Democracy Out Loud #418:The Empire strikes, and the Jedi returns
Trump's plans are underway, and the resistance is strong.
As we expected, Trump is “flooding the zone” with an overwhelming number of executive orders which are straight out of Project 2025. The one that caused the most chaos this week was a freeze on government grants, an order that was blatantly illegal. Senator Angus King of Maine said, “This is a profound constitutional issue.” He called the so-called freeze “the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States.”
The memo was rescinded after just two days. Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Patty Murray, responded, “This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country—real people made a difference by speaking out. Still, the Trump administration—through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard of the law—caused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the last 48 hours which is still ongoing.”
Robert Hubbell had predicted, “Public outrage will force Trump to retreat. A massive upwelling of public outrage is spreading across America. It may take a day or two for MAGA members of Congress to absorb the outrage from their constituents who suddenly realize Trump's thoughtless action has threatened their constituent’s economic security. Millions of Americans have been plunged into uncertainty over government benefits, loans, grants, and payments. They are letting their representatives know how they feel.”
Way to go, friends. I know a lot of us made calls and wrote emails.
Lib forwarded this letter from nonviolent activist George Lakey: “He didn't back down because it was a good idea. It wasn't a change of heart. It wasn't a feint. It was a genuine administrative coup that — for now — has been thwarted.
“He backed down because people pushed back — getting media to do their job and alert us to an impending problem, calling Senators who (more or less) found their spines, lawyers challenging the coup, telling the story of the many who would suffer under such an order, joining last-minute DC protests…
“The point is stunningly important: Trump can lose when we fight. He is not invincible and he is not all powerful.”
Lakey goes on to encourage us with stories of people who are resisting, and they are just too good not to repeat:
· Folks rejecting President-in-action-but-not-elected Elon Musk's potentially illegally sent and possibly illegal buyout offer to 2 million government workers (comments are fire: "I'll be honest, before that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell. But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, RTO be damned. Hold the Line!")
· National trainings teaching people how to organize and strengthen community when workplace raids happen (we recommend these!) or Teen Vogue's story on ICE Watch Programs Can Protect Immigrants in Your Neighborhood — Here’s What to Know
· Lawyers standing up for the rule of law — like 22 state attorneys general sued Trump over birthright order or ACLU suing fast-track deportation policy or Quakers suing to stop ICE out of worship services
· The internet spamming the DEI snitch tipline
· Greenlanders refusing to give up free healthcare and education and rejecting any US takeover or Colombian President Petro staring down Trump and winning the "dignity" of returnees he asked for (the US media let Trump claim victory — but international press report this very differently, like here or here or read Petro's full statement)
· Groups like Civil Service Strong helping government workers sort through their decisions in these trying times
And let’s not forget the creative responses of musicians, artists and bakers all over the world.
A whole lot of bad things happened this week. Trump’s announcement that undocumented people would be flown to Guantanamo is chilling. A lawyer who has successfully challenged a similar proposal commented, “Guantánamo is a black hole designed to escape scrutiny and with a dark history of inhumane conditions. It is a transparent attempt to avoid legal oversight that will fail.”
The executive order targeting transgender students, their teachers, and their schools is profoundly disturbing. The goal seems to be to eliminate trans people not only from public life (see the brand-new bathroom ban) but from existence. I’m not clear yet about the best way to fight this. School board meetings might be a start, and definitely subscribing to Erin in the Morning, which tracks all legislation relating to trans people. Active duty service members are fighting Trump’s military ban and at least one prisoner has filed a lawsuit regarding Trump’s executive order “directing the U.S. government to recognize only two, unchangeable sexes and requiring inmates like her to be housed in men's prisons violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”
I’m on the mailing list of the Heritage Foundation, and this week they outlined some of their plans. I am quoting their exact words with my comments in bold: 1) Repurpose the BILLIONS of dollars wasted on NGOs that have facilitated the border crisis and allocate it to ICE. (None of this is true.) 2) Permanently prevent illegal aliens from accessing the tens of billions of dollars they receive every year from America’s welfare benefits. (Undocumented people are not eligible for any benefits, let alone tens of billions of dollars) 3) Tax the money illegal aliens earn in America and then send back to their home country at 50% (Of course, undocumented people pay taxes already on money they earn as well as social security tax, and they are not eligible to ever receive social security) 4) Require public schools to charge tuition for illegal alien children. (This is too disgusting to comment upon.) 5) Fund the 12,000 more agents, 4,000 more attorneys, 1,000 more judges, and 1,000 more support staff needed to deport the 20 million illegal aliens that voters elected President Trump to evict. (Aside from the fact that very few undocumented people need to be “evicted,” there are less than 12 million undocumented Americans, so we wonder who else will be sent to Guantanamo or “evicted.” LGBTQ, disabled people, dissidents? It is the Hitler playbook for sure.)
I am fascinated by the Simple Sabotage Field Manual from 1944, the US Government’s advice to people fighting fascism at that time. What is applicable to us is the spirit of the thing. These people knew fascism must be resisted in every way possible.
Talk of massive boycotts is gaining steam. (Note that Costco and Aldi continue to defend DEI and not to be boycotted, and there are additional active boycotts of X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.)
Meanwhile the attempt by Judge Griffin to overturn the election of Justice Alison Riggs continues, and there are things we can do about that too. It was thrilling that so many of us went to Richmond for the federal court arguments. We not only (literally) packed the courtroom, but there was an overflow room.
The next court date is Friday February 7, at the Wake County Courthouse. I don’t have any details yet, but it would be good if people who live near Raleigh could pack that courtroom too. Pace yourself, though. Court cases involving Judge Griffin’s attempt to steal this election could drag on for many months. In the meantime, Justice Riggs remains on the NC Supreme Court. Our most important task is to sign up with Common Cause and spread the word about this.
Things to know about: From Jeff, Secrecy Tracker, which tracks and analyzes bills related to public records and open meetings. From Gann: Nieman Lab informs us about a network of AI-generated so-called news sites which operate in 355 cities and towns, including in NC. Their mission is “to make local news more accessible and highlight extraordinary people in our community” without the help of human staff (!).
Things to do: Call Senators to oppose the confirmations of Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard. See The Guardian on Patel.
I am sure I am forgetting a lot of things, but if I don’t send this right away there will be big breaking news and I’ll have to do it over. Everyone is invited to join us every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm for our zoom call. This Tuesday February 4 we have a special guest, newly elected NC Senator Sophia Chitlik. She represents Durham in the NC General Assembly. If you need the zoom link, email Jewel at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com and include a few lines about yourself.
We also continue our guided meditation at 10 am every Thursday, also on zoom. We are expanding our inner resources to meet this apocalyptic moment as well as deepening our community with one another.
Thank you so much for reading this. Things will undoubtedly get much worse before they get better, but we are ready. Let’s keep building communities of resistance.
love, Karen
“If we are to preserve democracy, those of us on the left must prioritize free and fair elections. Too often we dismiss the real-world impact voter suppression has on the current election and for lowering turnout in the future. We need to accept that the rules of voting are often skewed against minority and young voters. Most importantly, we must understand that voter suppression and election subversion can affect, and sometimes dictate, the outcome of elections.
“While Joe Biden emphasized the importance of democratic norms, Trump used the last four years to turn the GOP into an anti-democratic war machine. And he is not done wreaking havoc. That is the stark reality we face. If we truly care about the future of free and fair elections, we must take the threat Trump poses to our elections literally and seriously.” - Marc Elias
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