ICYMI: Portland Stands Tall, Obama Hits The Trail, Biden Rings The Bell, and Grijalva Fights To Be Sworn In. Courage Is Contagious—and It’s Everywhere

 

Portland Stands Tall, Obama Hits The Trail, Biden Rings The Bell, and Grijalva Fights To Be Sworn In. Courage Is Contagious—and It’s Everywhere

Reclaiming our democracy

POSTED HERE: 

SCOTT DWORKIN: PORTLAND STANDS TALL

 

Today in Politics, Bulletin 93. 3/17/25

Ron Filipkowski Mar 17 ∙

… Trump outrageously claimed today that Russia has an entire Ukrainian army surrounded in Kursk, but he is going to save them tomorrow when he talks to Putin. EXCEPT THERE ARE NO UKRAINIAN TROOPS SURROUNDED. This is Russian propaganda that Zelensky and Ukraine has already refuted. This entire scam is being choreographed so Trump can claim he “saved” Ukrainians (so they will have to be grateful and sign over their mineral rights), and so he can insist that Ukraine agree to Putin’s demands since he was so nice to them.

… But this whole thing is a lie. An scam.

… Trump: “Tomorrow I am speaking with President Putin to save some soldiers who are in deep trouble. They are captured - surrounded by Russian soldiers. It’s a big deal. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be here any longer. I was able to get Russia not to do anything at this moment.”

… Trump said he and Putin have already discussed “dividing up certain assets.” Semafor reports that Trump is “considering” recognizing conquered Crimea as a permanent part of Russia as part of any deal.

… Polish PM Donald Tusk: “Dear allies, the investigation of the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office has confirmed our suspicions that responsible for setting fires to shopping centers in Vilnius and Warsaw are the Russian secret services. Good to know before negotiations. Such is the nature of this state.”

… Judge Boasberg held a hearing today to determine whether the Trump Admin and Deportation Czar Tom Homan intentionally violated his clear court order to halt flights of migrants with pending asylum claims since they were denied due process. ICE designated them as “gang members” to justify flying them to a prison in El Salvador yesterday.

… Hours before the hearing, DOJ filed an emergency motion to an appellate court asking for them to intervene since they “cannot - and will not - be forced to answer sensitive questions of national security and foreign relations.” The appellate court did not respond to the motion before the scheduled hearing today.

… Judge Boasberg was not happy during the hearing. DOJ took the position that the judge had no authority over flights once they left US airspace, and would not answer specific questions on how it played out after he issued his order yesterday. He concluded by noting that DOJ refused to answer his questions citing national security, and “since my oral orders seem to mean nothing, I will put this in writing. I will let you know how to further proceed.”

… Immigration lawyer Lindsay Toczylowski: “My client fled Venezuela last year and came to US to seek asylum. He has a strong claim. He was detained at entry because ICE alleged his tattoos are gang related. They are absolutely not. Our client worked in the arts in Venezuela. He is LGBTQ. His tattoos are benign. But ICE submitted photos of his tattoos as evidence he is Tren de Aragua. His attorney planned to present evidence he is not. But never got the chance because our client has been disappeared.”

… “The Alien Enemies Act would allow the Trump admin to remove people from the US based on an accusation alone. The accusation could be, as it is for our client, completely baseless. But they would remove them anyway, despite the dangers, despite the lack of due process. What happened today is a dark moment in our history. One bright spot in this madness that I see are the many lawyers and advocates across the country who spent their Sat fighting like hell to preserve justice in the face of horrific cruelty. And we will keep fighting.”

… A reporter pointed out to Trump that the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 he invoked to justify deportations with no due process while circumventing immigration courts was only used 3 other times, and each was while the country was in the middle of a war: “Well this is a time of war.”

… Trump’s Deportation Czar Tom Homan clearly doesn’t care about court orders. He responded on Fox this morning: "We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming."

… Alina Habba, who managed to become lawyer somehow without knowing any law: “To have a federal judge come in and say I don’t agree with President with an executive order? It’s unthinkable and ridiculous.”

… Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) - In the last three days, Trump appears to have violated court orders in Boston and DC. The GOP won’t make a peep in Congress. The courts need to push back hard with contempt findings or we truly have a constitutional crisis.”

… Trump was asked if he was going to comply with the judge’s order to rehire federal workers who were fired without cause: “What are you talking about? Q: The judge that ruled the govt has to rehire the fired federal workers. Do you plan to comply? TRUMP: That's a very dangerous decision for our country.”

… Trump’s former NSA Michael Flynn said Trump needs to declare martial law: “Many elites still believe what is happening in America is old school, hard ball, politics, you know, Democrats vs Republicans. IT IS NOT. What is now happening with the continuation of lawfare by these leftist organizations and judges isn’t going to end well for these groups or these people. These must end and end now. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. PRESIDENT TRUMP MAY EVENTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE TO DECLARE A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. HE HAS FULL AUTHORITY TO DO SO. DON’T BE SURPRISED IF THE NATION GETS TO THAT POINT.”

… Later in the day, Trump announced that he was appointing Flynn to the US Military Academy board of visitors at West Point.

… Trump claimed that the pardons Biden issued are not valid, so he can prosecute members of the J6 Committee: “The Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”

… J6 Committee Adam Kinzinger: “Trump’s latest threat against me is as real as his 'perfect' phone calls and 'biggest crowds ever.' More whining, more victimhood, zero follow-through. Either do it or keep crying, fatso. I’m so tired of your victimy whiney belly aching crap. You friggin won and you STILL are complaining all the time. BRING IT YOU SMALL LITTLE BOY.”

… The National Archives responded to an inquiry from SNOPES this morning where they confirmed that the Federal Register uses a standardized graphic file of the president’s signature for publication, meaning the signature of Biden that appears in digital records which was used to launch this latest conspiracy does not reflect what is on the original, hand-signed documents.

… Since Trump also claimed that these pardons were issued without Biden even knowing about it, CNN’s Kaitlyn Collins pointed out to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Biden talked about making the pardons in interviews before they were announced. Leavitt: “But was he aware of his signature being used? Collins: Is there any evidence that he wasn’t aware? Leavitt: You’re a reporter. You should find out.”

… She literally never answers a question. All she does is stand up there an insult reporters. And her insult game is pretty lame, too.

… CNN’s Jake Tapper doing some sanewashing with this post on X amplifying BS spin about all this from team Trump as if it was legitimate news to report: “A senior Trump world source’s take on the president’s post is that it’s meant to prompt discussions about Biden’s acuity and how incompetent a president can be as well as a legal debate about pardon power and what types of pardons are allowed.”

… Trump announced tonight that he has the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office. I truly hope this is not the original which has been stored in the National Archives, because if so there is no way it should be stored and displayed like this. It appears that it is a copy, but Trump’s social media post suggested it was the original. There was a story I reported on a few weeks ago that said he wanted the original moved to the Oval, but this does not look like the original to me so maybe they talked him into a copy.

… Or fooled him into thinking this was the original - he wouldn’t know any different.

… NYT reported that Chuck Schumer is postponing his book tour after major backlash from Democrats after he led the group of senators who voted to pass Mike Johnson’s CR. Statement: "Due to security concerns, Senator Schumer's book events are being rescheduled."

… Journalist Grace Panetta posted a statement from BoldProgressive, which was organizing protests at Schumer's tour dates: "We warned last week that if Democrats caved on the funding bill, it would help Republicans by redirecting some of the anger away from Trump and toward Democrats - and Chuck Schumer just proved us right."

… Punchbowl reports that Schumer met with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries this weekend in NY and he reportedly has no intention of stepping down from leadership and isn’t concerned about a primary challenge because he isn’t up for reelection until 2028.

… I don’t think Schumer is now in any position to lead the charge on what has been one of our most important weapons - constituents showing up at town halls of their representatives to speak their minds - since he is afraid to face Democratic voters himself.

Both the House and Senate are off this week, so it appears much of the action is going to be out of the executive branch and the courts. Tomorrow should be pretty crazy after Trump’s call with Putin. I expect nothing good to come out of it, but we will see. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can read it here.

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… Sen. Bernie Sanders: “The Democratic Party needs a major transformation. It can no longer be a top-down, billionaire-funded, consultant-driven party. It must be a multi-generational, multi-racial working class party. In a time of growing oligarchy and

authoritarianism, that’s the only path to victory.”

… Financial Times reported that foot traffic in US stores fell by 4.3% for the first half of March. Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at Circana: “The consumer is being barraged with so many different elements It’s easier for the consumer to just step back and say: ‘I’m going to ride this out and wait and see what happens’.”

… Traffic to US fast-food restaurants was down 2.8% in February.

… Four major US airlines warned that they expect to see a slowdown in flights this year based on fewer vacation travelers to the US.

… CNBC reported that retail sales only increased 0.2% this month, which was below the Dow Jones projection for a 0.6% rise.

… NBC reported that Canadian market research firm Leger conducted a new survey showing that 68% of Canadians are significantly reducing purchases of American products, and 59% said they’re less likely to visit the U.S. this year than in 2024. 36% said they already canceled travel plans to the US this year.

… CNBC reports that Goldman Sachs was projecting a boom in mergers and acquisitions this year, but now doesn’t think it is going to happen. The bank lowered its outlook for completed mergers and acquisitions volume to a 7% increase after previously projecting 25%. David Kostin, their Chief Equity Strategist: “We model completed M&A activity as a function of US economic growth, CEO confidence, and changes in financial conditions. A tariff risk scenario where economic growth is slower and confidence is lower than we currently expect could lead to a contraction in completed M&A activity.”

… The Telegraph reported that Tesla has been forced to halt sales of Cybertruck due to concerns about metal panels falling off the vehicles. EV website Electrek said there have been a number of examples of trim and panels coming detached and flying off the vehicles as they were being driven. This follows several other issues with the vehicle. Owners have reported that this is happening more often in cold weather, which suggests that it could be the adhesive that was used.

… Tesla shares dropped 4.79% today.

… Rep. Anna Paulina Luna responded to a headline in the Daily Beast which ran a story about an upcoming book: “The new revelations reveal how Trump reportedly offered a female congresswoman his bed, as long as she kept it a secret from his wife.”

… Luna said it was entirely innocent and the headline was deceptive and salacious: “I was very pregnant and at the time experiencing pre-eclampsia symptoms, but was not diagnosed. As soon as Trump boarded the plane, being the gentleman and good person that he is, said if I did not feel well, I could use the back room. He did this in a respectful way and in front of my husband, of which we thanked him.”

… “The author of this book never reached out to me for comment. Which means that this book is likely going to be a shit hit piece. If people in POTUS orbit are talking to this author, they need to be cut off immediately.”

… After 2 days of golf and a party following his latest claim to another club championship, someone FINALLY posted from Trump’s Truth Social account a statement on Sunday night about the storms that killed 40 people on Fri and Sat. It isn’t one that looks like he wrote it, which means this came from his constant companion Natalie Harp: “We are actively monitoring the severe tornadoes and storms that have impacted many States across the South and Midwest. My Admin is ready to assist State and Local Officials, as they help their communities to try and recover from the damage. Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!”

… A reporter asked Karoline Leavitt about media reports that the admin has decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine which is investigating Russian war crimes. Why has that occurred? “I know there have been many inaccurate and misleading reports from Reuters lately, so I would caution anybody taking it seriously.”

… Leavitt seems to not know anything about anything. She isn’t playing dumb either. She walks into each briefing completely unprepared, it is obvious that she is not interested in doing her homework or preparing for what is an extremely difficult and serious job where you have to keep tabs on many different subjects and agencies. Her predecessors, even those from Trump’s first term, walked into briefings with huge binders full of notes. Leavitt often brags about how she is able to do her job without notes.

… Trump was asked a question today from an NBC reporter but stopped her mid-sentence and asked who she was with. When she responded NBC, Trump said: “I don’t want to talk to NBC anymore. You’re so discredited.”

… NYT reported that nearly 200 senior experts with the National Nuclear Security Administration have left the agency as part of Musk’s DOGE cuts. The agency builds reactors for nuclear submarines, manages 3,748 nuclear bombs and warheads. Scott Roecker, VP of the Nuclear Threat Initiative: “This is going to make the job more difficult because what you lost were some of your most valuable leaders. These were very accomplished, very successful, very well-trained people who were performing complex, niche jobs.”

… Among the departures: 27 engineers, 13 program or project analysts, 12 program or project managers, 6 budget analysts/accountants, 5 physicists/scientists, as well as attorneys, compliance officers and technologists.

… Chris Rilling, former NOAA Division Director: “The NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory on Mauna Loa near Hilo, Hawaii, which has been monitoring CO2 levels for the past 65 years, is set to be shut down. Trumpian reality: If we can't see CO2 levels rising, then it must not be happening.”

… Journalist Adam Klasfeld reported that a hearing was held today before Judge Chutkan in a lawsuit brought by several environmental groups who are suing the Trump admin after they froze billions of dollars that were appropriated to them as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Judge Chutkan is deciding whether to issue a temporary restraining order.

… Politico reported that Evan Feinman, who was the director of the $42.5 billion US broadband initiative for the past 3 years, sent an email to colleagues warning the program is about to be disbanded while in progress to steer the contract to Elon Musk’s Starlink: “Stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world’s richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals. We should NOT change it to benefit tech that delivers slower speeds at higher costs to the household paying the bill.”

… CNN reports that Musk’s largest business partner - the Chinese Communist Party - is celebrating the dismantling of Voice of America, which has broadcast to people in China for decades. Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times: “Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying! Voice of America is a symbolic tool of US ideological infiltration into China. I am more than happy to see America’s anti-China ideological stronghold crumble from within, scattering like a flock of startled birds.”

… DNI Tulsi Gabbard reposted Russian propagandist Ian Miles Cheong, who lives in Malaysia and has never been to the US, about VOA: “These orgs produced and disseminated far-left propaganda, including media hostile to conservatives in Central Europe and perpetuated pro-war narratives against Russia.”

… The Russians and Chinese are celebrating and our DNI is reposting anti-American propaganda from foreign operatives. Lovely.

… Kari Lake, who is dismantling VOA for Musk, says that the audio tech who had a boom mic accidentally touch Trump’s face on a windy day on an airport tarmac should be fired: “I worked as a broadcast journalist and news anchor for 30 years. Never in ALL of that time did I see a reporter or audio tech hit someone in the face with a boom mic. Until now, when an NPR reporter hit the president in the face. It is inexcusable and unacceptable. She should be taken off this assignment, immediately.”

… Right-wing podcaster Dan Bongino was sworn in today as Dep. FBI Director.

… The American Prospect reported that the next general counsel of the NLRB will be Crystal Carey, a virtually unknown lawyer at union-busting law firm Morgan Lewis, whose biggest recent client is Amazon.

… CBS reported that a group of teen musicians auditioned and were chosen to play a concert with ‘The President's Own,’ the United States Marine Corps band. The teens were part of Equity Arc, a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring and support for young musicians of color, and the concert was set for this coming May. However, the concern was cancelled after Trump’s anti-DEI order was signed.

…. But military veteran musicians from the bands of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, West Point, and the Naval Academy stepped up last weekend to mentor the students, and 60 Minutes flew them to DC to interview them and have them perform.

… Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger announced she is running for Gov of VA: “Exciting news! I just signed the paperwork to officially get on the ballot to serve as the next Governor of Virginia. I'm so grateful for the 40,000+ Virginians who signed our petitions — and for the 1,300+ volunteers who made it happen.”

… This is a very important seat for Democrats to win in 2025. The Republican nominee is going to be Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, who is very beatable. There are many thousands of government employees and contractors who live in VA who I expect to turn out in big numbers to express their displeasure with DOGE and send Republicans all over the country a strong message with a big pickup for Dems this year.

Trump Is Stumbling And Already Course Correcting, My Discussion W/Heather Cox Richardson, Fighting Trump's Rancid …

 

Trump Is Stumbling And Already Course Correcting, My Discussion W/Heather Cox Richardson, Fighting Trump's Rancid Embrace Of Putin

We had some important wins this week, and need to keep fighting all.....

Simon Rosenberg Mar 8

Morning all. As I wrote yesterday Trump had a terrible week of full of embarrassing retreats, losses and surrenders. He looked weak, unstable, deeply unreliable and yes even idiotic. Pressure forced him to abandon his reckless tariffs on Canada and Mexico and begin the hard process of reining in Musk’s lawless attack on the US government. With his poll numbers way down, the economy slowing and inflation rising, losses mounting in the courts including with his allied SCOTUS, Tesla crashing and SpaceX rockets exploding (again), there is a growing sense that this Trump 2.0 thing despite the bluster and the blather simply isn’t working for him or America. And thus Trump and his team began to change course this week.

Congratulations everyone. Our work, our efforts, our pressure is working.

In recent weeks we talked here how we’d seen cracks emerge in Trump’s Congressional support over his traitorous embrace of Putin; in his plutocratic, middle class betraying economic policies; and in Musk’s savage assault on our government and the Constitutional order. We saw retreats this week from Trump on the economic and Musk front. To me the next big question is whether Trump starts to retreat on his cowardly appeasement of Putin and betrayal of Zelenskyy, Europe and the what we call the America of the Four Freedoms.

The biggest fissure in Trump’s Congressional support is on Russia. It is where Republicans have been the most vocal, the most critical of Trump, the most shocked and outraged. It’s why Senator Slotkin hit Trump’s embrace of Putin so hard in her speech this week. She knows how uncomfortable her Republican Senate colleagues are Trump’s historic betrayal. Yesterday The Hill newspaper had a prominent story about Republican Senators advocating the restoration of our military and intelligence support of Ukraine, working under the assumption (illusion?) that what Trump has done was execute a temporary pause rather than a wholesale switching of sides in the war:

Republican lawmakers are starting to urge President Trump to reverse his decisions to pause U.S. military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, warning that a prolonged stoppage of U.S. help for the war effort would have a seriously detrimental effect….

they warn that stopping the flow of weapons and munitions to Ukraine for too long could have a devastating effect on Ukraine’s warfighting ability, which would undercut its leverage in talks with Russia.

And GOP lawmakers say that sharing intelligence should resume immediately, wondering what the United States has to gain from depriving Ukraine from critical battlefield intelligence.

“It’s a concern for the Ukrainian people. I worry more about how people on the battlefield” feel about it, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a leading advocate for supporting Ukraine, said of the pause on U.S. military shipments.

Tillis warned the pause in aid, which was announced Monday, “could be helpful to Putin.”

Tillis said Ukraine has enough weapons and munitions to hold the front line for now but expressed his hope that the pause in military aid wouldn’t last long.

He said he’s “OK” with a pause as long as it’s a short-term “negotiation tactic.”

“I’m hoping and praying that it’s short-lived,” he said. “I think it will be.”

……

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she opposed the stoppage of military aid.

“I do not think we should be pausing our efforts. It’s the Ukrainians who are shedding blood,” she said, calling the current moment “a critical time for Ukraine.”

Some Republican senators expressed shock Thursday over Trump’s statement that he would make a decision on revoking the temporary legal status for an estimated 240,000 Ukrainians living in the United States.

One Republican senator who requested anonymity called the threat to deport thousands of Ukrainian refugees excessively “punitive.”

“We’ve given them everything from jobs to housing until they get legal status — and now revoke legal status?” the lawmaker asked incredulously.

…….

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) emphasized that the pause on military aid to Ukraine will be temporary.

“It’s a pause, importantly, not a stop. I think it’s part of a negotiation. And I’m hopeful that in the end, that we’ll get folks to the table and be able to negotiate a deal that will bring a peaceful resolution to this three years-long conflict, and one hopefully that will respect the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people,” he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has worked hard behind the scenes to put together the minerals deal, said he was dismayed by Trump’s announced pause on sharing intelligence with Ukraine.

“I’m very worried about that long-term,” he said. “It gives Ukraine an edge. Hopefully, all this will clear up pretty soon.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said “the intelligence that we provided the Ukrainians has been essential for them to be able to stay in the fight.”

“I hope the pause would be lifted at some point,” he said.

This morning we learned the US government has further escalated its undermining of the Ukrainian military by cutting off commercially available satellite data, making it far harder for Ukrainians to conduct operations to defend their country from Putin’s genocidal assault. We are not talking about the “pause” of arms shipments in a few months. These new actions will cause many, many Ukrainians to die, immediately, and give Putin a significant battlefield advantage he did not have a few days ago:

Artillery and drone units study the images to assess quality targets and review the damage to refine the attacks. A constant refresh of satellite imagery helps commanders and soldiers keep tabs on where enemy positions and depots are, making it easier to find vulnerabilities and troop movements. And they help logistics soldiers plan vehicle routes, with alternative corridors laid out if pathways are mined or destroyed.

The suspension was immediately felt by soldiers in the Ukrainian military, some of whom described the decision as treachery, not politics.

Senior troops have used battle software into which the imagery is integrated, but the maps within the programs are no longer usable, said Oleksandr, 40, an officer overseeing intelligence operations inside Russia’s Kursk region.

The reason I am spending so much time on Ukraine this morning is that the horror of what Trump has done this past week has not been adequately captured in our current discourse. By capriciously “suspending” or “pausing” our support of Ukraine with no warning rather than engaging in sustained diplomacy with our European and Ukrainian allies Trump has made America an enabler and supporter of Russia’s invasion and the genocidal killing of innocents. All of Trump’s negotiating “pressure” has been applied to Ukraine, while what Putin has gotten has been an historic normalization without giving America or the world anything. Trump’s pressure has been all on one side, while he has given the other side, Russia, gifts and support beyond anything they could have ever imagined.

And in the last few days, backed now by Trump, Putin has dramatically escalated his attacks on civilians in Ukraine.

Just ending military and intelligence support of a country defending itself from a hostile attack with no warning and planning is a hostile act, intended to inflict harm on Ukraine and help Russia. Republican Senators claim it is a negotiating tactic, but the hard cold reality now is that Trump appears to be in the process of ending our more than century old alliance with Europe, abandoning NATO and taking Russia’s side in the most significant war in Europe since WWII.

In addition to all the other reasons all of this is so wrong, we also have to acknowledge that without the NATO Article 5 protection of our European allies America is far less safe today, and far more vulnerable to a devastating attack by a hostile foreign power (including Russia) than any time in over 200 years. Trump is not just abandoning Ukraine and Europe, he is unilaterally tearing down the global security architecture that has keep America safe and free for generations.

Under Trump America is far, far weaker today, weaker than we’ve been in generations, and this is not something we could be prepared to accept.

The question now is whether the pressure Republicans applied to Trump about Musk and the tariffs will now be applied to Trump’s dangerous embrace of Putin and his attempt to end the Western alliance. Will we get more than statements of concern? Will they hold hearings? Will they band together with Democratic leaders to demand the restoration of our support of Ukraine? Whatever happens it is critical that Democrats force a big debate in the coming days about what is most cowardly and dangerous act of appeasement in all of American history. We can hold shadow hearings. Do live YouTube streams on what this means for Ukraine but also for us. Every Democrat in the Senate and House can sign a letter to Trump and the American people spelling out the gravity of what is happening here and demanding he change course on this policy too. Trump has gone too far here, way too far and we need to fight this historic betrayal of Ukraine, Europe and America with everything we got. We, as we’ve been doing, need to keep contacting our elected leaders and insist they fight Trump’s rancid embrace of Putin with great urgency for here, like in so many other areas, he is moving fast and breaking things that will be very, very hard to repair.

Weekend Reading And Videos - Thrown a lot at you these last few days. Some highlights for your weekend viewing, listening and reading pleasure:

• Thursday’s Big Video and Post - If you are to read or watch one thing this weekend please read/watch my new video and post, about the need for Democrats to open up a second front against Trump that goes beyond our early, appropriate focus on the economy and his plutocratic budget.

• New Hopium Videos/Interviews - Watch Senator Elissa Slotkin’s important speech; feel the passion and the power of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking directly to the American and people and Trump; catch journalist Leon Krauze talking about what Dems here in the US must learn from Mexico’s experience with their own Trump like leader; enjoy NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton giving us an update on their critical battle to hold onto a Supreme Court seat Republicans attempting to steal; learn from leading climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann about the extraordinary war the right and their global allies have been waging on American science.

• Appearances and Podcasts - Catch me on new podcasts with the New Republic’s Greg Sargent and another with Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl). Note we have a new Events page on the site that has a list of all upcoming Hopium events and my public appearances. On Wednesday I had the great pleasure of joining historian Heather Cox Richardson for a town hall discussion with our friends at Commit To Democracy. You can find a portion of our discussion below, and I will send along the full event when it’s posted.

Let’s Get To Work People!!!!! - Let’s start with our current four recommended sets of actions:

1 - Fight The Trump/Musk Attack On Our Government And Our Privacy, End This Historic Crime Spree - Encourage your Senators and Representatives to let Facts be be submitted to a candid world in what I’m calling a joint Senate/House “Letter to America;” hold their own hearings; file criminal referrals for Musk and his malicious posse to DOJ/FBI and amicus briefs in the court cases regarding the usurpation of their Constitutional authorities or file suits of their own (House Dems began doing this on Friday). Encourage them to hold a daily morning press conference to more aggressively challenge Musk’s ransacking of the USG that is making America less prosperous, less healthy, less safe and far less respected in the world.

2 - Protest, Loudly, Trump’s Embrace of Russia and Abandonment of Europe - Let your electeds know you are outraged by traitorous Trump’s selling out of Zelenskyy, abandonment of Europe and embrace of Putin; and that we cannot accept this level of appeasement of someone who is a clear enemy of America and the West, and certainly not an ally. Demand that Trump not let his Saudi meeting w/Putin become our Munich; demand that he not become our Neville Chamberlain; demand that we rejoin our European allies in support of Zelenskyy and democracy here and everywhere. The country is not with Trump’s embrace of Putin and we must be very loud, very, very loud now.

3 - Organize Against The 17 Most Vulnerable Republican House Members - For those of you who live in AZ, CA, CO, IA, MI, NE, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WI please start talking to your local orgs - state and local Democratic parties, grassroots groups, traditional Dem allies - about mounting a campaign targeting the most vulnerable 17 Republican House Members to urge them to vote against whatever joint House-Senate reconciliation bill emerges in the coming weeks. We launched this new effort two weeks ago and while we should be urging all our Senators and Reps to vote against these emerging plans, those of you can work these 17 House Rs have a special role to play in this next phase of the battle over the budget. As we’ve discussed there is a lot of concern in the Republican House about the size of the Medicaid cuts required in the House outline passed last Tuesday and we need to keep working it people!

4 - Keep Calling Attorneys General In The States - Ask them to protect you and your data, tax returns and privacy, and to keep federally mandated monies flowing to your states and communities. For those in the 19 states that brought the successful Treasury suit thank them and encourage them to keep going. I still believe these 19 states should make criminal referrals of Musk/his posse to DOJ/FBI and raise the stakes.

Paid subscribers should self-report their actions today in our daily chat. So inspired by how hard so many of you are working. I want to make a special plea to all Hopium readers in states with Republican Senators - please make your calls, every day. Even 50 to 100 people calling every day in every red state can make a difference. We have hundreds of Hopium subscribers in every state in the country and it’s critical that we all do our part now.

Next, for those wanting to do more traditional political/campaign work we have four Hopium-backed efforts we're rallying behind right now:

Help Susan Crawford and Ben Wikler in Wisconsin - As a way of honoring our good friend Ben Wikler and supporting this critical April Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, I’m asking our community to donate to the Wisconsin Democratic Party today. The money raised here will make sure Ben has the resources he needs to keep his team in place so they can support this critical statewide race. I know many of you are already deeply involved here - thank you all.

Watch our new discussion with Susan and Ben and thanks to a huge surge of support in recent days we have already raised $118,000, blowing past our original $50,000 goal and now our stretch $100,000 goal. We are now upping this to a new super-stretch goal of $150,000 by March 31st. Amazing work everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help Get Ken Martin Off To A Strong Start - In this time of extraordinary challenge we need a strong DNC. Two weeks ago we set a goal of raising $100,000 by March 31st for our new Chair. Incredibly, over 1,000 of you have donated over $97,000 so far. Watch my interview with Ken about what he wants to do with the DNC, and chip in whatever you can to help Ken and the new exciting team at the DNC get off to a strong start. We now have a new stretch goal of $150,000 by March 31st after our very strong start for this effort (note that we did have some money clawed back due to an error in the amount someone gave!)

Help Abigail Spanberger Win Virginia - Virginia will be one of the big battlegrounds of the November, 2025 elections and we have a great candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Watch my interview with Abigail, donate, volunteer, and learn more here. Given how many federal employees live in Virginia, this race is also now on the front lines of the Trump/Musk assault on the federal government. We’ve raised more than $58,000 so far towards our March 31st goal of $100,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!

Get Anderson Clayton And The NC Dems Fight The GOP’s Attempt To Steal A Supreme Court Seat - Last week we began a campaign to raise $50,000 for Anderson Clayton and the NC Dems. These funds will help the NC Dems get off to a great start in 2025 and help cover the costs of their fight to prevent the Republicans from stealing a Supreme Court seat we won together in 2024. Watch my new interview with Chair Clayton from last week to get an update on the fight over the Supreme Court seat and her plans to win elections and counter Trump this year. We’ve raised $19,000 so far - thank you all!

Help Hopium Celebrate Our 2nd Anniversary - Yesterday in a post I reflected back on our work together over these past two years, and made two asks:

1) Commit to bring in one new Hopium subscriber at the level you are currently at this month. Help us grow this community, and bring our plucky, upbeat, hardworking spirit to more people across the US

Keep working hard all. Our work is making a difference, and I am incredibly proud to be in this fight with all of you - Simon