Recap of this week in the revolution: Van Hollen visits Abrego Garcia, Harvard refuses to make a deal, and Trump faces contempt charges. The House cedes its power to Trump, NIH purges minorities and women, and Trump supporters lose the farm. Trump wants to deport citizens and declares legal migrants illegal. Join the revolution by learning how to protect religious liberty from Christian Nationalism and plan for May 1st protest.
The Good...
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia on April 17, 2025.
Fed up with the Trump regime's refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador through an "administrative error," Senator Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador himself to visit with Abrego Garcia and petition the Salvadoran government to return him to the United States.
Abrego Garcia is one of hundreds of migrants deported to a prison in El Salvador weeks ago without due process. As many as 90% of the deportees, Abrego Garcia among them, have no criminal records in the United States.
Van Hollen met with the Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa (The president was out of the country) and asked why Abrego Garcia was being held in the CECOT facility with no criminal record in either country. The response from the Ulloa was, "the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT."
6 DHS agents detain 30-year old Tufts university student Rumeysa Ozturk on March 30, 2025.
A habeas petition has been filed on behalf of Rumeysa Ozturk, who was snatched off the street by plainclothes gestapo agents weeks ago and imprisoned in Louisiana pending deportation. A habeas petition is a legal document filed by or on behalf of a prisoner that challenges the reasons for or conditions of their confinement. These documents are used to force a court to review the legality of the detention of the prisoner.
Ms. Ozturk was detained in Vermont and transferred to Louisiana. The petition orders Ms. Ozturk to be transferred back to Vermont by May 1.
Ozturk was detained for writing an op-ed in her school's newspaper criticizing Tufts University for its stance on the genocide in Palestine. Ozturk also wrote, "[w]e, as graduate students, affirm the equal dignity and humanity of all people[.]" University president Sunil Kumar has confirmed that the op-ed piece "was not in violation of any Tufts policies [and] no complaints were filed...about this op-ed."
Harvard University has refused to comply with unlawful demands from the Trump regime to "dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue."
In an unprecedented overreach of power, the Trump regime is demanding universities grant the government power to audit all faculty employed by and students admitted to the university. The letters sent to the universities also demand that all DEI programs be stopped, but also demands that "each department, field, or teaching unit must be individually viewpoint diverse," which is the principal goal of such DEI programs.
Other universities, such as Columbia University, have already caved in to the demands. These Universities have agreed to the outrageous demands after the Trump regime threatened to cut off their federal funding.
The University of Massachusetts is seeking to organize a mutual academic defense compact so universities can join together to quickly and collectively respond to government attacks on individual institutions.
District Court Judge James Boasberg
District Judge James Boasberg found probable cause to hold the Trump regime in contempt of court for intentionally disobeying the court's order to stop the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants who were illegally sent to a torture prison in El Salvador on March 15 without due process.
“The Constitution does not tolerate willful disobedience of judicial orders—especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.
Boasberg has not actually found the regime in contempt because he is giving them a chance to regain custody of those removed against court orders. If it does not, contempt charges will be filed.
Another wave of mass deportations of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants are slated to be sent to the El Salvador slave prison, CECOT. Detainees are sent to Texas where the Trump-supporting 5th circuit court has jurisdiction. The ACLU tried unsuccessfully to get the Texas and D.C. courts to issue an emergency order to prevent the deportations. So the ACLU turned to the Supreme Court to request the emergency order.
On Saturday morning, the Supreme Court issued a 7-2 emergency ruling blocking the removal of the detainees from the United States.
In Iowa, Nathan Sage is running to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate. "I never thought someone like me could run for Senate," says Sage.
Sage is a combat veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and currently the executive director of the Knoxville (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce. Sage is upset at the current state of affairs for working Americans and wants to be part of the 2% of Congress that actually come from the working class, stating:
"We built the damn table. It's time we had a seat at it."
The Bad...
U.S. House of Representatives composition as of March 5, 2025
Disguised as a budget resolution, House Resolution 313 not only establishes a congressional budget for 2025, but it also takes away the right of Congress to declare an end to the imaginary emergency Trump declared to allow him to implement tariffs.
The resolution also increases the deficit by around $5 trillion.
The next step is for both chambers of Congress to decide how the money will be allocated. But since the Trump regime has already established that it has no regard for Congressional allocations, there's really not much point.
Political appointees are traditionally vetted by career HR employees who propose their starting salary based on their resume and experience. This process puts some sensible guardrails on the appointment and pay for appointees.
The Trump regime wants to change this to remove the vetting process completely and eliminate the cap on salaries. This will allow them to buy the loyalty of their appointees by offering them jobs they are not qualified for and paying them ridiculously high salaries (capped at $195,200). This is abuse of political power and taxpayer money at the highest level.
This follows the same pattern that the Trump regime has been following all along. Fire qualified civil servants and replace them with unqualified loyalists ready to rubber-stamp anything their benefactors say or do.
Image by G. Edward Johnson from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Of the 43 experts cut last month form the NIH science review boards, 38 were women, Blacks, or Hispanics. Put another way, of the board's 200 members, 6% of white males were fired while half of all Black and Hispanic females were fired. Looking at race alone, 40% of Black and Hispanic board members were fired, compared to 16% of white members.
Since those fired happen to be scientists, they calculated the likelihood this ratio could have happened by chance. The answer: 1 in 300.
Those fired were not given a reason for their terminations, and the Department of Health and Human Services falsely claimed that this was "standard practice," even though such high turnover is far from standard.
Image by CartoonBoner from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Caleb Ragland is a ninth-generation farmer whose family established their first farm in 1808. He supported Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, but the regime's new tariffs are set to drive him out of business in the next few years if they are not rectified.
Like most farmers in his area, Ragland grows soybeans, one of the most versatile crops in the world, and a major export from the United States. Half of the soybeans exported from the U.S. are sold to China, and are now subject to China's reciprocal tariffs (currently 84%).
The Trump regime's trade war with China is causing China to look elsewhere for its soybeans, decreasing demand from U.S. suppliers, which leads to lower prices and lower profits for farmers.
Ragland says, "I've watched my fellow farmers, who were already having difficulties, forced to have auctions and sell their farms. Some have had to declare bankruptcy and take whatever work they can get as farmhands."
The Ugly...
Trump meeting with Salvadoran President Bukele in the Oval Office, April 14, 2025
A hot mic captures Donald Trump announcing that he has plans to send U.S. citizens to the El Salvador prison known for cruelty and torture. This is the same prison where Trump has sent hundreds of Venezuelan deportees, including an El Salvador man living (illegally) in the United States who was deported by "mistake." Trump and Bukele, apparently competing for the title of "weakest president in the world", both said they didn't have the power to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia home, despite his wrongful imprisonment.
When the Trump regime starts sending American citizens to this slave camp (or others like it that Bukele may be asked to build), they, too, will be imprisoned forever and never returned.
Trump says Attorney General Bondi is trying to find a legal loophole that might allow them to send Americans to this foreign prison. But the regime has already sent hundreds of people to this prison without due process, which is a violation of our laws anyway, so we can be sure this next stage of the mad king's plan will be carried out, whether legal or not.
Trump: "I said, homegrowns are next. The homegrowns. You've got to build about five more places."
Bukele: "Yeah, we've got space."
Image by Yvonne Scholz from Pixabay.
Thousands of Afghanistan Christians have legally sought asylum in the United States, fearing for their safety under Taliban rule. Recently, they received an e-mail notifying them that they had 7 days to leave the United States, giving no reason for the revocation of their welcome in the country.
It's important to note that these people came to the United States legally...they followed all of the rules, dotted all of the i's, crossed all of the t's. Asylum seekers in the United States have a right to an asylum hearing, but the process can take a long time. Many of these immigrants have their asylum hearings scheduled, but the hearings take place after the 7-day deadline has passed.
This is not the first time the Trump regime has revoked the rights of law-abiding immigrants who were previously welcomed into this country.
What did I/we do last week?
The "Disgraced Flag of the United States" made another protest appearance.
This weekend, I joined thousands of my fellow Americans at a local Fifty Fifty One protest to, once again, register my disgust with the current totalitarian regime.
It's important that we all keep up the pressure. It can be hard sometimes, setting aside time to join protests that may not feel like they are actually bringing about change. But real and lasting change takes time and effort to produce. It won't happen overnight.
That's why we're following the advice from Indivisible Co-Executive Directors Ezra and Leah, who point out, "Before we get to this point where he might be invoking obscure laws to crack down on peaceful protests, we need to demonstrate as much and as clearly as possible that peaceful protest in this country is just like apple pie...it's the most normal thing in the world to spend a Saturday protesting for democracy."
What can you do this week?
May Day 2025: National Day of Action
Start planning now to participate in the next national day of action on May 1, 2025. The last two events were held on Saturdays, but this one is on a Thursday, so you may need to make some additional preparations to take time off of work.
On April 23, the organizers will host an online briefing session with additional information.
Image by Zakarie Faibis from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, free speech, a free press, and the right to assemble and petition.
Freedom of religion is a two-part freedom: the government has no right to dictate what religion Americans shall practice, and it has no right to restrict which religions Americans shall practice. The current regime is pushing forward legislation based on enforcing Christian Nationalism (Which is very different from Christianity) onto the public, while removing references to other religious beliefs.
Learn how the current administration is violating the first amendment in the name of religious liberty and what you can do to help protect religious freedom for all, not just those already in power.
Keeping you informed...
An engraving by Frederick Girsch of the John Trumpbull painting showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence
I started this website and the associated Bluesky account after reading the Declaration of Independence and comparing it to the actions Donald Trump was taking in the very first weeks in office. I realized that he was acting just like King George III, who so enraged the 13 American colonies that they declared he no longer had the right to rule over the colonies, and they must, therefore, form their own independent nation.
This community article by @PublicolaValerius, points out how the grievances used to argue that King George III was a tyrant can just as easily be applied to Donald Trump.
It is time, once again, to put an end to tyranny in America.
250 years after the "shot heard 'round the world" that started the American Revolution, Elijah Woody shares a powerful message with the American people:
"The most powerful form of government is actually the most local form of government...All the power that our elected representatives hold is only valid if we the people conform."
Woody calls for each of us to reclaim control of our lives, our communities, and our government. So let's all go live like we care about our lives, our communities, our children, and our future as a nation.
On the lighter side...
Hackers have inserted AI-voiced messages pretending to be Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Donald Trump into the "wait" message that normally plays at crosswalks in Northern California.
Tesla owners in Seattle can now deal with Tesla Regret Syndrome (TRS) by calling a toll-free number or visiting a free de-badging station, where your Tesla emblem can be removed from your car and, optionally, replaced with the logo from another manufacturer.
Theres a fire..💯🔥💯💯🔥...
— Biggie (@biggienotsmalls.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 8:25 AM
[image or embed]
Sign of the day…
— Physicians for a Healthy Democracy (@physiciandemocracy.medsky.social) April 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
[image or embed]