Unity/solidarity: I guess that's the one positive of this situation. Most of the world is coming together to stand up against the stupid inept cruelty Trump and his administration embody. Now, the people of the U.S. need just 3.5 % of UNITY to change this horror story and turn this ship around.
While many folks may not know what they want, most know what they "don't" want; a mentally ill mob boss and his ilk, the chaos, the barbarism, the greed, the rank stupidity and the inevitable destruction of a once great nation. The USA now serves as an example of all that is wrong when an idiocracy laced with fascism takes hold.
The Great Pushback gives us hope, but the best source of hope to stop the massive damage being done by Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs begins with recognizing the criminal insurrection underway in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383). The Code defines an insurrection as a criminal act done by whoever "incites, sets on foot, 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".
There should be no question now that Trump and his supporters are criminal felons acting as a group “against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof”.
Irrefutable factual evidence proves that Trump, Republicans, and justices on the Supreme Court continued leading and supporting an insurrection after January 6, 2021, to illegally elect Trump, an insurrectionist. All votes for Trump in 2024 were in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383). Every vote for Trump was an illegal, intentional and willful act in support of an insurrection to elect Trump, an insurrectionist committed to reject the rule of law and the Constitution.
But there is a solution if “we the people” demand Democrats in control of a few state governments begin to implement the solution which can be completed after Democrats win in 2028.
Question: What behavior has Trump modified BECAUSE of the demonstrations, other than Pam Bondi saying she will investigate Tesla demonstrators for terrorism.
As I say in my post, the federal government is dead, so the enforcement has to begin in the states and then with winning the elections in 2026 and 2028. Otherwise, there is no legal solutio,
Yes. Also most of the Trump administration hasn't realized it yet, but it's still up to SCOTUS to determine the contours and outliers of "official acts." That's why JD Vance is so up in arms about them.
There what's wrong with law enforcement which should not give out priveleges for Trump to avoid imprisonment. it's no wonder that people are pissed at government and both potitical parties.The rule of law has been a joke and not properly enforced on the wealthy.
And in the end the decent people of America need to hold each and every single one who enabled Trump to run roughshod over our entire government, accountable. The GOP has totally gone off the deep end.
This is a suspicious website to me. I signed a strike card and went to the Colorado General Strike website listed on this generalstrikeus.com. The Colorado site asked for my email password. I bailed, of course. Now I am blocked from both the national and state site. It doesn't bode well for the General Strike if this is how supporters are treated.
Question mark is the right punctuation. "Hundreds of thousands" protest in a country with millions?? There should have been millions protesting in a country where democracy is under such hateful attack.
I was disappointed in the attendance in the protest that took place in my locality. I hate to say this, but Americans are pretty self-centered and convenience oriented. I took a vacation day to protest - I understand some do not have the luxury, but others do but did not. I thought May 1 might be the day to really "pushback" where the US joined countries around the world to fight in unity. Alas, no. Kudos to China and to Canada, who are so vocal in their resistance, and to the US courts (some), to some law firms and to some universities who are all refusing to kiss the ring. Wake up America!!!!
Good question. Who are the people that organize these things? Why would they call for a demonstration in the middle of the week on a work day? Thousands, if not millions of workers cannot take the day off. If we want the working folks to help, make it convenient for them to attend. It seems to me any Sunday after church and lunch would be a good time. Make it easy.
First Sunday of each month at 2:00 PM would be easy to remember. Call your local news stations and insist they come and put the meeting on the evening news. Demonstrate in front of every local GOP and DEM office even if the members aren't there. Get a speaker there that can tell the facts of how much better our economy has been under DEM administrations than GOP.
Keep the talks short, 2-3 minutes. Get someone to explain how much better workers are with unions, etc... etc. Don't just stand on a street corner and scream about DT and his idiots. Talk about the difference. I'm gathering the facts about the difference between the history of the DEM vs. the GOP leadership on the economy since WW2 at a local meeting I will attend on May 19.
I think May 1 was chosen in solidarity with May Day events around the world, where there were protests from Philippines to South Korea to EU. It makes sense because we are all connected and affected by Trump policies. Unfortunately, the day is not a recognized holiday here in the US so we needed to make do with the hand given. 50501 - which has become a rallying/coordination site - explicitly says that they are not leaders. They are a hub for a grassroots movement. So, given what we know about grasses, I guess we need for the movement to grow organically. Leadership for a national movement seems to be missing (e.g. past presidents, etc.).
May 1 is now officially Loyalty Day (see White House declaration). Love of country demands loyalty to country, and President Trump represents the country. All patriotic Americans must display the American flag this day, and they must denounce judges shielding criminals every day. There is no presumptive innocence anymore, a president with a criminal record, granted presumptive immunity, says so. If you are not loyal to Trump you are anti-American. Trump just declared war on most of us.
Son of a gun! I went to Whitehouse.gov (which I NEVER visit) and there it is - in black and white, smudged with bloody fingerprints! Well, I don't abide by his executive orders. They are trash. May Day to me, thank you very much. "It always seems impossible until it is undone." Resist. United we stand.
Not totally Anne, the politicians may be cowards but leaders like Ralph Nader, Robert Reich, many journalists, and non-profit organizations are pushing this citizens movement. I'm not sure where you can find more information on this grassroots movement and suggest you join the Progressive Democrats of America ( pdamerica.org )national Campaign to Victory zoom meetings every Thursday evening at 9pm ET.
Gary, Their is a coalition of grassroots progressive organizations that have been mobilizing for Saturday protests all over the country; these local actions are publicized on mobilize.us to keep us going by showing how much of the country does not agree with Trump's orders. May I May Day was created in the ~1880's by American labor unions fighting the trusts for an eight hour work day and better wages.
The wheels are coming off the bus in the Trump regime. Soon we will see huge amounts of infighting and backstabbing in the cabinet itself as the pressure increases from our resistance. Out of crisis comes the opportunity for Transformation. That is the true story of our country from the Revolution onwards.
Donald Trump's deteriorating mental condition is becoming more apparent each week. He and his so called “Cabinet” of incompetents are already proving themselves to be inept at governing this country. The tactic of “doubling down” on virtually every issue no matter how trivial might work on citizens under repressive communist regimes, but will not work on Americans as we have a different heritage and a history of activism. Remember, it took years for anti Viet Nam War Resistance to grow but our Resistance is up and running effectively in less than 100 days. We will prevail.
His "deteriorating mental condition" is no joke. I'm sure most people saw the clip of him being unable to explain what the Declaration of Independence is about. For me that's actually pretty scary. This is the guy who carries the football and there are no adults in the room to stop him if he decides to start pushing buttons.
The Daily Show clip with Desi Lydic is hilariously spot on…google it for comic relief….Lydic’s insertion of the words coming out of Trump’s mouth are priceless!
Especially, the ABC interview of Trump with Terry Moran gets funnier each time you view it! If only the FOX audience were given the chance to see it, but good luck on that!
Yes, but taxpayers are footing the bill. In 2019, the GAO reported that each tRump trip to Mar-a-Lago cost U.S. taxpayers $13.6 MILLION dollars; $54.4 million for his four trips. At that rate, taxpayers will be forced to shell out close to $500 million (or more) by the end of the year. Hmm.
Yes, and last night's Michael Kosta had me in hysterics with Pam Bondi's lies about fentynal. My God, can that bitch lie! Vance's reaction to her statement claiming the capture of 22.2 million pills saved over 386 million lives was beautiful. Yes, 386 million folks & she stated emphatically she wanted the media to know it. Even Vance couldn't hide his reaction to her ridiculous statement! It was priceless.
Dave, the truth is that Trump's handlers knew exactly what they were getting or rather buying for the presidency. They knew Trump is in the throes of dementia and had to be prompted at nearly every step. They also knew his speeches and rallies are stupid, inept, and well, just plain ridiculous, but somehow a lot of Americans went for race and gender over intelligence and bought the BS of Trump being for the working-class, something any thinking person would know isn't true since Trump has never worked and treats his employees as servants to be ignored except on rare occasions. The handlers have some other things in mind for us and we need to be more forthright in identifying who they are (the Steves, Theil, the Heritage Foundation occupants, Rupert Murdoch, and more). Our American media and those from other nations need to be more honest about who is running this nation, their ulterior motives, and what the goal is, using Project 2025 and other right-wing insanity as a guide. We need solidarity as we try to take apart this regime that only a very few really voted for. We could also use this opportunity to talk about the way racism and misogyny shaped the election for a lot of white and white wannabee Americans. We could actually face these evils now that we are confronted again with just what they do, often when people don't realize what is driving them to do something as appalling as voting for Donald Trump a second time.
The fundamental barrier to solving the problems in America is the rigged system created since 1971 by greedy wealthy billionaires as oligarchs, Republicans, corporations, and fake Christians opposed to democracy and the Constitution. Trump, Republicans, oligarchs, and fake Christians are insurrectionists who support Trump. The rigged system is supported by Republican disinformation and unlimited money in political campaigns that attacks democracy by distorting the rule of “one person, one vote”. The unlimited money was enabled by the Citizens United decision from a Republican created Supreme Court.
Therefore, the cause of the rigged system in America is a Republican party transformed in the 20th Century to follow an economic policy pushed by the wealthy and corporations that caused the Great Depression, then caused the 2008 Great Recession, and then caused the destruction of the domestic and global economies in 2025 with the Trump tariffs.
Since 1971, Republicans have massively organized with the wealthy, corporations and intolerant, right-wing, white fake Christians to attack the progressive policies of Democrats including FDR’S New Deal that rescued America from the Greal Depression.
The Republican party, beginning with Reagan, implemented a regressive version of economic policy that went far beyond demanding unregulated free markets to “trickle-down” economics demanding massively reduced taxes for the wealthy and corporations.
After 2020, a group of far right anti-democratic, power hungry, impatient, greedy, wealthy Americans, who were funding think tanks including the Heritage Foundation, rejected the policies and actions of Trump in his first term as TOO MODERATE, creating not enough radical change that was also occurring too slowly. Therefore, the group began to prepare to elect Trump in 2024 and prepare Project 2025 as the plan for a second Trump term as president. Trump accepted the group’s support including Project 2025 and the funding from Musk. Trump changed his campaign strategy and messaging to be more aggressive by falsely attacking immigrants as criminals, lying about reducing inflation, lying about the need to end all waste fraud and abuse in the federal government, lying about the need to end corruption and injustice in the DOJ and FBI caused by the Deep State. The hidden plan was to destroy every aspect of America created after the Civil War and replace democracy with an autocracy in which slavery for 99% of Americans would benefit the oligarchs.
I don't see mental deterioration. He's always rambled, blathered, baby talked...it's insulting actually to be talked to like kindergarten. BUT I don't think he ever knew what tge Declaration was, is or said. Like a kindergarten certain things grab his attention.. like tge robber barons or crypto,, and he doesn't bother learn anything more about it. But I really do not understand why people are willing to humiliate themselves to kiss his are. What are they afraid of? Nobody has ever benefitted from him. Maybe Victor Orban.
His big ein? Ukraine letting the US strip mine their resources.. like Belgium in the Comgo yo Vo I let you keep half. Feh.
Well, I think we can say that Trump has never known or cared about the Declaration of Independence, has ever read even one history book about our history.
I think he's been experiencing mrmoey lapses and other signs of cognitive decline. His handlers cover it up because Trump's hold on his base (combined with Biden's fatal reluctance to withdraw) was a vehicle for thr Heritage Foundation to implement Projrct 2025.
I have one, big, glaring thing to say because most people commenting
have already said what I think. This
is it: The information in Prof. Reich’s
article should have been reported by
mainstream media, but was not.
The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press.”
The government cannot restrict the media's ability to publish information. This protection ensures a free flow of information and allows the public to be informed about government actions and events. A free press is seen as crucial for a functioning democracy, as it allows the public to hold the government accountable.
It’s far more difficult to hold the government accountable when we don’t
The cabinet of incompetents is the purpose Marc. These people weren't appointed to run the government, they were appointed to destroy the government, disable and destroy the administrative state. and they are doing one hell of a job at that.
I strongly agree with you, Marc! There is a certain resilience (and decency), and a durable sense of humor, that are very hard to squash out of Americans. I am so grateful for this!
Marc, most ordinary citizens have had it up to here with drumpf's incessant lying and bullying. Yet he somehow thrives in the adoration bubble of his cabinet of sleazy sycophants, all of whom praise him for his "tremendous accomplishments" of his scurrilous first 100 days in office. Common decency is a foreign concept to him and the rest of them. Dan Rather's recent column is worth reading for the build-up from Bondi and Burgum. Mayday!!! He is nuts.
Psychopathic tendencies. Psycho (of the mind), pathic (disease process) so I suppose you could call that mentally ill. If any tyrant in any setting is studied, there are almost always psychopathic tendencies. So they literally can't empathise. But I suspect Trump is more deliberate that this. His language now shows that he is having a wild ride and enjoying every minute of it. The truly mentally ill are worthy of great compassion. The pretenders not.
In the next month, citizens of all political stripes will find a sudden price jump on virtually all consumer goods. Now that will be a major wake up call. I would expect the size of protests will double as the reduction in purchasing power will enrage a growing set of protestors. The pressure on the Trump regime will more than double and they are not suited to handle that in anything but a totally reactive manner.
There are more important things than the economy (at least in the short term), such as identity, meaning, purpose. Trump knows this and uses it to his advantage. Only the ignorant believe that he is a fool--and don't forget that Trump and Project 2025 are a team. They warned us: this will hurt at first, but it will be peaceful if we don't stand in the way. So, Marc, take your Economic Democracy project and put in some place where future generations might find it..
Thanks Anne. We must and we will keep our spirits and our dynamism up. It took years for the Anti Viet Nam War movement to gain traction. The anti MAGA movement is up and running strong in less than 100 days. We can take strength and heart from our progress while the Trump government self destructs.
As a young lass in the fourth grade (1971) I made myself a black armband and wore it almost continuously until 1975 when the War ended. My mom was proud of me.
We should all be proud of you. Maybe all resistors should be wearing multicolored armbands and bandanas. Then we become visible 24/7 and not only in the protest actions.
A great idea and way for many more people to show constant support for a democracy in danger when for whatever reason they can't/don't attend street protests or meetings. Also may open conversations and give quiet hope to those who are reluctant to speak out. Solidarity gives hope with visable tokens of intent. And maybe bracelets or jewelry for those just gathering their courage to wwear armbands? Muriel Holland
Now is the time to plan for a brighter future in the post Trump era. Do we continue to cling to capitalism, a creation of the late middle ages, or do we implement a more balanced system that looks out for the welfare of all? God placed our eyes in the front of our heads for a reason. We must always look onto the future and not get held back by our recent history.
Marc, we are going back into the Middle Age, and a new kind of feudalism is replacing capitalism. Since you seem to know God's reasons could you tell us why he gave flys compound eyes?
I’m sorry Victor, the answer to that question comes from science and compound eyes seems to work dandy for flies!
Capitalism was the rather revolutionary leap forward from the feudalism of the Middle Ages. It enabled mercantilism and the concept of private property. But the middle ages ended in the 15th century and evolved into the Renaissance. Now capitalism is due for an evolutionary leap also.
In Portland Maine, activists and protesters of all ages, not just us ‘old people’, marched 1.5 miles to the center of the city. Traffic was blocked (about, enough for people to notice), drivers honked and raised fists in support and the positive energy grew.
Completely peaceful gathering.
Good trouble.
Can readers please share what they did and what occurred in their communities? Hopefully it will further energize Americans to continue and expand the resistance!!
Even when this debacle is over ( I am hopeful! ), the damage done to America on the world stage is probably irrevocable. In 100 days, Trump has shattered America’s reputation around the globe and has made a mockery of “ the American dream” here at home. Even American citizens aren’t safe from Trump’s goon squads. Tomorrow it could be your neighbor, or you, or me! A massive pushback is the only answer.
I wish it were just Trump. I'm a dual citizen of the US and Canada, living in Canada. A big part of the reason that the rest of the world is very doubtful about trusting the US is that American voters (that includes me, still vote from my home state of California) have elected Trump twice. Twice! What guarantee can the world have that Americans won't do something like that again? The degenerate Republican Party controls every branch of government. We couldn't even convict those who staged the January 6 coup. Not to mention that Trumpism spreads like a disease. We just defeated it in Canada, but barely and at a high cost.
Same with me. I vote in Connecticut. So relieved that we defeated it in Canada, but I was perturbed that it was more a squeaker than a rout. Populism rises when people feel more worried and financially squeezed. We humans tend to constrict, get less empathic and more self-focused when we feel less secure in the world. That's why we need a major overhaul of economic systems, so that resources are more evenly distributed with a guaranteed minimum income and access to good low cost or free healthcare.
Dual citizen voting from Alaska here. I'm so mad (esp. about the risk to my SSA) that I flew to Washington DC to protest in the April 5 Hands Off protest. It felt so good to be in the midst of 100,000+ like-minded souls! I make calls and email my Alaskan representatives all of the time. I want to inundate them with my opposition to everything tRump. We dual citizens need to do everything we can to apply pressure, every day. (The "5 Calls" app really helps.)
There's people like MAGA'S everywhere, not just here.
Never underestimate the effects of ignorant people in large numbers.
But just to clarify...half or some American voters, not all. We can't eliminate MAGA minds, we don't support or promote genocide, even for idiots. We have to learn what made them get to that point and how to recognize those trends building up in the future.
Truly believe we CAN recover from this huge mistake and embarrassment. Obviously all Americans are not supporters of Trump and his group. The truth about their goals and motivations is becoming very obvious. We must continue protesting and resisting.
We just passed the date marking the end of our involvement in Indo-China: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. In the name of "anti-communism," we destroyed nearly five million lives of people just wanting to control their own destiny. And the "gifts" we gave them of massive chemical drops -- like agent Orange -- are still paying off in the form of birth defects.
Maybe we ARE the "Great Satan," and are getting our just desserts. By our OWN hands.
Actually, I would suggest it's even broader than us. There's a tendency in many men, in particular, to see violence as an acceptable way to behave. Male violence is often at the root of much of the suffering and destruction in the world. And, of course, there are women who collude with this approach, but it's mainly men who kill, initiate and fight wars and engage in violence in our communities. Evolution made the males of our species, and of many other species, more aggressive and violent. Early on it worked to ensure the survival and success of our species, but now it's a plague on us, and the planet. Until more men and women reject violence in most forms - I suspect it has to exist in sports - we will see this drive to dominate others continue. And there are so many who benefit from the military industrial complex, at great expense to us all, that we would also have to dismantle it.
What you say is very interesting. Does it seem that perhaps our country has a great (can I say "desperate") need to reassess what kind of country we have become - and how we intend to go forward? What values do we want to stand for - beginning right now?
Maybe this is a time to look inward as well as deal with the crisis we are enduring.
Maybe the crisis isn't just occurring in our government, but maybe economically we have made some very serious mistakes... and maybe both of these issues are the result of something much, much deeper.
Do we really believe that all men are created equal and endowed by God with the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
Are we really willing to actually live that belief? Make sacrifices so it can happen? Make sure all our fellow human beings are included, too?
Believe most of us still do...
We will never achieve a perfect world, but we can always be working toward that goal. Maybe we get closer every time a single human being decides to make a sincere commitment to this goal.
One of the quotes that has guided my life comes from I. F. Stone: "If you believe you will live long enough to see the results of your work, you haven't asked a big-enough question."
Does it seem our country has been moving away from some of its basic founding principles? We seem more divided than I have experienced in the past - except perhaps during the Vietnam War. Now it seems there's a power/ money issue dividing us. It's very destructive and goes against our founding principles. Many are hurting and the "Haves" - many or most of them - don't seem to care enough to actively do anything about it.
It's partially a gender thing, but that makes the true cause misunderstood. It's an imbalance -- trained from infancy -- in left brain / right brain dominance. Cultural more than anything else. Living in Japan, I witnessed women taking a very active part in martial arts and kick-boxing. Boys/Men in tea ceremony, calligraphy, and poetry reading -- and various other arts.
Oh yes. I agree that if we were get rid of gender role stereotypes and allow both sexes to be more human and less restricted we could reduce male violence. It's actually very hopeful that it's not so "hardwired" that it would be impossible to change. What has to change is what a society accepts and rejects in how we raise kids, and what we define as "civilized" behavior. As an aside, the martial arts all have as a basic tenet, that the practitioner be able to control her/himself so that the violence is restricted to actual self-defense or as in a sport. I've always thought that women should all be trained in martial arts so that they could be better able to defend themselves.
People do foolish things when they are afraid, and US leaders were really afraid of of communism. Now Trump is using those lingering fears to demonize judges and those demanding social justice.
Let us hope the Great Pushback grows into the “Greatest Pushback of All Time” - as more and more people not just in the USA but worldwide endure the pain of everything this “regime” as you say, causes every. single. day. Every single day he (they) do something new to destroy our Democracy. Now it’s NPR and PBS on the chopping block. When will this end? The answer eludes me.
Kudos to every single person who’s out there fighting the good fight and finding “good trouble” as the late great John Lewis said.
Heather MacCauley posted Elizabeth Warren's 100 days list of trumps deplorable corrupt actions on the last substack thread, and for those who don't read the newest comments and may have missed it, here is the link. I was not aware of all of these actions and found this worthy of sharing again. I'm simply appalled.
Just so you know, its 250 am where I live. I would love to sleep more than 3 to 4 hours at a time. The list makes it clear why I can't anymore. There's so much conflict of interest here, it bears repeating.
Me too, Camille Kelly! I would love to get a full night's sleep again. Instead, I'm up, wondering "what fresh hell" has been visited upon us while we slept 15 winks...
Thank you, Camille, for the link, but I hope you can get more sleep. Do what you can: Melatonin, Yoga before bed, no news after supper will help. If Trump steals your sleep, that’s just one more battle that he has won.
Thank Heather, she took the time to list every item on the last substack. I can't take credit for it. I always like to go back and read newest comments first later in the day to see what they say.
I'm proud of Harvard faculty, especially senior faculty, is contributing 10% of their salaries which adds up to an estimated 2.5 million, to help Harvard.
I was happy to see our small town had a crowd of 225! It makes me proud of what the grassroots movement is accomplishing. That indeed we are UNITED WE STAND! It is Mr. Reich, the folks on this chat, that also makes me proud. We aren't just sitting around wringing our hands we are speaking up and coming together. I pray it continues and that it grows!
I’m beginning to really worry about the future health of Americans of all ages. With RFK, Jr (oh, if his dad was here to witness his actions, he would be more than appalled!) ‘leading’ HHS, we will have sicker kids and adults, more deaths and disabilities and more/new contagions and diseases to deal with. Elderly people will have fewer resources to deal with age related changes and I believe Alzheimer’s and dementia will be off the charts. Vaccines may become ineffective.
The damage is already done; what entity will step in to lead research and treatment of all disease from here?
Among the early firings was a team at NIH who oversaw clinical trials for Alzheimer’s and diabetes research. They are all gone. Physicians who dedicated their careers to this work. When the admin tried to reverse the firings (court order) the physicians refused to return. I know this because one of them is the son of a dear friend.
Grrrrrr. I totally understand why the fired personnel refused to return. You get punched in the gut, why would you go back for more??
Maybe those who were fired can do a shadow organization that does the research/development ( or as much as $$ allows) and is totally outside government. I would financially support that endeavour, as my finances allowed.
I'm so happy Canada said "if America no longer wants to lead, we will."
Trump America (oxymoron?) can't even be competent dictators. A competent dictator would have rode out the benefits of the Biden economy and just took credit for it, keeping the people more silent, but no, our buffoon in chief has to run it to the ground, shit on it, and try to tell us "we ain't seen nothing yet." More's coming?
And how do you know the forces behind Christian dominionism did not see this coming?
I think they've been preparing for this for many years. When I'm driving, I'll tune into a right-wing talk radio station and listen what they have to say. 99% of their advertising is for guns, ammo, power generators, survival food supplies, gold, and other survival stuff. It's like they KNOW something is coming.
Our stamina needs to be witnessed in fully understanding the project and the motivation behind it. This means a deep understanding of the Christo-fascist mindset.
I believe we can creatively use the Alien Enemy Act against them.
This pushback is wonderful and we do need to keep it up because there’s no doubt Trump will not stop. Just this morning he is eliminating 1B from mental health in schools and there will surely be more cuts. Praise for Microsoft and all others who stand up rather than cave in. Bringing us all to together, including our allies, no matter politics and etc. is the strength we need. For too long Trump has hammered home division. Even a judge in Texas has stood up!
I agree with Prof. Reich's comments re: Governor Pritzker, IL in opposing Trump's E.O.
Since Republican Congressmen have almost all run the other way from having town halls and hearing major disgust from their voters, Pritzker urged people to peacefully sit outside Republicans' offices to call attention to their cowardice in kissing the ring.
Unity/solidarity: I guess that's the one positive of this situation. Most of the world is coming together to stand up against the stupid inept cruelty Trump and his administration embody. Now, the people of the U.S. need just 3.5 % of UNITY to change this horror story and turn this ship around.
While many folks may not know what they want, most know what they "don't" want; a mentally ill mob boss and his ilk, the chaos, the barbarism, the greed, the rank stupidity and the inevitable destruction of a once great nation. The USA now serves as an example of all that is wrong when an idiocracy laced with fascism takes hold.
The Great Pushback gives us hope, but the best source of hope to stop the massive damage being done by Trump, Republicans, and oligarchs begins with recognizing the criminal insurrection underway in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383). The Code defines an insurrection as a criminal act done by whoever "incites, sets on foot, 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".
There should be no question now that Trump and his supporters are criminal felons acting as a group “against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof”.
Irrefutable factual evidence proves that Trump, Republicans, and justices on the Supreme Court continued leading and supporting an insurrection after January 6, 2021, to illegally elect Trump, an insurrectionist. All votes for Trump in 2024 were in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and federal law (18 U.S. Code § 2383). Every vote for Trump was an illegal, intentional and willful act in support of an insurrection to elect Trump, an insurrectionist committed to reject the rule of law and the Constitution.
Read my post.
https://williamlmiller.substack.com/p/the-election-of-trump-was-illegal
But there is a solution if “we the people” demand Democrats in control of a few state governments begin to implement the solution which can be completed after Democrats win in 2028.
Read my post.
https://williamlmiller.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-trump-republicans-and?r=4tebj3
Question: What behavior has Trump modified BECAUSE of the demonstrations, other than Pam Bondi saying she will investigate Tesla demonstrators for terrorism.
Insurrectionists like Trump don't modify their behavior until the rule of law is enforced and have to get out of jail.
Exactly, my point and who is there to enforce the rule of law, when the criminals are in fact the prosecutors and the police.
As I say in my post, the federal government is dead, so the enforcement has to begin in the states and then with winning the elections in 2026 and 2028. Otherwise, there is no legal solutio,
Agree with all you stated. But what about his “immunity from criminal acts” gifted to him by the corrupt Supreme Court?
Susan,
The immunity applies only to "official acts" and the criminal acts supporting insurrection are not "official acts".
Yes. Also most of the Trump administration hasn't realized it yet, but it's still up to SCOTUS to determine the contours and outliers of "official acts." That's why JD Vance is so up in arms about them.
Thank you. But even if convicted, he seems to flout all consequences.
Susan,
There what's wrong with law enforcement which should not give out priveleges for Trump to avoid imprisonment. it's no wonder that people are pissed at government and both potitical parties.The rule of law has been a joke and not properly enforced on the wealthy.
Don’t we need spiteful Rs in Congress and Senate NOW ?
Rs are not trustworthy now
Is that the fastest way to legally restore things? Seems too compliant to tyranny to me.
Perfect
100%
50501 is a good resource for demonstrations - when, where, how. “General strike “ is slow.
Indivisible is a good resource also.
Though they apparently have to be non-partisan because of their status as a 501c 3. That fact has affected our local group's actions.
3.5% of the U.S. population is 10.5 million. We're definitely getting there with active pushback.
And in the end the decent people of America need to hold each and every single one who enabled Trump to run roughshod over our entire government, accountable. The GOP has totally gone off the deep end.
No gonads on the right! Need to grow some
Those are figures I’m happy to try to make😊
Yes yes yes
What is that website?
https://generalstrikeus.com
This is a suspicious website to me. I signed a strike card and went to the Colorado General Strike website listed on this generalstrikeus.com. The Colorado site asked for my email password. I bailed, of course. Now I am blocked from both the national and state site. It doesn't bode well for the General Strike if this is how supporters are treated.
TY!
TY!
I tried to find out more about who is behind it, and all I found was "two friends living in New York."
Why the question mark? Put an exclamation point after, "The Great Pushback!"
Elbows Up! (the phrase Canadians are now using to fight back the conservative agendas of Canada and the USA)
And which I've adopted, with thanks to hockey players.
Question mark is the right punctuation. "Hundreds of thousands" protest in a country with millions?? There should have been millions protesting in a country where democracy is under such hateful attack.
I was disappointed in the attendance in the protest that took place in my locality. I hate to say this, but Americans are pretty self-centered and convenience oriented. I took a vacation day to protest - I understand some do not have the luxury, but others do but did not. I thought May 1 might be the day to really "pushback" where the US joined countries around the world to fight in unity. Alas, no. Kudos to China and to Canada, who are so vocal in their resistance, and to the US courts (some), to some law firms and to some universities who are all refusing to kiss the ring. Wake up America!!!!
Thanks Anne.
Good question. Who are the people that organize these things? Why would they call for a demonstration in the middle of the week on a work day? Thousands, if not millions of workers cannot take the day off. If we want the working folks to help, make it convenient for them to attend. It seems to me any Sunday after church and lunch would be a good time. Make it easy.
First Sunday of each month at 2:00 PM would be easy to remember. Call your local news stations and insist they come and put the meeting on the evening news. Demonstrate in front of every local GOP and DEM office even if the members aren't there. Get a speaker there that can tell the facts of how much better our economy has been under DEM administrations than GOP.
Keep the talks short, 2-3 minutes. Get someone to explain how much better workers are with unions, etc... etc. Don't just stand on a street corner and scream about DT and his idiots. Talk about the difference. I'm gathering the facts about the difference between the history of the DEM vs. the GOP leadership on the economy since WW2 at a local meeting I will attend on May 19.
The facts are there. Only a few keystrokes away.
Just saying. GH
I think May 1 was chosen in solidarity with May Day events around the world, where there were protests from Philippines to South Korea to EU. It makes sense because we are all connected and affected by Trump policies. Unfortunately, the day is not a recognized holiday here in the US so we needed to make do with the hand given. 50501 - which has become a rallying/coordination site - explicitly says that they are not leaders. They are a hub for a grassroots movement. So, given what we know about grasses, I guess we need for the movement to grow organically. Leadership for a national movement seems to be missing (e.g. past presidents, etc.).
May 1 is now officially Loyalty Day (see White House declaration). Love of country demands loyalty to country, and President Trump represents the country. All patriotic Americans must display the American flag this day, and they must denounce judges shielding criminals every day. There is no presumptive innocence anymore, a president with a criminal record, granted presumptive immunity, says so. If you are not loyal to Trump you are anti-American. Trump just declared war on most of us.
Son of a gun! I went to Whitehouse.gov (which I NEVER visit) and there it is - in black and white, smudged with bloody fingerprints! Well, I don't abide by his executive orders. They are trash. May Day to me, thank you very much. "It always seems impossible until it is undone." Resist. United we stand.
Not totally Anne, the politicians may be cowards but leaders like Ralph Nader, Robert Reich, many journalists, and non-profit organizations are pushing this citizens movement. I'm not sure where you can find more information on this grassroots movement and suggest you join the Progressive Democrats of America ( pdamerica.org )national Campaign to Victory zoom meetings every Thursday evening at 9pm ET.
Wow - thanks for the link! Never heard of the group!
Thanks for clearing that up Anne. I didn't know that May 1 was a world wide day of protest. Cheers... GH
Here it's every Saturday at 11:30 am in front of the federal building and has been for literally decades.
Gary, Their is a coalition of grassroots progressive organizations that have been mobilizing for Saturday protests all over the country; these local actions are publicized on mobilize.us to keep us going by showing how much of the country does not agree with Trump's orders. May I May Day was created in the ~1880's by American labor unions fighting the trusts for an eight hour work day and better wages.
Thanks for that info Rick. I will look it up. Cheers... Gary H
Spot on! Absentees need to grow a pair
What is that website? I believe I signed up a while ago but want to double check.
Check Mobilize.us for actions in your area & state capitol.
Whoops, wrong place for reply…
I've done that a couple of times and got some interesting replies!
The wheels are coming off the bus in the Trump regime. Soon we will see huge amounts of infighting and backstabbing in the cabinet itself as the pressure increases from our resistance. Out of crisis comes the opportunity for Transformation. That is the true story of our country from the Revolution onwards.
Donald Trump's deteriorating mental condition is becoming more apparent each week. He and his so called “Cabinet” of incompetents are already proving themselves to be inept at governing this country. The tactic of “doubling down” on virtually every issue no matter how trivial might work on citizens under repressive communist regimes, but will not work on Americans as we have a different heritage and a history of activism. Remember, it took years for anti Viet Nam War Resistance to grow but our Resistance is up and running effectively in less than 100 days. We will prevail.
His "deteriorating mental condition" is no joke. I'm sure most people saw the clip of him being unable to explain what the Declaration of Independence is about. For me that's actually pretty scary. This is the guy who carries the football and there are no adults in the room to stop him if he decides to start pushing buttons.
The Daily Show clip with Desi Lydic is hilariously spot on…google it for comic relief….Lydic’s insertion of the words coming out of Trump’s mouth are priceless!
Especially, the ABC interview of Trump with Terry Moran gets funnier each time you view it! If only the FOX audience were given the chance to see it, but good luck on that!
At least he is at his bedbug infested golf motel this weekend - for 4 days. We'd be much better off if he just played golf all the time.
Yes, but taxpayers are footing the bill. In 2019, the GAO reported that each tRump trip to Mar-a-Lago cost U.S. taxpayers $13.6 MILLION dollars; $54.4 million for his four trips. At that rate, taxpayers will be forced to shell out close to $500 million (or more) by the end of the year. Hmm.
Yes, and last night's Michael Kosta had me in hysterics with Pam Bondi's lies about fentynal. My God, can that bitch lie! Vance's reaction to her statement claiming the capture of 22.2 million pills saved over 386 million lives was beautiful. Yes, 386 million folks & she stated emphatically she wanted the media to know it. Even Vance couldn't hide his reaction to her ridiculous statement! It was priceless.
yep. more people than the entire US population!
Thank you for the link. That was hysterical. She is terrific.
Thanks for the link!
Dave, the truth is that Trump's handlers knew exactly what they were getting or rather buying for the presidency. They knew Trump is in the throes of dementia and had to be prompted at nearly every step. They also knew his speeches and rallies are stupid, inept, and well, just plain ridiculous, but somehow a lot of Americans went for race and gender over intelligence and bought the BS of Trump being for the working-class, something any thinking person would know isn't true since Trump has never worked and treats his employees as servants to be ignored except on rare occasions. The handlers have some other things in mind for us and we need to be more forthright in identifying who they are (the Steves, Theil, the Heritage Foundation occupants, Rupert Murdoch, and more). Our American media and those from other nations need to be more honest about who is running this nation, their ulterior motives, and what the goal is, using Project 2025 and other right-wing insanity as a guide. We need solidarity as we try to take apart this regime that only a very few really voted for. We could also use this opportunity to talk about the way racism and misogyny shaped the election for a lot of white and white wannabee Americans. We could actually face these evils now that we are confronted again with just what they do, often when people don't realize what is driving them to do something as appalling as voting for Donald Trump a second time.
The fundamental barrier to solving the problems in America is the rigged system created since 1971 by greedy wealthy billionaires as oligarchs, Republicans, corporations, and fake Christians opposed to democracy and the Constitution. Trump, Republicans, oligarchs, and fake Christians are insurrectionists who support Trump. The rigged system is supported by Republican disinformation and unlimited money in political campaigns that attacks democracy by distorting the rule of “one person, one vote”. The unlimited money was enabled by the Citizens United decision from a Republican created Supreme Court.
Therefore, the cause of the rigged system in America is a Republican party transformed in the 20th Century to follow an economic policy pushed by the wealthy and corporations that caused the Great Depression, then caused the 2008 Great Recession, and then caused the destruction of the domestic and global economies in 2025 with the Trump tariffs.
Since 1971, Republicans have massively organized with the wealthy, corporations and intolerant, right-wing, white fake Christians to attack the progressive policies of Democrats including FDR’S New Deal that rescued America from the Greal Depression.
The Republican party, beginning with Reagan, implemented a regressive version of economic policy that went far beyond demanding unregulated free markets to “trickle-down” economics demanding massively reduced taxes for the wealthy and corporations.
After 2020, a group of far right anti-democratic, power hungry, impatient, greedy, wealthy Americans, who were funding think tanks including the Heritage Foundation, rejected the policies and actions of Trump in his first term as TOO MODERATE, creating not enough radical change that was also occurring too slowly. Therefore, the group began to prepare to elect Trump in 2024 and prepare Project 2025 as the plan for a second Trump term as president. Trump accepted the group’s support including Project 2025 and the funding from Musk. Trump changed his campaign strategy and messaging to be more aggressive by falsely attacking immigrants as criminals, lying about reducing inflation, lying about the need to end all waste fraud and abuse in the federal government, lying about the need to end corruption and injustice in the DOJ and FBI caused by the Deep State. The hidden plan was to destroy every aspect of America created after the Civil War and replace democracy with an autocracy in which slavery for 99% of Americans would benefit the oligarchs.
Maybe he's not demented. He often looks like he's drugged, and blathering. But, a lot of Americans sound like that.
Trump speaks with his MAGA supporters in mind. He knows what they want.
I don't see mental deterioration. He's always rambled, blathered, baby talked...it's insulting actually to be talked to like kindergarten. BUT I don't think he ever knew what tge Declaration was, is or said. Like a kindergarten certain things grab his attention.. like tge robber barons or crypto,, and he doesn't bother learn anything more about it. But I really do not understand why people are willing to humiliate themselves to kiss his are. What are they afraid of? Nobody has ever benefitted from him. Maybe Victor Orban.
His big ein? Ukraine letting the US strip mine their resources.. like Belgium in the Comgo yo Vo I let you keep half. Feh.
Well, I think we can say that Trump has never known or cared about the Declaration of Independence, has ever read even one history book about our history.
I think he's been experiencing mrmoey lapses and other signs of cognitive decline. His handlers cover it up because Trump's hold on his base (combined with Biden's fatal reluctance to withdraw) was a vehicle for thr Heritage Foundation to implement Projrct 2025.
I have one, big, glaring thing to say because most people commenting
have already said what I think. This
is it: The information in Prof. Reich’s
article should have been reported by
mainstream media, but was not.
The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ... of the press.”
The government cannot restrict the media's ability to publish information. This protection ensures a free flow of information and allows the public to be informed about government actions and events. A free press is seen as crucial for a functioning democracy, as it allows the public to hold the government accountable.
It’s far more difficult to hold the government accountable when we don’t
know what’s going on. What’s happened
is, mainstream media has been bought
by corporations that have become the
enemy of the people—us.
Or push them of their own volition. I wonder how much he really knows of what they’re all doing.
The cabinet of incompetents is the purpose Marc. These people weren't appointed to run the government, they were appointed to destroy the government, disable and destroy the administrative state. and they are doing one hell of a job at that.
You are absolutely right.
I strongly agree with you, Marc! There is a certain resilience (and decency), and a durable sense of humor, that are very hard to squash out of Americans. I am so grateful for this!
Marc, most ordinary citizens have had it up to here with drumpf's incessant lying and bullying. Yet he somehow thrives in the adoration bubble of his cabinet of sleazy sycophants, all of whom praise him for his "tremendous accomplishments" of his scurrilous first 100 days in office. Common decency is a foreign concept to him and the rest of them. Dan Rather's recent column is worth reading for the build-up from Bondi and Burgum. Mayday!!! He is nuts.
https://open.substack.com/pub/steady/p/mayday-on-may-day?r=1l3a85&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Psychopathic tendencies. Psycho (of the mind), pathic (disease process) so I suppose you could call that mentally ill. If any tyrant in any setting is studied, there are almost always psychopathic tendencies. So they literally can't empathise. But I suspect Trump is more deliberate that this. His language now shows that he is having a wild ride and enjoying every minute of it. The truly mentally ill are worthy of great compassion. The pretenders not.
In the next month, citizens of all political stripes will find a sudden price jump on virtually all consumer goods. Now that will be a major wake up call. I would expect the size of protests will double as the reduction in purchasing power will enrage a growing set of protestors. The pressure on the Trump regime will more than double and they are not suited to handle that in anything but a totally reactive manner.
Already happening. Went to buy a three pack of tea that I normally get from Amazon and it was up $10 to $38 from $28.
It is the economy that will crash the Trump regime and it is Trump that will trash the economy.
There are more important things than the economy (at least in the short term), such as identity, meaning, purpose. Trump knows this and uses it to his advantage. Only the ignorant believe that he is a fool--and don't forget that Trump and Project 2025 are a team. They warned us: this will hurt at first, but it will be peaceful if we don't stand in the way. So, Marc, take your Economic Democracy project and put in some place where future generations might find it..
Exactly Marc
My Amazon account is one of the things I canceled, along with the WaPo, Facebook, and anything else owned by Chump supporters.
It's going to hurt people, but its necessary to get more angry enough to start doing something.
or actually - doing without - anything that NOT a true necessity ~ (hmmm?).
IMO - it's extreme consumerism that is also - doing us (US) in ~
I agree and have been commenting multiple times on folks buying necessities rather than wants.
Yep, stop buying what their selling if you can live without it.
Delete your Amazon account!
I DID!
Having the same experience.
See: Waiting for the Supply Shock by David Dayen at the American Prospect. Quite good.
Marc,
“From your keyboard to God’s eyes.”
Thanks Anne. We must and we will keep our spirits and our dynamism up. It took years for the Anti Viet Nam War movement to gain traction. The anti MAGA movement is up and running strong in less than 100 days. We can take strength and heart from our progress while the Trump government self destructs.
As a young lass in the fourth grade (1971) I made myself a black armband and wore it almost continuously until 1975 when the War ended. My mom was proud of me.
We should all be proud of you. Maybe all resistors should be wearing multicolored armbands and bandanas. Then we become visible 24/7 and not only in the protest actions.
A great idea and way for many more people to show constant support for a democracy in danger when for whatever reason they can't/don't attend street protests or meetings. Also may open conversations and give quiet hope to those who are reluctant to speak out. Solidarity gives hope with visable tokens of intent. And maybe bracelets or jewelry for those just gathering their courage to wwear armbands? Muriel Holland
Now is the time to plan for a brighter future in the post Trump era. Do we continue to cling to capitalism, a creation of the late middle ages, or do we implement a more balanced system that looks out for the welfare of all? God placed our eyes in the front of our heads for a reason. We must always look onto the future and not get held back by our recent history.
https://crisistransition.substack.com/
Marc, we are going back into the Middle Age, and a new kind of feudalism is replacing capitalism. Since you seem to know God's reasons could you tell us why he gave flys compound eyes?
I’m sorry Victor, the answer to that question comes from science and compound eyes seems to work dandy for flies!
Capitalism was the rather revolutionary leap forward from the feudalism of the Middle Ages. It enabled mercantilism and the concept of private property. But the middle ages ended in the 15th century and evolved into the Renaissance. Now capitalism is due for an evolutionary leap also.
The problem is maintaining that strength. Dumpy’s trick bag is always full.
After all ... Courage is contagious!
Oh, the infighting and backstabbing started in January. The entire Misadministration is a shark pool.
Need more participants
In Portland Maine, activists and protesters of all ages, not just us ‘old people’, marched 1.5 miles to the center of the city. Traffic was blocked (about, enough for people to notice), drivers honked and raised fists in support and the positive energy grew.
Completely peaceful gathering.
Good trouble.
Can readers please share what they did and what occurred in their communities? Hopefully it will further energize Americans to continue and expand the resistance!!
Same here in a blue state. And those Boomer Grandmas are pissed off! I love it!
That’s awesome!!
Thank you, Dr. Reich, for your unrelenting effort to help us rise above a miasma of depression
A "miasma of depression"! Perfect. xo
Even when this debacle is over ( I am hopeful! ), the damage done to America on the world stage is probably irrevocable. In 100 days, Trump has shattered America’s reputation around the globe and has made a mockery of “ the American dream” here at home. Even American citizens aren’t safe from Trump’s goon squads. Tomorrow it could be your neighbor, or you, or me! A massive pushback is the only answer.
I wish it were just Trump. I'm a dual citizen of the US and Canada, living in Canada. A big part of the reason that the rest of the world is very doubtful about trusting the US is that American voters (that includes me, still vote from my home state of California) have elected Trump twice. Twice! What guarantee can the world have that Americans won't do something like that again? The degenerate Republican Party controls every branch of government. We couldn't even convict those who staged the January 6 coup. Not to mention that Trumpism spreads like a disease. We just defeated it in Canada, but barely and at a high cost.
Same with me. I vote in Connecticut. So relieved that we defeated it in Canada, but I was perturbed that it was more a squeaker than a rout. Populism rises when people feel more worried and financially squeezed. We humans tend to constrict, get less empathic and more self-focused when we feel less secure in the world. That's why we need a major overhaul of economic systems, so that resources are more evenly distributed with a guaranteed minimum income and access to good low cost or free healthcare.
Dual citizen voting from Alaska here. I'm so mad (esp. about the risk to my SSA) that I flew to Washington DC to protest in the April 5 Hands Off protest. It felt so good to be in the midst of 100,000+ like-minded souls! I make calls and email my Alaskan representatives all of the time. I want to inundate them with my opposition to everything tRump. We dual citizens need to do everything we can to apply pressure, every day. (The "5 Calls" app really helps.)
There's people like MAGA'S everywhere, not just here.
Never underestimate the effects of ignorant people in large numbers.
But just to clarify...half or some American voters, not all. We can't eliminate MAGA minds, we don't support or promote genocide, even for idiots. We have to learn what made them get to that point and how to recognize those trends building up in the future.
Perhaps too soon. I am done moving to the center or right tho. The center and right will have to move toward me now.
As do I. Reclaiming democracy and winning comes first and foremost. My other issues must be put aside for now.
I wholeheartedly agree! “We the people” failed. Once maybe, twice is unbelievable.
Truly believe we CAN recover from this huge mistake and embarrassment. Obviously all Americans are not supporters of Trump and his group. The truth about their goals and motivations is becoming very obvious. We must continue protesting and resisting.
We just passed the date marking the end of our involvement in Indo-China: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. In the name of "anti-communism," we destroyed nearly five million lives of people just wanting to control their own destiny. And the "gifts" we gave them of massive chemical drops -- like agent Orange -- are still paying off in the form of birth defects.
Maybe we ARE the "Great Satan," and are getting our just desserts. By our OWN hands.
Actually, I would suggest it's even broader than us. There's a tendency in many men, in particular, to see violence as an acceptable way to behave. Male violence is often at the root of much of the suffering and destruction in the world. And, of course, there are women who collude with this approach, but it's mainly men who kill, initiate and fight wars and engage in violence in our communities. Evolution made the males of our species, and of many other species, more aggressive and violent. Early on it worked to ensure the survival and success of our species, but now it's a plague on us, and the planet. Until more men and women reject violence in most forms - I suspect it has to exist in sports - we will see this drive to dominate others continue. And there are so many who benefit from the military industrial complex, at great expense to us all, that we would also have to dismantle it.
What you say is very interesting. Does it seem that perhaps our country has a great (can I say "desperate") need to reassess what kind of country we have become - and how we intend to go forward? What values do we want to stand for - beginning right now?
Maybe this is a time to look inward as well as deal with the crisis we are enduring.
Maybe the crisis isn't just occurring in our government, but maybe economically we have made some very serious mistakes... and maybe both of these issues are the result of something much, much deeper.
Do we really believe that all men are created equal and endowed by God with the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?
Are we really willing to actually live that belief? Make sacrifices so it can happen? Make sure all our fellow human beings are included, too?
Believe most of us still do...
We will never achieve a perfect world, but we can always be working toward that goal. Maybe we get closer every time a single human being decides to make a sincere commitment to this goal.
Just a few thoughts based on your comments.
The questions you ask are vitally important.
One of the quotes that has guided my life comes from I. F. Stone: "If you believe you will live long enough to see the results of your work, you haven't asked a big-enough question."
Does it seem our country has been moving away from some of its basic founding principles? We seem more divided than I have experienced in the past - except perhaps during the Vietnam War. Now it seems there's a power/ money issue dividing us. It's very destructive and goes against our founding principles. Many are hurting and the "Haves" - many or most of them - don't seem to care enough to actively do anything about it.
It's partially a gender thing, but that makes the true cause misunderstood. It's an imbalance -- trained from infancy -- in left brain / right brain dominance. Cultural more than anything else. Living in Japan, I witnessed women taking a very active part in martial arts and kick-boxing. Boys/Men in tea ceremony, calligraphy, and poetry reading -- and various other arts.
Oh yes. I agree that if we were get rid of gender role stereotypes and allow both sexes to be more human and less restricted we could reduce male violence. It's actually very hopeful that it's not so "hardwired" that it would be impossible to change. What has to change is what a society accepts and rejects in how we raise kids, and what we define as "civilized" behavior. As an aside, the martial arts all have as a basic tenet, that the practitioner be able to control her/himself so that the violence is restricted to actual self-defense or as in a sport. I've always thought that women should all be trained in martial arts so that they could be better able to defend themselves.
Testosterone, the hormone of the sex drive and aggression. Women also have it, in smaller amounts, progesterone.
People do foolish things when they are afraid, and US leaders were really afraid of of communism. Now Trump is using those lingering fears to demonize judges and those demanding social justice.
Gaza was pretty shattering before Trump took over. He just brought ethnic cleansing home.
Let us hope the Great Pushback grows into the “Greatest Pushback of All Time” - as more and more people not just in the USA but worldwide endure the pain of everything this “regime” as you say, causes every. single. day. Every single day he (they) do something new to destroy our Democracy. Now it’s NPR and PBS on the chopping block. When will this end? The answer eludes me.
Kudos to every single person who’s out there fighting the good fight and finding “good trouble” as the late great John Lewis said.
Thanks for this piece, Professor Reich. Be well.
Anne
🌻💙🙏
Heather MacCauley posted Elizabeth Warren's 100 days list of trumps deplorable corrupt actions on the last substack thread, and for those who don't read the newest comments and may have missed it, here is the link. I was not aware of all of these actions and found this worthy of sharing again. I'm simply appalled.
Just so you know, its 250 am where I live. I would love to sleep more than 3 to 4 hours at a time. The list makes it clear why I can't anymore. There's so much conflict of interest here, it bears repeating.
https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-reads-100-acts-of-trump-corruption-into-congressional-record-to-mark-100-days-of-the-trump-administration
Me too, Camille Kelly! I would love to get a full night's sleep again. Instead, I'm up, wondering "what fresh hell" has been visited upon us while we slept 15 winks...
That's a good one..
"What fresh hell". That about sums it up perfectly.
Thank you, Camille, for the link, but I hope you can get more sleep. Do what you can: Melatonin, Yoga before bed, no news after supper will help. If Trump steals your sleep, that’s just one more battle that he has won.
Good advice!
Thanks for the link. Most are extremely serious but I love #1-
"Turn the White House into a Tesla dealership.” And how did that work out?
It’s already a dealership from hell.
Actually Trump does drive, and he drives electric cars exclusively…Golf Cars!
The important thing is not to allow the exhausting actions and rhetoric from the Drumpf admin make us slack off and allow defeatism to creep in.
God bless them all - Warren, Booker, Jeffries, AOC, Sanders. They are truly putting themselves in the cross hairs. Make no mistake
Thanks for posting. Some of them were new to me, but I understood that unfettered corruption and kleptocracy were always the goal.
And Elizabeth Warren for exposing all that nepotism. Tiffany Trumps father in law is an advisor?
Whats next? Trumps limo driver head of transportation?
Thank Heather, she took the time to list every item on the last substack. I can't take credit for it. I always like to go back and read newest comments first later in the day to see what they say.
I'm proud of Harvard faculty, especially senior faculty, is contributing 10% of their salaries which adds up to an estimated 2.5 million, to help Harvard.
I did not know this. bravo Faculty!
I was happy to see our small town had a crowd of 225! It makes me proud of what the grassroots movement is accomplishing. That indeed we are UNITED WE STAND! It is Mr. Reich, the folks on this chat, that also makes me proud. We aren't just sitting around wringing our hands we are speaking up and coming together. I pray it continues and that it grows!
I’m beginning to really worry about the future health of Americans of all ages. With RFK, Jr (oh, if his dad was here to witness his actions, he would be more than appalled!) ‘leading’ HHS, we will have sicker kids and adults, more deaths and disabilities and more/new contagions and diseases to deal with. Elderly people will have fewer resources to deal with age related changes and I believe Alzheimer’s and dementia will be off the charts. Vaccines may become ineffective.
The damage is already done; what entity will step in to lead research and treatment of all disease from here?
Among the early firings was a team at NIH who oversaw clinical trials for Alzheimer’s and diabetes research. They are all gone. Physicians who dedicated their careers to this work. When the admin tried to reverse the firings (court order) the physicians refused to return. I know this because one of them is the son of a dear friend.
Grrrrrr. I totally understand why the fired personnel refused to return. You get punched in the gut, why would you go back for more??
Maybe those who were fired can do a shadow organization that does the research/development ( or as much as $$ allows) and is totally outside government. I would financially support that endeavour, as my finances allowed.
I'm so happy Canada said "if America no longer wants to lead, we will."
Trump America (oxymoron?) can't even be competent dictators. A competent dictator would have rode out the benefits of the Biden economy and just took credit for it, keeping the people more silent, but no, our buffoon in chief has to run it to the ground, shit on it, and try to tell us "we ain't seen nothing yet." More's coming?
The authors of Project 2025 didn't see this coming. As our economic situation worsens the resistance will grow even stronger.
And how do you know the forces behind Christian dominionism did not see this coming?
I think they've been preparing for this for many years. When I'm driving, I'll tune into a right-wing talk radio station and listen what they have to say. 99% of their advertising is for guns, ammo, power generators, survival food supplies, gold, and other survival stuff. It's like they KNOW something is coming.
the crocs know that the zebras will come to drink the holy watters.
I don’t think it’s new. Just expanding the con.
I sincerely hope, but like all evil, the Project 2025 evil is patient and relentless. This requires consistent dedication and stamina from all of us.
"dedication and stamina" are nebulous.
Our stamina needs to be witnessed in fully understanding the project and the motivation behind it. This means a deep understanding of the Christo-fascist mindset.
I believe we can creatively use the Alien Enemy Act against them.
This pushback is wonderful and we do need to keep it up because there’s no doubt Trump will not stop. Just this morning he is eliminating 1B from mental health in schools and there will surely be more cuts. Praise for Microsoft and all others who stand up rather than cave in. Bringing us all to together, including our allies, no matter politics and etc. is the strength we need. For too long Trump has hammered home division. Even a judge in Texas has stood up!
Trump is Uniting the free World. Thank Goodness 😅
I agree with Prof. Reich's comments re: Governor Pritzker, IL in opposing Trump's E.O.
Since Republican Congressmen have almost all run the other way from having town halls and hearing major disgust from their voters, Pritzker urged people to peacefully sit outside Republicans' offices to call attention to their cowardice in kissing the ring.