Rejecting Trump: No Kings Protests Set To Be Biggest Ever, Reporters Walk Out Over Hegseth’s Loyalty Pledge, Decorated Colonel Resigns In Protest, and Judges Push Back

We destroy maga propaganda here

Scott Dworkin Oct 17

As Trump loses it over Nobel Prizes he’ll never win, I’m glad to have stories that prove momentum is on our side. With No Kings shaping up to be the largest mass protest ever against Trump, it’s clear we’re not alone—and we’re not backing down.

Let’s jump in.

REPORTERS WALK OUT

Just before the 4pm deadline to sign Pete Hegseth’s loyalty pledge, dozens of reporters turned in their badges and walked out of the Pentagon. Almost all major news outlets participated in the walkout, including AP, The New York Times, Reuters, WaPo, CNN, CBS, ABC, and even Fox.

Retired Army general Jack Keane, an analyst on Fox “News,” criticized Hegseth over it, stating: “What they’re really doing, they want to spoon-feed information to the journalist, and that would be their story. That’s not journalism.”

MARINE COLONEL RESIGNS

Marine Colonel Doug Krugman, who served for 24 years, penned an op-ed titled: “I resigned from the military because of Trump.” In it, Krugman wrote: “Instead of trying to work within the Constitution, or to amend it, [Trump] is testing how far he can ignore it.” He sure is. And it’s on everyone to push back.

Krugman also had a message for service members wary of Trump’s unhinged orders: “They should be confident in questioning possibly immoral or illegal orders.”

COURTS PROTECT ILLINOIS

Yesterday, a judge ordered that federal agents in the Chicago area must wear body cameras. This follows an earlier order from the same judge, which requires all agents to wear badges.

Meanwhile, an appeals court upheld the block on Trump’s National Guard deployment in Illinois. The three-judge panel stated: “The facts do not justify [Trump’s] actions.”

NO AUSTRALIA FOR CANDACE OWENS

Australia’s High Court denied entry to right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, due to concerns that she may “incite discord” among communities. Owens was planning to do a speaking tour across Australia, but apparently failed a “character test.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else.”

KHANNA SLAMS GOP OVER EPSTEIN FILES

In a recent interview, Dem Rep. Ro Khanna slammed Republicans for refusing to release the Epstein files. “This is not political,” Khanna said. “We’ve met the survivors. These are women who … stood in front of the Capitol and said, ‘We want these files released.’”

Khanna predicted that once a vote is finally held, “60 to 70 Republicans are going to vote for releasing the files.” Let’s keep the pressure on.

RASKIN CALLS OUT CORRUPTION

Dem Rep. Jamie Raskin revealed the real reason behind Trump’s corrupt shutdown scheme, saying that Trump “wants all the parts of government closed that he can’t personally profit from. So he doesn’t care about health care for your family. He wants to build a White House ballroom and promote Bitcoin.”

Raskin is right, which is why I’ve taken on Trump and all of his accomplices for nearly a decade.

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Onward!

Scott

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I have two questions for you today.

Do you think 60-70 Republicans will actually vote to release the Epstein files?

What do you think about almost all major news orgs walking out of the Pentagon?

Thanks for your support! Another way to help us out is by gifting subscriptions to friends and family! You can get yours by clicking the link or button below:

For all contact Congress links, or to volunteer, you can go here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-the-watchdog-coalition

Find a No Kings protest near you: https://www.nokings.org/#map

NEW: Pay our troops during the Trump shutdown and ensure federal workers get back pay https://tinyurl.com/y728zzuu

NEW: Cancel GOP healthcare cuts and end Trump’s shutdown: https://tinyurl.com/2z8s7hdh

Demand Brendan Carr Resign: https://tinyurl.com/35xjx8dj

Demand Tom Homan Resign: https://tinyurl.com/3e5ku3um

Pass the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act: https://tinyurl.com/3yfw2m7a

Demand answers about Trump’s visibly deteriorating health: https://tinyurl.com/sk9xm38v

Protect our use of voting by mail: https://tinyurl.com/bde676xm

Push back on Trump’s DC takeover: https://tinyurl.com/2jpp94yk

Support law to unmask ICE: https://tinyurl.com/bp8cau82

Investigate the Jeffrey Epstein trafficking case: https://tinyurl.com/4pfh2p4f

Links to everything we are doing: https://www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/how-were-fighting-trump

Here is my interview with James Talarico: https://tinyurl.com/mmu4eydj

COMMENTS: 

The NUREMBERG TRIALS, while not perfect, established that following orders was not a valid excuse for commiting crimes....BOMBING BOATS & KILLING THEIR OCCUPANTS WITHOUT CAUSE OR PROOF is a WAR CRIME! 

Those MILITARY LEADERS who are speaking out continue to define the WAR CRIME. 

TRUMP IS COMMITTING WAR CRIMES & SPINELESS GOP fail to call him out for it!

NUREMBERG TRIALS

The trials marked a pivotal moment in international law, establishing the principle that individuals could be held accountable for war crimes. The Nuremberg Charter, which governed the trials, rejected the defense of sovereign immunity and the argument of following orders as a valid excuse for committing crimes.

Subsequent Trials

Following the IMT, the United States conducted 12 additional trials in Nuremberg, focusing on various groups, including doctors, judges, and industrialists involved in Nazi atrocities. These trials further explored the extent of Nazi crimes, particularly during the Holocaust.

The Nuremberg Trials set a precedent for future international criminal law and highlighted the importance of accountability for war crimes. 

While it's not the topic included in SCOTT's post, we can't ignore the GOP NAZI GROUP that JD VANCE wants to pretend were 'kids.' THEY WERE NOT KIDS!  They were GOP NAZI LEADERS who have been named, revealed & a few fired. 

FROM MOTHER JONES: 

No One in the GOP Hitler Chat Was a “Kid”

We checked. Sorry, JD Vance.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/republican-hitler-group-chat-nazi-politico/

ALL WHO POSTED SHOULD BE CALLED TO RESIGN JUST AS VERMONT IS DOING!

(Also note that the article originated from our loacl PBS STATION: WBUR - that's why PBS & NPR funding is crucial.)

Vt. Republican state senator faces calls to resign after posting racist messages in group chat

October 15, 2025

Peter Hirschfeld, Vermont Public

excerpt:

A first-term Republican state senator from Orleans County is facing pressure from members of his own party to resign after a story published by Politico Tuesday detailed his involvement in a racist text chat between members of Young Republican chapters in four states, including Vermont.

Samuel Douglass, 27, was part of a historic red wave last November that saw the GOP pick up six seats in the Vermont Senate and reconfigure the balance of power in the Legislature.

Last week, Douglass was one of six Republican lawmakers nominated for “Legislator of the Year” at the Vermont GOP’s Awards Night in South Burlington.

On Tuesday evening, Republican Gov. Phil Scott called on Douglass to resign after a leaked group chat showed Douglass and his wife using racist and antisemitic language with fellow young Republicans from across the country.

“The hateful statements made in this group chat are disgusting and unacceptable,” Scott said in a written statement Tuesday. “The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing. There is simply no excuse for it. Those involved should resign from their roles immediately and leave the Republican party — including Vermont State Senator Sam Douglass.”

https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/10/15/vermont-republican-senator-racist-group-chat-politico?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WBURToday_Editorial_101625&utm_term=calling+on+a%26nbsp%3bfirst-term+GOP+state+senator+to+resign&utm_id=152275&sfmc_id=24374920

New York assemblyman fires chief of staff involved in Young Republican group chat 

by Ashleigh Fields - 10/15/25

New York Assemblyman Michael Reilly fired his chief of staff over his participation in a group chat with young Republicans where Hitler references and racist jokes were made.

Peter Giunta, who served in Reilly’s office for more than five years, was linked to offensive texts in a Telegram chat that was first reported by Politico.

THE HILL: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5556650-young-republican-hitler-jokes/

THIS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS GOP ROT ELSEWHERE! 

"VILE TEXTS EXPOSE GOP ROT"

The Young Republican Telegram chat wasn’t private chatter. It was a window into a party teaching cruelty as culture; mocking decency and betraying the voters who trusted it.

Michael Cohen

Oct 16

Vile Texts Expose GOP Rot

The Young Republican Telegram chat wasn’t private chatter. It was a window into a party teaching cruelty as culture; mocking decency and betraying the voters who trusted it.

Michael Cohen and MeidasTouch Network

Oct 16

Newsom asks House panel 

to probe Young Republicans group chat

by Ryan Mancini - 10/15/25

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5557421-newsom-calls-investigation-young-republicans-texts/?utm_source=www.readthesmile.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-smile-10-16&_bhlid=95b0bd398b9d31bc5eb485aba1b698c2a298174f

THE NAZIS KEPT DETAILED RECORDS - MUCH OF WHICH REMAINED IN THE OLD SOVIET UNION & WERE INACCESSIBLE. When the Soviet Union crumbled, many of those records were translated & reviewed. NAZI ATROCITIES are beyond words.... 

I have a FIRST EDITION of BETRAYAL: 

Betrayal: The Untold Story of the Kurt Waldheim Investigation and Cover-Up by Eli Rosenbaum William Hoffer

On March 4, 1986, the front page of The New York Times trumpeted a startling Kurt Waldheim, the former Secretary General of the United Nations and the current President of Austria, had served as an aid to a notorious Nazi war criminal. Now for the first time, the inside story of the scandal is told by the man who led the multi-year investigation which exposed Waldheim's past. .

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/126891354-betrayal

FULL DISCLOSURE: IT WAS SO DISTURBING, I WAS UNABLE TO READ THE BOOK IN ITS ENTIRETY!

DETAILS of NAZI ATROCITIES are widely available elsewhere without my regurgitations. 

THIS IS THE GOP NAZI ROT! 

MAGA GOP ARE NOT EVEN CONDEMNING THIS!

ISRAELI HATE IS COMMITTING SIMILAR ATROCITIES IN GAZA & THE WEST BANK without CONDEMNATION!