It’s hard for those of us the Senate to understand the pros and cons of things like a confirmation. In the larger picture, it wasn’t clear at the time whether it would be better to oppose ALL the nominees (few made that choice) or to pick and choose battles. A senator who staked out an absolutist position would probably have less leverage than one who was selective about who to oppose. It’s easier in hindsight to be critical, but in the moment for example no one thought Rubio would turn out to be the worst of the bunch, and voting down Noem might have produced an ever worse candidate (though again in hindsight it’s hard to think of who would be worse). So I don’t see what Sen. Hassan (who comes from a pretty purple state) is doing today to be performative.
Jay, I respectfully disagree. In Germany, we have a simple rule (and we had to learn it the hard way): You don't speak to Nazis, you don't vote for Nazis and you surely don't strategize over Nazi politics. Instead, you oppose them at every opportunity in every way conceivable.
So you confirm somebody because the replacement might be worse? Come on! You vote against everything they bring up, you filibuster everything you can. Not only is there a huge track record that Republicans *HAVE* done exactly this, there is an EX OFFICIO duty to act as such whenever a MAGA official is in violation of the constitution - and, as you have admirably worked out: Each one of the Secretaries in the hearing clearly proved all yb themselves that they are unfit for duty.
Democrats have long lost the high ground of acting in good faith instead of trying to be selective about their battles, because at this point it just looks self-serving.
As Adorno so aptly put it: "There is no right life in the wrong one". (Translation from German is my own interpretation.)
Or as Hannah Arendt put it: “The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.”
And this is much more true about Democrats than it is for Republicans, because the latter bunch already has chosen evil.
Thank you for your insights. Your perspective is valuable. One of the reasons that American people are struggling right now is we've never had a couple before. There's no mechanism in place to deal with one. We are learning as we go.
Thank you for sharing the German rule. As we see everyday in the US now, appeasement and compromise do not work; instead deportation without due process and destruction of important government functions continue to accelerate. Our politicians need to learn that rule.
I understand you point, but when I go out and protest and worry that some mage cult member in a truck is going to run everyone down - THEN I see Hassan and Booker voting for trumps crypto scam, or a obviously corrupt and incompetent nominee; it feels like a betrayal. I don't really think it's hindsight to see how incompetent these people are. Let the republicans own all of it, and don't give them any ability to say "well these democrats voted for them."
Having said that, thank you for responding with calm and reason. I appreciate that.
Agree with you completely, Chris. Dems should collectively be 100% in opposition, 24/7. No excuses. I highly doubt Dump and his enablers are going to propose anything beneficial to the 99%.
I've felt that way from the day 47 got elected to both his first and second terms. Unfortunately, there have been people who have argued against me. It was obvious to me with this second term that 47 was going to run roughshod over everything and everyone as much as he could and as quickly as possible. Thankfully, he didn't make the 53 day marker that Hitler hit in putting his regime into action which is a sign of the level of incompetence of this regime and the wonderful opposition it has received.
Yup. Do not confirm ANYONE. The GOP are even worse with their whole "I had no idea it would get that bad" act. REALLY? You have been promoting this man and his entire posse to THIS point for ten years and you didn't know?
Exactly. They knew and thought of they voted to confirm they wouldn't get screwed over. Well, it's like what John McClane said to the deputy chief of LAPD in the first “Die Hard” movie which I shall not quote here even though I think it's quite apropos.
Oh? Nothing like surrendering at the first volley. Once again, the Democratic party is not in power. The venue open to them is questioning. Mocking someone for asking questions and then calling it shit? My, how mature, how responsible, how playing into MAGA's plans.
More than one Democratic Senator voted for him. Given his past record, there was a glimmer that he might be the adult in the room. There also was no way he would not be confirmed. The operative word for the Democrats right now? Minority party. Voting for him was no game changer it was betting he would exhibit some semblance of a back bone. They lost that bet. But they would still be dealing with him. So let's stop pretending Democratic votes would have made a difference, in this case? Not one iota. Stop trying to blame the Democrats for things they have no control over. If after the mid-terms, we are still on the short end of the stuck? Then you raise hell.
The FIRST VOLLEY? Where the hell have you been since 2015?
The fact that ANY Democrats vote with the Republicans on anything is disgusting. Watching all of those old farts try to compromise with these traitors is like watching Neville Chamberlain give away parts of Poland.
Wait until the mid-terms? You see what they've done in four months and you want to wait two fucking years? Pull your head out of where the sun don't shine. What makes you think that there will be a fair election, or even one at all? I don't think that it's a good idea to let them run amok for two more weeks let alone 22 months.
Might I respectfully suggest that you find a goddamn world history book, (preferably written in the 1950s or 60s,) look up the section of late 1930s Germany and then shut your fucking mouth. I lost almost all of my family to Germany in the camps and I'm not going to put up with appeasers like you allowing the Nazis to take over THIS country and do what they did all over again.
Ninety years ago Dale Carnegie wrote a book called "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Now, many "how-to" books are nothing more than "how to make the author richer by giving them your money for a useless book," but this one really helps!
Scott, I think you should read this book. (Departing from the message of the book, here) You really, really need it. No one is going to listen to you after you swear at them, call them a fool, and insult their intelligence. But what do I know? You keep doing you. And keep making reservations for one.
Perhaps Scott is not betting on the poster changing her mind. That may not be his goal. To me he's saying that when the shit is goin' down, sometimes people gotta wake up.
Yeah, bullshit! I never said her vote would have made a difference, but just because she was guaranteed to be confirmed doesn't mean ANY democrat should vote for ANY of trumps unqualified and corrupt nominees. AND I'm raising HELL right now; sorry if your not up to the challenge of fighting back. Hassan also voted to allow trumps crypto scam to pass, did you know that? And Hassan isn't the only democrat on my shit list, and I happily called them out as well.
People like you giving cover to democrats who collaborate with the trump regime is what's actually playing into maga's plans. Might be time to wake up to that fact! I didn't spend 16 years in the US Navy to roll over to these fascists. So, stop lecturing me when you're obeying in advance!
Oh, settle down seaman. Just settle down, you're ranting makes me wonder just how far you made it in the Navy. E-3? May suggest you take your own advise? Other wise you just come across as an impotent incel looking for a cause. And I didn't spend more than 16 years knowing and working with people in the service who obviously rose higher than you did because they had and have a few things you lack: intelligence, composure, and sensibility.
May I suggest you consider reenlisting? You sound like a Hegseth kind of guy.
We, ordinary people, are fighting back! A friend and I were at the State Capital in Denver, CO on April 5th & 19th for the HANDS OFF rallies. We will be there again on June 14th. At least two more people will join us. We are and must continue to take our government back from the ground up!
This is to the coward Carol-Ann Dearnaley - who felt like whining about me, and then blocked me because she didn't have the courage for me to respond! Shows her true colors; a fucking keyboard "warrior." Hopefully the rest of the people here can still see her bullshit.
You know, Chris, we’re all trying to survive the current destruction of everything we care about at the same time we’re fighting daily to save what we can. I sometimes block certain commenters as well when their relentless pessimism becomes more than I can bear. We’re not going to win by tearing each other down. We’re going to win by recognizing that we’re all doing as much as we can, and cutting each other some slack. Try pulling out your compassion rather than your insults. None of us are cowards if we’re staying in the fight.
What you call pessimism, I call pragmatic. But if a person wants to have a conversation about a disagreement you don't start off by insulting someone you probably agree with 95% of the time. Carol-Ann Dearnaley started out by being insulting and condescending, and, yes, I reacted in kind. Her second comment (you might not be able to see it) was WAY beyond the pale; insulting my military service, and before I could respond - she blocked me. That's a coward.
I have great compassion for the everyday fighters that do what they can, and everything is a contribution no matter how small. And, you're right, we will not win by tearing each other down, but when we (you, me, everyone here) are doing what we can; I expect no less from our elected officials. So when Senator Hassan votes for these corrupt and incompetent nominees, and then gets up in front of the cameras and "exposes" Noem; does it not beg the question as to why Hassan voted for her in the first place? Why did Hassan and Booker and 17 other democrats vote for trumps crypto scam? We have a right to ask those questions.
My Vietnam veteran dad used to say that friendly fire leaves you just as dead as enemy fire. I'm going to keep my verbal ammo focused on the actual perpetrators of the destruction.
I agree to a point, and one (or two) act of voting for something doesn't make someone a collaborator. But, repeatedly voting in support of the trump regime's agenda becomes a problem. When does it become aiding and abetting? When are they worth of the same attention as the perpetrators?
In the first “Die Hard” movie John McClane (Bruce Willis) said to the LAPD deputy chief that he got butt-fucked on television because of the way he handled going after the criminals in Nakatomi Tower. Well, the Democrats who voted to confirm any of these secretaries got butt-fucked by their votes for the whole world to witness. The whole world is paying the price for their cowardice and has gotten butt-fucked by their votes.
I suspect Noem’s answer was just “F you” using different words, but it’s well past time they were taken seriously. File a motion to impeach her for gross incompetence. I know it won’t go anywhere, but that never stopped Republicans. They knew that symbolic action was also important. House Democrats don’t have any power right now anyway: might as well make a statement about who you are and where you stand.
The sooner some of the régime assholes and their shyster lawyers get their asses fined heavily and clapped into the Graybar Hotel for a while for contempt, the sooner we'll start getting some straight answers and compliance out of the rest of them.
Noem, Rubio, Kennedy, Duffy, and others all just smirk, openly give committee members the finger, and laugh on their way out the door. Lawyers in scores of courtrooms around the country lie to judges who rule against the régime, and the régime ignores the rulings. And don't even get me started on cabinet and SCOTUS nominees who lie obviously and endlessly through their teeth in confirmation hearings.
E-fucking-nough. Long past time to quit cutting so much slack, issuing warnings, granting long delays and lead times, and so on. If a dumbass like Rubio wants to talk over a committee member, hit him with a contempt citation right then and there, and have the marshals pull him out of his chair and down to a cell. If a piece of po' white trash like Noem can't tell a committee member what habeas is, call a 15-minute recess and instruct her to find out very damn quickly what it is. Then reconvene, ask her the question again, and ask her point blank whether she supports or does not support it and the rest of the US Constitution. If she mouths off again, marshal-->cuffs-->jail cell. Same technique for Kennedy re: (for example) CDC services.
Until there are significant consequences, the lying treacherous incompetent assholes will keep doing just what they're doing. And the country will suffer worse and worse.
As a group all of the inept appointees in this regime can only spew rehearsed sound bites. They collectively are the most unethical, evil, intellectually devoid cretins to ever hold an office of power
Jay, I admire your dedication, energy, and endurance to expose yourself to such crass stupidity emanating from this collectively FUBAR-ed "cabinet" — "only the best people" immediately surfaces! — and I did my best to follow today's post...but, honestly, it drives one into a desperate frame of mind to see and hear the breathless inanity comprising tRump 2.0, and that we are lumbered with this malicious gang for three-and-a-half more years, ffs! Ha!...I first typed "years" as "tears", and you know what? "Tears" is more apposite.
Withal, keep up your stellar work, as one day the sun will break through...one lives in hope.
Noem doesn’t understand that Habeas Corpus is a constitutional right of the incarcerated person who thinks that they are incarcerated without due process or other aspects of a defendants rights granted by the Constitution.
She is drastically UNQUALIFIED for this job and the media NEEDS to get on this and shame the Trump administration.
They’re not sending you their best. It is the age of ignorance, stupidity and rank mediocrity.
The entire Trump Administration is rife with these folks:
Ignorant on the law, ignorant on public policy, ignorant on science and health.
8647 NOW! Use your free speech while you still have it.
I'm wearing this subtle 8647 shirt and MAGAs won't get it (they can't do math) 👇
Be careful with that number. Even James Comey, head of the FBI, got interrogated by Secret Service over a post showing that number. And his post was plain innocent.
Threats to the President are not included with Free Speech. And one can make a case that this number does constitute a threat. One can also make a case that it doesn't, especially since apparently some Republicans had used 8646 in the past.
Fuck that. 86 the motherfucker. We should ALL say it every chance we get as a form of civil disobedience. Dare the trump thugs to come arrest and disappear us.
As a small-plane pilot, I'm glad to hear that the judge is finally considering holding pilots accountable. We're taught from Day One that the pilot in command bears full legal responsibility for all aspects of the flight. There's a lot here that the person actually taking these planes off the ground should think seriously about before doing so.
First of all: I'd want to know who was on board, on whose authority they were being sent, and that the orders to transport were enacted legally. I'd want clear assurance that my crew and I weren't being dragooned into becoming unwitting accomplices to a kidnapping.
Second: I might well refuse to transport on the grounds that the FAA requires that all planes be capable of full evacuation within 90 seconds -- something that I just don't see happening if everybody's in handcuffs and leg irons. Apparently, some pilots and flight attendants have raised this exact question, and it's been rebuffed with the argument that it's common for exceptions to be made for prisoner transport. But it shouldn't be. Even convicts (which it's not clear that these detainees even are) are legally entitled to the basic level of safety guaranteed under the federal air regulations (FARs). If my flight can't meet those legal standards, I have a legal obligation to refuse to fly it, since it's my certification on the line.
There's very little chatter about this in the pilot community, but there should be. If you're the PIC, you are accountable, period. But I don't think that's going to sink in until the first four-stripe head finally rolls. The sooner that happens, the better. This judge sounds like he may be headed there.
Second, this is a much tougher decision for the pilot than it may appear to be. Refusing to fly would probably require quitting the job, or being fired. That in itself may be an acceptable price to pay. But many of the shadier airlines will then demand tens of thousands of dollars in repayment for training. Being that far in debt right when losing your job might be a strong incentive for the pilot to break the law.
Absolutely. There are some rough career repercussions for refusing to fly. That's why it's so critical for the judge to step in here.
Right now, job loss feels like the worst consequence they face. But that equation changes if pilots figure out that they'll risk their certifications if they fly these flights. It's a lot easier to stand up to the boss once you know that this flight could cost you your ticket. If that gets pulled, you've got no career left at all.
Any airline that's flying these flights is, by definition, shady.
Agreed. Many of these flights seem to be operated by GlobalX. It gets more complex with some other situations. Apparently, the Venezuelan state airline was also used at some point. And it is possible that privately-owned planes are also involved. A few weeks ago, the plane owned by the New England Patriots was observed flying to Guantanamo. Apparently, the Patriots had little to do with that; they had hired a charter operator to operate the plane, and allowed them to rent it out when it wasn't in use.
Come to think of it, a judge could probably also order any plane used in such an illegal deportation flight seized. That would target the company rather than the pilot, and would allow going after foreign planes when the pilot may be out of reach.
Avelo's been doing a lot of them, too (and, IIRC, may have been the Patriots' carrier, which cannot be making the Patriots' front office happy). Their own flight attendants' union has already filed complaints, and they're getting a lot of bad press about it.
So it shouldn't take much more to convince their crews that cooperating with this is no longer tenable. The pressure's already ratcheting up a bit, but a judge weighing in and emphasizing the crew's legal liabilities here should change the conversation radically.
When, when, when is a judge going to pull the trigger and hold someone in contempt and put them in jail! Then the doofus lawyers for Trump might think twice about collaborating with him and his minions.
I’m writing a piece about this very question tomorrow! Unfortunately, it will be quite difficult to actually put anyone in jail for a myriad reasons. I’ll break down why that is, and why we are now teetering on a bigger constitutional abyss than ever.
This likely won't happen until 2029 because the Marshalls that do the arresting are part of DoJ. Until then, judges still have some tools in their toolbox, such as referring lawyers to the ABA for investigation and potential loss of their law license. Maybe also yanking the pilots license of any pilot who flies a deportation plane.
Democrats are still playing nice. Why wasnt the response to any of the turd goblins - "You lie!" or "Thank you Rubio for giving a master class in gaslighting but you are not doing a good job. That's why you're here. What kind of Sec of State doesnt know what's going on with the state? You're a weirdo and you lie!" Thanks Jay, we recognize the nonsense but no one seems have the guts to stand up to it, unless your Crockett or AOC but even then folks are so afraid to call out a lie it's unreal. And, Jake Tapper needs to go sit in the deepest hole and contemplate his life choices. He is the epitome of why no one trusts main stream media.
The current Democratic leadership came of age and power in a time when this kind of behavior was unthinkable. It’s taking them quite some time to adjust to the new normal, agreed. But I’m not sure that us raising the temperature even further is going to solve anything. I prefer the approach of Pete Buttigieg, who manages to make his point very clearly while actually turning down the temperature and toning down the rhetoric.
Hello wake up dems to the reality that has been the last 10 years! They are impotent and I believe complicit for corporate money - get all money out of politics! I donated several hundred dollars to Biden then Harris - I won't give another penny unless I see much more action and real assessment of the reality on the ground.
Thanks Jay and I hear you. These are not normal times and the weirdoes seem to only respond to the level of vitriol they give back. PB is awesome and I hope he keeps up with the town halls. We need more of them in red states. But we gotta stop turning the other cheek and call out these fools for what they are. They are liars. Remember state of the union and the rep who held up the sign "this is not normal"? What happened? A turd goblin from Texas ripped it out of her hand. Security, no one, did anything. The trumplican magats stomp on decorum and we take it and respond with logic. Nothing that the trumplican magats do is logical or ethical. They have a lot of fake rage that has never been met with real rage. We need our own cheeto, maybe a dorito (lol) and we need our own Project 2025 (a dang plan). And Thank you Jay for all that you do explaining the issues.
It took the MSM over 3 YEARS to use the word "lie" in referring to all of the lies emanating from the orange sadist during his first term. I listened in OUTRAGE, helpless to do anything about it.
So a federal judge has ruled and the administration is still deporting people. All that has to happen is put the person who signed the deportation order in jail for contempt. That will stop the bullshit
Ah, if only it were that simple. As I’ll discuss in tomorrow’s piece, the question of who will put whom in jail is a very tricky one when the DoJ does not want to help.
I would add Cruel and Classless to that list. Each and every single one of them. Watching in jaw dropping horror from Ireland, as most sane Europeans are. We're behind you all and see exactly what's going on. It's truly hard to believe. I was a green card holder and lived in NY fir about 4 years - absolutely loved my melting pot of friends and it was a dream of an experience. The kindness of the NY folks I worked with, will always stay with ne. Thus is who you are- not this regime of awfulness.
Of course, a thorough reading of 1984 would have us all aware of what is going on. Required reading, if you can avoid breaking a window while throwing it across the room in fury.
Hi Jay--Thanks for all you do--I wanted to alert to an urgent action, which is that there are only a few days left for people to "comment" on a new proposed rule that would make it easy to fire tens of thousands of civil service workers and replace them with political appointees--commenting gums up the works and slows down the process. Here is a link to today's Crimson Goes Blue newsletter (a grassroots group of Harvard alums/dems) that explains why this is important and why it is crucial for people to post comments now...https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/NGP/NGP59/1/108307/psZWpa6K9VHPwHPwENxt5T8eg-jdW7B4GxKtWbevb0B_archive
Done. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll post it on my Facebook feed. Here's my comment:
I am writing in reference to the Office of Personnel Management, Docket ID: OPM-2025-0004, RIN 3206-AO80.
The proposed rules change regarding procedures for taking action against civil servants is dismaying. These changes are being proposed to make it easier to fire employees without cause and due process. Reclassifying a broad category of federal employees is a smokescreen for being able to fire employees for political reasons, not for "accountability" or "responsiveness."
Competent and responsible government work is vital for the health of our country and its citizens. Firing 50,000 federal employees will contribute to reducing the trust that Americans have in their federal government. The vast majority of these employees are hard working and honest, and are doing their best every day, with little acclaim and low pay. For example, people who are receiving benefits, like me, must know that workers in the Social Security Administration are experienced and qualified, and able to help us navigate the system with competence.
This rules change is part of the attempt to permanently cripple the American government, which has served Americans in the best way since the beginning of this country.
I urge rejection of this rule change in the strongest possible terms.
Maybe next time Noem lies to Congress, they can put her in some county jail somewhere secret, not to be released until all of the illegally removed migrants are back in the US.
The thought of HER being disappeared like she's done to so many others is quite delicious to think about, even though it's 100% unlikely.
Would love to see Congress AND THE PRESS call them out for all of the chaos, contempt, and cruelty. Imagine what kind of a free-for-all there would have been in the formerly legit media if the most frequent reply from POTUS and his Cabinet to questions about *anything* had been "I don't know." Yet that's what this administration lives on. They might as well have it tattooed on their foreheads.
This is a brilliant analysis. Send to elected officials at all levels including local, attorneys, judges, press people, and ask all your friends to do the same.
While I'm glad Senator Hassan called out Noem; she still voted to confirm her. So it feels performative. Democrats need to STOP being collaborators.
It’s hard for those of us the Senate to understand the pros and cons of things like a confirmation. In the larger picture, it wasn’t clear at the time whether it would be better to oppose ALL the nominees (few made that choice) or to pick and choose battles. A senator who staked out an absolutist position would probably have less leverage than one who was selective about who to oppose. It’s easier in hindsight to be critical, but in the moment for example no one thought Rubio would turn out to be the worst of the bunch, and voting down Noem might have produced an ever worse candidate (though again in hindsight it’s hard to think of who would be worse). So I don’t see what Sen. Hassan (who comes from a pretty purple state) is doing today to be performative.
Jay, I respectfully disagree. In Germany, we have a simple rule (and we had to learn it the hard way): You don't speak to Nazis, you don't vote for Nazis and you surely don't strategize over Nazi politics. Instead, you oppose them at every opportunity in every way conceivable.
So you confirm somebody because the replacement might be worse? Come on! You vote against everything they bring up, you filibuster everything you can. Not only is there a huge track record that Republicans *HAVE* done exactly this, there is an EX OFFICIO duty to act as such whenever a MAGA official is in violation of the constitution - and, as you have admirably worked out: Each one of the Secretaries in the hearing clearly proved all yb themselves that they are unfit for duty.
Democrats have long lost the high ground of acting in good faith instead of trying to be selective about their battles, because at this point it just looks self-serving.
As Adorno so aptly put it: "There is no right life in the wrong one". (Translation from German is my own interpretation.)
Or as Hannah Arendt put it: “The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.”
And this is much more true about Democrats than it is for Republicans, because the latter bunch already has chosen evil.
Thank you for your insights. Your perspective is valuable. One of the reasons that American people are struggling right now is we've never had a couple before. There's no mechanism in place to deal with one. We are learning as we go.
Thank you for sharing the German rule. As we see everyday in the US now, appeasement and compromise do not work; instead deportation without due process and destruction of important government functions continue to accelerate. Our politicians need to learn that rule.
I understand you point, but when I go out and protest and worry that some mage cult member in a truck is going to run everyone down - THEN I see Hassan and Booker voting for trumps crypto scam, or a obviously corrupt and incompetent nominee; it feels like a betrayal. I don't really think it's hindsight to see how incompetent these people are. Let the republicans own all of it, and don't give them any ability to say "well these democrats voted for them."
Having said that, thank you for responding with calm and reason. I appreciate that.
Agree with you completely, Chris. Dems should collectively be 100% in opposition, 24/7. No excuses. I highly doubt Dump and his enablers are going to propose anything beneficial to the 99%.
I've felt that way from the day 47 got elected to both his first and second terms. Unfortunately, there have been people who have argued against me. It was obvious to me with this second term that 47 was going to run roughshod over everything and everyone as much as he could and as quickly as possible. Thankfully, he didn't make the 53 day marker that Hitler hit in putting his regime into action which is a sign of the level of incompetence of this regime and the wonderful opposition it has received.
Whoever argued against you is obviously clueless.
They were MAGA that are still on FB.
Yup. Do not confirm ANYONE. The GOP are even worse with their whole "I had no idea it would get that bad" act. REALLY? You have been promoting this man and his entire posse to THIS point for ten years and you didn't know?
Exactly. They knew and thought of they voted to confirm they wouldn't get screwed over. Well, it's like what John McClane said to the deputy chief of LAPD in the first “Die Hard” movie which I shall not quote here even though I think it's quite apropos.
It's this kind of shit that proves to me that the game is over and the Democrats' opposition is now just theater.
Oh? Nothing like surrendering at the first volley. Once again, the Democratic party is not in power. The venue open to them is questioning. Mocking someone for asking questions and then calling it shit? My, how mature, how responsible, how playing into MAGA's plans.
More than one Democratic Senator voted for him. Given his past record, there was a glimmer that he might be the adult in the room. There also was no way he would not be confirmed. The operative word for the Democrats right now? Minority party. Voting for him was no game changer it was betting he would exhibit some semblance of a back bone. They lost that bet. But they would still be dealing with him. So let's stop pretending Democratic votes would have made a difference, in this case? Not one iota. Stop trying to blame the Democrats for things they have no control over. If after the mid-terms, we are still on the short end of the stuck? Then you raise hell.
The FIRST VOLLEY? Where the hell have you been since 2015?
The fact that ANY Democrats vote with the Republicans on anything is disgusting. Watching all of those old farts try to compromise with these traitors is like watching Neville Chamberlain give away parts of Poland.
Wait until the mid-terms? You see what they've done in four months and you want to wait two fucking years? Pull your head out of where the sun don't shine. What makes you think that there will be a fair election, or even one at all? I don't think that it's a good idea to let them run amok for two more weeks let alone 22 months.
Might I respectfully suggest that you find a goddamn world history book, (preferably written in the 1950s or 60s,) look up the section of late 1930s Germany and then shut your fucking mouth. I lost almost all of my family to Germany in the camps and I'm not going to put up with appeasers like you allowing the Nazis to take over THIS country and do what they did all over again.
Say it loud for the idiots who don't get it!
Prime Minister Chamberlain must be kicking himself in Hell right now.
Ninety years ago Dale Carnegie wrote a book called "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Now, many "how-to" books are nothing more than "how to make the author richer by giving them your money for a useless book," but this one really helps!
Scott, I think you should read this book. (Departing from the message of the book, here) You really, really need it. No one is going to listen to you after you swear at them, call them a fool, and insult their intelligence. But what do I know? You keep doing you. And keep making reservations for one.
Perhaps Scott is not betting on the poster changing her mind. That may not be his goal. To me he's saying that when the shit is goin' down, sometimes people gotta wake up.
Yeah, bullshit! I never said her vote would have made a difference, but just because she was guaranteed to be confirmed doesn't mean ANY democrat should vote for ANY of trumps unqualified and corrupt nominees. AND I'm raising HELL right now; sorry if your not up to the challenge of fighting back. Hassan also voted to allow trumps crypto scam to pass, did you know that? And Hassan isn't the only democrat on my shit list, and I happily called them out as well.
People like you giving cover to democrats who collaborate with the trump regime is what's actually playing into maga's plans. Might be time to wake up to that fact! I didn't spend 16 years in the US Navy to roll over to these fascists. So, stop lecturing me when you're obeying in advance!
Oh, settle down seaman. Just settle down, you're ranting makes me wonder just how far you made it in the Navy. E-3? May suggest you take your own advise? Other wise you just come across as an impotent incel looking for a cause. And I didn't spend more than 16 years knowing and working with people in the service who obviously rose higher than you did because they had and have a few things you lack: intelligence, composure, and sensibility.
May I suggest you consider reenlisting? You sound like a Hegseth kind of guy.
That’s harsh-he was explaining his position
Seize power! The fascists have.
Some democrats are fighting back; unfortunately they are NOT in leadership.
And they won't be. More proof that it's all theater.
We, ordinary people, are fighting back! A friend and I were at the State Capital in Denver, CO on April 5th & 19th for the HANDS OFF rallies. We will be there again on June 14th. At least two more people will join us. We are and must continue to take our government back from the ground up!
Yes we are! I was at my local rallies in Southern Illinois. We all do what we can, and everything helps!
This is to the coward Carol-Ann Dearnaley - who felt like whining about me, and then blocked me because she didn't have the courage for me to respond! Shows her true colors; a fucking keyboard "warrior." Hopefully the rest of the people here can still see her bullshit.
There is a certain attitude that emerges from the safety of your keyboard. We see clearly the bullshit-looking for a hole in the dyke
Yes, and if you have the courage to type a response; have the courage to get the reply.
Yes-courage is critical when speaking in opposition
You know, Chris, we’re all trying to survive the current destruction of everything we care about at the same time we’re fighting daily to save what we can. I sometimes block certain commenters as well when their relentless pessimism becomes more than I can bear. We’re not going to win by tearing each other down. We’re going to win by recognizing that we’re all doing as much as we can, and cutting each other some slack. Try pulling out your compassion rather than your insults. None of us are cowards if we’re staying in the fight.
What you call pessimism, I call pragmatic. But if a person wants to have a conversation about a disagreement you don't start off by insulting someone you probably agree with 95% of the time. Carol-Ann Dearnaley started out by being insulting and condescending, and, yes, I reacted in kind. Her second comment (you might not be able to see it) was WAY beyond the pale; insulting my military service, and before I could respond - she blocked me. That's a coward.
I have great compassion for the everyday fighters that do what they can, and everything is a contribution no matter how small. And, you're right, we will not win by tearing each other down, but when we (you, me, everyone here) are doing what we can; I expect no less from our elected officials. So when Senator Hassan votes for these corrupt and incompetent nominees, and then gets up in front of the cameras and "exposes" Noem; does it not beg the question as to why Hassan voted for her in the first place? Why did Hassan and Booker and 17 other democrats vote for trumps crypto scam? We have a right to ask those questions.
My Vietnam veteran dad used to say that friendly fire leaves you just as dead as enemy fire. I'm going to keep my verbal ammo focused on the actual perpetrators of the destruction.
I agree to a point, and one (or two) act of voting for something doesn't make someone a collaborator. But, repeatedly voting in support of the trump regime's agenda becomes a problem. When does it become aiding and abetting? When are they worth of the same attention as the perpetrators?
In the first “Die Hard” movie John McClane (Bruce Willis) said to the LAPD deputy chief that he got butt-fucked on television because of the way he handled going after the criminals in Nakatomi Tower. Well, the Democrats who voted to confirm any of these secretaries got butt-fucked by their votes for the whole world to witness. The whole world is paying the price for their cowardice and has gotten butt-fucked by their votes.
All of her comments are gone, and so is one of mine... I guess she pissed me off too much...
She is truly a piece of work.
absolutely right!!
I suspect Noem’s answer was just “F you” using different words, but it’s well past time they were taken seriously. File a motion to impeach her for gross incompetence. I know it won’t go anywhere, but that never stopped Republicans. They knew that symbolic action was also important. House Democrats don’t have any power right now anyway: might as well make a statement about who you are and where you stand.
The sooner some of the régime assholes and their shyster lawyers get their asses fined heavily and clapped into the Graybar Hotel for a while for contempt, the sooner we'll start getting some straight answers and compliance out of the rest of them.
Noem, Rubio, Kennedy, Duffy, and others all just smirk, openly give committee members the finger, and laugh on their way out the door. Lawyers in scores of courtrooms around the country lie to judges who rule against the régime, and the régime ignores the rulings. And don't even get me started on cabinet and SCOTUS nominees who lie obviously and endlessly through their teeth in confirmation hearings.
E-fucking-nough. Long past time to quit cutting so much slack, issuing warnings, granting long delays and lead times, and so on. If a dumbass like Rubio wants to talk over a committee member, hit him with a contempt citation right then and there, and have the marshals pull him out of his chair and down to a cell. If a piece of po' white trash like Noem can't tell a committee member what habeas is, call a 15-minute recess and instruct her to find out very damn quickly what it is. Then reconvene, ask her the question again, and ask her point blank whether she supports or does not support it and the rest of the US Constitution. If she mouths off again, marshal-->cuffs-->jail cell. Same technique for Kennedy re: (for example) CDC services.
Until there are significant consequences, the lying treacherous incompetent assholes will keep doing just what they're doing. And the country will suffer worse and worse.
Agree totally, pts. I like how you think!
As a group all of the inept appointees in this regime can only spew rehearsed sound bites. They collectively are the most unethical, evil, intellectually devoid cretins to ever hold an office of power
I am being cynical, but part of me wonders if Noems response was a sound bite for FOX news.
Sound bite, photo op, lie to an elected official: all in a days work for a sociopathic dog murderer.
Jay, I admire your dedication, energy, and endurance to expose yourself to such crass stupidity emanating from this collectively FUBAR-ed "cabinet" — "only the best people" immediately surfaces! — and I did my best to follow today's post...but, honestly, it drives one into a desperate frame of mind to see and hear the breathless inanity comprising tRump 2.0, and that we are lumbered with this malicious gang for three-and-a-half more years, ffs! Ha!...I first typed "years" as "tears", and you know what? "Tears" is more apposite.
Withal, keep up your stellar work, as one day the sun will break through...one lives in hope.
Noem doesn’t understand that Habeas Corpus is a constitutional right of the incarcerated person who thinks that they are incarcerated without due process or other aspects of a defendants rights granted by the Constitution.
She is drastically UNQUALIFIED for this job and the media NEEDS to get on this and shame the Trump administration.
They’re not sending you their best. It is the age of ignorance, stupidity and rank mediocrity.
The entire Trump Administration is rife with these folks:
Ignorant on the law, ignorant on public policy, ignorant on science and health.
8647 NOW! Use your free speech while you still have it.
I'm wearing this subtle 8647 shirt and MAGAs won't get it (they can't do math) 👇
https://libtees.dashery.com/products/75266411-do-the-math-t-shirt
8647 again because free speech matters and the constitution must be upheld.
Be careful with that number. Even James Comey, head of the FBI, got interrogated by Secret Service over a post showing that number. And his post was plain innocent.
I refuse to limit my free speech.
Threats to the President are not included with Free Speech. And one can make a case that this number does constitute a threat. One can also make a case that it doesn't, especially since apparently some Republicans had used 8646 in the past.
Fuck that. 86 the motherfucker. We should ALL say it every chance we get as a form of civil disobedience. Dare the trump thugs to come arrest and disappear us.
Who doesn’t remember when the bartender or owner/manager would say “86” him or her? Maybe they still say it.
It’s been used for many years in other places of business as well.
He hates Comey and it’s just another attempt at a payback.
As a small-plane pilot, I'm glad to hear that the judge is finally considering holding pilots accountable. We're taught from Day One that the pilot in command bears full legal responsibility for all aspects of the flight. There's a lot here that the person actually taking these planes off the ground should think seriously about before doing so.
First of all: I'd want to know who was on board, on whose authority they were being sent, and that the orders to transport were enacted legally. I'd want clear assurance that my crew and I weren't being dragooned into becoming unwitting accomplices to a kidnapping.
Second: I might well refuse to transport on the grounds that the FAA requires that all planes be capable of full evacuation within 90 seconds -- something that I just don't see happening if everybody's in handcuffs and leg irons. Apparently, some pilots and flight attendants have raised this exact question, and it's been rebuffed with the argument that it's common for exceptions to be made for prisoner transport. But it shouldn't be. Even convicts (which it's not clear that these detainees even are) are legally entitled to the basic level of safety guaranteed under the federal air regulations (FARs). If my flight can't meet those legal standards, I have a legal obligation to refuse to fly it, since it's my certification on the line.
There's very little chatter about this in the pilot community, but there should be. If you're the PIC, you are accountable, period. But I don't think that's going to sink in until the first four-stripe head finally rolls. The sooner that happens, the better. This judge sounds like he may be headed there.
First, to be clear: I mostly agree with you.
Second, this is a much tougher decision for the pilot than it may appear to be. Refusing to fly would probably require quitting the job, or being fired. That in itself may be an acceptable price to pay. But many of the shadier airlines will then demand tens of thousands of dollars in repayment for training. Being that far in debt right when losing your job might be a strong incentive for the pilot to break the law.
Absolutely. There are some rough career repercussions for refusing to fly. That's why it's so critical for the judge to step in here.
Right now, job loss feels like the worst consequence they face. But that equation changes if pilots figure out that they'll risk their certifications if they fly these flights. It's a lot easier to stand up to the boss once you know that this flight could cost you your ticket. If that gets pulled, you've got no career left at all.
Any airline that's flying these flights is, by definition, shady.
Agreed. Many of these flights seem to be operated by GlobalX. It gets more complex with some other situations. Apparently, the Venezuelan state airline was also used at some point. And it is possible that privately-owned planes are also involved. A few weeks ago, the plane owned by the New England Patriots was observed flying to Guantanamo. Apparently, the Patriots had little to do with that; they had hired a charter operator to operate the plane, and allowed them to rent it out when it wasn't in use.
Come to think of it, a judge could probably also order any plane used in such an illegal deportation flight seized. That would target the company rather than the pilot, and would allow going after foreign planes when the pilot may be out of reach.
Avelo's been doing a lot of them, too (and, IIRC, may have been the Patriots' carrier, which cannot be making the Patriots' front office happy). Their own flight attendants' union has already filed complaints, and they're getting a lot of bad press about it.
So it shouldn't take much more to convince their crews that cooperating with this is no longer tenable. The pressure's already ratcheting up a bit, but a judge weighing in and emphasizing the crew's legal liabilities here should change the conversation radically.
When, when, when is a judge going to pull the trigger and hold someone in contempt and put them in jail! Then the doofus lawyers for Trump might think twice about collaborating with him and his minions.
I’m writing a piece about this very question tomorrow! Unfortunately, it will be quite difficult to actually put anyone in jail for a myriad reasons. I’ll break down why that is, and why we are now teetering on a bigger constitutional abyss than ever.
This likely won't happen until 2029 because the Marshalls that do the arresting are part of DoJ. Until then, judges still have some tools in their toolbox, such as referring lawyers to the ABA for investigation and potential loss of their law license. Maybe also yanking the pilots license of any pilot who flies a deportation plane.
Democrats are still playing nice. Why wasnt the response to any of the turd goblins - "You lie!" or "Thank you Rubio for giving a master class in gaslighting but you are not doing a good job. That's why you're here. What kind of Sec of State doesnt know what's going on with the state? You're a weirdo and you lie!" Thanks Jay, we recognize the nonsense but no one seems have the guts to stand up to it, unless your Crockett or AOC but even then folks are so afraid to call out a lie it's unreal. And, Jake Tapper needs to go sit in the deepest hole and contemplate his life choices. He is the epitome of why no one trusts main stream media.
The current Democratic leadership came of age and power in a time when this kind of behavior was unthinkable. It’s taking them quite some time to adjust to the new normal, agreed. But I’m not sure that us raising the temperature even further is going to solve anything. I prefer the approach of Pete Buttigieg, who manages to make his point very clearly while actually turning down the temperature and toning down the rhetoric.
Hello wake up dems to the reality that has been the last 10 years! They are impotent and I believe complicit for corporate money - get all money out of politics! I donated several hundred dollars to Biden then Harris - I won't give another penny unless I see much more action and real assessment of the reality on the ground.
Thanks Jay and I hear you. These are not normal times and the weirdoes seem to only respond to the level of vitriol they give back. PB is awesome and I hope he keeps up with the town halls. We need more of them in red states. But we gotta stop turning the other cheek and call out these fools for what they are. They are liars. Remember state of the union and the rep who held up the sign "this is not normal"? What happened? A turd goblin from Texas ripped it out of her hand. Security, no one, did anything. The trumplican magats stomp on decorum and we take it and respond with logic. Nothing that the trumplican magats do is logical or ethical. They have a lot of fake rage that has never been met with real rage. We need our own cheeto, maybe a dorito (lol) and we need our own Project 2025 (a dang plan). And Thank you Jay for all that you do explaining the issues.
Well, Hassan did come right out and say "You're wrong." But I agree, that lacks the moral outrage of saying, "That's a lie."
It took the MSM over 3 YEARS to use the word "lie" in referring to all of the lies emanating from the orange sadist during his first term. I listened in OUTRAGE, helpless to do anything about it.
So a federal judge has ruled and the administration is still deporting people. All that has to happen is put the person who signed the deportation order in jail for contempt. That will stop the bullshit
Ah, if only it were that simple. As I’ll discuss in tomorrow’s piece, the question of who will put whom in jail is a very tricky one when the DoJ does not want to help.
Is anyone addressing how much these lawsuits against the administration is costing the taxpayers?
That's an excellent question!
I would add Cruel and Classless to that list. Each and every single one of them. Watching in jaw dropping horror from Ireland, as most sane Europeans are. We're behind you all and see exactly what's going on. It's truly hard to believe. I was a green card holder and lived in NY fir about 4 years - absolutely loved my melting pot of friends and it was a dream of an experience. The kindness of the NY folks I worked with, will always stay with ne. Thus is who you are- not this regime of awfulness.
Of course, a thorough reading of 1984 would have us all aware of what is going on. Required reading, if you can avoid breaking a window while throwing it across the room in fury.
Hi Jay--Thanks for all you do--I wanted to alert to an urgent action, which is that there are only a few days left for people to "comment" on a new proposed rule that would make it easy to fire tens of thousands of civil service workers and replace them with political appointees--commenting gums up the works and slows down the process. Here is a link to today's Crimson Goes Blue newsletter (a grassroots group of Harvard alums/dems) that explains why this is important and why it is crucial for people to post comments now...https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/NGP/NGP59/1/108307/psZWpa6K9VHPwHPwENxt5T8eg-jdW7B4GxKtWbevb0B_archive
Done. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll post it on my Facebook feed. Here's my comment:
I am writing in reference to the Office of Personnel Management, Docket ID: OPM-2025-0004, RIN 3206-AO80.
The proposed rules change regarding procedures for taking action against civil servants is dismaying. These changes are being proposed to make it easier to fire employees without cause and due process. Reclassifying a broad category of federal employees is a smokescreen for being able to fire employees for political reasons, not for "accountability" or "responsiveness."
Competent and responsible government work is vital for the health of our country and its citizens. Firing 50,000 federal employees will contribute to reducing the trust that Americans have in their federal government. The vast majority of these employees are hard working and honest, and are doing their best every day, with little acclaim and low pay. For example, people who are receiving benefits, like me, must know that workers in the Social Security Administration are experienced and qualified, and able to help us navigate the system with competence.
This rules change is part of the attempt to permanently cripple the American government, which has served Americans in the best way since the beginning of this country.
I urge rejection of this rule change in the strongest possible terms.
Jerry Minkoff
This reminds me of the old saying, “If you can’t bedazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit”
And mendacity cuts across all three categories
Maybe next time Noem lies to Congress, they can put her in some county jail somewhere secret, not to be released until all of the illegally removed migrants are back in the US.
The thought of HER being disappeared like she's done to so many others is quite delicious to think about, even though it's 100% unlikely.
I was thinking more along the lines of South Sudan.
Would love to see Congress AND THE PRESS call them out for all of the chaos, contempt, and cruelty. Imagine what kind of a free-for-all there would have been in the formerly legit media if the most frequent reply from POTUS and his Cabinet to questions about *anything* had been "I don't know." Yet that's what this administration lives on. They might as well have it tattooed on their foreheads.
This is a brilliant analysis. Send to elected officials at all levels including local, attorneys, judges, press people, and ask all your friends to do the same.
The school board in my remote village just voted to ban trans athletes. They have none and never have, and barely have sports.
I’ll bet that made them feel big and proud. How are they on the real threats to girls and women?