.14
Veterans will have a large presence!
can you share more details?
Events are happening around noon on Friday March 14, in Washington, D.C. (National Mall?) and in State Capitols across the nation. In Santa Fe it is being promoted by DPNM Veterans and Military Families Caucus and linked to the Veteran's organization Common Defense. I attended a Common Defense zoom meeting, and it was impressive, with veterans who are experts in investigating extremist organizations and domestic terrorism. https://commondefense.us/
I see some protests listed on mobilize.
Newsweek says it is being organized by this group, Fourteenth Now! although I see no history for them. https://nowmarch.org/
https://www.newsweek.com/veterans-march-washington-defend-constitution-what-know-2042764 and https://newrepublic.com/post/192559/veteran-chains-white-house-protest-trump-musk
Vets have such credibility and Musk's treatment of them has been outrageous. Our Dem vet leaders like Senator Kelly are surging.
I work with Fourteenth Now! I try to get as much info on the social media sites I use. On my feed are flyers if you would like to restack them. And there is a press release of speakers you can also restack. Harry Dunn is one of our speakers for tomorrow. Thanks in advance.
In NM, the protest is linked to a Veteran's organization, Common Defense, that started in 2016.
We changed it to 3.14 DCNOW
What is the history of this organization? It seems to have just popped up in 2025.
Each state will have their own protest. We are working along side Veterans.
It’s much easier to create a national org like this for vets given the infrastructure that already exists in each state. Vets aren’t going to follow not vet led groups.
I can’t put a flyer here, but if you look at my feed, you’ll find flyers. And you can check out nowmarch.org
Please go to my feed and restack my flyers.
There is also a press release of speakers on my feed. Feel free to restack that too!! I appreciate everything. Harry Dunn will be one of our speakers.
There is a march to support Veterans in Walnut Creek Calif. on March 14... expecting big crowds in spite of rain... noon to one
Register …
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/762813/
Tomorrow, I will attend the rally in Denver to support my daughter (who works at the Aurora, CO VA Hospital treating cancer patients) and to support Ukraine. Will report back on attendance and enthusiasm.
Don't forget, we always have the right to walk around our State Capitols carrying signs and engaging in redress of grievances every day if we can!
Denver Metro Coloradoans, please call Rep. Gabe Evans regional offices this week of recess and voice your outrage.
You are awesome!!!!
Simon, many thanks for last night's encouraging talk to subscribers! You've no idea how much good you're doing.
Thank you Catherine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Takes a village!!!!!!!
And a village needs a leader! Thank you Simon for directing our energies and lifting our spirits. When i get overwhelmed with donation requests, i grit my teeth and come to Hopium to targeted donations with the rest of this activist community.
I whole heartedly agree!! I look forward our weekly zooms!! They are informative and energizing. I leave and think we can do this!! Thank you Simon!!! You are truly an amazing, thoughtful, well organized leader.
Last evening I wrote that our representatives are quite busy and that maybe we should write the Letter to America. I said that I would write something up and others could let me know what should be altered or added. I posted it here a few minutes ago. If you have time, could you take a look/see?
where? I want to use it? Don't see it.
A Letter to America
Almost 250 years ago, a group of patriots met in Philadelphia to protest the usurpations of the rights of men (sadly, just men). They presented to the public from Congress, July 4, 1776, a marvelous document that has stood the test of time…until now.
Here we present an updated letter to the American citizen:
We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all peoples are created equal with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to resist.
Prudence will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes, but when a President, or dare we say “King”, as he has coined himself more than once, and has mentioned that after 2024 it would not be necessary to vote again, we should take his words and actions as an affirmation that he means what he has proclaimed. We should then consider new guards for our future security.
This current “King” has a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
Our nation is exposed to enemies without. He has betrayed our allies and positioned himself with authoritarian countries, making our once great nation into a pariah.
His tariffs are causing harm to our former allies and is slowly, but surely, reducing our economy to rubble.
His attempts to demonize and to deport migrant workers who provide invaluable aid to agriculture and construction further decimating a once robust economy.
Our nation is a nation of laws, but he continuously threatens thru court proceedings, dissolution of birthright citizenship, which was legally validated in the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.
He has threatened lawyers who have worked against him, thereby violating the First, Third, Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution according to Judge Beryl Howell.
He has obstructed the rule of law, by refusing to abide by court orders or skirting them.
He has disrupted, within weeks of taking office for his second term, federal agencies established by law and funded by the federal government to keep us safe, healthy and educated. This in order to use funds for massive tax cuts for his oligarchic friends.
Finally, the enemy is within our gates. When in 2020, the “King” lost the elections he sent an army of dangerous supporters to Congress to disrupt through violence, a less than peaceful transfer of power. This may be why through, greed or fear and intimidation, his once great party has allowed this usurpation.
Nevertheless, we will continue to resist, protest and WE WILL PERSEVERE!
I totally agree! I am fairly certain I wouldn't be making my daily calls or writing letters to senators without Hopium. You have activated me!
I probably would have just hidden behind the couch last year instead of canvassing and writing postcards, if not for Simon inspiring me to stay on my feet.
Do more really does equal worry less.
Yes, thank you Simon. Was very inspiring.
QUESTION: Is this all on purpose (tariffs etc) so Trump can put us at war- and all elections will cease and he can remain our dictator? This makes me very nervous. If this is his intent- he will try to make everyone angry until someone finally has had enough of him and a war begins!! Please tell me I’m wrong about this!!
I too am trying to figure out Trump's motive here. We call him stupid but he's demonstrably not. He's sly, or he would not have survived all the twists and turns of his life. I'm especially looking at what benefits him and Putin both. Trump is wiping out our credibility with other nations (see Iran this morning) but I think he/they did not count on how his actions are coalescing the Western nations' center leaders to defeat the extreme right. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/world/europe/trump-starmer-europe-centrists.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3k4.Ybq8.5168WhfzRWbU&smid=url-share (paywall free)
I would say it's possible. Also, the whole taking over Canada thing is probably being instigated by Putin's takeovers in Eastern Europe. But he's too dull-witted to be efficient at it. That may just save us. However, speculating about all this is taking time away from actually doing things to stop it. :)
Deleted because Simon is right that speculation isn’t helpful.
I woke up thinking about the 90s classic movie Wag the Dog, in which the president created a fake war to distract the public from his misdeeds with a girl scout (particularly funny as it was filmed before the Lewinski news became public, but aired just as it happened). Is there anything we can do to prevent the mad king from creating an actual international incident (giving him an excuse to declare martial law)? I hate to be alarmist and a conspiracy theorist, but I fear that the good news that the public -- by which I mean Fox News nation -- is beginning to wake up puts us in dangerous territory. Is there anything that we, the general public, and the Democrats can do to shine a light on the mad king's moves to prevent this sort of scenario?
he wont need an excuse to declare martial law. he will just do it. insurrection act. his plan anyway. think he already has declared two national emergencies since 1/20/25.
Not sure how productive all this speculation is.
It's not really productive unless there are specific actions we can take if we see behaviors that could lead us down these paths. Otherwise it's just my brain's version of doomscrolling. Thanks for keeping our focus on concrete actions we can take!
Especially since there is NO predicting the GOP. They decided all the days of the congressional session are one calendar day, just to avoid exercising power. That’s really outside the box thinking! They are far too twisty to guess what they might do.
Sharing some info - Rep.Jamie Raskin encourages us to file data requests under FOIA and court order: https://jamieraskin.com/doge-privacy-act-requests/
Thanks! I'm on a Mac and the request didn't auto-fill for me. I exported as a PDF and will print out/mail. Any worries about actually giving DOGE this information when mailing it to them?
No idea, but I trust Rep. Raskin.
The same concern gives me pause. It's like voluntarily giving DOGE/Trump a list of their "enemies" they can take action against and sic their violent supporters on.
I'm following Linda's lead and writing my State AG and my Reps - all of whom i DO trust.
The form requests our mailing address and an email. I will contact my Democratic State Attorney General about this idea. If there is a class action lawsuit at the state level I would participate. But I am not providing DOGE with my address and email. I do not at all feel this is a good idea. Who are they - They do not have security clearance, the agency has not been approved by Congress, and we don't even know the names of these people at DOGE. I will leave this up to Judge Chutkan and my State Attorney General.
They already have all of this and more, believe me. I trust Raskin.
I'm with you, Linda. I trust Raskin but i don't trust DOGE with those personal details either. Instead, i'll write my State AG and Reps.
BTW, called my electeds yesterday, will drop 200 postcards to WI voters tomorrow, and will be encouraging my electeds to coordinate with Dem caucuses to write a Declaration of Emergency.
just called schumer's ofc begging for no dem senate votes on cr. we have a tiny bit of leverage. use it. the cr is bad. kill it. hope schumer is leading this thing for once. dem senators: stand strong, hold together, vote down the cr!!! get a better budget deal. hold out. you can do it!!!
You are right, Simon. We need to be loud, very, very loud right now. Thank you for encouraging us to do our all. I gave an annual Hopium gift subscription to my best friend, sent five, one-month gift subscriptions to friends, called and emailed my two Wisconsin Senators (including MAGA Ron Johnson), sent postcards for Judge Susan Crawford. I will be traveling out of state on Friday the 14th, so won’t be able to go to my State Capitol to protest for veterans. 😒 But will be visiting my Milwaukee offices of Senators and Reps next week. As well as our Tesla dealership. 🪧
Thank you. Gift subscriptions are an important way of growing this community.
I just sent a gift subscription. This is my favorite Substack. I do not think Simon schedules much rest.
Interesting thoughts from Dan Pfeiffer, Washington insider, on the CR and possible shutdown.
A bit different from last night’s conversation.
Why Democrats Shouldn't Fear the Politics of a Shutdown
https://www.messageboxnews.com/p/why-democrats-shouldnt-fear-the-politics/comments
Dan is an incredible smart guy. And nothing he writes is anyway inconsistent with what I've been arguing. Don't appreciate you jumping on me here Juli.
Yes, as a Californian I see him at events.
It’s good to hear diversity of viewpoints.
He was at WH during shutdown chicken games.
Two voices I give a lot of weight to regarding political discussion: Simon and Dan. May not agree with everything either one says, but at least their takes are well informed, and very thought provoking.
I read Dan's post today and also found it extremely interesting, just as I did Simon's talk yesterday.
I also found this from Dan P. very thoughtful regarding the tough choice in front of Sentate Dems. And I am not always a fan.
I've taken this comment down for it was causing confusion and distraction. I apologize.
I will remove my comment also, and I also apologize for not fully understanding the part of Joy's post that you were replying too. This is, sadly, the danger sometimes of trying to respond to substack posts; getting the full context. I feel that you are always trying to support the many voices that we bring to Hopium, and I should have shown more grace before jumping to conclusions. I hope you will continue to allow me to comment, even if my passion gets the best of me sometimes. I concur with many of the other posts that you are helping us not only understand the need for action, but guiding us in our daily activities so that what we are doing is meaningful. I am eternally grateful that after the shock of the election you decided to continue with this important community. My best!
While I realize that this is a tough issue, I'm disappointed that Schumer et al. appear to have scraped together enough Dems to vote *for* cloture on the lousy 6-month "dirty" CR on the condition that they get to propose a (presumably doomed) 30 day clean CR...
Also, what if they make that deal and the the Republicans don't even let them make that amendment? I hope I'm wrong about what's going on.
I hope all the New Yorkers will write to Schumer and remind what is needed at this time!
Stop whatever you're doing and read this ProPublica piece on social security. It's unbelievable that our social safety net is in the hands of a low-level yes-man. For those contacting their elected officials about social security, this article needs to be cited. An excerpt- apparently Dudek thinks he works for trump and not for us and the constitution, and needs some civics 101 education.
"“I work for the president. I need to do what the president tells me to do,” Dudek said, according to the recording. “I’ve had to make some tough choices, choices I didn’t agree with, but the president wanted it and I did it,” he added later. (He didn’t name specific actions that Trump did or did not direct.)
At still another point, Dudek said that “I don’t want to fire anyone” but that “a lot of the structural changes that you’ve seen me make at headquarters, I’ve had long conversations with the White House about, and the DOGE team. … And that’s not to say I don’t have some more hard choices to come. The president has an agenda. I’m a political appointee. I need to follow that agenda.”
Oh and don't worry: "He confirmed that the DOGE team members had broad access to Americans’ Social Security numbers and other personal data, but he claimed that if they were to do anything illegal with that information, he’d have them investigated and potentially prosecuted." Yeah, I feel reassured by that (hard eye roll).
https://www.propublica.org/article/recording-reveals-leland-dudek-thoughts-trump-doge-social-security?fbclid=IwY2xjawI_0rJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHd_AgcJyU383aNfiwhPfmKDLJ_eezN7rNrD9YUHvLFOxFHrvU8DbkBak4w_aem_DW_JjNXz0UL3D2V7uQyg_w
I received a reply from Senator Durbin last week on March 5.
"Social Security is not a "Ponzi scheme" as Mr. Musk claims, it is a bedrock promise to our seniors. As millions of baby boomers enter retirement over the next decade, we must maintain our commitment to ensuring the program is there not just for today's seniors and retirees, but for generations to come. Social Security is an earned benefit that more than 70 million Americans rely on to help meet their most basic needs. I am troubled by these proposals that would threaten the financial stability of retirees and seniors and risk their ability to retire with dignity.
I have helped protect Social Security from efforts that would have cut or eliminated the program, including Budget Requests from President Trump's first term, proposals to cut or eliminate payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, and a Senate Republican plan that would have automatically eliminated all federal programs every five years unless reauthorized by Congress.
While we successfully defeated these proposals, we must be prepared for any future efforts to undermine Social Security, including efforts by the Trump Administration, Mr. Musk, and DOGE. I will keep your views in mind as I work to preserve this program for current and future retirees."
We want them to SHUT IT DOWN!!!
Restacked your post and added a flyer.
It makes me feel better that people are starting to make the connection between Trump's actions and the economy before the freight train makes a direct hit. The brunt of the effects have been against Feds and contractors thus far and the knock-on effects haven't quite hit consumers directly yet with the exception of the stock market which is a bit of a leading indicator, I think. Once the effects of the tariffs are in full force, the lack of tax-dollar investment in communities, and the high unemployment start causing the recession, that approval rating is going to really crater. I'm hoping maybe some MAGA's start coming out of the frenzy when the hangover hits.
First: Simon, I was in the zoom last night. I felt you so strongly, the weight of leadership, the passion, the determination that I was moved to tears. Thank you more than I can say.
Now my question, which relates to the Dems holding unofficial hearings. I am wondering where those fired Inspector Generals are now. Shouldn't the public be hearing from them? I especially recall that at least one, maybe two were looking into Musk in terms of his misconduct with respect to his government contracts. The significant issue with Musk is that it is he who seems to be the poster child for "waste, fraud and abuse" when it comes to taxpayer dollars, and now in his present position, self dealing -- such as dismantling government agencies/existing contracts in order to put his businesses in their place. So one either believes he is a "great patriot" or we believe he is a guy who bought a presidency in order to be in a position for self enrichment. If hearings could focus on Musk's activities as a government contractor this would get some serious media coverage everywhere. Most voters understand this sort of crookery, and they really, really hate it.
To paraphrase, when it comes to this regime, "It's the corruption, stupid!"
Great idea for the IGs to hold hearings! They should go around the country so they’ll get local press coverage!
I was suggesting the Congress Dems hold hearings and call the IGs to testify. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Do both if possible!
Either way—the main point is hearings + IGs!