Jessica Craven’s Extra

Extra! Extra! 4/13 by Jessica Craven

What’s right with this picture? Read on Substack

Found, as always, in Jay Kuo’s hilarious “Just for Skeets and Giggles.”

Hi, all, and happy Sunday!

Also, a belated Chag Sameach to everyone who celebrated Passover yesterday.

I know it’s been a super tough week—it’s all the more reason that a pause for good news is important. So here’s everything I could find that went right in the last seven days. As always, there was a lot more of it than you might have thought.

Enjoy reading this list. And please share. Lots of folks need a morale boost—I’m sure you know a few of them.

And if you notice that I forgot something please drop it in the comments! Like everything in this newsletter, they’re open to everyone.

OK, my friends. Have a great rest of your day. Tomorrow we get back to the fight.

Read This 📖

Rebecca’ Solnit’s post about the Hands Off protests, which includes the speech she made at the one she attended, is an absolute must-read.

Celebrate This! 🎉

In an unexpected win for antitrust, one of the Republican commissioners remaining on the Federal Trade Commission will save the agency’s investigation into pharmacy benefit managers by unrecusing himself from the case.

A plan to study “social housing” passed the Portland City Council with unanimous support.

Four countries—Brazil, Thailand, Zambia and Poland—have successfully reversed democratic decline in recent years.

AOC is leading Chuck Schumer among Democratic primary voters by double digits.

A judge blocked the White House’s AP ban.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced that he plans to place a hold on ALL Trump nominees going forward.

Sen. Brian Schatz is placing holds on over 50 Trump nominees. He has also placed holds on all nominations at the State Department, bringing his total to over 300 positions. Bravo!

The American Library Association, the largest library association in the world, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest union representing museum and library workers, are suing the Trump administration over its gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

In response to public backlash, the National Park Service restored original content to its webpage about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

A federal judge in Texas (appointed by Trump) has issued a ruling blocking the removal of individuals under the Alien Enemies Act, citing concerns raised in the Supreme Court’s recent decision and the controversial Abrego Garcia case.

A Delaware judge ruled that Newsmax’s coverage of Dominion Voting Systems was false and defamatory.

Senator Adam Schiff called on Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump engaged in insider trading or market manipulation when he abruptly paused a sweeping set of tariffs, a move that sent stock prices skyrocketing.

Indiana lawmakers in the state’s Republican-led senate are looking to take on pharma’s price-gouging middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers by creating a public system.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is auditing DOGE.

A federal court ordered multiple government agencies to provide additional details about their use of Signal for official government business.

A coalition of more than 240 pastors, Christian faith leaders, and faith-based nonprofit organizations across Tennessee have come together to oppose a bill that could allow public schools there to deny enrollment for migrant children without legal status.

American Oversight secured a significant legal victory after a Georgia court denied State Election Board member Janice Johnston’s motion to dismiss in its ongoing transparency lawsuit against the Georgia State Election Board.

Maine officials sued the Trump administration to try to stop the government from freezing federal money in the wake of a dispute over transgender athletes in sports.

The Supreme Court told the Trump administration to seek the return of a migrant mistakenly sent to a Salvadoran prison, rebuffing government claims that it need do nothing to remedy its error.

In Wisconsin, former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman agreed to surrender his law license following a disciplinary complaint related to his conduct during his investigation of the 2020 presidential election.

Two groups representing Harvard professors sued the Trump administration, saying that its threat to cut billions in federal funding for the university violates free speech and other First Amendment rights

The Trump administration restored USAID emergency food programs in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq, and Ecuador.

After local residents organized a 1000-person march past Tom Homan’s house in rural upstate NY, the Sackets Harbor Superintendent announced that an ICE-abducted family—including 3 small children—would be returning home. Amazing!

Since Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements his approval ratings have absolutely plummeted.

Solar energy in New York got a big boost with the announcement of a $950 million contract to construct the state’s largest solar farm, and the program has now broken ground.

A first-of-its-kind pilot to electrify homes on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard is set to finish construction in the coming weeks — and it could offer a blueprint for decarbonizing low- and moderate-income households in Massachusetts and beyond.

Initial analysis of the Wisconsin elections on April 5 shows that relative to 2024’s presidential race, every single county in Wisconsin moved left. Wow!

A federal judge rejected Johnson & Johnson’s third attempt to use a controversial legal maneuver to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits claiming its baby powder and other products were tainted with toxic asbestos and caused cancer.

A Mississippi judge on April 4 dismissed former governor Phil Bryant’s (R) defamation suit against a nonprofit newsroom for exposing potential corruption in his administration.

Companies are starting to tack tariff surcharges onto invoices as a separate line item.

Fossil fuels made up less than half of the U.S. electricity mix in March for the first month on record.

Senator Chris Murphy raised 8M in the first quarter of this year—even though he just won re-election last year! (Presidential run coming?)

Chevron was ordered to pay more than $740 million to restore coastal wetlands in Louisiana.

The U.S. solar industry has stockpiled 50 GW of imported equipment, which will help it stave off the impact of President Trump’s tariffs.

Some House Freedom Caucus members are apparently warming to the idea of a new 40% tax bracket for those earning $1 million or more to offset some new tax cuts. YEs, you read that right.

Alabama legislators unanimously passed a bill that would expedite access to Medicaid for pregnant women.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) told the Pulse of New Hampshire that he will not run for the U.S. Senate, a setback for Republicans’ hopes to flip the open seat.

The Senate parliamentarian ruled that Republicans in Congress cannot use an obscure legislative maneuver to stop California’s ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed a challenge last week that sought to limit municipalities’ authority to set early voting locations and prevent the future use of a mobile voting van.

Maryland lawmakers passed a package of energy bills that includes provisions for fast-tracking some community solar project approvals and prohibiting counties from banning solar development in hopes of curbing power rates.

Republican senators, led by Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, unveiled a bill Tuesday that would slap penalties on countries that generate high levels of manufacturing pollution. Yes, really.

The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show.

Jeff Bezos is funding a secretive EV startup based in Michigan called Slate Auto that could start production as soon as next year. Slate Auto is tackling a big goal: an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck for around $25,000.

36K people attended Bernie Sanders’ and AOC’s “Fighting Oligarchy” event in Los Angeles.

For the first time, a fully electric airplane flew from New York to California and back again.

The California Coastal Commission voted to fine Sable Offshore, an oil drilling company, nearly $18 million after Sable repeatedly ignored cease-and-desist orders, failed to obtain Coastal Development Permits, and proceeded to restart its work on oil infrastructure with a documented history of environmental disaster.

DOGE backed away from cuts to Social Security phone services following intense backlash.

Federal agents attempted to enter two Los Angeles Unified elementary schools this week. The principals of each school denied the agents entry and contacted legal support; the agents left. Let’s give a round of applause to the LAUSD community members and activists—some of whom I know—who “went deep on proper warrants for entry,” as soon as Trump was elected. Because of them, these schools were prepared and disaster was averted!

Russia freed a Russian-American ballerina in a prisoner exchange with the Trump administration.

Almost 300,000 new EVs were sold in the U.S. in the first three months of the year, a nearly 11% increase.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funding that was allocated to Maine from the U.S. Department of Agriculture — funds that had been withheld following President Trump’s clash with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the issue of transgender athletes.

In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police have recommended criminal charges—including battery and false imprisonment—against the security team who brutally dragged Dr. Teresa Borrenpohl out of a town hall in February.

For the first time, fossil fuels accounted for less than half of U.S. electricity production across an entire month as clean power generation surged in March.

A federal judge in New York also blocked the Trump administration from continuing to deport people under the Alien Enemies Act.

A federal judge has rejected President Trump ‘s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him filed by the men formerly known as the Central Park Five

It’s official: The Tesla Cybertruck is a flop. (snip-a bit more)

Peace & Justice History for 4/13

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryapril.htm#april13

Peace & Justice History for 4/5

Hands Off Day!

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryapril.htm#april5

Three Bits I Ran Across Last Evening

Things Republicans Do:

Trump’s loser by Ann Telnaes

Elon’s millions didn’t buy him the votes in Wisconsin Read on Substack

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5345862/wisconsin-supreme-court-crawford-schimel-election-results

=========================

https://www.levernews.com/florida-is-going-medieval-on-labor-law/

Florida Is Going Medieval On Labor Law

Republican lawmakers in the Sunshine State are advancing a suite of bills making it easier for employers to exploit society’s most vulnerable.

Snippet (there’s much more, also about other subjects, on this page -A):

Make labor law feudal again. The Florida legislature is rapidly advancing a suite of bills allowing employers to underpay subminimum-wage workers — including children. One measure proposes undoing key child labor restrictions, like rules regulating maximum hours per week, banning overnight shifts, and guaranteeing teens get meal breaks. Another bill would permit employers to misclassify full-time workers as interns and apprentices to circumvent the state’s new minimum wage law. Both bills are part of the business lobby’s long war to decimate labor rights in the state; proponents are citing ongoing labor market disruptions caused in part by the Trump administration’s mass deportation program.

Florida didn’t want this. In 2020, a supermajority of Floridians voted to pass a ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8.56 to $15 an hour by 2026. But business interests have tried to stop that law from ever fully going into effect. Last year, the legislature passed a carve-out for minor league baseball players, and this year, the business community is coming back with a more sweeping overhaul. The new bill exempts interns, apprentices, and work-study programs from the new wage standards, despite the fact that a minimum wage is supposed to raise the floor for the lowest-paid segments of the labor force.

Internships forever. Critics of the legislation point out that the bill text does not define any criteria for what differentiates an employee from an intern or apprentice. Without clear guardrails, employers could use this exemption to underpay just about any entry-level position that requires some training. All they’d need to do is require the employee to sign a form waiving their right to the state minimum wage.

Thanks, Florida Man. In a committee hearing earlier this month, the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ryan Chamberlin (R-Belleview), acknowledged that retailers like Target may exploit these loopholes as written. “It’s certainly not intended for Target to be able to do that,” he said in response to a Democratic lawmaker’s concerns, without denying that it’s a possibility. Meanwhile, critics argue that the legislation is patently unconstitutional and suspect that it’s meant to push for a ruling from the state’s high court, which is stacked with loyalists of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has opposed the minimum-wage law. With a favorable ruling, business groups could weaken the law and undermine a guaranteed state minimum wage. (snip)

======================

Trump Reveals Real Reason for His Extreme Tariffs

Donald Trump continues to bully one of the America’s longest allies.

Donald Trump just made the rationale for his tariff “Liberation Day” crystal clear: revenge.

In a post on Truth Social late Tuesday, the president said that the tariffs were his administration’s “fight” against Democrats’ “wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy.”

Approximately 0.2 percent of American fentanyl seizures occur at the Canadian border, according to federal statistics.

But Trump’s aggressive rhetoric and high levies on Canada have practically shattered the two neighbors’ long-standing allyship. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his country’s cozy relationship with the U.S. had come to an end, and that Canada would wean itself off American products and services “at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

Trump singled out four Republican senators in particular who have pushed back against his tariffs. “They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels,” he said, referring to Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul.

“The Senate Bill is just a ploy of the Dems to show and expose the weakness of certain Republicans, namely these four, in that it is not going anywhere because the House will never approve it and I, as your President, will never sign it,” Trump said. “Why are they allowing Fentanyl to pour into our Country unchecked, and without penalty. What is wrong with them, other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly known as TDS?”

Trump and his allies have frequently accused anyone that critiques their work of being mentally ill, effectively undermining the legitimacy of critical thought in the groupthink of his already sycophantic base.

“Who can want this to happen to our beautiful families, and why? To the people of the Great States of Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine, please contact these Senators and get them to FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals,” Trump said. “They have been extremely difficult to deal with and unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

(I find it rich that Trump thinks those Senators have not adhered to Republican values and ideals, especially McConnell and Collins. Paul is in a world of his own, most decidedly a Libertarian world. Sheesh. -A.)

Clay Jones Draws & Writes

Third Term Banana by Clay Jones

The nation is on notice Read on Substack

Donald Trump wants to become a dictator, and he’s saying the quiet parts out loud.

Trump is already turning this nation into an authoritarian state. He’s deporting people for protesting, he’s cutting funds to universities that have allowed protests, he’s claiming certain language and ideology is improper and illegal, he’s ignoring the courts, he’s cleansing government and history of DEI, he’s installed an oligarch to override Congress, and he’s even concerned that animals at the National Zoo might be too woke. Now, he’s openly talking about serving a third term.

Right after the election last November, Trump mused about serving a third term, saying he was only joking. Now, he’s openly talking about finding “methods” to serve a third term, and this time, he’s not joking.

There’s only one thing standing in the way of Trump serving a third term, and it’s this little thing I like to call the United States Constitution. The 22nd Amendment says, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”

That seems pretty clear, right? But wait, Republicans and people sick of democracy and want to give fascism a chance say it’s not. They point to the word “elected” in the 22nd. They believe that as long as Trump can re-enter office without an election, then he’s in. Their theory is that JD Vance can become the Republican nominee in 2028, install Trump as his running mate, win the election (after destroying the nation with MAGA fascism the previous four years), resign the presidency, and Trump will become president for a third time.

So far, this nation has had only one president who was not elected as president or even Vice President. Who was that? I’ll give the answer in the notes.

But wait. The 12th Amendment says, “No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

Trump is NOT eligible to run for a third term. After his J6 insurrection, he shouldn’t have been eligible for a second. What’s scary is that nobody may try to stop him.

In France, Marine Le Pen is ineligible to hold political office after being convicted of embezzlement, but here in America, Donald Trump is talking about serving a third term even after a coup attempt. As Harry in Resident Alien would say, “This is some bullshit.”

The GOP has already caved into Trump. Corporate America has bent a knee to Trump, and now they’re throwing money at him. Universities are giving in to his demands. Even Chuck Schumer has adopted the philosophy that the best way to stop Trump is to give him everything he wants. We also know the voters are too stupid, too racist, and don’t care enough about this country to stop him.

You would think the courts are the firewall against Dictator Trump, but SCOTUS, with a 6-3 fucknut majority (with two open to bribes), has already ruled that Trump is immune to everything except syphilis and severe acne.

Nothing stopped Trump from violating the Emoluments Clause. Nothing stopped Trump from using the White House and Washington Monument during the 2020 convention. The Senate refused to convict him in both impeachments. The courts refused to prosecute him. Nothing is stopping him from grifting during his second term (sic). Nothing has stopped him from allowing DOGE to work as an unelected fourth branch. Nothing stopped him from being bribed by Elon for $277 million. So, excuse me if I’m a little nervous about him serving a third term. Do I have to repeat that the voters can’t be trusted anymore?

Trump says a lot of people want him to serve a third term, but none of those people are probably among the 56 percent polled to say Trump is doing a shitty job as president (sic). So maybe Trump, even under JD on the ticket, won’t be popular enough to win in 2028.

But wait.

Trump might believe he doesn’t have to win to serve a third term because, as we learned from history, he’ll just claim he won and make another coup attempt and then pardon everyone who participated in the coup.

So, excuse me for not trusting the safeguards in our republic and for being nervous. Do we have to wait for Trump to start his third term for us to become a banana republic, or are we already there?

Which president was never elected? Gerald Ford was never elected as president or vice president.

Creative note: I wasn’t sure if the quote on the sippy cup was genuine, so I Googled it.

I see this a lot on social media. Someone will post a quote they believe is genuine. I have a spider sense with fake shit on the internet. Usually, when I see something I suspect is fake on Facebook and people believe it, even liberals, I discover it’s a lie. People do this with quotes a lot, and most people don’t question it. Well, today I found a Hitler quote, but I wanted to make sure it was genuine.

I did a search, and it turned up in different forms, but that still doesn’t make it real. Proofer Laura looked it up, too. I decided to go with it because I found it on a university website, so I’m hoping they got shit together and fact-checked it for me.

Daily Cartoonist note: Last night, I saw a question posed to me four weeks ago at the Daily Cartoonist. A reader asked why he had to be a paid subscriber to comment here, and also said he would use it to post corrections to me. I would have replied there, but the comments were closed. I’m hoping he’ll see this here.

First, I don’t mind having corrections sent to me, but I don’t like them in the comments. Why not? Because it distracts from everything else. If you see a typo, please message it to me through whatever platform you prefer. You can email me at clayjonz@gmail.com. Trust me, people let me know when they see typos, and I make many.
If you want to challenge me on a fact or dispute anything, I’m cool with that being posted in the comments, as it can encourage discussions.

Second, only paid subscribers can comment because they’re paid subscribers. They gotta have something for their money. That reminds me that I need to make more exclusive content for the people who financially support me.

Drawn in 30 seconds: (snip-go see it)

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So, Everybody Who’s Got An Opportunity To Vote Today,

has voted, or has a solid plan to VoTe, yes? If not, get your AweSome Self out to vote, ASAP. Use It Or Lose It!!!

No Foolin’-Sen. Booker’s Doin’ Something With Substance!

(Plus more Dem Senators pitchin’ in! Go see-video below)

Cory Booker Holding Senate Floor All Night Long (All Night), All Night Long (All Night) by Rebecca Schoenkopf

Washington Post takes pains to tell us it’s not REALLY a filibuster. Read on Substack

Since 7 p.m. Eastern yesterday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) has held the Senate floor, speaking out against what Donald Trump and his evil coconspirators are doing to America. He was still going when we started this piece at 8:30 this morning, and we expect he’ll still be going when we click “Publish.”

Booker began the all-night speech by making his intentions clear:

“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.

“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”

While we were writing this piece, Booker was every bit as impassioned as he condemned the Republican budget plan that would slash Medicaid and the social safety net so billionaires and corporations could have (more) huge tax cuts, adding trillions to the US debt, asking, “If you’re a Christian conservative, how can you hurt the weak to benefit the rich and powerful? The people of the United States have to stand up and say ‘NO!’”

This man does not look like he’s been speaking for more than 14 hours. Here’s the AP’s live feed. Watching this, we’re even feeling some hope — especially if other senators follow up with marathon speeches of their own.

(And it’s still running! -A)

Also too, we’re going to go ahead and call this a filibuster anyway, if only because the Washington Post went out of its way to explain in its subhead (archive link) that it’s not actually a filibuster because Booker isn’t delaying a vote on legislation. Just seems like the sort of nitpick best saved for the body of the article, which is where all the other outlets have placed it. So why did we mention it in our subhed? Because fuck WaPo is why.

Booker received help throughout the night — and still, this morning — from other senators, because he is allowed to take questions, which tend to come in the form of brief speeches ending with a question mark. But it’s not just a tactic to help him preserve his voice; it’s also a chance for fellow Democrats to show their unity, with multiple voices pointing out how completely not normal the last two months have been. Booker and other senators called out Trump and co-president Elon Musk for multiple assaults on democracy, like their attempts to shut down federal agencies created by Congress, to cancel spending authorized by Congress, to withhold grants to nonprofits that were already awarded, to fire large segments of the federal workforce without regard to worker protections, and to effectively dissolve America’s alliances by siding with Russia against Ukraine and our European allies. And much more.

We should also note that, unlike the longest talking filibuster on record, old racist Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond’s 25-hour filibuster of the 1957 Civil Rights bill, Mr. Booker doesn’t have the opportunity to take restroom breaks. Now that’s impressive.

During the speech, Booker repeatedly reminded Republicans — for any good it might do — that many of them saw who Donald Trump was, and why he was no good for America. He spoke with genuine affection about John McCain, who had the courage to shut down Trump’s attempt to end Obamacare:

“Senator McCain, I know you wouldn’t sanction this, I know you would be screaming, I’ve seen how angry you can get, John McCain. I’ve seen you tear people apart on this floor, Democrat and Republican, for doing the same stupid thing over and over again. Listen to John McCain explain why he voted ‘no’ the last time the Republican Party tried to unite and tear down health care with no idea how to fix it, threatening to put millions of Americans in financial crisis and health care crisis. I can’t believe we are here again.”

Booker returned again and again to that theme: Why on earth are we allowing this madness to happen? How on earth are we in a situation where a US president is threatening to invade our allies and help our adversaries?

As we wrap up here, Booker’s voice is beginning to get a little raspy, but his overall energy isn’t flagging so far. At the moment, he’s having a colloquy with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) about the importance of US foreign assistance, which Trump and musk have unconstitutionally slashed. Coons called attention to how those cuts have left us unable to provide help to the victims of the earthquake in Myanmar — and Booker immediately pointed out that by wrecking America’s soft power, Trump has handed all that influence to China.

We hope Booker keeps going a couple more hours. And that as many of his Democratic colleagues follow his example with filibusters of their own. (snip)

Good Commentary Here

This was linked in a substack I was reading, I found it worthy of sharing, and also of the author getting the clicks on their own page.

(Also Not April Fools. I’m gettin’ to it! Probably.)

It’s Time for a Republican Sickout

If you can’t find the strength to take a stand, at least lie down.

Ali Davis March 31, 2025

Hello, Congressional Republicans who still care about the republic! I know you’re out there because I kept hearing how differently Trump’s cabinet confirmations would have gone if only the votes have been secret.

We have reached a crisis point. We have reached so many crisis points. We reached like three new crisis points between me starting and finishing this article.

We have flipped our foreign policy so radically that we are now the villain of the world. All decision on that end seems to have been handed over to Putin and a bunch of preening technofascists. Our economy is crashing toward a depression and the only trick the Trump Administration pony has is more insane tariffs. High-level cabinet members endangered the lives of our servicemembers by discussing classified information on the already-hacked Signal app, and that doesn’t even cover gloating over civilian deaths, adding a journalist to the group text, and further damaging our relationship with Europe. The Trump administration is trying to start wars with freaking Denmark and Canada. DENMARK AND CANADA, for chrissakes.

And the most insane thing is that this is an abridged list. There are paragraphs and paragraphs of human rights horrors that I have skipped.

This is it. You are a part of an authoritarian government, a twisted and vile parody of what we once had. Elon Musk is stripping it for parts and awarding himself lucrative contracts while Donald Trump threatens Republican judges and lobs all of our state secrets straight to Putin.

The window for stopping this is small and vanishing. The most patriotic thing you could do is stand up and impeach Donald Trump, but, whether it’s due to a fear of Trump or fear of his zealots, you’re not doing that. The second most patriotic thing you could do is resign and leave your seat open to a flip by the Democrats. But you don’t seem to be doing that either. So here it is: The third most patriotic thing you can do, your last option for saving your beloved country from falling completely into authoritarianism: Get sick.

Get terribly sick and refuse to discuss your personal health information during this challenging time. Or get just a little bit sick and keep insisting that you’ll be as right as rain in a week or two. Have a family emergency. Or just take some dearly needed personal time.

Just drop out for a while. Hole up at home or get out of the country if you need to and let some trusted Democrats know that they’ll have the majority for a while and the time and leeway to move. (BE SURE YOU KNOW WHO IS ON THE SIGNAL CHAT.)

But what if someone is blackmailing me?

No offense, but this is bigger than you. Putin wants to break the United States. And he wants to break the United States so that he can roll over Western Europe. Do you really want to go to your grave knowing that you held onto your secret at the expense of Permanent Global Fascism? For that matter, do you really think complying now will stop them from burning you with it when you become inconvenient later?

Let’s be honest: A lot of us are already kind of assuming that you’re being blackmailed. And the fact that you’ve abandonedyour principles when the stakes are so high is making people think that the thing you’re being blackmailed over is much worse than what it probably really is. If Matt Gaetz can brazen it out, what on earth must you be hiding?

The good news is that there is nothing better for blowing your blackmail material straight out of the news cycle than a fiery Presidential impeachment that the nation can’t stop watching. There’s no better time to get out from under someone’s thumb.

But if the Democrats are smart, they’ll remove Johnson and prosecute Vance for the Signal debacle. That means a Democratic President will be in. I’ll lose some of my own power. What about that?

More real talk: Donald Trump has screwed the Republican party’s chances for decades at a minimum. You are now the party that let the Nazis in. You are the party that closed the national parks and tried to put Grandma out on the street. You are the party that kneecapped scientific research right when it looked like there might be a cure for pancreatic cancer. You are the party that crashed the stock market, the party that made us hated by the world, the party that let Musk and Putin take the reins. You are the party that just came out as pro-measles and made room for polio. The Republican Party is going the way of the Know-Nothings. You’re going to have to scrap it and start over.

And that’s if we ever have real elections again.

The only hope of you, personally, ever coming back into power is if Trump gets impeached and you become a zealous reformer. Toss out everyone who helped Trump, Musk, Thiel and Putin, support real jail time, and legislate us back out of Citizens United. Throw the bastards out and keep on throwing or you are surely getting tossed out yourself.

You can start right now, of course. That would be ideal. But you can also start after you take a little break to let the Democrats get the ball rolling.

Can’t I just keep my head down and appease Trump until things are magically better?

No. If you have read this far instead of screaming about George Soros and fake Venezuelan gang members, you are a Republican who thoughtcrimes against Trump. He and his barrel of vipers who the nonbelievers are. You won’t make it.

Fascists always need a villain to rail against. They always have a list. It is not a question of whether you are on the list, it’s a question of how far down you are. Right now, it’s foreign students and random brown people with innocent tattoos, but Trump is going to crave new meat and fresh news stories soon. You know that he needs to ritually humiliate and cast out a Republican every so often to reassert his dominance. You’re higher up the list than you think.

And if we hit the era of No Real Elections, which is more likely every day, there is no way you are keeping your elected position. Only perfect toadying cult members will make it through, and there is no way you can tap dance fast enough to make up for the past.

Besides: Is “enthusiastic supporter of the fascist regime” the way you want your grandchildren to remember you?

If you aren’t moved by the idea of saving the democratic republic we’ve all grown fond of, think about the fact that your only path to staying in your elected office is to get Trump out of his, and your chance to do that is slipping away.

It’s time to come down with a severe but undefined and conveniently curable medical issue. Play hooky. Go AWOL. Bunk out. Chuck a sickie. But do it quickly.

If you can’t bring yourself to impeach Donald Trump, you need to get the hell out of the way so someone else can. (snip)

2 For Women’s History Month

Today Would Have Been Aretha Franklin’s 82nd Birthday

Rest in power, queen.

By Frances Langum — March 25, 2025

================================

While Trump Sows Division, Women Leaders Chart a Path Forward for Democracy

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During the same week as the president’s address to Congress, RepresentWomen held our annual Democracy Solutions Summit (DSS). This solutions-oriented event allowed us to imagine what our democracy could look like with better policies and better representation.

Here, women leaders, elected officials, advocates and experts discussed the problems facing our democracy and uplifted actionable solutions to improve women’s representation and strengthen our democracy overall. This year’s summit addressed the critical need for more women in local, state and federal leadership roles.

The Democracy Solutions Summit clearly contrasts with the uncertainty of Trump’s address to Congress. The DSS is the only democracy summit featuring only women speakers and panelists committed to actionable, data-driven solutions and building coalitions that bolster American democracy at this critical time. Furthermore, our research has found that when multiple structural solutions are combined, we can bolster women’s representation in every level of government.

Complete recordings of the summit are available online, but here is a quick recap of all three days. (snip-More)