Good Ideas Within

“Who’s Gonna Stop Him?” by Donna Schwartz Mills

Don’t ever say that to Karoli. Read on Substack

Snippets:

(BTW – the image we’ve all seen of the exterior of the new addition is an unofficial AI rendering. I believe last week we said it was real. The REAL one is at the top of this newsletter. We apologize for the error.)

We are now long past lamenting that this stuff is not normal. The yahoos who have been installed in government have no interest in making our lives better – but they’re super good at coming up with crap to make them worse.

“Nothing is normal,” Karoli agrees. “but some things are so out of the realm of – like, for example…today’s executive order by Trump ordering a new census to be based on 2024 data with no non-citizens in the census. All of which is entirely illegal, unconstitutional.”

“Why is it that newspapers cannot say it’s unconstitutional? I mean, the Washington Post came close to saying that but they couldn’t actually say it,” she says. (NOTE: NPR does a good job here. Which is a good reminder to give to your local NPR station, if you can.)

When Karoli pointed out on social media that this latest EO was unconstitutional, someone came back at her with “Who’s going to stop him?”

That is exactly the kind of thinking that makes the authoritarian takeover complete. We still have the possibility of returning this nation to a functioning democracy – as long as we resist the temptation to become fatalistic about MAGA’s burrowing infestation of our government.

Just look at what has happened since the regime ordered Texas to engage in a highly irregular mid-cycle redistrict session to give the Republicans five more seats. The only reason this is happening is because the regime expects to lose the House in 2026, so they are doing everything they can think of to rig the election in their favor.

And we are fighting back. Those Democratic Texas legislators who fled the state to deprive Governor Abbott of a quorum are heroes in the fight for democracy. The Democratic governors who are assisting them and arranging for retaliatory re-districting are champions of democracy. And the House Democrats on the Oversight Committee who figured out they could force Chairman James Comer into subpoenaing the Epstein Files are golden.

And do you know what happens when we don’t meekly accept MAGA’s crazy maneuvers as done deals? They back down. Just look at the highest profile cases of people who have been kidnapped by ICE. Community outrage and publicity have helped get some of these folks released. But – as Aliza points out – the key to winning that battle is engaging the community.

“It is way past time for white people to do this job and this heavy lifting. It has to come from us. It HAS to. We have been reliant and allowing the people who we’ve oppressed and allowed to be oppressed save us every single time. And it is our turn… we have to have the difficult conversations with our families, with our neighbors, with our friends, with our fellow white people. We need to call these people, you know – we have to call them on their biases, and their flawed thinking. It has to happen. They can’t sit in comfort while all this shit’s happening around us,” she says.

Down That Rabbit Hole

Here’s a few of the resources I looked at while trying to understand if there actually is anyone to stop Trump from building his monstrosity of a ballroom:

Architectural Digest has this handy dandy timeline of all the many renovations that have been undertaken at the White House over the years.

The White House Historical Association has numerous articles on all things White House History.

One of the biggest changes to the White House occurred during the Truman Administration, which added the East Wing to the building in order to cover up an underground security bunker that was added during the war. Wikipedia’s got a deep dive into that one.

Finally: Karoli (who is a much better researcher than I) found a New York Times article (gift link) with the answer to the question we originally posed: It turns out that there IS a standing Committee for the Preservation of the White House – and it’s made up of the director of the National Park Service, representatives from the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Art and more appointees of the president.

As it turns out:

Mr. Trump has not nominated a park service director, a position that requires Senate confirmation, or announced the appointments of individuals to serve on the committee. The terms of 13 individuals that former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appointed to the committee in 2023 expired when Mr. Trump began his second term, according to a government database. Jessica Bowron, the comptroller of the National Park Service, is currently serving as its acting director.

So the answer to that question is – No, there appears to be no one who will stop him from this one. (snip-MORE on the page, including the podcast)

Kennedy Center Honors could see some changes under Trump

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kennedy-center-honors-changes-under-trump/

Kennedy Center Honors could see some changes under Trump

The Kennedy Center has slightly delayed naming its list of annual lifetime achievement honorees until closer to the event in December, and the award itself, known for its rainbow-hued ribbon, may be redesigned in favor of a simpler version, sources familiar with the decisions told CBS News.

The announcement of the Kennedy Center Honors recipients, usually made annually in August, will happen in the next several weeks, one of the sources said.

Although some of the arts center’s staff and those who closely follow the event have worried the televised gala would be completely revamped and renamed in favor of a patriotic-sounding moniker, the Kennedy Center Honors name will remain untouched, sources said.

The rainbow theme won’t disappear entirely, but the ribbon for the lifetime achievement medallion will likely to be redesigned — possibly with a black or gold ribbon.

President Biden with 2022 Kennedy Center Honorees Amy Grant, Bono and The Edge of U2, and Gladys Knight during a reception at the White House on Dec. 4, 2022.Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

The Honors weekend will be revamped, with a more streamlined schedule instead of multiple gatherings at the State Department, the White House and elsewhere, sources said. The events were expensive and time-consuming, and honorees sometimes skipped portions of the non-televised events.

After criticizing the Kennedy Center‘s artistic fare and its finances, President Trump earlier this year named himself as its chairman, longtime aide and supporter Richard Grenell as its president and several White House officials and Trump allies as board members. That triggered a number of artists to cancel performances and some staff members resigned.

The Kennedy Center Honors ceremony is directed and produced by CBS and airs on the network.

The size of the Kennedy Center’s development team has been severely downsized, several sources close to the matter said. That team has shrunk from more than 60 to less than 20, and some departments have been slashed altogether.

Giving by Democratic donors has collapsed, although aggressive fundraising has continued and has outpaced past years with more corporate sponsors, several sources said.

Grenell told CBS News: “I don’t want to lose a single Democratic donor. We’re working hard to keep them and expand the donor base. The arts should not be political.”

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump at The Kennedy Center for the opening night performance of “Les Misérables” on June 11, 2025.Craig Hudson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

During his first term, after several award recipients criticized him, Mr. Trump skipped the Honors shows, breaking a tradition of presidential attendance at the cultural venue.

President Biden attended during all four years of his term, including last year’s ceremony that recognized singer Bonnie Raitt, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, surviving members of the band the Grateful Dead, trumpet player Arturo Sandoval, and Harlem’s Apollo Theater.

Two of the sources said Grenell has been an effective organizer but is only occasionally at the Kennedy Center. One was critical of Grenell’s salary. Grenell started off taking zero salary and is now paid $175,000, sources said, which is less than the previous president, Deborah Rutter, whose salary topped $1 million, public tax records show.

Roma Daravi, a spokeswoman for the Kennedy Center, declined to comment on Grenell’s salary or changes to the award design.

She said they’re not making changes to ceremony itself. “If anything,” she said, “it’s going to be more exciting.”

Political cartoons / memes / and news I want to share. 8-9-2025

Political cartoon of the day

#federalize DC from Liberals Are Cool

Tariffs and prices

Image from Liberals Are Cool

Dario Castillejos Oaxaca, Mexico

Gary Varvel Creators Syndicate

Image from Liberals Are Cool

Al Goodwyn for 8/8/2025

‘This Book is Gay’ among 55 titles banned in Florida, including in Broward County

Again I keep saying this, it is a fundamentalist Christian attempt to remove all media featuring or talking about the LGBTQ+. They do not want LGBTQ+ children seeing themselves in media, in library books, but more important they do not want straight cis kids to read or see kids who are different who are accepted. They want kids to grow up thinking those LGBTQ+ kids are bad and need to be ostracized or harassed / threatened to be cis straight. They want to return to the society / schools of the 1950s. These people can not accept that other people and other cultures exist that are different from the way they feel or live. They want what Russia and Hungary did, outlaw being gay in public. Hugs

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2025/08/07/this-book-is-gay-among-55-titles-banned-in-florida-including-in-broward-county/

The Florida Department of Education has identified more than 50 books it says are no longer permitted in public schools across the state, citing inappropriate and pornographic content.

But some parents and advocacy groups are questioning whether the state should have the final say over what books are allowed in schools — including in Broward County.

A parent who spoke with Local 10’s Roy Ramos on Thursday with believes families should have input, and that local reviews should take place before books are removed.

“You will remove these 55 books,” said Stephana Ferrell, a parent and director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, responding to the state’s recent directive.

The Department of Education’s list bans 55 titles from public school libraries statewide. Ferrell said the move overrides local input.

“Every district basically got that message that those 55 books violate the law according to the state. It doesn’t matter if local community standards say no, these books are okay for certain grades and we believe them to fit our community standards,” she said.

Local 10 obtained a copy of the banned list. Some of the titles were described by the state as pornographic and unsuitable for children.

Among them: Choke, This Book Is Gay, Forever, and Breathless.

Portions of these books contain graphic content, including descriptions of male genitalia, sexual acts and intercourse — some of which were too explicit to air on television.

“They are saying we can remove these books based on experts alone and it doesn’t matter what the literary value is,” Ferrell said. “They are making the argument that our school library are government speech and they can decide what is appropriate or not.”

Under current Florida law, parents may challenge books in their school district. Those challenges are then reviewed by a committee to determine whether the content is inappropriate.

Ferrell argues the state is bypassing that process entirely.

“I believe that you have to review these books in their entirety to determine whether or not the intent of the work is to sexually excite the reader,” she added. “There is no opportunity for local parents to get involved. “None of it matters. The state has decided for us.”

Broward County schools were given until Tuesday to comply with the directive and remove the books.

The list currently includes 55 titles, but critics believe more will be added.

Local 10 has reached out to Broward County Public Schools for comment on the state’s order.

2 Anniversaries in Peace & Justice History for 8/7

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryaugust.htm#august8

Political cartoons / memes / and news I wish to share. 8-8-2025

Political cartoon

Harley Schwadron CagleCartoons.com

Political cartoon

A red MAGA hat bears the words “MAKE AMERICA TALK ABOUT TARIFFS INSTEAD OF THE EPSTEIN FILES AGAIN.”

Political cartoon

2008; Jim Borgman Cartoon titled, An Appreciation of Sunshine Laws. Mandatory Credit: Jim Borgman-USA TODAY NETWORK

Political cartoon

Bill Day FloridaPolitics.com

Under the banner “mRNA research” a scientist looks into a magnifier while under the banner “mRFKjr research” the...

Dave Whamond PoliticalCartoons.com

Political cartoon

Political cartoons / memes / and news I want to share. 8-7-2025

#nasa from Liberals Are Cool

Arcadio Esquivel Costa Rica

#palestine from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

#summer lee from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

#ghislaine maxwell from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

#FDA from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

Jeff Koterba patreon.com/jeffreykoterba

Image from Liberals Are Cool

#tariffs from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

Town Square Cartoons

#ayanna pressley from Liberals Are Cool

Town Square Cartoons

#politics from Secondstar09

#BLS from Liberals Are Cool

Dave Whamond PoliticalCartoons.com

Image from Liberals Are Cool

#republican rot from Liberals Are Cool

Image from Liberals Are Cool

https://www.tumblr.com/reagan-was-a-horrible-president/791088421305188352

Image from Liberals Are Cool

Image from I See Posts Before My Eyes

Image from Liberals Are Cool

From The TPM Morning Memo:

This is hugely pertinent to our interests. And the history callback of Dobbs/Roe is spot on!! This needs we the people’s work sooner rather than later. The story linked within is important background for working on this. Seriously: pick one or two (or more!) rights organizations and do what you can with them, now, while it’s not still too late, and stick with it until the other side is defeated. Please don’t wait until this is in court. Then:

A very sound scheme is to check in with your states on their legislative websites, see what the laws are right now, and what’s in the chute. Overturning Obergefell can’t/won’t change state laws regarding marriage, just as overturning Roe didn’t change state laws regarding repro rights. But knowing what could be coming, especially in red states, is imperative for getting ourselves protected, and protecting others. If your state is safe, well, pick another state that isn’t, and help them out. If your state has no law at all, lobby hard to get one, ASAP. And thanks! -A.

This Could Be Roe all Over Again

Some of Trump’s judicial nominees have refused in confirmation hearings to acknowledge that the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, striking down state bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, was correctly decided. According to an analysis by JP Collins at the legal website Balls and Strikes, Eric Tung, who Trump nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, said only, “the Supreme Court granted such a right.” William Mercer, a nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, said Obergefell is “binding precedent,” but declined to “grade the Supreme Court.”

As Collins points out, these verbal gymnastics to avoid saying the case was correctly decided mirror those of Trump’s first term Supreme Court nominees who said Roe v. Wade was precedent but would not say it was correctly decided — and then voted to overturn it.

One might say marriage equality is different from abortion. Obergefell is just 10 years old, and Roe was decades old. But the most important feature that both decisions share is the enmity of the Christian right, and its determination to overturn them, no matter how many years or decades it takes.

Even before the court decided Obergefell in 2015, the Christian right was already planning to treat it just like Roe. The Supreme Court’s 1973 decision, they argued, was not the end of the abortion issue but rather the beginning. They used money, media, political might, religion, and relentless organizing to use abortion to drive politics and shape the judiciary. Their plans for Obergefell and LGBTQ rights are no different.

Photo by Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Four clips from The Majority Report. One on Gaza war crimes committed by Israel, one on ICE, one on tRump’s attacks on schools, and one on the jobs numbers.

But Of Course!

Here’s to people staying off Democrats’s necks as they fight this in the same fashion. Gerrymandering hurts my heart; I live in a state gerrymandered to just barely inside the law. I don’t like it for any state no matter the majority, but. If one’s gonna do it, they all ought to.

Of course, if we had instant runoff voting and no parties, this wouldn’t be a thing. Everyone would have someone to vote For. And we’d be a democratic republic today. -A

Gerrymandered Balls by Clay Jones

Republicans are cheating again Read on Substack

What do Republicans cheat at more, golf or elections? It’s a tough call. But cheating at one of those things means that they’ll cheat at the other.

Republicans in Texas are trying to reshape their congressional districts, even though it’s not the time redistricting is normally done. Usually, that’s shortly after the results of the census are published (which is once a decade), and states redistrict according to the new population size, and to fit with possible changes, such as new districts or losing them.

During the last census, Texas picked up two congressional seats because its population grew during the 2010s. Since the Texas legislature is controlled by Republicans, they were able to draw up the district maps. Naturally, they redraw them to favor Republicans. It’s not like they would do it honestly. They’re Republicans.

This is called gerrymandering, and Texas is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation. Wisconsin is number one.

Texas now has 38 congressional districts, with 25 of them going to Republicans, 12 going to Democrats, and one is currently vacant. But even after winning a huge majority after gerrymandering, 25 congressional seats are not enough for Texas Republicans, so they want to redraw the lines again in their favor.

Texas will be blue someday, or at least a swing state. The best way to keep people from sending Democrats to Congress is to take away Democratic candidates. After gerrymandering, voters are not choosing the candidate. The candidates are choosing the voters. It’s horrible, rotten, unfair, and neither party should do it. But Republicans don’t care if they cheat.

After Joe Biden won the presidency in 2020 in what experts say was the most secure election in American history, Republicans cried foul and set out to change election laws in every state. In Georgia, for example, where Biden won in 2020, and Blue areas are growing, Republicans changed voting laws, and Trump won over Kamala Harris in 2024 by just 2.20 percent. In Texas, they focused on changing the laws, not for every district, just the districts that had a majority of Black voters. They tried to make it as hard as hell to vote in Houston.

Republicans said all these changes were for election “integrity.” But how much integrity do you have when you make it illegal to give an old lady a bottle of water while she’s waiting in line for nine hours in the Georgia heat? It’s a fact that when fewer people vote, Republicans win.

The 2024 election, which Trump “won,” had fewer voters than in 2020, when Biden won. (snip-MORE)