Thanks to all who work tirelessly to thwart the Trump regime in its attack on our First Amendment rights.
What is happening with the Postal Service, presidential orders and ballots is at the very least, discouraging people to trust its handling of mailed voting. At the worst, it should be pointed out that tampering with the mail delivery as well as effectively meddling with an election and vote tampering is illegal. Why is this not being dealt with accordingly? It matters not whether it is the federal government or an individual doing this, it is still illegal, and is also effectively another attack on First Amendment rights. Limiting voting voices is limiting free speech.
The Founders obviously had a defective crystal ball... People can be quite creative. It took 250 years, but some of them found a way to completely subvert The Constitution. These people don't want a democratic constitutional republic but prefer an authoritarian country ruled by a strong man... Check out Jim Acosta's interview of Ruth Ben Giat, yesterday: https://substack.com/@jimacosta/p-214055431
The Fouders based much of their writings with the assumption that the values and morals that existed then would extend into the future. As you pointed out, we have developed some who are happy to subvert the Constitution. Rather than go live in a socio/political climate that suits them, they are content to upend ours. They are a noisy minority who should not be granted favor.
I was attempting to be somewhat kindly in the use of the term 'content'. There are other words that you employed that are far more accurate and to the point. Thank you.
"Trump’s personal lawyer’s threat to sue CAP for $5 billion if it did not retract an evidence-based report showing no measurable reduction in crime from the National Guard deployments."
I notice that the plaintiffs don't object to the veracity of the evidence in the report; they COULD just counter it with their own, fact-based, evidence-driven report.
But of course they don't, because they have no facts or evidence, just performative indignation that anyone would question their claims.
That's not only NOT democracy, it's NOT critical thinking skills, either.
Unfortunately, the people who would prosecute such federal crimes are Donald Trump’s hand picked Department of justice. I see very very little hope of justice from that group of people.
Trump is a terrorist. The attempt to screw up mail-in voting isn't an error . It's intentional. It's an attack. It's a crime. Trump is waging war against the majority of Americans that aren't MAGA Fascists. Trump (& his MAGA supporters) shouldn't be regarded merely incompetent. They are the enemy. The only time they're incompetent is when they fail in their war against America.
The Trump regime does not believe that the "Rule of law" applies to them. They simply ignore rulings that attempt to rein them in. In point of fact, the courts have no enforcement arm. They know it. That's why, after a year and a half of outrageous, unconstitutional, and criminal actions, there have been no contempt charges levied against them.
What we need to take away from this is how badly we (the US) have weakened our democracy. Two and half centuries of reasonably well-behaved administrations have lulled us into ceding too much authority to the executive branch. The result has been an object lesson in why the Constitution incorporates separation of powers and why the architecture of the Republic is so crucial to the survival of democracy. It will take years of heavy lifting to correct the flaws that the Trump experience has revealed. We must start immediately.
"more urgent than ever for democracy advocates " -- AND more urgent than ever for every voter to vote against every Republican at any level to send a message to the Party that is has tolerated this attempt at dictatorship for far too long. All the way down the ballot. Help the party rebuild itself by doing this.
ALL of the actions by the current administration are completely supported by the republican party, since they could end the war, release all the epstein files, remove supreme court justices from the bench and remove trump himself if they really wanted to TODAY since they hold the majority and the Democrats would go along with them on any of these issues, even just one, like ending the funding for the war.
Any candidate for senate or house should be pointing this out to all their voters---it is not simply trump doing this to the country, it is the entire republican party, since they purged themselves of any whiff of dissenters.
Surely Judge Talwani's question was rhetorical. Disenfranchising millions of voters is the entire reason for having the Postal Service mishandle ballots. Wait until Trump realizes that his favorite voters (older rural folks) rely most heavily on mailed ballots.
Trump's ham-fisted efforts to steal the midterms are so blatant. If SCOTUS continues to back up this madness, it would not surprise me to see rioting in the streets. I'm talking 1968-level rioting. I wouldn't want to be a conservative member of the court right now. They know the law. They know that during this century, they've made unpopular, partisan decisions that have altered not only our politics, but our nation and the world. There is a lot of pressure on them to do the right thing, because the American people aren't going to abide by Trump's efforts to stay in power or prevent himself from becoming a lame-duck after the Democrats take back both houses of Congress. This has become a war now because Trump and SCOTUS have made it so. It's obvious all involved don't give a damn about democracy, and they've broken their respective oaths of office many times over. Every American who cares about the history of and the fate of our great nation needs to get PISSED OFF. I've been that way for 10 years.
“Donald Trump,….. frail ego and isolation from reality….”
So true! And yet, this country elected him as its President! TWICE! What is WRONG with them? And, per polls 32%…one out of three!….STILL support this complete loser! And, there’s even a QUESTION if Americans will vote these knucklehead Republicans Trump-enablers out of office in November. What has happened? How….why….when…..did Americans…..which had such a GOOD thing going….get SOOOO stupid? Ai-yai-yai!
Well, whatever caused that insanity….may it PLEASE go away this November….so we can get a Blue wave and start our climb back to sanity. So…..Vote Blue! ‘Cause we HAVE to!
Yes, in a land where bullies rule, no citizen is safe from bullying. Every American citizen has a duty to malign, criticize, obstruct, and peacefully protest every action of such an un-American, unconstitutional, and plain old evil administration.
The bottom line is, Americans LIKE their democracy - despite political disagreements. We want our Constitutional rights and will defend them - and defend the the defenders of those rights - against an autocrat.
Thank you, Jen, for this informative and important post! I am so grateful for the Contrarians, Democracy Defenders and every person standing up to this corrupt regime!
When this is over, Congress needs to initiate a new medal designed to recognize those Americans who showed great courage in taking a public stand against Trump's dictatorship. Those named in Ms. Rubin's post would be among the recipients. Maybe a monument with names etched on it - Defenders of Democracy for example. Somehow these courageous people need to be recognized by a grateful nation.
The only injunction tRump will obey is one from SCOTUS and then only grudgingly with an eye to finding exceptions to widen into superhighways. Using the 2026 midterm election as a test for the new voter disruption method is clearly the intent, especially since no software effort can be completed at high quality without solid, validated, consistent, precise requirements. This group of keystone cops on excessive No Doze is highly unlikely to have that kind of skill set.
Twenty years ago, Republican congressman Bill Young said the quiet part out loud. Commenting on the fact that both his wife and anti-war protester and gold star mother Cindy Sheehan had been removed from the gallery at the State of the Union address for wearing T-shirts with political messages, he opined that it was right that Sheehan was removed because he disagreed with her, but that removing his wife was wrong.
Thanks to all who work tirelessly to thwart the Trump regime in its attack on our First Amendment rights.
What is happening with the Postal Service, presidential orders and ballots is at the very least, discouraging people to trust its handling of mailed voting. At the worst, it should be pointed out that tampering with the mail delivery as well as effectively meddling with an election and vote tampering is illegal. Why is this not being dealt with accordingly? It matters not whether it is the federal government or an individual doing this, it is still illegal, and is also effectively another attack on First Amendment rights. Limiting voting voices is limiting free speech.
The Founders obviously had a defective crystal ball... People can be quite creative. It took 250 years, but some of them found a way to completely subvert The Constitution. These people don't want a democratic constitutional republic but prefer an authoritarian country ruled by a strong man... Check out Jim Acosta's interview of Ruth Ben Giat, yesterday: https://substack.com/@jimacosta/p-214055431
The Fouders based much of their writings with the assumption that the values and morals that existed then would extend into the future. As you pointed out, we have developed some who are happy to subvert the Constitution. Rather than go live in a socio/political climate that suits them, they are content to upend ours. They are a noisy minority who should not be granted favor.
They are not just content to upend ours, like all people with Authoritarian Personalities, they seek to impose their worldview on any and all.
I was attempting to be somewhat kindly in the use of the term 'content'. There are other words that you employed that are far more accurate and to the point. Thank you.
De nada!
"Trump’s personal lawyer’s threat to sue CAP for $5 billion if it did not retract an evidence-based report showing no measurable reduction in crime from the National Guard deployments."
I notice that the plaintiffs don't object to the veracity of the evidence in the report; they COULD just counter it with their own, fact-based, evidence-driven report.
But of course they don't, because they have no facts or evidence, just performative indignation that anyone would question their claims.
That's not only NOT democracy, it's NOT critical thinking skills, either.
Kakistocracy (elephants) on parade.
Unfortunately, the people who would prosecute such federal crimes are Donald Trump’s hand picked Department of justice. I see very very little hope of justice from that group of people.
You're correct, of course. The doj (no caps intentional) needs a thorough housecleaning. It was never intended to be a handmaiden to the president.
Keep shining a light, Jen. We need you all, and the work you're doing. And we're grateful for your strong, clear voice.
Trump is a terrorist. The attempt to screw up mail-in voting isn't an error . It's intentional. It's an attack. It's a crime. Trump is waging war against the majority of Americans that aren't MAGA Fascists. Trump (& his MAGA supporters) shouldn't be regarded merely incompetent. They are the enemy. The only time they're incompetent is when they fail in their war against America.
The Trump regime does not believe that the "Rule of law" applies to them. They simply ignore rulings that attempt to rein them in. In point of fact, the courts have no enforcement arm. They know it. That's why, after a year and a half of outrageous, unconstitutional, and criminal actions, there have been no contempt charges levied against them.
We definitely need to download Constitution 2.0!
What we need to take away from this is how badly we (the US) have weakened our democracy. Two and half centuries of reasonably well-behaved administrations have lulled us into ceding too much authority to the executive branch. The result has been an object lesson in why the Constitution incorporates separation of powers and why the architecture of the Republic is so crucial to the survival of democracy. It will take years of heavy lifting to correct the flaws that the Trump experience has revealed. We must start immediately.
"more urgent than ever for democracy advocates " -- AND more urgent than ever for every voter to vote against every Republican at any level to send a message to the Party that is has tolerated this attempt at dictatorship for far too long. All the way down the ballot. Help the party rebuild itself by doing this.
ALL of the actions by the current administration are completely supported by the republican party, since they could end the war, release all the epstein files, remove supreme court justices from the bench and remove trump himself if they really wanted to TODAY since they hold the majority and the Democrats would go along with them on any of these issues, even just one, like ending the funding for the war.
Any candidate for senate or house should be pointing this out to all their voters---it is not simply trump doing this to the country, it is the entire republican party, since they purged themselves of any whiff of dissenters.
The “Republican” party accurately represents the MAGA voters. Until those voters are rebuilt, and the party can never be rebuilt.
Surely Judge Talwani's question was rhetorical. Disenfranchising millions of voters is the entire reason for having the Postal Service mishandle ballots. Wait until Trump realizes that his favorite voters (older rural folks) rely most heavily on mailed ballots.
Trump's ham-fisted efforts to steal the midterms are so blatant. If SCOTUS continues to back up this madness, it would not surprise me to see rioting in the streets. I'm talking 1968-level rioting. I wouldn't want to be a conservative member of the court right now. They know the law. They know that during this century, they've made unpopular, partisan decisions that have altered not only our politics, but our nation and the world. There is a lot of pressure on them to do the right thing, because the American people aren't going to abide by Trump's efforts to stay in power or prevent himself from becoming a lame-duck after the Democrats take back both houses of Congress. This has become a war now because Trump and SCOTUS have made it so. It's obvious all involved don't give a damn about democracy, and they've broken their respective oaths of office many times over. Every American who cares about the history of and the fate of our great nation needs to get PISSED OFF. I've been that way for 10 years.
“Donald Trump,….. frail ego and isolation from reality….”
So true! And yet, this country elected him as its President! TWICE! What is WRONG with them? And, per polls 32%…one out of three!….STILL support this complete loser! And, there’s even a QUESTION if Americans will vote these knucklehead Republicans Trump-enablers out of office in November. What has happened? How….why….when…..did Americans…..which had such a GOOD thing going….get SOOOO stupid? Ai-yai-yai!
Well, whatever caused that insanity….may it PLEASE go away this November….so we can get a Blue wave and start our climb back to sanity. So…..Vote Blue! ‘Cause we HAVE to!
Thanks for the great article, Ms. Rubin!
Whistleblowers are definitely the first line in the stand for truth and democracy. May they prosper.
Yes, in a land where bullies rule, no citizen is safe from bullying. Every American citizen has a duty to malign, criticize, obstruct, and peacefully protest every action of such an un-American, unconstitutional, and plain old evil administration.
MAGA minions, you have been warned!
WOKE UP AMERICA!
I AM ANTIFA!
The bottom line is, Americans LIKE their democracy - despite political disagreements. We want our Constitutional rights and will defend them - and defend the the defenders of those rights - against an autocrat.
Thank you, Jen, for this informative and important post! I am so grateful for the Contrarians, Democracy Defenders and every person standing up to this corrupt regime!
When this is over, Congress needs to initiate a new medal designed to recognize those Americans who showed great courage in taking a public stand against Trump's dictatorship. Those named in Ms. Rubin's post would be among the recipients. Maybe a monument with names etched on it - Defenders of Democracy for example. Somehow these courageous people need to be recognized by a grateful nation.
Yes, A small, tasteful monument (remember taste?), on the site where we've torn down the "triumphal arch." Appropriate?
The only injunction tRump will obey is one from SCOTUS and then only grudgingly with an eye to finding exceptions to widen into superhighways. Using the 2026 midterm election as a test for the new voter disruption method is clearly the intent, especially since no software effort can be completed at high quality without solid, validated, consistent, precise requirements. This group of keystone cops on excessive No Doze is highly unlikely to have that kind of skill set.
Twenty years ago, Republican congressman Bill Young said the quiet part out loud. Commenting on the fact that both his wife and anti-war protester and gold star mother Cindy Sheehan had been removed from the gallery at the State of the Union address for wearing T-shirts with political messages, he opined that it was right that Sheehan was removed because he disagreed with her, but that removing his wife was wrong.
Free speech for me, but not for thee.