Well at least I know my panic attacks aren’t unfounded. And where are Musk’s tech world enemies (there are many) — do they really think he’ll share the spoils?
People NEED to pay attention to this and realize that all of our money is now under control of a handful of people who were never elected nor vetted by Congress... But they will decide what happens with our money!! Plus, they can choose to sell all our personal data to the highest bidder.
"Losing NOAA would be devastating. Project 2025 authors want to get rid of it because it monitors climate change, and privatize the information it currently provides for free, so you'll have to buy information about the weather and the winds (imperative for mariners)." HCR
That’s correct. My hope is that the two idiots in charge right now are less competent (which let’s face it, they are) than that because as happened before nobody seems to have the balls to stop them.
Now it’s the CIA. From within, the country is quickly and purposefully being weakened, dismantled and made dysfunctional by a handful of zealots, with no effective push back. How our enemies laugh. It’s too easy when so many voters are ambivalent and manipulable. Stop this. Leadership required, now.
I too remember. And thinking what a bunch of entitled arrogant R’soles. And here we are. Dems and media so weak. Should have called this out long ago. Still, comfort that Tim Walz message last week was that he enjoys ice fishing. And is richly paid. F this nonsense. New Order plz. But how.
isn't it just. And without firing as shot. To celebrate we can expect missiles to be sent over Taiwan, Japan and Poland by tRump's friends to celebrate. Much bigger impact than routine fireworks and reinforces who is in charge.
What a catastrophic sell-out and takeover this has been.
Update, I was able to get one FB post into the feed. Don’t know what changed, it references all the people that we are talking about. Also, some followers were able to reply. Maybe Zuckerberg had a change of heart after seeing the carnage. 🤞
If I’m reading this right it sounds like in Dec 2024 Congress just gave all federal agencies more power to identify and root out fraud. So why are Musk & Team not embracing this? And will the Dec NDAA/AFCA changes help or hurt Musk takeover efforts?
If the administration won’t follow existing laws, what makes Jeffries & Schumer think they will follow new laws? They are destroying govt faster than laws can be passed. We must demand Musk, Martin, Trump, & others testify in Congress to widely disseminate evidence needed for emergency court orders.
I have a junior in high school who wants to work for NOAA one day. “Of course they’re destroying it.” We’re going to ask why his generation is so cynical one day.
Aaand…these engineers are 20-somethings (except for 1-19 year old)? Anyone else wondering what they’re parents, siblings, grandparents must think of these children working for Musk to dismantle America from within?
People might object at the notion of destroying the Treasury department, for example, would be terrible, and it would be indeed, but the alternative is letting it fall into enemy hands, that might use it against you. Which would actually be worse? [2/2]
So looking at this tactically, from the point of view of a director of a gov dept under attack: The enemy is about to take over your ship and use it against you and your side. Isn't the case that one of the first actions called for is to burn the codebooks and destroy the crypto gear? [1/2]
If we want to fight nazis, we can’t do it from within a nazi bar. I will not read on a platform that actively supports and monetizes nazi speech. Please get off substack!
I am grateful that I get a clearer picture of what's going on in the US.
I live in The Netherlands and I'm very very worried.
I'm so afraid it will turn out that T and M are going to be responsible for the biggest mass murder in history.
Republicans have decided that an entirely lawless imperial presidency is so much fun they should give up all of their congressional powers and just enjoy the free gym and health care that comes with the job.
This is beyond frightening. I touched on this today in the context of family, but you tell a much more in depth story. For families with elderly on SS, Medicare, Vets on disability. The thought of people unlawfully blocking their funds and causing hardship is unthinkable.
How ironic is it for Vought to say “The stark reality in America is that we are in the late stages of a complete Marxist takeover of the country”? when in actuality a Fascist is taking over a government without even a mandate from the people.
Thank you, Heather. I'm with Chris Murphy on his Gaza interpretation. As for the rest of it, we need a legal reason to physically keep the non-so-proud boys (Elon's) from access to the computers - now, not in a month. And Schumer should gum up the appointments, but please don't put him on the mic.
I’m not calm. But I have learned that quiet reason can be more effective than shouting, and that appears to be my role in today’s America. So I only rant to my friends and my Very Patient husband.
I feel some cannot help worrying about you and the many other instructional voices who offer guidance to the troops in the trenches, so to speak. I have had nightmares about the camps and squads and jackboots.
Well thank you for being the voice of reason. At some point in the future all of your letters are going to be taught in schools and people are gonna be like how could the rest of America not see this??!!? Fascism is a conniving beast.
Without calm reason, it's harder to see reality through our emotions, endangering our much needed clarity. Hyped up media language sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me, lately.
Curious — precisely how are legislators being kept out of the treasury offices. Musk’s private security personnel? Military police? Nobody has a set of keys?
Oof. This is getting so... I don't even have the words. I really hope more people are ready to resist, protest, and take it to the streets peacefully. It'll be interesting to see if people turn out to their state capitols today as part of a 50-state protest.
Everything covered here... is just.. beyond the pale and very hard to get one's head around.
Trump is literally blowing up America and ANY peace of mind we could ever have. BEYOND NUTS.
How pleased Putin must be.
Guardrails are gone.
WHO can stop our national nightmare?
The really sad part about all of this is that Trump is going to have an easier time stealing the United States of America than he will have stealing a small Middle Eastern country called Gaza.
We are hopefully seeing some pushback. Next link describes a Republican House member on a local "town hall" Monday getting shouted down by outraged Republicans angry at what Musk & DOGE are doing.
We need more of this! The press needs to start pressuring the rest of the GOP to defend these polices so they are on record for their constituents to see
Your answer to someone on Facebook asking how this time compares in history was a gut punch “This is the most dangerous threat the U.S. has ever faced.”
I read that too and felt the same. I had already been thinking it (despite two World Wars, Cold War, 9/11, etc) but to have someone of her knowledge say the words.. ugh. At least we know we're not alone in our fear and rage. Just need to know what to do with that energy.
I appreciate the way you’ve connected the 90-year long process of destroying the liberal consensus, racism, and the truth that the current Republican MoC are complicit with Musk/Trump. They are cheering for the destruction of our government.
These new details should cause Americans of all stripes to drop to their knees and take stock of themselves. Serious crises require serious responses. If this isn’t a time to acknowledge our experts, their never will be!
This could be the end as we know it. It will be apocalyptic. All govt computers could crash. Utilities could be affected. Food and transportation might collapse. The military might collapse too. Then China or Russia could just March in unopposed. I mean they are making us vulnerable to everything.
Racism is the motivation for everything the GOP has done or tried to do in the past 60 years. It's the reason why we don't have universal health care, for example. It's a gangrenous limb on the body politic that needs to be amputated.
Exactly, nobody voted for Dr Muskrat 🐀 unelected billionaire to take over our government systems, he was supposed to evaluate and recommend cuts. Not infiltrate our government 💻 systems and lock us out. He's a real fucking wannabe Bond villain. So where's our hero🦸♀️?
Heather, your words have anchored me through the days of heartbreak and hope since the election. This was hard to read. But still, thank you for the clarity. I’m not done fighting for this country that I love but I am so sad and angry that we are here.
People have been trying to hack these systems since they started. Little did they know that it just took a one-time payment of $250 M to get full access. Boy, did Musk play trump. That investment is now worth the entire United States treasury. When do they hand over the keys to Ft Knox? Coming soon.
Listened to your FB chat last PM while my wife watched it; read this version now. Thanks esp. for this pivot & what follows it: "Musk’s takeover of the U.S. government to override Congress and dictate what programs he considers worthwhile is a logical outcome of forty years of Republican rhetoric."
Heather, you are the first person I've subscribed to on Substack, and I'm making my way through "Democracy Awakening". Thanks for doing what you do, esp because each piece must kill you a little bit inside. Maine is so proud of you.
The Rule of Law is no more, the US Constitution is shredding, DJT has already committed two impeachable offenses and Congress is doing nothing about it. Our only hope are the Federal Courts and a few FBI who defy DJT to make arrests. Our National Security is at stake. Just my view of the situation.
Trump plotting hostile takeovers of Gaza, Panama, Greenland, Canada. In defense of its members, will NATO be obliged to attack US? Impeach or perish seems to be the reality.
LAPD used tanks and battering ramps to bust into houses suspected of selling illegal drugs. But private citizens pushed their way into government offices, stole access to trillions of dollars, personal information, IDs, HIPPA, etc..not warrant cause for arrest? Oh wait, racism, classism.
I prefered the old guy who upheld the law than this reckless, fear mongering and psychopathic old man with a serious case of dementia and pure hate for anyone that doesn't look like him or agree with him.
Tell me again that this was a free and fair election, that there was no manipulation of the voting machines. If they can get into these systems, they can do anything. He told us they had the votes. Full stop. We didn’t listen and here we are.
All of a sudden those Republicans who made copies or voting machines after 2020 and the whole thing Trump said about not needing people to vote takes on a whole new meaning. I agree with you.
Attention young writers/historians: pay very careful attention. Take notes! Someday, hopefully, you’ll have the freedom to write about this period of history. It’s going to be very sad. You’ll make movies, write books, teach classes…
All of a sudden those Republicans who made copies or voting machines after 2020 and the whole thing Trump said about not needing people to vote takes on a whole new meaning
Thank God for you. I am working my way through your excellent books and learning that this is nothing new. There is a bit of comfort in that. Hopefully incompetence will be the demise of this ridiculous administration.
Not going to lie, I barely made it through listening to politics chat yesterday. You expressed your sense of worry so well. I’m struggling with despair. Today, I feel that strongly. But I know they want that, so, I’ll take a day to let myself feel that, then re-engage. Thank you.
So various actually-elected folks are doing press conferences and pledging oversight while a slew of lawsuits are being filed. All good stuff.
But, EM & his band of henchmen are still going department to department traipsing through their files and data, sowing chaos. How do we get THAT to stop?
With a badge and a gun. Or not. Physical occupation of the buildings so to maintain 24-7 control of the data infrastructure is a clear sign of a lawless coup they have no intention of winding down bc of a court, unless there is law enforcement involved. We need names of the DHS goons particpating.
Nah, not Senators, given the way things are in the Senate right now. But what's stopping regular Joe Schmo protestors from blocking people who aren't allowed to go into the buildings from going in?
Musk and his interns aren't carrying. They aren't going to force their way past a crowd of 20-40 regular people. They have no arrest powers of those folks stand in front of the doors and tell them they can't enter.
Right? Musk and his henchkids need to be dragged out of there. I would hope the Capital police would be happy to do it. I don't put much faith in cops usually but hoping jan 6 woke these ones up... (wishful thinking maybe)
I have been trying to figure this out, and it's apparently FBI or US Marshalls that can arrest them directly. That's why they have been going after the FBI and threatening to fire everyone.
All that dithering and grandstanding in congress for the benefit of media, and the lawsuits seeking TRO's and injunctive relief... ok fine! do all that. But the crimes continue and must be STOPPED dead in their tracks right now. Plenty of probable cause to issue arrest warrants. Just DO it. and now.
“…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”
They have Project 2025….we have this.
At the midterms, vote and make sure your vote is counted regardless of how difficult they try to make it. In the meantime, call your Congressional representatives and let them know they are out if they don’t try to stop this!
I actually think an FBI agent can arrest someone with probable cause without the court. It just becomes a matter of who has the guts to do that right now.
Everyday people doing what they can to block and disrupt what's happening on the ground can help stop this. And if you can't physically help? Financially support unions, pool resources, whatever it takes to help the ppl whose jobs are at risk. People can physically disable wifi to EMs...
goon squad and/or find other ways to make it impossible for the.goon squad to access internal systems and do their work. We have to let government workers & on the ground resistance know we have their back in real material ways.
This is exactly what has been running through my mind as they continue to overstep boundaries, illegally steal confidential information, and threaten those who try to stop them. It’s become obvious that there are only a few in high government positions who are willing to speak out or take action.
You stop this through lawsuits, court orders and non-partisan defying FBI agents. That is how. What the press conference will do is give EM and his shitters warning, which we SHOULD NOT be doing.
So many of these actions are clearly illegal. How is there no one in law enforcement willing to make an arrest, press charges? How can we push buttons to make that happen?
My best guess is because Trump spent the first days in office threatening the FBI and cleaning out the opposition in other agencies. People are scared.
I was listening to your latest youtube post. I've been thinking for a few years as Americans we need to go back to old methods of business. Paper mail, checks, etc. That looms more cogent than ever under the current storm.
Our federal Constitution is a living document. It is only real when it is in effect. Donald John Trump, by enabling his crony Elon Reeve Musk, is preventing the Constitution from being even minimally in effect. This negates the existence of all offices under the Constitution, including the …
… including the Presidency. This is beyond an impeachable offense. Impeachment is a procedure for when the Constitution is in effect. Trump has forfeited the Presidency. The Presidency now only exists for whichever eligible person will restore the Constitution under which the Presidency exists.
Comments
I post or re-post your letters, all the time. So historically accurate and insightful.
Noon
Everybody bring your lunch
And both he and the orange idiot are going to be in the history books as the two biggest fuckups ever to walk the earth forever.
Speaking with a friend, she reminded me that "all dictators fail."
History will not remember Musk or Trump favorably at all. And it's entirely of their own making.
“The country is in the midst of a ‘second American Revolution’ that will be bloodless ‘if the left allows it to be.’
Here we are.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/04/leader-of-the-pro-trump-project-2025-suggests-there-will-be-a-new-american-revolution-00166583
Sorting and organizing is more my niche tho.
What a catastrophic sell-out and takeover this has been.
https://fcablog.sidley.com/2025/01/30/federal-agencies-can-now-directly-pursue-fca-cases-up-to-1m/?_gl=1*1sym41h*_ga*MjA0MjE5NzgxMy4xNzM4NzUyMzAy*_ga_NLYDMECVES*MTczODc1MjMwMi4xLjEuMTczODc1MjMzNS4wLjAuMA..
I live in The Netherlands and I'm very very worried.
I'm so afraid it will turn out that T and M are going to be responsible for the biggest mass murder in history.
Ugh… we will make it
@chrismurphyct.bsky.social
Trump is literally blowing up America and ANY peace of mind we could ever have. BEYOND NUTS.
How pleased Putin must be.
Guardrails are gone.
WHO can stop our national nightmare?
Who woulda thought?
It's happening right in front of our eyes and ears.
Who will the Generals and Admirals side with?
How about the rank and file?
Yes, my hair is on fire.
Yes, the sky is falling.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Spokane/comments/1ih1jm7/i_contacted_my_congressmans_and_senators_offices/?%24deep_link=true&correlation_id=302d4f1f-bb88-42c4-b8cc-c523824cca14&post_fullname=t3_1ih1jm7&post_index=0&ref=email_digest&ref_campaign=email_digest&ref_source=email&utm_content=post_title&utm_medium=Email%20Amazon%20SES&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA22QTU7DMBCFT5Pu0jZxChFShZAQO1Y9gDWxJ%2Bm0%2FtPYUWDD2Zm0wArJlp6%2F5%2BeZ8bmUlJ92O0ZrqWwhpa2jcN2p9Fy1nUpH1JA3IiPTRAGcntkdz2uqUi9V%2ByZrWZbtT95EL4Bln1K8QkBRwjyGkkU2dG4u%2FlEUaRNDAVPQav%2B5HibGnD2ErCFYnTFAiZx1HEcyuIYrJcUObWcRk16brNRr4VlKPJjIjA4KxaDJClf71nZjM9bD0Pd115quHnpjanNoVd92xkDTSS7FXPQ4OxfA4%2Fqc0n8t3k0KFj%2FE2QtgHEWhB3La0oS53KE24BPQFP53c5zZ4K8ncC7%2BNr18itBbmULF4eZLriMzhUkPHJeMfHyPAzkZcX%2BCEZi%2BAcEUPdOvAQAA&%243p=e_as&_branch_match_id=1187530835561152527
I didn’t want to hear that, but needed to.
Thank you for alerting me to Troublemakers. Our activism is crucial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no
I appreciate it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpPTRcz1no
yeah.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz
Just remember you heard it here first...................
But, EM & his band of henchmen are still going department to department traipsing through their files and data, sowing chaos. How do we get THAT to stop?
More tools feckless Dems are refusing to use
https://indivisible.org/resource/explainer-how-senate-democrats-can-delay-defy-trumps-agenda-procedural-hardball
And bring news cameras — I’d like to see what happens if anyone tries to stop or arrest the Grandmas!
But Sanders did say back in December that Musk is right and he's willing to work with him.
They have Project 2025….we have this.
The real test will be, will the DOJ/orange-man simply order the US Marshalls to ignore the court order.
So many of these actions are clearly illegal. How is there no one in law enforcement willing to make an arrest, press charges? How can we push buttons to make that happen?
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