Recap of this week in the revolution: Gross incompetence on display in Signalgate, some law firms capitulate while others defend the law, Greenland says, 'Make America Go Away,' and DOGE cuts cost the federal government half of the budget left over after military, social security, medicare, and medicaid spending. More people are detained and deported without cause or due process, and DeSantis proposes using child labor to fill the gap. Join the revolution by taking part in the April 5 'Hands Off' National Day of Action wherever you live.
The Good...
It may seem like Democrats have no power because they do not hold the majority in either the House or Senate, but that's not exactly true.
There are many tools the Democrats could use to obstruct or deny Republican actions, but only if they use them skillfully and coordinate with one another.
Law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison, & Wharton disgraces itself and the legal profession by cutting a deal with Donald Trump after he disagrees with their rulings. Trump threatened to remove security clearances for the firm's lawyers, and in return they have agreed to provide $40 million worth of free legal services specifically to support the Trump administration's agenda. Other law firms have similarly bowed the knee.
But not all law firms are feckless cowards. There are some, in fact, there are many, that are standing up against Donald Trump's assault on the legislative branch and refuse to be intimidated.
Trump's intimidation tactics are clearly unconstitutional, and blatantly obstruct the constitutionally-mandated separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government.
Tile mosaic on the floor of the Pennsylvania State Capitol by Henry Chapman Mercer
Image by DutchTreat from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Democratic candidate James Malone wins the 36th Senate District seat in Pennsylvania, representing a mostly rural district that backed Trump by 15% over Harris in 2024. Malone is the first Democrat elected to this district seat since the 1980s, when the district's boundaries were redrawn.
Malone's victory does not affect the Republican majority in the State Senate, but it does show a shift in support for Donald Trump in light of the "chaos Washington Republicans have brought to our state," according to Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes.
The decline in support for Donald Trump is also showing up in other ways. Recently, the Trump regime withdrew it's nomination of Representative Elise Stefanik for the role of Ambassador to the United Nations because her appointment would trigger a special election in New York, and the Trump administration can't count on a Republican win.
Paving the way for a visit to Greenland by second lady Usha Vance (and possibly VP JD Vance), U.S. officials have been trying to find someone—anyone—in Greenland willing to open their homes for a visit. They found no one.
This can hardly come as a surprise, after the Trump regime has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland "one way or another."
In case Greenland's position on the subject wasn't perfectly clear, one Greenlander designed a custom anti-MAGA hat that says what all Greenlanders are thinking: "Make America Go Away."
Remarkably, the United States has managed to infuriate yet another country that is otherwise known around the world for their friendly demeanor and welcoming attitudes.
The Bad...
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who legally entered the country from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, will see their rights to live in the United States revoked in the next few weeks.
This is the latest attack the Trump regime has launched against immigrants since taking office.
It's worth noting that, in 2024, the Biden administration had the option to extend the program that allowed these migrants to enter the United States legally, but chose not to continue the program and extend the stay of these immigrants.
Image by Photosforclass.com from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
When Donald Trump was inaugurated he promised that, "never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents." Two months later, his sycophants are saying, "when it comes to protesters, we gotta make sure we treat all of them the same: Send them to jail."
It's hardly a surprise that Donald Trump lied to the American people. Again. But no president in the United States has ever been so brutal in weaponizing his power as Trump. And that includes using that power to suppress free speech.
He has blocked access to the White House by the free press, punished law firms for ruling against him, disregarded court orders, and punished universities for "allowing" students to exercise their rights to free speech. He's not stopping there, either. Anyone who legally immigrated to this country who dares to speak out against him or his regime will be arrested and deported. This is just testing the waters. Make no mistake...he's looking for a way to imprison anyone who criticizes him, natural-born citizen or not.
That's about half of all government revenue that is not earmarked for social security, medicare, medicaid, and military spending, and about 10% of the overall budget.
These loses are directly tied to the staffing cuts made by DOGE. Officials predict that this loss of revenue will come from fewer people paying their taxes and fewer resources dedicated to investigations of high-value corporations and individual taxpayers. The administration was warned of this possibility back in January, before any cuts were made, but they proceeded with their aggressive cuts to the IRS anyway.
Image by Ashby C Sorensen from Pixabay.
A Russian scientist working at Harvard and could be deported to Russia. Due to her opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she could face persecution if she is deported.
Rumeysa Ozturk was accosted by six plainclothes officers in masks and loaded into an SUV before being flown 1,500 miles away to a staging facility in violation of a court order to keep her in Massachusetts.
A woman who has held a green card for 50 years was recently detained in Seattle when returning from a trip overseas. Her only crime, a non-violent conviction for embezzlement more than 20 years ago for which she already served time and paid the fine. It's "not the type of thing you would typically see a 64-year-old woman get detained" for.
There are countless other cases of Trump's Secret Service, AKA ICE, rounding up as many peaceful, legal immigrants as they can get their dirty paws on to keep up the impression that they are keeping Americans safe.
The Ugly...
In the most stunning display of total incompetence ever seen in this country, top Trump administration officials use an unauthorized, third-party phone app to text classified war plans about an active military operation in real time.
That, alone, is gross incompetence that should result in the immediate removal of everyone involved from government service. Permanently. But their stupidity doesn't end there. As if it wasn't bad enough to use an unauthorized app that could have leaked the information to our intended targets, they even invited a reporter to the chat without realizing it.
No American in any line of work would be able to keep their job if they displayed this degree of reckless incompetence. But, hey, they work for Trump, so chances are none of them will be held accountable for risking the lives of our service members and destroying whatever credibility we have left with whatever allies we have left.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
"Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when teenagers used to work at these resorts?"
DeSantis has shown strong support for the bill that would allow students as young as 14 to work full-time shifts after finishing their school for the day, up to 30-hours a week. Oh, and they won't have the right to mandated breaks, either.
Florida is not alone in its failure to protect our children. There have been pushes in several other Republican-controlled states to weaken or eliminate workplace protections for children.
Calling this "insane" is true, but really doesn't even begin to capture the depths of depravity behind a move like this.
Image by Kyle McKaskle from Pixabay.
Hundreds of Venezuelans have been deported to an El Salvador torture center by the Trump regime, allegedly because they were members of a violent gang known as Tren de Aragua. But many family members of the deported immigrants have said they were not involved in any gangs.
ICE agents detaining these men gave no legal reason for the arrest, but admitted they were targeting "everyone who has tattoos."
The trump administration denies this, of course, but has yet to provide any ties between the deportees and gang members. This lack of evidence, they claim, "demonstrates that they are terrorists."
Apparently, in the new United States of America, doing nothing wrong makes you a terrorist. But maybe that's only if you have tattoos. Or something. I really can't understand the twists and turns being used to justify this nightmare we live in.
What did I/we do last week?
Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay
It has been another unproductive week for me, I'm afraid.
I did create an intro for any future videos I post to my YouTube channel, but I have no videos to post yet, so there's nothing to show for that.
I also started working on a new article, but it isn't ready for publication yet.
Mostly, I'm preparing for what I hope to be a massive Hands Off protest on Saturday, April 5.
What can you do this week?
This is the most important thing you can do this week:
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They're taking everything they can get their hands on & daring the world to stop them. On April 5th, we're taking to the streets nationwide to say: Hands Off!
The Democratic Party has proven that it is not up to the task of stopping Donald Trump or rallying supporters. While a few Democrats are stepping up, the party as a whole is weak and ineffective.
That means it is up to the people to push back against Trump's dismantling of the United States. We can't sit back and wait for leaders to emerge. "Expect the politicians only to follow you, not to lead."
SURJ helps white people mobilize for justice with campaigns, education, and action opportunities.
White supremacy is on the rise in the United States, but does not reflect the views of most white Americans. But these movements are actively and aggressively recruiting members every day. We all have an obligation to stand against racism in any form, but that obligation is greatest for those who are not, themselves, targets of persecution.
"We're not here because we're helping black people or people of color. We're here because our lives depend on getting in this fight."
Keeping you informed...
Donald Trump announced that he will move the federal student load program to the Small Business Administration. This comes after he announced that he will close the Department of Education, which currently administers the loans.
Just like most of Trump's proclamations, this one is illegal. But that's never stopped him before, so it's unlikely to make a difference now.
This shift will, no doubt, cause profound disruptions to the already-shaky student loan program. A spokesperson for the Debt Collective said, "This dismantling of the Department of Education will not save anyone a dime—in fact, it will come at great cost to our economy."
On the lighter side...
— Sue Massa (@smassa.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
CARTOON OF THE DAY
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 5:19 PM
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Accurate, to scale 👇🏽
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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