‘You’re a traitor,’ he really said this?

 

That’s what Elon Musk spat at Senator Mark Kelly. Why? Because Mark Kelly defended our veterans, Ukraine, and democracy itself. Because he dared to call out Donald Trump’s reckless alliance with Vladimir Putin.   We know Democrats from Middleboro know who the real traitor is. Can you help us set the record straight? Who do you trust more to stand up for democracy—Mark Kelly or Elon Musk? MARK KELLY ELON MUSK NO OPINION **Please submit your response before 11:59 PM.** Musk has proven time and time again where he stands. He cuts key programs that support veterans and working families, all while aligning himself with Trump’s dangerous agenda.   And Trump? He’s cozied up to war criminals like Vladimir Putin, abandoned Ukraine, and left our troops and allies vulnerable. He’s rewarded foreign adversaries while putting the very people who serve this country in harm’s way.   But Mark Kelly refuses to stay silent. A decorated fighter pilot, he’s never backed down from defending this country. Now, as Senator, he’s taking the fight to Musk and Trump, standing strong against their attacks on democracy, veterans, and American values.   Don’t give Musk the satisfaction of thinking he has convinced us that he’s right. Show him the truth still matters. Stand with Senator Mark Kelly today – because Elon hates being proven wrong, and it’s time to show him he is. Who do you trust more to stand up for democracy—Mark Kelly or Elon Musk? MARK KELLY ELON MUSK NO OPINION Thank you for standing with us, Vote Blue Majority

** If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately ** DONATE $10 TO VOTE BLUE MAJORITY Join Vote Blue Majority in the critical fight to restore balance and protect democracy. With Trump and the Republicans back in control, our mission to counteract their influence is more urgent than ever. We may reach out with several emails each week, not for the noise, but because our grassroots efforts rely on small-dollar donations, averaging less than $20. Every dollar is vital in our push to reclaim a Democratic Majority. To contribute to our cause, click here. Thank you for standing with Vote Blue Majority in this pivotal time. Please note: Contributions to Vote Blue Majority are not tax-deductible. PAID FOR BY VOTE BLUE MAJORITY (VOTEBLUEMAJORITY.ORG) AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR COMMITTEE. DONATE $10 TO VOTE BLUE MAJORITY Vote Blue Majority is dedicated to electing Democrats and transforming our broken campaign finance system.

 

Thank You

Joyce Vance Mar 15

Many thanks to those of you who pre-ordered my book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable, yesterday. Although many of you made a point of purchasing from indie booksellers (who among us doesn’t love a good local bookstore?), by mid-morning yesterday, the book still managed to hit number seven on the Amazon best sellers list, which honestly felt a little bit surreal.

Fortunately, my family is always here to bring me back to earth, and they pointed out that a book called How to Catch a Leprechaun was ahead of me. (I checked it out later during the day and it looks like a great book. Strongly recommend for the little ones in your life ahead of Monday’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities!)

In any event, I’m touched by your support, your confidence in me, and your love. I’ve never written a book before, but I believe in this book, and I believe in us. I believe that we can reclaim and rebuild democracy. I don’t plan to stop talking about it, and specifically about what we can do right now, here in the newsletter. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ve already seen Trump back down—on spending freezes, on birthright citizenship—in the face of our sustained opposition. Now it’s up to us to lead our elected leaders in the direction that we want to go. This is the time to dig in and keep working.

I’ll try to keep the shameless requests to a minimum, but as my friends who’ve written books have explained to me, preorders really do help get a book in circulation, and I hope this one will circulate. I remember Tim Snyder saying he’d put “all the good stuff he had” in On Tyranny. I feel the same way about my book; it’s all of the good stuff I know about what we need to do to keep the Republic.

Pre-Order Giving Up Is Unforgivable

We’re in this together,

Joyce

 

Saturday Message from Meidas Co-Founder

Ben Meiselas and MeidasTouch Network Mar 15

By Ben Meiselas

Great to be with you this Saturday. Let me start by sharing this story:

I went to lunch with my wife, Xochitl, and our 5-month-old baby, Ximena, yesterday at a local diner. The entire diner was talking about how awful Donald Trump is. It was abuzz with the spirit of resistance.

I could hear one table talking about Trump’s attacks on Canada and Greenland, another table discussing how they lost a large amount from their retirement in Trump’s awful economy, and yet another talking about supporting Ukraine.

A few people recognized me and told me they were members of the Meidas Mighty and subscribers to this Substack (shoutout to all our subscribers, and please subscribe to this Substack if you can).

We took some pictures, and I was able to chat with them for about 10 minutes after I ate before we had to bring Ximena home.

All across the country—in diners and coffee shops, barbershops and hair salons, grocery stores and gyms, and at concerts—people are feeling the negative impact of the Trump regime and sharing their stories.

We have all been negatively impacted.

We all know people who have been fired or lost essential services.

It’s not a blue state, red state, or purple state thing.

Trump and the Musk-rats have attacked all Americans.

I have been interviewing dozens of Democratic leaders on the MeidasTouch Network who tell me they are going into “red states” and “red districts” to speak with people who have been harmed by Trump.

As my experience shows, these interactions don’t have to be in auditoriums. I’d encourage anyone who wants to lead and help people to go to local shops, just speak to people, and, more importantly, LISTEN TO PEOPLE.

For emphasis, let me repeat this again: LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.

Throw away your preconceived notions and put aside your own narratives of what you think is going on and… LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.

Truly listen and hear them as they share with you their pain, fears, and hopes.

Ask them questions.

Try to understand that most Americans just want a fair shot. They want to be paid what they deserve for an honest day’s work. They want to be treated with respect and dignity. They want to be heard, and they want leaders who will fight for them. They want love, to love, and to be loved. They want connection and community.

The MeidasTouch Network has been the subject of a lot of press lately since we beat Joe Rogan in downloads and Fox News in digital views. I am often asked what the secret to our growth has been. It’s easy. It’s not a secret. First, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Second, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Third, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Fourth, it’s the… well, you get it. The Meidas Mighty! (Remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast on audio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)

We listen to our audience. Listening to the Meidas Mighty is EVERYTHING!

We engage with our audience every day. We never talk down to our audience. We talk with the Meidas Mighty. We are simply members of this pro-democracy community who have been entrusted with leadership positions by this community.

We must always stay humble, and we must always listen.

Our live shows are interactive, where the Meidas Mighty comment and share their thoughts.

We get millions of messages a week—literally millions—from our audience, letting us know how they feel and what we can do better.

I’m sure you have seen all the comments on this Substack from our subscribers (again, a special thanks to our subscribers here) and from all the Meidas Mighty.

We read ALL the comments.

Thanks for reminding me yesterday morning that I was wearing my polo inside out. When my baby girl was crying at 4 AM, I was certain I put it on the right way, but these things happen, and you go on YouTube in front of millions of people with an inside-out shirt on occasion. Happened to Walter Cronkite all the time.

Leading is about fighting for the people. If you don’t want to fight for the people, then get out of the way. You’re just as bad as the oligarchs. However, in order to fight for the people, you must listen.

I can’t emphasize that enough.

The people have made it clear what they want.

They want bold action to stop Trump and Musk.

Every peaceful tool to do that must be utilized and exhausted.

Every. Single. One.

Do not normalize what is taking place right now.

The Trump regime is not a democracy. It is not a government by the people, for the people. It is a government by the bullies, for the billionaires.

At the MeidasTouch Network, we will continue listening to you. We will continue fighting for you. We will continue using this platform you helped build to cover the leaders who are actually fighting for you.

Power to the Meidas Mighty.

Power to the people.

We would love for you to subscribe to this Substack now if you can, to keep this independent media network growing.

Our competition—Fox and Rogan—is funded by the oligarchs.

We are beating them and want to continue winning the information war with the truth.

To do that, you can help by becoming a subscriber now or gifting someone you know a subscription.

Thanks, Meidas Mighty.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

Kevin Kruse on why Trump 2.0 is worse than he expected

"I didn’t think they would take this bold of a leap into deeply unconstitutional waters, but they have."

Aaron Rupar and Thor Benson

Drugs arrives to speak next to a pile of fake drugs yesterday at the DOJ. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)

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🗣️ 🎤 🤯 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers. If you aren’t one already, please click the button below and become one to support our work. 🗣️ 🎤 🤯

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As a weekend bonus for subscribers, we connected with a longtime friend of the newsletter, historian and author Kevin Kruse, to check in on what’s surprised him about the horror show that has been the first two months of Trump 2.0.

“I want to stress how far off the rails this is in terms of not just our norms and our expectations but our laws,” Kruse said. “There’s a lot that’s deeply unconstitutional here. I get that they’re trying to flood the zone and overwhelm the opposition, but the opposition shouldn’t let itself be overwhelmed. It shouldn’t accept this as the new normal, which is what the administration wants us to do.”

Trump has united the free world against a grave threat Stephen Robinson · Mar 13 Read full story

Kruse’s expertise is American history, so we asked him if there’s any parallel for an unelected oligarch basically taking over the executive branch like Elon Musk has done. He cited Eisenhower’s cabinet of “eight millionaires and a plumber,” but noted that nothing is really comparable to the utter lawlessness and corruption we’re seeing right now.

“What we see from Musk and the rest of Trump’s crew is that they are making financial gains off this,” Kruse said. “Musk just wrestled an FAA program away from Verizon and gave it to his own company. They’re doing all they can to profit from this. The tax cut alone is a good example. Those people in the cabinet are the ones who are going to benefit from more tax cuts for the wealthy.”

A transcript of Public Notice contributor Thor Benson’s full conversation with Kruse, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows.

Marcel Dirsus on the rise and fall of tyrants Aaron Rupar · Mar 3 Read full story

Thor Benson

People have been referring to Elon Musk as a “shadow president.” I know this exact situation is unprecedented, but are there some examples from American history of co-presidencies?

Kevin Kruse

We’ve had brief situations like this. When Reagan was shot, then Secretary of State Alexander Haig famously grabbed the podium and said, “I’m in charge here at the White House.” Well, the vice president should have been in charge.

The one that really stands out, though, is when Woodrow Wilson had a stroke in October 1919. Wilson was totally incapacitated for two months, and his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, basically ran the country. From then until March 1921, he was in a wheelchair with really limited memory and critical faculties, and she basically ran the show. She decided what got brought to him, what was important. She was in effect the shadow president.

Thor Benson

It’s been a little while since we chatted. I’m sure you had specific concerns going into Trump’s second presidency that seem quaint now. How are things worse than you expected?...

 

Schumer's Spineless Surrender

ALSO: Billionaire wrestling lady livid that universities partnered with org that promotes educational opportunities for students of color…

Ally Sammarco Mar 15

Happy Friday, readers! The weekend is here and we are here for it. Thanks again for making Today’s American News your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment.

Senate passes funding bill, keeping government open but leaving Dems divided… Politico reports, “The Senate passed a seven-month funding patch in time to avert a government shutdown… The Senate voted 54-46 on the House-passed bill, almost entirely along party lines… Democrats spent days agonizing over how to manage the politics of this moment… The Democratic base clamored for Democrats to force Republicans back to the table and pass the shorter-term stopgap bill. Ultimately, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decided it wasn’t worth risking a shutdown scenario that could empower [Donald] Trump and [Elon] Musk to make more cuts to government agencies, and potentially fire federal workers. House Democratic leadership balked, with Schumer’s fellow New Yorker, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, refusing to say at a press conference whether he still had confidence in his colleague’s leadership. Schumer’s decision also split his own leadership team.”

Trump delivers wildly inappropriate, hyper-partisan speech at Justice Department… CNN has key takeaways from the speech and reports “President Donald Trump excoriated the Justice Department prosecutors who investigated him and vowed to use it to target his own enemies in a campaign-style speech at the department’s historic Great Hall on Friday. The hour-long speech served as both a victory lap for beating the two federal criminal cases brought against him by the Biden administration, and as a condemnation against any officials – some of whom have been fired from the DOJ – who touched those cases. Trump is a departure from how previous presidents have dealt with the Justice Department. White Houses in the past have typically limited interactions with the department so that its work would not appear political… Trump’s public airing of grievances was unprecedented. He took the opportunity to instead criticize the courts, rail against both his political enemies and the media, and threaten retribution.”

Billionaire wrestling lady livid that universities partnered with org that promotes educational opportunities for students of color… NPR reports, “The U.S. Department of Education has launched investigations into 52 universities in 41 states, accusing the schools of using ‘racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.’ On Friday, the department's Office of Civil Rights said that 45 schools, particularly their graduate programs, violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act by partnering with The PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups earn doctoral degrees in business. The program focuses on supporting Black, Latino and Native American students.” THIS is how the Trump Administration is spending its time and using their brains – punitive action against institutions of higher education 53 days into Trump’s presidency, based on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which they would oppose were it before Congress today but which they are say protects white students from a university working with an organization that supports opportunity for non-white students.

Today’s American News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, become a free or paid subscriber.

Twice in one day, courts block mass firings of probationary federal workers… CBS News reports, “A judge in Maryland has blocked for now the mass firings of probationary federal workers and ordered thousands of fired probationary workers to be reinstated, marking the second decision of its kind in a day. The order from U.S. District Judge James Bredar came late Thursday in a lawsuit filed by 19 states and the District of Columbia against multiple federal agencies alleging the mass firings are illegal.” Bredar noted in the order that the Trump Administration had failed to provide proof that the employees were let go for performance or other individualized reasons, as it originally contended to the court. “On the record before the Court, this isn't true,” the judge wrote. “At least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since President Trump took office, the lawsuit alleges.”

Today’s Buzz

Get your tickets early for these big 2025 concern tours… The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Get ready, because 2025 is set to be another year packed with memorable live concerts and tours from some of your favorite musical artists. Whether you prefer pop, rock, country or rap, artists from all genres are hitting the road in the new year, including Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Blackpink, Usher, Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, Zayn Malik, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Shakira, Billy Joel and Gracie Abrams.” Sadly, Taylor Swift will not be on tour this year.

Beyoncé is among the artists on tour this year. Photo credit: WIREIMAGE

Have a great weekend from us here at Today’s American News. Thanks for allowing us to help make sense of the chaos. Check back in on Monday!

Today’s American News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.