The Republican President has been in office one month today, and we’ve seen some of today’s history repeat itself already. Republicans are working very rapidly.
February 20, 1942 The vast majority of teachers in German-occupied Norway refused to comply with the forced Nazification of the school system. The government had ordered display of the portrait of German-installed Minister President Vidkun Quisling (formerly head of Nasjonal Samling, the Norwegian fascist party) in all classrooms, revision of the curriculum and textbooks to reflect Nazi ideology, and teaching of German to replace English as their second language.The teachers organized and 12,000 of 14,000 nationwide wrote the same letter on this day to the education department refusing membership in the newly formed Nazi teachers’ association. Two days later clergy throughout the country read a manifesto against Nazi control of the schools. Vidkun Quisling (on right), Germany’s puppet leader in Norway, allowed Germany to invade his country and declared himself Prime Minister. In Norway his name has become synonymous with traitor. How the teachers pushed back Norwegian teachers prevent the Nazification of education
February 20, 1956 The U.S. rejected a Soviet proposal to ban nuclear weapons tests and deployment. The U.S. continued atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific and Nevada until 1963.
February 20, 2011 Nearly 40,000 pro-Democracy Moroccans demonstrated peacefully in 57 towns and cities across the country. Though there was sporadic violence later that night, Interior minister Taeib Cherqaoui called the earlier efforts “the healthy practice of the freedom of expression.”
I’ve been staying really busy with writing and calls to my own and other pertinent legislators, and then encouraging and thanking elected Dems (who I’m not fortunate to have for my own district) for doing what they’re able to do in a difficult environment with a minority of seats and little support from we the people. That, some more work on the house, and working with Ollie is really cutting into my time; taking care of those things is a priority for me, and may result in my cutting back on posts and interaction here. I’ll still be around, doing the daily, and checking in to at least like comments when there are some, as long as Scottie wants me to. Meanwhile, here’s a little light duty from Jessica Craven:
There are 179 lawyers in the 119th Congress. Here is a list of all of them. Many of them are Republicans. Those Republicans support the lawless behavior of the Trump administration closing federal agencies authorized by Congress, illegally firing Inspectors generals and staff at the department of justice.
Lawyers are not supposed to take part in criminal behavior or to support the furtherance of a crime, which is what they are doing.
Here is an action you can take. If you have a Republican member of Congress or senator you can look them up at the above link and see if they are attorneys.
Then you can email/call your state Bar association and demand that they be investigated for complicity in the furtherance of a crime by actively supporting Trump in his illegal dismantling of federal agencies and firing of federal workers.Hereis the contact info for all the state bar associations.
Here is a sample text for you to use.
My name is _________________- and I live in (state). I am shocked to see that Representative or Senator __________________, who is a licensed member of the bar in our state, actively supports the illegal dismantling of federal agencies, which only Congress can do. I am shocked to see that they support the illegal firing of federal workers including inspectors general and staff at the Department of Justice without cause. That is complicity in an ongoing crime and I want you to investigate their illegal behavior and suspend them from the bar.
Thank you.
Name, City
Get Smart! 📚
CAP Action has put together a great resource—a Google doc for each state with data on who and what will suffer from cuts if Republicans pass their tax plan. Click here to find your state! (There might be a couple of states missing but they intend to have them all up soon.)
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Hope to see some of you in SF tomorrow. The rest of you will get a regular newsletter then. Thanks!
(However, it’s not well-known, it’s chilling, and it could be upsetting, so take only what you can take. It’s like Rosewood+Greenwood, plus yet more. -A)
Photo: Unidentified Photographer, June 1921 (Getty Images)
Most Black Americans have never heard of the Red Summer of 1919…but it is an element of Black history that we need to pay attention to. This country specializes in committing monstrous atrocities and then ignoring the consequences of their actions. It happened with Native Americans and the Trail of Tears. And, of course, it happened with Black folks. This truth is best captured when we consider what happened in the year 1919.
When Austrian Archduke Franz was assassinated on 28 June 1914, it set off a chain of events that led to what we now call World War 1. Working age white men were drafted and sent to fight, so that left many job vacancies in northern cities that Black men were happy to fill. See, Black folks were feeing the racist South hoping to find less racism in northern cites. The population of Black Chicagoans increased by more than 100% while the number of Black folks in Philadelphia grew by 500%.
While that was happening, 367,000 Black Americans either enlisted or were drafted into service to fight in the war that had just popped off. Black men were eager to prove to white America that Black people deserved dignity. They hoped they would see that by fighting in what white folks were calling ‘The Great War.’ But once the war ended, Black soldiers returned to an ungrateful nation. Thinking about these men, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote on May of 1919 in the NAACP’s Crisis newsletter, “We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting.”
Du Bois had no idea how prophetic his words would be. From May of that year to December, over 25 race massacres took place on American soil. More than 250 Black men, women and children’s lives were violently cut short. Black folks discovered that the racial violence they thought they escaped when they left places like Alabama and Mississippi was not a feature of Southern living. Instead, it was part of being Black in America.
Those white soldiers who came home and discovered that scores of Black people had moved to the north. They also found Black soldiers who felt that they had earned their place in American life by serving their country. An official put it like this: “one of the principle elements causing concern is the returned negro soldier who is not readily fitting back into his prior status of pre-war times.” Therefore, white soldiers became white terrorists to put these soldiers and anyone who looked like them back in their place. There were race massacres in Washington D.C., Omaha, Knoxville, and a massive race riot in Chicago where 38 people were killed and 537 injured. Few white people were arrested for these crimes, fewer were prosecuted. Two years later was the Tulsa race riot where the Greenwood district, what we now call Black Wallstreet, was burned to the ground.
As we celebrate Black History Month, we need to tell the entire truth of our history. Not just the accomplishments of men and women who embody Black excellence, but also the way that America has wronged us. The Red Summer of 1919 is one of those stories that we would like to forget. Yet don’t our accomplishments shine even more brightly considering the darkness we had to endure? No doubt we have endured days when hope unborn had died. But, somehow, against all odds, we came to the place for which our fathers sighed.
So today I have been having a very full day. I have been helping Ron with the bathroom stuff as well as I could. Did our morning walk. I talked to Ron a bought evening meals. I have been watching videos. I have been answering comments which always makes me happy even though I am getting tired. I am working on a post right now on the blogging computer how Ron and I redesigned the hallway bathroom. But even during all that old issues come up. I am so tired of it, and I am sorry to again hit you with it. But two videos showed up in my YouTube feed and I clicked on them. I have to say I shouldn’t have clicked on them, my own damn fault. Ok I admit that. But like a moth to a flame sometimes. What do I say? I should run, and keep running. But far too often I click. And I watch. And I hurt. But each of them tried to send me into the void. Luckily I have strong friends who keep that void from me. Here are the two videos below. I am not opening any more YouTube links for now except for those from those I know and respect. Hugs.
Unlike the story of the teen above I was shared willingly by my older hell spawn female siblings with their boyfriends / future husband. I was way to please the boyfriend without them having to do the work. When the oldest one’s second husband moved into our home and started raping me and her really young kids she laughed to my adopting mother saying it was so cute her soon to be husband thought he was sleeping with a girl. A year later her soon to be 8 years old son came to me saying he wished he had been born a girl so he could be a better girlfriend. I was so entrapped in my own abuse I couldn’t help him. Hell at that time I couldn’t even understand what he was saying, none of my abusers had told me I needed to be the girl, I just was. I regret that to this day. All I could do then was hold him and say please be glad of your man parts and don’t let anyone take them from you. I don’t know if that helped him or if he is angry because he told someone like I did, and they did not help. Sadly he told me who was being abused by the very people abusing him.
Both of these boys were me. Sadly in the first I had no one to go to, the teachers I told only abused me freely and the only time I pulled a gun on one of my abusers … something, maybe a higher power, maybe just a future me, or a better part of me, convinced me not to and to lower the gun, remove my hand from the trigger and to replace everything to the places they belonged. Of all the events in my life that once scares me the most. The idea if I had pulled that trigger that night. What might I have become. Horrible to think of. I was only 9 or so that night. How I might have destroyed the Scotty that was to be. But I had just been violently raped by one of my main hell spawn sibling abusers who had made me do unspeakable things before while growing up. Yet with the gun pressed to his passed out temple, my finger on the trigger, something held me back. I have never understood why. Surly I would have been let off by any court. Blood still tricked down my leg from his sexual assault. But really that was not the point. Something more was. At this point in my life at 62, I doubt I will ever know or understand. Love to all. Best wishes to those that don’t want hugs. Hugs.
February 15, 1898 The man-of-war (battleship) USS Maine was sunk in Cuba’s Havana Harbor as the result of an explosion, 260 American naval personnel dying as a result, another 58 wounded. An insurrection against Spanish colonial rule in Cuba had persisted for years, and brutal Spanish tactics had engendered strong American reaction. That is why Consul General Fitzhugh Lee had asked President William McKinley to send the Maine “for the moral effect it might have.” Spain’s Governor-General Weyler had forced 300,000 Cubans into towns and cities to insulate them from the insurgents but had made no preparations for their food, housing or health care. Half of the reconcentrados, as they were called, died as a result. Pres. McKinley had tried since coming into office to reach a settlement through negotiation but Spain rejected his efforts. Following the sinking of the Maine, popular opinion in the U.S. moved toward war with Spain, partially in response to inflammatory press coverage. Congress then voted McKinley $50,000,000 to be used for the national defense at his discretion, and provided for a contingent increase of the army to 100,000 men. The cause of the explosion ???
February 15, 1998 About 2,000 people – including a tractor convoy consisting of over 100 farmers – staged a demonstration in the north German town of Ahaus in protest against the planned shipment of nuclear waste to a storage facility in the town. A consignment of full CASTOR (Casks for Storage and Transport of Radioactive Material) containers was expected at the Ahaus interim nuclear storage site within the next two weeks.
February 15, 2002 President George W. Bush approved Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the site for long-term disposal of 70,000 metric tons (77,000 tons) of highly radioactive nuclear power plant waste. 12 years and $6.8 billion worth of study and construction had gone into the site 90 miles from Las Vegas. It is officially estimated that, by the time it is completed in 2017, the total construction cost will be $23 billion. 2000 additional metric tons of such waste are generated by U.S. nuclear power plants each year, leading to concerns that the facility would be full shortly after its opening. All such waste is currently stored onsite at individual nuclear power plants. Problems with the Yucca Mountain site What are the alternatives FAQs on Yucca Mountain
February 15, 2003 The world said NO to war… In the single largest day of protest in world history, millions on 6 continents demonstrated against the U.S./U.K. plans to invade Iraq. Reported totals included 1 to 2 million in London and Rome; 1.3 million in Barcelona, Spain (a city of 1.5 million); 500,000 each in Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and New York. Smaller demonstrations were held in over 600 cities and towns across the U.S., including tens of thousands in several cities, and 150,000 the following day in San Francisco. Total participation is estimated at 25 million in more than 100 countries.
This is your TPM evening briefing. By Nicole Lafond | February 13, 2025 6:27 p.m.
A federal district court judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday afternoon blocking the enforcement of Donald Trump’s sweeping Jan. 28 executive order that sought to shut down medical care for trans youth under the age of 19 nationwide.
Judge Brendan Hurson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a Biden nominee, issued the decision from the bench earlier this afternoon and a written order is due out soon.
The ruling puts Trump’s executive order on hold while the case moves forward.
During Trump’s second week in office, he signed an executive order that declared the U.S. will not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender transition for people under the age of 19. The executive order specifically sought to block trans youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care, such as blocking medical professionals from prescribing hormones or puberty blockers to patients under the age of 19. This executive order was separate from the one Trump signed on his first day back in the White House, which sought to enable discrimination against trans people across multiple agencies and departments within the federal government through a very specific and somewhat bizarre assertion that there are only two genders “at conception.”
Quickly after Trump signed the executive order seeking to ban gender affirming care for trans youth on Jan. 28, hospitals in Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., among other places, announced their intentions to either suspend or review their care; many “abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under age 19, canceling appointments and turning away patients, including some who had been receiving this care for most of their life,” according to the ACLU, a plaintiff in the case that Hurson’s court is presiding over.
The ACLU, along with Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Maryland filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 4, on behalf of trans youth and their families whose health care had been blocked in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s order.
In Thursday’s hearing, Hurson heard arguments from plaintiffs, who requested a temporary restraining order. Plaintiffs argued the EO was “unlawful and unconstitutional” because it violates anti-discrimination laws and attempts to block funds that have already been allocated by Congress.
The government argued that the executive order was not a ban on gender affirming care, but a “general policy directive,” claiming that the plaintiffs did not yet have grounds to sue, NBC News reported.
“In this situation, it is clear that these plaintiffs have received phone calls stopping their care, stopping their appointments, stopping their everything,” Hurson said during the hearing Thursday, adding that hospitals stopped care because of the order, which also seeks to prohibit federal funding of transition-related care for minors.
“I don’t know how you can credibly argue that this is not demanding the cessation of funding for gender affirming care,” he said.
Additionally, the executive order “seems to deny that this population even exists, or deserves to exist,” Hurson continued, according to the AP.
Lambda Legal told NBC News that they intend to request a preliminary injunction before the 14 days are up.
The foundation wants the court to cut their access to the Office of Personnel Management systems.
mariella moon Contributing Reporter Tue, Feb 11, 2025, 10:22 PM CST·2 min read
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with multiple federal employee unions, have filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team to block their access to sensitive and identifying information on millions of Americans. Specifically, the plaintiffs are looking to block them from being able to access data stored by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and to delete any information they’ve collected so far. The lawsuit also names OPM and Acting Director Charles Ezell as defendants.
In early February, Reuters reported that Musk’s aides locked OPM employees out of the agency’s systems. “We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems,” one of its sources said back then. The OPM has the largest collection of employee data in the US and contains sensitive information on both past and current federal employees, as well as on job applicants for federal positions who applied through USAJobs.gov. As the EFF notes, the agency’s records contain federal employees’ names, birthdates, home addresses, social security numbers, work experience, union activities, salaries, performance reviews, demotions, life insurance, death benefits as well as classified information NDAs. The list even includes the first names and last name initials of CIA employees in highly sensitive roles.
In its announcement, the EFF explained that the mishandling of information in OPM’s systems could lead to “significant and varied abuses,” and that DOGE’s “unchecked access” on its own puts federal employees at risk of privacy violations and even political pressure and blackmail. The foundation also emphasized the risk federal employees are facing with DOGE’s access to unrestricted information and Musk’s ownership of X. It cited Musk’s old tweets naming specific government personnels whose jobs he would cut even before he had access to OPM’s database. (snip-MORE)
February 14, 1957 The organization that would shortly be called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) chose its leadership at a meeting in New Orleans. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Ralph David Abernathy led the group which sought to coordinate civil rights protests throughout the South. Organizers of bus boycotts, inspired by the one in Montgomery, Alabama, had met in Atlanta a month earlier. During that meeting, Dr. Abernathy’s home and church were bombed. Reverend Ralph David Abernathy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Southern Christian Leadership Conference history
February 14, 1971 President Richard Nixon ordered a secret taping system to be installed for his offices in the White House. Listen in on the presidents
February 14, 1989 At a meeting of the presidents of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador, the Sandinista government of Nicaragua agreed to release a number of political prisoners and hold free elections within a year. In return, Honduras promised to close bases established by the U.S. for and used by the anti-Sandinista Contra rebels. Just over one year later, elections were held (with international observers including former President Jimmy Carter) though the nation was threatened with a continuing U.S. economic boycott, and was experiencing ongoing Contra violence. The Sandanista Front candidate was defeated 55% to 41%.
Elon Musk visited Donald Trump in the Oval Office yesterday and was a total disgrace.
Elon, who was in all black, wearing a black T-shirt and a black MAGA hat, said he was “open” and “honest” in his work finding waste and fraud in federal spending.
When asked about his lie that $50 million was spent on condoms for Gaza, Elon said, “Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected. Nobody’s going to bat 1.000.” A good example of “some” of the things he says that are incorrect is his statement that DOGE was “open” and “honest.”
Before you tell a lie, like Elon’s condom bullshit, you can easily look up the facts, like when Elon lied about the last budget and claimed it included $300 billion for a football stadium in Washington DC, Congress would get a 40 percent pay increase, or that it funded bioweapons labs. Elon could have looked all this shit up before posting about it on his platform X/Twitter…over 100 times within 24 hours.
Unfortunately, we can’t fact-check Elon’s claims that the federal bureaucracy had been corrupted by cheats and officials who had approved money for “fraudsters.”
We can’t fact-check his claim that officials at USAID were taking “kickbacks.”
We can’t fact-check his claim that some officials “managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position.”
We can’t fact-check his claim that some people were receiving Social Security benefits at the age of 150.
We can’t fact-check his statement, “There are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position.”
The reason we can’t fact-check any of that is because Elon didn’t provide any proof of his claims and DOGE is operating in secret. There is no transparency with DOGE. None, nada, zip, zip, zippity-doo-dah, none.
Here’s a case of irony: The employee Musk claims made millions off the government had to file a financial disclosure form. Elon does not because Trump designated him a “special employee.” So just as we can’t see Trump’s tax returns, we can’t see Elon’s either.
When asked about the conflict of interest of him scouring billion-dollar contracts while his company Space X has billion-dollar contracts with the government, he said, “First of all, I’m not the one filing the contract. It’s the people at SpaceX or something.” As Sarah Marshall said in the great film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, “bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.” It’s still a conflict of interest, even if he’s not lying.
Elon said, “I don’t know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization. He also said, “We are actually trying to be as transparent as possible,” and then some more crap came out of his mouth when he said, “So all of our actions are maximally transparent.”
Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.
Without exhibiting any self-awareness, Elon said the bureaucracy is an “unelected, fourth, unconstitutional branch of government, which has, in a lot of ways, currently, more power than any elected representative. That might be the only thing Elon said that is true other than when he said, “There are boogers in my ears.” We’ll get to that.
Elon also lacked self-awareness when he said this bureaucracy “does not match the will of the people.” That’s true because nobody voted for Elon.
A lot of Elon/Trump defenders say we did vote for Elon because Trump said Elon was going to find government waste if he won the election. What Trump did NOT say was that Elon would fire people himself, cut government spending himself, gain access to all our financial information, or hire Nazis to help (which he has rehired after momentarily firing him).
Elon also really really really really really lacked all fucking self-awareness when he said, “The goal is to “restore democracy. If the bureaucracy’s in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?”
People like Musk and Trump don’t know the meaning of words like “democracy.” When they say “democracy,” they mean fascism. When they say “patriot,” they mean traitor beholden to Vladimir Putin, whom Trump surprised with a phone call today because it’s two days before Valentine’s. And when Trump says “vegetable,” he means ketchup.
Every MAGAt who defends Elon’s claims is too stupid to realize they don’t see any evidence of his claims. A few days ago, an Elon-defending MAGAt asked me, “What do you have against transparency?”. Again, total lack of awareness. People who defend Elon and Trump take them at their word, which is bizarre because they’re both huge sack-of-shit liars.
Trump and Elon talk about fraud and theft in the federal government while taxpayers are paying millions for Trump to sleep in his own bed at his bedbug-ridden golf resorts. Remember when Trump tried to host an international summit at one of his golf clubs? If you believe that was the best venue in the nation for a G7 summit, then let me sell you some golf club memberships and some bridges.
The only person who didn’t lie to the press in the Oval Office yesterday was Elon’s booger-mining kid, named X. At one point, X, who is Elon’s 11th child, stuck his fingers in his father’s ears…the same fingers he was picking his nose with. Trump seemed very uncomfortable with the kid in the room, probably because he’s jealous that X has at least outgrown his diapers. X can probably also hold a water bottle with one hand.
Elon wants to cut funding to feed children living in poverty, but his little trust-fund baby has so much White privilege that he gets to pick his nose in the Oval Office because his dad has so much White Privilege that he’s not required to wear a suit and tie in the Oval and instead can come dressed as a Bond villain.
Now there will have to be DNA experts to figure out which boogers under the Resolute Desk belong to Little X…and which belong to Trump.
with which to address and direct our government, the American Bar Association has provided very good such words. I was thinking I was going to make this a morning post, but I’m going ahead and publishing so people can get to work in the morning. Thanks for everything you can do! It matters, and we have to really push our legislators to do the right things, now more than ever before in my own lifetime, and I thought that was when we invaded Iraq. This is exponential amounts of that.-A.
The American Bar Association Pulls The Fire Alarm by Rebecca Schoenkopf
Yesterday, the American Bar Association did something it pretty much never does: It spoke out on politics. If you’re a cow with a head injury or an alien from outer space or a typical Trump supporter, you might think the organization is being partisan in so doing, but that word doesn’t apply when the president and his party are in the midst of committing a Nazi terrorist attack to destroy the United States once and for all, and with it, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the rest of our 249-year experiment.
But that’s what’s happening, which means groups like the ABA must speak out. It’s not the kind of thing that’s going to make a ripple at the next Make Cousins Love Again Trump Nazi Jamboree in Pig Whistle, Alabama, but it might be instructive for some of the real lawyers currently trading their integrity and legal ethics to work for Donald Trump, or real lawyers quietly hanging on in government agencies facing a choice over whether or not to do that.
Y’all know how lawyers who work for Trump tend to get disbarred, right?
The Trump regime, unsurprisingly, is being very clear that if the choice for lawyers is between following the law and breaking it for Trump, they’ll pick the latter every time. Pam Bondi’s Justice Department has already let it be known in no uncertain terms that their alliance is to den Führer.
Letters have been drafted begging the ABA to stand up against the two-bit dictator. The ABA has already had to come out in opposition to Trump’s executive order threatening targeted investigations into DEI in bar associations of all kinds, at all levels. The clear implication being that if you speak out against Stupid Hitler in any way, Stupid Hitler will target you. NBC News has much more on what the conversations surrounding bar associations are looking like right now.
Now we have this very long statement from Bill Bay, the president of the ABA. Again, if you’re a MAGA Nazi supporter, it might seem “partisan.” To normal people who don’t hate America and everything it stands for, it’s just patriotic.
The full statement, which is titled “The ABA Supports The Rule Of Law,” with a few things bolded for emphasis:
It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change. That is expected. But most Americans also expect that changes will take place in accordance with the rule of law and in an orderly manner that respects the lives of affected individuals and the work they have been asked to perform.
Instead, we see wide-scale affronts to the rule of law itself, such as attacks on constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, the dismantling of USAID and the attempts to criminalize those who support lawful programs to eliminate bias and enhance diversity.
We have seen attempts at wholesale dismantling of departments and entities created by Congress without seeking the required congressional approval to change the law. There are efforts to dismiss employees with little regard for the law and protections they merit, and social media announcements that disparage and appear to be motivated by a desire to inflame without any stated factual basis. This is chaotic. It may appeal to a few. But it is wrong. And most Americans recognize it is wrong. It is also contrary to the rule of law.
The American Bar Association supports the rule of law. That means holding governments, including our own, accountable under law. We stand for a legal process that is orderly and fair. We have consistently urged the administrations of both parties to adhere to the rule of law. We stand in that familiar place again today. And we do not stand alone. Our courts stand for the rule of law as well.
Just last week, in rejecting citizenship challenges, the U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said that the rule of law is, according to this administration, something to navigate around or simply ignore. “Nevertheless,” he said, “in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow.” He is correct. The rule of law is a bright beacon for our country.
In the last 21 days, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed alleging that the administration’s actions violate the rule of law and are contrary to the Constitution or laws of the United States. The list grows longer every day.
These actions have forced affected parties to seek relief in the courts, which stand as a bulwark against these violations. We support our courts who are treating these cases with the urgency they require. Americans know there is a right way and a wrong way to proceed. What is being done is not the right way to pursue the change that is sought in our system of government.
These actions do not make America stronger. They make us weaker. Many Americans are rightly concerned about how leaders who are elected, confirmed or appointed are proceeding to make changes. The goals of eliminating departments and entire functions do not justify the means when the means are not in accordance with the law. Americans expect better. Even among those who want change, no one wants their neighbor or their family to be treated this way. Yet that is exactly what is happening.
These actions have real-world consequences. Recently hired employees fear they will lose their jobs because of some matter they were assigned to in the Justice Department or some training they attended in their agency. USAID employees assigned to build programs that benefit foreign countries are being doxed, harassed with name-calling and receiving conflicting information about their employment status. These stories should concern all Americans because they are our family members, neighbors and friends. No American can be proud of a government that carries out change in this way. Neither can these actions be rationalized by discussion of past grievances or appeals to efficiency. Everything can be more efficient, but adherence to the rule of law is paramount. We must be cognizant of the harm being done by these methods.
Moreover, refusing to spend money appropriated by Congress under the euphemism of a pause is a violation of the rule of law and suggests that the executive branch can overrule the other two co-equal branches of government. This is contrary to the constitutional framework and not the way our democracy works. The money appropriated by Congress must be spent in accordance with what Congress has said. It cannot be changed or paused because a newly elected administration desires it. Our elected representatives know this. The lawyers of this country know this. It must stop.
There is much that Americans disagree on, but all of us expect our government to follow the rule of law, protect due process and treat individuals in a way that we would treat others in our homes and workplaces. The ABA does not oppose any administration. Instead, we remain steadfast in our support for the rule of law.
We call upon our elected representatives to stand with us and to insist upon adherence to the rule of law and the legal processes and procedures that ensure orderly change. The administration cannot choose which law it will follow or ignore. These are not partisan or political issues. These are rule of law and process issues. We cannot afford to remain silent. We must stand up for the values we hold dear. The ABA will do its part and act to protect the rule of law.
We urge every attorney to join us and insist that our government, a government of the people, follow the law. It is part of the oath we took when we became lawyers. Whatever your political party or your views, change must be made in the right way. Americans expect no less.
– William R. Bay, president of the American Bar Association
Again, if you’re a Nazi Republican, that probably feels like an attack. All good and true things feel like attacks to Nazi Republicans, we reckon.
This is a plea to lawyers to remember that they’re lawyers and act accordingly, unlike the freaks Trump has installed atop the Justice Department and in OMB and everywhere else, many of whom have represented Trump so many times that the concept of legal ethics is probably a foreign language at this point. (Use it or lose it! It applies to high school Spanish and also legal ethics, we guess.) And it’s a plea to elected officials to at least pretend like they weren’t making jerk-off motions behind their backs when they took their oaths.
Note that the full statement, while referring to specific things, doesn’t invoke the dictator by name. That seems intentional.
Bay said last week at a speech in Phoenix that the ABA “will not shrink from the things we believe in.” More:
“We will stand tomorrow for what we stand for today and what we stood for yesterday: the rule of law, the importance of our judicial system, the essential role of lawyers, an inclusive profession,” he said. “These are our north stars. We will hold fast to our core principles in the face of shifting winds.”
Bay closed out his speech to a standing ovation, saying, “I believe this will be our finest hour.”
We certainly hope so. The times we live in require it.
EJ Dionne quotes Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law, who emphasizes that “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis right now. There have been so many unconstitutional and illegal actions in the first 18 days of the Trump presidency. We never have seen anything like this.” It’s not coming. We’re in the thick of it. The speaker of the House — an avowed Christian extremist insurrectionist — will not say out loud that Trump and Elon Musk should obey court orders. JD Vance and Elon Musk are pretty sure the answer to that is “no,” and that courts should have to physically make them obey orders.
Because guess what? The speaker of the House is one of those domestic enemies people swear to protect America from, and so is the president, and so is the vice president, and so is their unelected South African apartheid terrorist buddy.
Scottie's Playtime 