Many of us are having sleepless nights, due to the constant nightmarish barrage of horrendous daily news. It feels like all respected traditions and norms of civilized governance are being discarded, along with citizens’ dignity and inalienable rights, with the mere stroke of a Sharpie.
It’s like we have fallen down the rabbit hole and the Mad Hatter is dictating policy, with neither thought nor care for the consequences. And Trump’s emotionless surrogate Elon Musk, via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is ransacking programs and peoples’ lives, with robotic disregard.
I am overwhelmed with sadness, for the lives that will be lost, the diseases that won’t be prevented and the research for cures that will be stymied, by the freezing of USAID funds. It’s difficult to fathom the abject cruelty behind stranding millions of tons of emergency rations rotting in shipping containers abroad and in U.S. farmers’ warehouses, while children are dying from malnutrition.
Trump has also signed an Executive Order (EO), withdrawing The United States from the World Health Organization. This administration has an empathy-free protocol. The appointment of vaccine denier Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health, further serves to emphasize Trump’s lack of concern for the health of the nation.
I am appalled by the disrespect and lack of compassion for veterans, who have seen the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) stripped of personnel and resources. The recent budget and staff cuts enacted by DOGE, greatly limit programs devised to provide lifelong resources to vets and their families, including therapy and suicide counselling.
I’m disgusted by the blatantly displayed racism behind ending the Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiative. D.E.I. exists to give everyone a fair chance at education and employment, regardless of race, sex or physical limitations. Trump would have us believe its purpose is to steal placements from white men, to put it simply. The extent of his discrimination is so cancerous that attempts have been made to erase the historical records of accomplishments by minorities.
I am flabbergasted by the utter stupidity in disregarding the importance of departments like The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAH). Trump’s actions to eliminate clean energy incentives and environmental protection regulations are to accommodate his “drill baby drill” declaration. This short-sighted attitude of greed and climate change denial, has also resulted in withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.
The flood of irresponsible and detrimental policy changes and E.O.s, flowing like toxic sewage from the Oval Office is extensive. The self-serving actions of Musk’s DOGE, are to wreak havoc, and to protect himself from a myriad of pending lawsuits, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Installing corrupt cronies to oversee these government agencies, also facilitates Trump’s crypto scams and stock manipulations, by removing any semblance of oversight.
The Supreme Court majority has virtually surrendered its vigilance of constitutionally mandated laws, with last year’s verdict giving Trump immunity, for most of his actions, while in power. Just today SCOTUS allowed the Trump administration to temporarily maintain the suspension of $65 million in teacher training grants, due to DEI concerns raised by the Education Department. Universities across the country are being threatened with defunding, if they don’t comply with Trump’s agenda.
All politically unaffiliated department heads of the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice have been replaced by inept MAGA toadies, who have sworn allegiance to Trump, over loyalty to their country. Trump wasted no time activating those agencies in a personal witch hunt of retribution and extortion, against anyone involved in trying to bring him to justice, for his multitude of past crimes. Law firms are being blackmailed into refusing representation to anyone challenging his edicts. As an added insult, Trump not only pardoned the entire despicable cast of the January 6th insurrection, he is floating the idea of compensating them.
Meanwhile, students are being illegally deported and imprisoned without due process, for exercising their rights to peacefully protest. Minorities with tattoos are being renditioned to a El Salvador prison, and kept in sub-human conditions, on the judgemental whims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The recently announced illogical tariffs, which already threaten to tank the economy, are instrumental in achieving the end result of rendering the American public penniless and powerless. Trump reportedly posted on Truth Social Friday, April 4th, that his strategy is “ALREADY WORKING” and “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” according to The New York Times.
While it may seem that an unhinged demented President is steering the ship with a malfunctioning compass, there is method to the madness. Demoralizing and overwhelming the public into a sense of helplessness, is essential to the unfolding plot line scripted in Project 2025. That 900 plus page guide to presidential transition is based loosely on the beliefs of Curtis Yarvin, that democracy is doomed, and the population should be ruled by a Monarch or C.E.O. It was produced by The Heritage Foundation and other ultra conservative groups, as a blueprint for Trump’s return to office, and suggests the President should have absolute power over all branches of government. Project 2025 is Yarvin on steroids. Trump tried to publicly distance himself from it before the election, but since his inauguration in January, his actions and E.O.s have echoed The Heritage Foundation’s guidance.
There can be no doubt, that a coup is underway, and rapidly approaching fruition. The systematic dismantling of checks and balances of power, is pretty much accomplished. Cowardly Republicans and supine Democrat Congressional Representatives’ voices of dissent have been absent, but for a few rarities. The hope for a blue wave of dissent in 2026, to alter the present course of mayhem, will fade into the vapour of fantasy, if they don’t collectively condemn this administration.
Courageous people will stand up and be heard in massive nationwide demonstrations. I anticipate their cries of outrage will be thunderous. I pray their voices will be heard and heeded, for their cause is righteous. Their success is crucial.
Real nice post! Now, do you want to do something about it? Read my post today or go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It proves that the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts corrupt judges--conspiring together to commit treason.
When you're in the streets protesting, demand their resignations for their treason--not for them to change their bought and paid for policies.
====> The only ones more frightened about our record turnout than Trump and Musk are the corporate media, the Wall Streeters, the billionaires and the other Party they own.
The capitalist class is shaking in their boots. It's bad enough that the bozos broke their imperialist NATO, there exploitationist global economy, and their treasured obfuscatory system of "justice" (paging Peltier and Mumia). The bozos have awakened the working classes of the USA driven them to the streets.
No telling where this will end. March 1917 led to October 1917. Yes, the big bosses are terrified.
The first step for “we the people” to effectively fight against the disaster by Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs, useless, dishonest reporting by the new media, and Democrats who failed to defend democracy is recognizing Trump has been leading an ongoing insurrection that began on Jan 6, 2021, continued in the 2024 election and has continued since Jan 20, 2025, supported by insurrectionist Republicans in the Cabinet, Congress and SCOTUS.
The second step to effectively fight is recognizing there is a legal solution to stop the ongoing illegal insurrection in the federal government. The insurrectionists violated federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) which states a felony crime is committed by “whoever assists or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof or gives aid or comfort thereto shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States”. The Constitution defines a legal way to remove people who violate a criminal law - specifically a felony - from the federal government. They can be arrested, prosecuted and convicted by a jury of 12. The penalty for a felony typically would permit sentencing for multiple years of imprisonment. Think of murder. Or think of supporting an insurrection which violates federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) .
The third step for “we the people” to effectively fight is demanding Democrats in government including state governments begin to implement the legal solution.
The solution can begin to be quickly implemented by Democrats enacting and enforcing a new state law modeled after the federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) in 7 states where Democrats control the state government. California could be the first state to enact and enforce the law within 90 days which would remove the 9 Republican representatives from California in the Congressional House. The House would then have a Democratic majority of 224 to 209 with Jefferies as Speaker of the House to control the budget and make sure Ukraine and Medicaid are fully funded and there will be no tax cuts for the rich. Maryland, New Jersey and Colorado could follow to collectively remove another 8 Republican representatives in the House and then also remove 4 conservative justices from the Supreme Court changing the Court to 3 liberals and 2 conservatives to block any more conservative Court actions favorable to Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs.
More detail is in my post. This is Project 2025 for Democrats in government that begins now and continues through 2029.
The media is the problem! I have repeatedly given them documented, incontrovertible proof of widespread systemic corruption in the federal judicial system. But, when you put proof of treason through the corporate owned media filter--it comes out dedicated public servants.
If you want to see the proof, mentioned above, go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice.
This is beautiful - more than I had thought when I wrote about the magic 3.5% of the population needed for an overthrow! We've already got those numbers!!
Imagine the U.S. corporate media coverage if roughly 25 million people (relative to the population figure) took to the streets in China to protest against a "great leader" whose programs were wrecking the society. It would surely be the top story. One needed a magnifying glass to find anything in the NYT about the April 5 protests (no surprise). Educate, agitate, organize, advised the IWW more than 100 years ago. It still holds. Protests are energizing, but not yet a threat to power. The educating, agitating, and organizing must lead to general strikes so that the working people demonstrate who really has power. Where there is oppression there is resistance...the people will rise and the tyrants will fall. For the ONE BIG UNION! in peace and solidarity...
The mainstream media is making a colossal mistake by downplaying the numbers and the impact of these demonstrations. The illegal and atrocious actions the Trump people are doing are things that revolutions are rooted in. It is creating a movement waiting for a charismatic leader to unify it, and the war for the nation's soul will commence. Demonstrators are taking to the streets to be counted in the hope their sentiment is acknowledged. The situation in America is dire because one man and his cronies want to rule, not only America, but the world. Fox TV is a tool of the administration, so their reporting is expected to be shady. But the mainstream media is playing a perilous game, tickling the toes of the sleeping bear and not expecting it to get up with a growl. It is time to allow the Constitution to be the guide to stop the madness and
The Supreme Court should stop fueling the fire by caving in to the tyrant's wishes.
Michel , the Pictures of Trump you asked for still amaze Me! We Must Never Stop Protesting no matter what or nothing will change ! Expect for Burnie and Corey Booker and Adam Shiff ,Jamie Raskin and a few others the urgent Nuke like message is not regconzed enough ! The best program that calls out Trump is 60 Minutes on CBS on Sunday night at 7P.M.there was a shadow hearing yesterday conerning the fireings of Federal workers how I found it was a accadent it was on UTube sad ! Never stop ,never give into this Horror I won’t !
People in the streets comprise the one final foundation of democracy that remains intact.
By BRUCE PETERSON
Last Saturday at noon, I felt better than I had in weeks. I was at the State Capitol grounds with thousands of other Minnesotans at one of the 1,200 "Hands Off!" rallies around the country organized by the group Indivisible and dozens of partners to protest the policies of President Donald Trump.
I think my principal emotion was a feeling of safety. For two months I have felt the seemingly solid ground of democracy, the rule of law and international leadership — the bedrock underlying my entire professional life — eroding beneath my feet. Every day brought more insidious crumbling: The venerable Department of Justice, where I started my career, turned into just another political tool — one where the prosecutors get stern instructions from the attorney general herself about, yes, eliminating paper straws; millions of people starving in Sudan and USAID food supplies cut off. On and on.
But on Saturday, sandwiched into a throng of good-natured Minnesotans stretching from the Capitol steps to beyond Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, I once again felt bedrock under my feet. American democracy is in a bad storm, but it will not wash away that easily.
The day provided plenty of memorable moments: The echo of 25,000 voices chanting "HANDS OFF!" bouncing off the beautiful Capitol building. The number of people in the crowd using walkers. The talent of Minnesotans for creating signs. On Saturday they ranged from the rather crude ("Resist Dicktators") to the clever ("Porsche: Fast. Ferrari: Faster. Tesla: Fascist.") to the just plain sad ("Hands off librarians").
So April 5 was a feel-good day. But I was also doing more hardheaded thinking about the rally's political significance. Can a rally really slow the erosion of the institutions of democracy?
Universities, media outlets, law firms, cultural institutions and government departments staffed by career professionals are either knuckling under to the Trump onslaught, being gutted or preemptively cowering.
The administration thinks it can disappear an innocent person like Kilmar Abrego Garcia and then refuse to correct its mistake.
Congress ... well, words fail me in describing the Republican-controlled Congress. Even the inevitable talk about a third term has started.
I am proud of the independent role of the courts so far. But the courts are also under attack. When and if the Supreme Court stands up to Trump in a major case, can anyone actually picture this man obediently submitting?
But there is one final foundation of democracy that remains intact — us. People in the streets. I grew up watching how people in the streets ended legalized segregation and undercut the Vietnam War. Over the decades since we have all seen inspiring examples of the power of people in the streets: the fall of the Shah of Iran, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Arab Spring and many more.
I have always been curious about why people in the streets have been so successful in stopping autocrats. I am sure many hardened autocrats would happily shoot protesters rather than give in. I found one answer in the 2011 book "Why Civil Resistance Works" and subsequent publications by Harvard scholar Erica Chenoweth.
Crowds don't somehow melt the heart of the autocrat; rather, they undermine the loyalty of the allies and supplicants that he needs. Chenoweth explains the significance of defections. An autocrat loses power when a large, crosscut political movement pulls out from under him his "pillars of support," such as economic or social elites, labor unions, government bureaucrats or security services.
Chenoweth has been able to quantify the subject of nonviolent resistance. Most major nonviolent campaigns since 1900 have been successful, far more than violent struggles. Her exhaustive research demonstrated that every single nonviolent campaign succeeded once the portion of the population that actively participated got to 3.5%.
In the U.S., 3.5% of the population is about 12 million. Estimates of crowd size are unreliable, but it sounds like for 1,200 rallies the total was in the millions.
Chenoweth has principally studied nonviolent campaigns with aggressive goals — regime change, expelling occupiers or secession. Our goals on Saturday were more modest: not to change something but to guard against something changing — "Hands off!" our democracy.
But the principle is the same — buck up potential defectors and the fearful. On Saturday we were telling the university presidents, the newspaper editors, the managing partners of big law firms, the judges, the legislators: "Donald Trump is not the only force in this country. Millions of committed people will applaud your acts of courage and support your defiance."
Now, one rally on a sunny Saturday afternoon is not going to change history. The successful movements saw 3.5% of the population engaged in sustained activity, often involving mass strikes, boycotts and stay-away activities. But Saturday was one heck of a good start.
My wife likes to look up stirring historical photographs on the internet. Some of her favorites are of the Dunkirk "little ships." In late May 1940, this motley flotilla of small civilian vessels ventured across the English Channel under Luftwaffe attacks to help rescue the 338,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force bottled up against the ocean by Panzer divisions.
I remembered those little ships on Saturday. Britain would have been left defenseless by the capture of its army at Dunkirk. Democracy in Europe was saved not just by grand plans or brilliant leaders, but also by hundreds of ordinary folks who launched their boats in a crisis. The thousands of people streaming into the Capitol grounds from all directions on Saturday seemed like once again a flotilla of ordinary people taking it upon themselves to save democracy.
On Saturday I saw a forest of hands raised in response to the question, "Is this your first political rally?" The small craft are venturing forth. The objective this time is not to rescue soldiers but to reclaim the Constitution.
There will be many more demonstrations. Good. It may be the most important thing we can do.
Bruce Peterson is a senior district judge and teaches a course on lawyers as peacemakers at the University of Minnesota Law School. He was a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., in the 1980s.
Your post is spot on - except for one thing. Please don’t lump all Democrats into that silent, cowardly image. At the county levels we are the ones organizing the rally’s, responding on every platform available to the MAGA actions, raising money, prepping candidates, filing lawsuits - and the list goes on. We are not letting the MAGA threats, personal attacks, and gaslighting send us into polite silence any longer. We are loud and we are fighting back! If you want to see for yourself come on over to Montgomery County, TN. The fight is hard in this lunatic, red state but we are not backing down!! Thanks for letting me rant!
I wonder how newsworthy it would be if the same 5 to 6 million people called in sick for a week or more. According to DOGE, if the government can run efficiently with fewer people, perhaps corporate America can, too. Will staying home from work be worse than the inevitable job loss due to tariffs? Will people have to boycott products by default because they cannot afford them? When will the greedy corporate entities realize that no one remains to buy their products? No one wins but Trump and his billionaire friends, who will pick our bones clean. Think about it, and stop feeding the chaos.
We were thrilled by the huge turnout. My sister and I would have participated but we are 78 and 83 years old and would not have been able to handle it physically. Luckily, we still have all of our brains intact and can cheer you on from the sidelines....
April 5 protest was a wonderful experience. I live in a small town and saw many new people for the first time. Where did they come from, older and younger than I? Everyone was smiling and friendly. Saw old friends as well. The next day I woke up feeling incredibly happy.
I was a participant at the Hands Off protest on April 5. But I was not in one of the big cities. I rallied with fellow Americans on the Green of the New England small town of Guilford, Connecticut. My son was at the massive protest in Portland, Oregon. Guilford had several hundred protesters (my estimate). We chanted, heard speakers, carried signs, and Marched. Shoppers in Guilford honked their car horns. It was energizing. Thank you for letting us know when the next protest will be. We must bring down this regime. They are stealing our money. As a senior in my 70s, I am terrified about losing my Social Security and Medicare. I am praying that Medicaid will NOT be dismantled. Americans are quickly losing our rights. I miss our allies.
Thank you Michael. We hear you and are ever grateful for your courage in calling out the truth whenever and wherever needed. I will say Rachel Maddow shows the protests every day. One bright light 💡 ♥️
CHAOS AND CONFUSION
Many of us are having sleepless nights, due to the constant nightmarish barrage of horrendous daily news. It feels like all respected traditions and norms of civilized governance are being discarded, along with citizens’ dignity and inalienable rights, with the mere stroke of a Sharpie.
It’s like we have fallen down the rabbit hole and the Mad Hatter is dictating policy, with neither thought nor care for the consequences. And Trump’s emotionless surrogate Elon Musk, via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is ransacking programs and peoples’ lives, with robotic disregard.
I am overwhelmed with sadness, for the lives that will be lost, the diseases that won’t be prevented and the research for cures that will be stymied, by the freezing of USAID funds. It’s difficult to fathom the abject cruelty behind stranding millions of tons of emergency rations rotting in shipping containers abroad and in U.S. farmers’ warehouses, while children are dying from malnutrition.
Trump has also signed an Executive Order (EO), withdrawing The United States from the World Health Organization. This administration has an empathy-free protocol. The appointment of vaccine denier Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health, further serves to emphasize Trump’s lack of concern for the health of the nation.
I am appalled by the disrespect and lack of compassion for veterans, who have seen the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) stripped of personnel and resources. The recent budget and staff cuts enacted by DOGE, greatly limit programs devised to provide lifelong resources to vets and their families, including therapy and suicide counselling.
I’m disgusted by the blatantly displayed racism behind ending the Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiative. D.E.I. exists to give everyone a fair chance at education and employment, regardless of race, sex or physical limitations. Trump would have us believe its purpose is to steal placements from white men, to put it simply. The extent of his discrimination is so cancerous that attempts have been made to erase the historical records of accomplishments by minorities.
I am flabbergasted by the utter stupidity in disregarding the importance of departments like The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAH). Trump’s actions to eliminate clean energy incentives and environmental protection regulations are to accommodate his “drill baby drill” declaration. This short-sighted attitude of greed and climate change denial, has also resulted in withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.
The flood of irresponsible and detrimental policy changes and E.O.s, flowing like toxic sewage from the Oval Office is extensive. The self-serving actions of Musk’s DOGE, are to wreak havoc, and to protect himself from a myriad of pending lawsuits, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Installing corrupt cronies to oversee these government agencies, also facilitates Trump’s crypto scams and stock manipulations, by removing any semblance of oversight.
The Supreme Court majority has virtually surrendered its vigilance of constitutionally mandated laws, with last year’s verdict giving Trump immunity, for most of his actions, while in power. Just today SCOTUS allowed the Trump administration to temporarily maintain the suspension of $65 million in teacher training grants, due to DEI concerns raised by the Education Department. Universities across the country are being threatened with defunding, if they don’t comply with Trump’s agenda.
All politically unaffiliated department heads of the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice have been replaced by inept MAGA toadies, who have sworn allegiance to Trump, over loyalty to their country. Trump wasted no time activating those agencies in a personal witch hunt of retribution and extortion, against anyone involved in trying to bring him to justice, for his multitude of past crimes. Law firms are being blackmailed into refusing representation to anyone challenging his edicts. As an added insult, Trump not only pardoned the entire despicable cast of the January 6th insurrection, he is floating the idea of compensating them.
Meanwhile, students are being illegally deported and imprisoned without due process, for exercising their rights to peacefully protest. Minorities with tattoos are being renditioned to a El Salvador prison, and kept in sub-human conditions, on the judgemental whims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The recently announced illogical tariffs, which already threaten to tank the economy, are instrumental in achieving the end result of rendering the American public penniless and powerless. Trump reportedly posted on Truth Social Friday, April 4th, that his strategy is “ALREADY WORKING” and “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE,” according to The New York Times.
While it may seem that an unhinged demented President is steering the ship with a malfunctioning compass, there is method to the madness. Demoralizing and overwhelming the public into a sense of helplessness, is essential to the unfolding plot line scripted in Project 2025. That 900 plus page guide to presidential transition is based loosely on the beliefs of Curtis Yarvin, that democracy is doomed, and the population should be ruled by a Monarch or C.E.O. It was produced by The Heritage Foundation and other ultra conservative groups, as a blueprint for Trump’s return to office, and suggests the President should have absolute power over all branches of government. Project 2025 is Yarvin on steroids. Trump tried to publicly distance himself from it before the election, but since his inauguration in January, his actions and E.O.s have echoed The Heritage Foundation’s guidance.
There can be no doubt, that a coup is underway, and rapidly approaching fruition. The systematic dismantling of checks and balances of power, is pretty much accomplished. Cowardly Republicans and supine Democrat Congressional Representatives’ voices of dissent have been absent, but for a few rarities. The hope for a blue wave of dissent in 2026, to alter the present course of mayhem, will fade into the vapour of fantasy, if they don’t collectively condemn this administration.
Courageous people will stand up and be heard in massive nationwide demonstrations. I anticipate their cries of outrage will be thunderous. I pray their voices will be heard and heeded, for their cause is righteous. Their success is crucial.
Real nice post! Now, do you want to do something about it? Read my post today or go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It proves that the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts corrupt judges--conspiring together to commit treason.
When you're in the streets protesting, demand their resignations for their treason--not for them to change their bought and paid for policies.
I will take a look today. Thanks
Oh Michael! You SOOOOO nailed it:
====> The only ones more frightened about our record turnout than Trump and Musk are the corporate media, the Wall Streeters, the billionaires and the other Party they own.
The capitalist class is shaking in their boots. It's bad enough that the bozos broke their imperialist NATO, there exploitationist global economy, and their treasured obfuscatory system of "justice" (paging Peltier and Mumia). The bozos have awakened the working classes of the USA driven them to the streets.
No telling where this will end. March 1917 led to October 1917. Yes, the big bosses are terrified.
The first step for “we the people” to effectively fight against the disaster by Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs, useless, dishonest reporting by the new media, and Democrats who failed to defend democracy is recognizing Trump has been leading an ongoing insurrection that began on Jan 6, 2021, continued in the 2024 election and has continued since Jan 20, 2025, supported by insurrectionist Republicans in the Cabinet, Congress and SCOTUS.
The second step to effectively fight is recognizing there is a legal solution to stop the ongoing illegal insurrection in the federal government. The insurrectionists violated federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) which states a felony crime is committed by “whoever assists or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof or gives aid or comfort thereto shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States”. The Constitution defines a legal way to remove people who violate a criminal law - specifically a felony - from the federal government. They can be arrested, prosecuted and convicted by a jury of 12. The penalty for a felony typically would permit sentencing for multiple years of imprisonment. Think of murder. Or think of supporting an insurrection which violates federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) .
The third step for “we the people” to effectively fight is demanding Democrats in government including state governments begin to implement the legal solution.
The solution can begin to be quickly implemented by Democrats enacting and enforcing a new state law modeled after the federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383) in 7 states where Democrats control the state government. California could be the first state to enact and enforce the law within 90 days which would remove the 9 Republican representatives from California in the Congressional House. The House would then have a Democratic majority of 224 to 209 with Jefferies as Speaker of the House to control the budget and make sure Ukraine and Medicaid are fully funded and there will be no tax cuts for the rich. Maryland, New Jersey and Colorado could follow to collectively remove another 8 Republican representatives in the House and then also remove 4 conservative justices from the Supreme Court changing the Court to 3 liberals and 2 conservatives to block any more conservative Court actions favorable to Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs.
More detail is in my post. This is Project 2025 for Democrats in government that begins now and continues through 2029.
https://williamlmiller.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-trump-republicans-and?r=4tebj3
We can rely on corporate media to show the story of THE PEOPLE fighting back ONLY when they will see $profit$ in doing so!
They are the problem not the solution!
In the meantime tune in to Democracy Now! on Youtube.
The media is the problem! I have repeatedly given them documented, incontrovertible proof of widespread systemic corruption in the federal judicial system. But, when you put proof of treason through the corporate owned media filter--it comes out dedicated public servants.
If you want to see the proof, mentioned above, go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice.
For example, no protest was organized in Evanston, IL until the very last minute, and close to 1000 showed up in Fountain Square.
This is beautiful - more than I had thought when I wrote about the magic 3.5% of the population needed for an overthrow! We've already got those numbers!!
https://barrygander.substack.com/p/the-rich-will-be-ok-not-to-fret-about
Imagine the U.S. corporate media coverage if roughly 25 million people (relative to the population figure) took to the streets in China to protest against a "great leader" whose programs were wrecking the society. It would surely be the top story. One needed a magnifying glass to find anything in the NYT about the April 5 protests (no surprise). Educate, agitate, organize, advised the IWW more than 100 years ago. It still holds. Protests are energizing, but not yet a threat to power. The educating, agitating, and organizing must lead to general strikes so that the working people demonstrate who really has power. Where there is oppression there is resistance...the people will rise and the tyrants will fall. For the ONE BIG UNION! in peace and solidarity...
The mainstream media is making a colossal mistake by downplaying the numbers and the impact of these demonstrations. The illegal and atrocious actions the Trump people are doing are things that revolutions are rooted in. It is creating a movement waiting for a charismatic leader to unify it, and the war for the nation's soul will commence. Demonstrators are taking to the streets to be counted in the hope their sentiment is acknowledged. The situation in America is dire because one man and his cronies want to rule, not only America, but the world. Fox TV is a tool of the administration, so their reporting is expected to be shady. But the mainstream media is playing a perilous game, tickling the toes of the sleeping bear and not expecting it to get up with a growl. It is time to allow the Constitution to be the guide to stop the madness and
The Supreme Court should stop fueling the fire by caving in to the tyrant's wishes.
Michel , the Pictures of Trump you asked for still amaze Me! We Must Never Stop Protesting no matter what or nothing will change ! Expect for Burnie and Corey Booker and Adam Shiff ,Jamie Raskin and a few others the urgent Nuke like message is not regconzed enough ! The best program that calls out Trump is 60 Minutes on CBS on Sunday night at 7P.M.there was a shadow hearing yesterday conerning the fireings of Federal workers how I found it was a accadent it was on UTube sad ! Never stop ,never give into this Horror I won’t !
From the Minnesota Star Tribune April 8, 2025
Saturday was a good day
People in the streets comprise the one final foundation of democracy that remains intact.
By BRUCE PETERSON
Last Saturday at noon, I felt better than I had in weeks. I was at the State Capitol grounds with thousands of other Minnesotans at one of the 1,200 "Hands Off!" rallies around the country organized by the group Indivisible and dozens of partners to protest the policies of President Donald Trump.
I think my principal emotion was a feeling of safety. For two months I have felt the seemingly solid ground of democracy, the rule of law and international leadership — the bedrock underlying my entire professional life — eroding beneath my feet. Every day brought more insidious crumbling: The venerable Department of Justice, where I started my career, turned into just another political tool — one where the prosecutors get stern instructions from the attorney general herself about, yes, eliminating paper straws; millions of people starving in Sudan and USAID food supplies cut off. On and on.
But on Saturday, sandwiched into a throng of good-natured Minnesotans stretching from the Capitol steps to beyond Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, I once again felt bedrock under my feet. American democracy is in a bad storm, but it will not wash away that easily.
The day provided plenty of memorable moments: The echo of 25,000 voices chanting "HANDS OFF!" bouncing off the beautiful Capitol building. The number of people in the crowd using walkers. The talent of Minnesotans for creating signs. On Saturday they ranged from the rather crude ("Resist Dicktators") to the clever ("Porsche: Fast. Ferrari: Faster. Tesla: Fascist.") to the just plain sad ("Hands off librarians").
So April 5 was a feel-good day. But I was also doing more hardheaded thinking about the rally's political significance. Can a rally really slow the erosion of the institutions of democracy?
Universities, media outlets, law firms, cultural institutions and government departments staffed by career professionals are either knuckling under to the Trump onslaught, being gutted or preemptively cowering.
The administration thinks it can disappear an innocent person like Kilmar Abrego Garcia and then refuse to correct its mistake.
Congress ... well, words fail me in describing the Republican-controlled Congress. Even the inevitable talk about a third term has started.
I am proud of the independent role of the courts so far. But the courts are also under attack. When and if the Supreme Court stands up to Trump in a major case, can anyone actually picture this man obediently submitting?
But there is one final foundation of democracy that remains intact — us. People in the streets. I grew up watching how people in the streets ended legalized segregation and undercut the Vietnam War. Over the decades since we have all seen inspiring examples of the power of people in the streets: the fall of the Shah of Iran, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Arab Spring and many more.
I have always been curious about why people in the streets have been so successful in stopping autocrats. I am sure many hardened autocrats would happily shoot protesters rather than give in. I found one answer in the 2011 book "Why Civil Resistance Works" and subsequent publications by Harvard scholar Erica Chenoweth.
Crowds don't somehow melt the heart of the autocrat; rather, they undermine the loyalty of the allies and supplicants that he needs. Chenoweth explains the significance of defections. An autocrat loses power when a large, crosscut political movement pulls out from under him his "pillars of support," such as economic or social elites, labor unions, government bureaucrats or security services.
Chenoweth has been able to quantify the subject of nonviolent resistance. Most major nonviolent campaigns since 1900 have been successful, far more than violent struggles. Her exhaustive research demonstrated that every single nonviolent campaign succeeded once the portion of the population that actively participated got to 3.5%.
In the U.S., 3.5% of the population is about 12 million. Estimates of crowd size are unreliable, but it sounds like for 1,200 rallies the total was in the millions.
Chenoweth has principally studied nonviolent campaigns with aggressive goals — regime change, expelling occupiers or secession. Our goals on Saturday were more modest: not to change something but to guard against something changing — "Hands off!" our democracy.
But the principle is the same — buck up potential defectors and the fearful. On Saturday we were telling the university presidents, the newspaper editors, the managing partners of big law firms, the judges, the legislators: "Donald Trump is not the only force in this country. Millions of committed people will applaud your acts of courage and support your defiance."
Now, one rally on a sunny Saturday afternoon is not going to change history. The successful movements saw 3.5% of the population engaged in sustained activity, often involving mass strikes, boycotts and stay-away activities. But Saturday was one heck of a good start.
My wife likes to look up stirring historical photographs on the internet. Some of her favorites are of the Dunkirk "little ships." In late May 1940, this motley flotilla of small civilian vessels ventured across the English Channel under Luftwaffe attacks to help rescue the 338,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force bottled up against the ocean by Panzer divisions.
I remembered those little ships on Saturday. Britain would have been left defenseless by the capture of its army at Dunkirk. Democracy in Europe was saved not just by grand plans or brilliant leaders, but also by hundreds of ordinary folks who launched their boats in a crisis. The thousands of people streaming into the Capitol grounds from all directions on Saturday seemed like once again a flotilla of ordinary people taking it upon themselves to save democracy.
On Saturday I saw a forest of hands raised in response to the question, "Is this your first political rally?" The small craft are venturing forth. The objective this time is not to rescue soldiers but to reclaim the Constitution.
There will be many more demonstrations. Good. It may be the most important thing we can do.
Bruce Peterson is a senior district judge and teaches a course on lawyers as peacemakers at the University of Minnesota Law School. He was a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., in the 1980s.
Michael,
Your post is spot on - except for one thing. Please don’t lump all Democrats into that silent, cowardly image. At the county levels we are the ones organizing the rally’s, responding on every platform available to the MAGA actions, raising money, prepping candidates, filing lawsuits - and the list goes on. We are not letting the MAGA threats, personal attacks, and gaslighting send us into polite silence any longer. We are loud and we are fighting back! If you want to see for yourself come on over to Montgomery County, TN. The fight is hard in this lunatic, red state but we are not backing down!! Thanks for letting me rant!
Christie Steier
I wonder how newsworthy it would be if the same 5 to 6 million people called in sick for a week or more. According to DOGE, if the government can run efficiently with fewer people, perhaps corporate America can, too. Will staying home from work be worse than the inevitable job loss due to tariffs? Will people have to boycott products by default because they cannot afford them? When will the greedy corporate entities realize that no one remains to buy their products? No one wins but Trump and his billionaire friends, who will pick our bones clean. Think about it, and stop feeding the chaos.
Keep on keepin’ on, Michael. We need your fresh, unvarnished truth! Thank you!
We were thrilled by the huge turnout. My sister and I would have participated but we are 78 and 83 years old and would not have been able to handle it physically. Luckily, we still have all of our brains intact and can cheer you on from the sidelines....
April 5 protest was a wonderful experience. I live in a small town and saw many new people for the first time. Where did they come from, older and younger than I? Everyone was smiling and friendly. Saw old friends as well. The next day I woke up feeling incredibly happy.
PS - The art work is fantastic, too.
I was a participant at the Hands Off protest on April 5. But I was not in one of the big cities. I rallied with fellow Americans on the Green of the New England small town of Guilford, Connecticut. My son was at the massive protest in Portland, Oregon. Guilford had several hundred protesters (my estimate). We chanted, heard speakers, carried signs, and Marched. Shoppers in Guilford honked their car horns. It was energizing. Thank you for letting us know when the next protest will be. We must bring down this regime. They are stealing our money. As a senior in my 70s, I am terrified about losing my Social Security and Medicare. I am praying that Medicaid will NOT be dismantled. Americans are quickly losing our rights. I miss our allies.
Thank you Michael. We hear you and are ever grateful for your courage in calling out the truth whenever and wherever needed. I will say Rachel Maddow shows the protests every day. One bright light 💡 ♥️