Tag: alex padilla
Warning Against A Would-Be Tyrant, Acting 'Under Color Of Law'

Warning Against A Would-Be Tyrant, Acting 'Under Color Of Law'

This is what has happened recently in the United States:

A United States senator, Alex Padilla of California, was physically assaulted, forced to the ground, and handcuffed by agents acting for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as he attempted to ask her a question. Noem had just returned from a raid on the home of an immigrant family in Huntington Park, California. The agents were attired in full combat gear, including helmets, Kevlar vests, and camouflage fatigues. They carried fully automatic M-4 rifles fitted with 20-round magazines and were wearing masks. They did this under color of law.

President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of more than 4,800 soldiers and Marines to Los Angeles, California. He did this under color of law, specifically, 10 U.S.C. § 12406, a statute which authorizes the federalization of a state’s National Guard if the country is being invaded by the forces of a foreign nation, or to put down a rebellion against the United States government, or to enforce and execute federal laws when the president is otherwise unable to do so. A lawsuit filed in Federal court by Governor Gavin Newsom said that Trump’s actions are “contrary to law and outside of the authority granted to the President under that statute,” and Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s actions in deploying some 700 active-duty Marines “are contrary to law and outside Secretary Hegseth’s authority.”

Donald Trump appeared at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and gave an unhinged political speech of the kind he regularly gave and gives at political rallies to an assembly of active-duty soldiers from the 18th Airborne Corps. During the speech, Trump repeatedly mocked his predecessor, President Joe Biden, and asked the assembled soldiers, “You think this crowd would have showed up for Biden?” The soldiers were at the Trump appearance on orders from their Army superiors, and in fact, evidence has emerged that they were hand-picked for their appearance and political views for the occasion.

The website Military.com reported yesterday that “One unit-level message bluntly said ‘no fat soldiers.’" Another order to units at Fort Bragg said, “If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out.”

Trump recently ordered the renaming of Fort Bragg from Fort Liberty, which the post was named after a law was passed by the Congress renaming Army posts around the country that had been named after Confederate Generals. Trump announced during the speech at Fort Bragg that he was changing the names of seven Army posts back to the names they had before which honored Confederate generals: Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Rucker in Alabama. Trump had already ordered the renaming of Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, also named after Confederate generals.

The new names of the posts, using the last names of the Confederate generals, are purportedly named after more recent Army heroes. Trump did this under cover of law, because the Congress ordered that the names of the Army posts could not honor Confederates. But everyone knows the truth of what he has done. In fact, he boasted about his defiance of the law during his speech to the soldiers at Fort Bragg.

Since taking office in January, Trump has issued more than 150 executive orders under color of law. Many of those executive orders, which included attempts to shut down entire departments of the federal government such as USAID and the Department of Education, are in defiance of the federal laws passed by Congress establishing those departments.

Others of Trump’s executive orders, issued under cover of law, have resulted in the illegal firings of thousands of federal government employees, many of whom have been reinstated after lawsuits were filed and judges issued orders that they be rehired. One judge recently ordered that the United States Institute of Peace, which is not part of the executive branch and was established by a law passed by Congress and funded in part by Congress, be returned to its board of governors and the building, which was seized by DOGE terrorists, be returned to USIP control.

The Daily Beast reported yesterday on the owner of a roofing business who had a third of his workforce arrested and detained by ICE agents as they drove to work in late May. The ICE arrests and pending deportations were all done under cover of law, even though the men, all from Nicaragua, had work permits and pending asylum applications.

Yesterday, Trump announced on Truth Social that he will order the protection of undocumented workers in certain businesses he apparently views favorably. “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," Trump wrote, before once again blaming Joe Biden. “In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

Stephen Miller, acting at the behest of Trump, recently ordered Customs and Border Enforcement to step up arrests of undocumented workers who have never been accused or convicted of crimes, including those who work in the industries Trump now seeks to protect. All these contradictory moves, to enforce the law for one group but aggressively apply the law to other groups, are being done under color of law. As reported by the Daily Beast, the consequences of Trump’s illegal application of immigration law are now affecting some of his voters, who own the companies disrupted by the arrests and deportations.

None of the owners of the companies employing undocumented workers have been arrested by ICE during raids on their workforces, including meatpacking plants, farms, garment businesses, and other industries. This disparity in enforcement of immigration policy is, of course, being done under the color of law.

With the tackling, forcing to the ground, and handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla, and with the arrests and jailing of a mayor and a judge for alleged violations of law, Trump has made it clear that no one is safe from his illegality. Already, ICE has arrested and detained U.S. citizens whom they mistook as being undocumented because of the color of their skin.

This entire Trump regime of illegality is reminiscent of what Black people went through in the South during Jim Crow, when legal behavior by Black U.S. citizens was declared illegal, including the attempt to register to vote, sitting at lunch counters, and riding on public transportation in seats forbidden to Blacks. All the discriminatory behavior of Southern states during Jim Crow and segregation was done under color of law.

The rest of us are now facing the possibility of arrest under color of law for legal behavior such as marching in a demonstration, attending a press conference or rally, or even writing something that offends the sensibilities of Donald Trump.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a speech on Tuesday, addressed the situation we are in this way: “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project: three coequal branches of independent government.”

It's worse than that, much worse. Trump has said that demonstrations against his big happy birthday military parade “will be met with heavy force.” This is a clear threat to suspend the First Amendment to the Constitution against people he does not approve of, while allowing the First Amendment to protect those who support him. Trump also recently announced that he will eventually do away with FEMA and run the distribution of emergency aid to disaster victims out of the White House. This means that he will allocate federal funds at his own discretion to areas and people who support him, while denying the same tax-payer funds to people who do not.

This is the way dictators run their countries. The law applies to one group, but it does not apply to others. Taxpayer funds are reserved for supporters, but denied to those the dictator does not approve of. The distinction made by the dictator can be made geographically, or by skin color, or by political party, or by religion, or any other criterion he chooses, and because the dictator is in power, he can do it all under the color of law.

To act under the color of law is authoritarian lawlessness writ large. Those of us who oppose Donald Trump will learn this weekend with “No Kings” demonstrations just how far our country has descended into a dictatorship.

I fear for us as individuals, and I fear for our country.

Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has covered Watergate, the Stonewall riots, and wars in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels. He writes every day at luciantruscott.substack.com and you can follow him on Bluesky @lktiv.bsky.social and on Facebook at Lucian K. Truscott IV. Please consider subscribing to his Substack.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott Newsletter.

Enraged By DHS Assault On Padilla, Democrats Demand Noem's Resignation

Enraged By DHS Assault On Padilla, Democrats Demand Noem's Resignation

When Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed and tackled during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, Democrats across the country immediately came to his defense. Because they know that this was much more than just a matter of an unruly politician being escorted out of a room.

“It’s disgusting. Reeks of totalitarianism. Un-American. Not what democracies do,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X.

"Sen. Padilla was in that building to ask questions of what's going on in California, doing his duty to his constituents. We need answers now,” he added.

schumer.png


Even former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out, calling the stunt a “shameful and stunning abuse of power.”


harris.png


Padilla showed up to Noem’s press conference to ask about the ongoing military invasion of Los Angeles. And despite identifying himself as a senator, Padilla was forced out of the room before he could finish asking his question, pushed to the floor, and handcuffed.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

“I was there peacefully," he told reporters, highlighting that, if this is how a senator is treated, this is a concerning sign of how average Americans will be treated.

“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they’re doing to farmworkers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,” Padilla said.

- YouTubeyoutu.be

The DHS, meanwhile, tried to deny responsibility for the mistreatment of Padilla by claiming that he never identified himself. Even House Speaker Mike Johnson went as far as to say that Padilla, whose every move was caught on camera, rushed the stage.

Unsatisfied with these lies, Democrats marched to Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office to demand answers.

“The brutal handcuffing of Senator Padilla is an affront to democracy,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote on BlueSky. “I’m joining House Democrats to march to Senator Thune’s office and to demand that he protect his Colleagues from this out-of-control authoritarian onslaught.”

And while Republicans hide behind flimsy excuses, Democrats like Rep. Eric Swalwell of California took to Capitol Hill to demand Noem’s resignation.

"Kristi Noem must resign. She has deported a four year old with cancer, detained a U.S. marshal, and arrested two members of Congress. She’s lost the confidence of the American people. ICE must stop terrorizing our communities,” he wrote on BlueSky.

Along with the post, Swalwell included a video of himself alongside other politicians, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in which he compares masked ICE agents to "Russian KGB agents."

"It's No Kings Day this Saturday. Americans need to show up,” he added. “Because if we don't show up, democracy dies."

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    avatardelverJun 12, 2025 at 08:33:05 PM

    As I commented in another diary: yes, this IS a tipping point, and we need to treat it like one.

    ReplyRecommend 76avatarBobRRdelverJun 12, 2025 at 08:55:48 PM

    Why didn’t Kristi Noem recognize Padilla as a senator? I don’t even work in government and I can recognize at least 25-30 of our nation’s senators! She works in government and should recognize nearly all of them!

    Is she stupid or something?

    ReplyRecommend 44avatarAnne ElkBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 09:05:17 PM

    Yes. And she shot her dog. Don’t forget that.

    ReplyRecommend 42avatargokart mozartAnne ElkJun 12, 2025 at 09:31:16 PM

    And she was so proud that she voluntarily announced it in a book.

    ReplyRecommend 28avatarAnne Elkgokart mozartJun 12, 2025 at 09:33:49 PM

    That was nuts

    ReplyRecommend 15avatarCharles MorrowAnne ElkJun 12, 2025 at 10:01:18 PM

    I’d call it “evil.”

    ReplyRecommend 23avatarhowdCharles MorrowJun 12, 2025 at 10:03:48 PM

    No need for parentheses around evil. She is evil.

    ReplyRecommend 10avatardoinaheckuvanutjobhowdJun 12, 2025 at 10:09:32 PM

    Those are quotation marks, not parentheses, but I agree that she is evil...

    ReplyRecommend 11avatarmegsk8zAnne ElkJun 13, 2025 at 07:04:34 AM

    And she is banned from roughly 20% of the lands in her state because she is simply odious. Who picks someone that can’t even legally enter part of her home state for a DHS Secretary?
    I understand that she does take dictatorship dictation well, but can’t we just all tell her she isn’t welcome?

    ReplyRecommend 5avatardelvermegsk8zJun 13, 2025 at 08:02:22 AM

    Banned? Wow I didn’t know that. Can you elaborate and link? thx

    ReplyRecommendavatarSpaceElevatorBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 09:16:24 PM

    The event was well orchestrated, her and her handlers knew full well who the California SENATORS are , and that ain’t Adam Schiff.

    Theatre, but with a very serious message: We are in charge now, don’t resist.

    Interesting times , indeed.

    ReplyRecommend 33avatarDillonfenceSpaceElevatorJun 12, 2025 at 09:45:45 PM

    You give them too much credit. She and her people are fucking morons. Every brown person is a threat to her goon squad.

    ReplyRecommend 19avatarBeadLadySpaceElevatorJun 13, 2025 at 12:04:43 AM

    Padilla has an office in that building. He had every right to be there.

    ReplyRecommend 10avatarA Noah CountBeadLadyJun 13, 2025 at 07:16:41 AM

    According to the Pumpkin Pinochet regime, because he’s a Democrat, he has NO rights whatsoever.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarTMerrittSpaceElevatorJun 13, 2025 at 01:04:42 AM

    ABSOLUTELY

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarCyberMindGrrlBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 09:24:17 PM

    Clearly she and her goons saw Senator Padilla’s brown skin and decided to treat him like an undocumented immigrant being deported.

    ReplyRecommend 21avatargokart mozartCyberMindGrrlJun 12, 2025 at 09:33:16 PM

    She was standing there at the podium just feet away watching the whole thing. She could have stopped it.

    ReplyRecommend 16avatarWillioCyberMindGrrlJun 13, 2025 at 07:47:24 AM

    That is what I think happened, they thought he was some sort of brown skinned journalist and immediately used force, probably broke several of their own protocols for the use of force.

    ReplyRecommendavatarRtRheadBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 09:44:22 PM

    She's basically a vapid mob wife with the checkbook. Thinks she is untouchable.

    ReplyRecommend 22avatarJudge MoonboxBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 09:57:38 PM

    I think we should assume that she recognized Padilla. Given the dishonesty of her statement, I think she was afraid of being reality-checked.

    ReplyRecommend 12avatarJohnny QBobRRJun 12, 2025 at 10:16:06 PM

    If the words “I’m Senator Alex Padilla” didn’t clue her in, I don’t understand how she’s still able to stand erect.

    ReplyRecommend 19avatarcommander oggBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 12:19:37 AM

    Is she stupid or something?'

    Honlon's razor suggest this is the answer.

    OTOH I think it's just as possible she is on a power trip and the thugs security she has protecting her are equally badge heavy. She is convinced that she can break multiple laws and norms and her daddy president will protect her.

    She is a fool.

    ReplyRecommend 9avatardelvercommander oggJun 13, 2025 at 12:40:37 AM

    I think Hanlon’s razor is itself stupid. There is a mix of dumb and/or evil people in the world. Many of the evil are quite smart. It’s hard to explain what people do in general, more so if they’re acting out of the ordinary standards. Assuming stupidity is part of underestimating one’s enemy, a bad mistake.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarmybooBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 12:42:51 AM

    Noem should recognize Padilla from her confirmation proceedings when she met with all the Senators. Her goons should have unhanded him as soon as he identified himself. I devoutly hope they, at the least, suffer the consequences of mishandling a senator.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarTMerrittBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 01:05:38 AM

    My thought is she did not want to answer questions so she signalled to the Secret Service to get rid of him. Has it occurred to others the initials for that organization coincide with another infamous organization in Europe during the 1930's & 40's?

    In line with that observation, I thought today that the polarization has not quite reached the point it did during the early 1860's when Sen. Sumner of Massachusetts was beaten and almost killed on the Senate floor because he criticized a certain Senator from SC who had delivered the Mudsill speech. But with the illegal use of the military in CA and the attack on Sen Padilla, the nation is perilously close. In both cases the underlying reason was deliberate aggravation of the political polarization, for no other reason than to score political points with certain segments of the populace that thrive on hatred of all sorts. It is not a cooincidence, that is the methodology that was used in Nazi Germany and was promulgated during the Crusades.

    ReplyRecommend 8avatardelverTMerrittJun 13, 2025 at 01:12:56 AM

    Yeah. Not dumping on him, but I’ve wondered why Sumner didn’t fight back more effectively and/or get revenge.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarTMerrittdelverJun 13, 2025 at 01:28:55 AM

    I would have to verify this but I recall he was disabled and was fairly old at the time and used a cane. I believe he required more than a year to return to the Senate and never fully regained his health. Plus there were two young men beating him with canes that were likely loaded with lead or some other weights.

    ReplyRecommend 4avatardelverTMerrittJun 13, 2025 at 06:29:16 AM

    I see. I didn’t know it was two men “ “ beating him. BTW Preston Brooks is the one noted as beating Sumner, was James Hammond (the one famous for the “Mudsill” speech) also involved?

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarByTordelverJun 13, 2025 at 06:25:19 AM

    He was sitting down and trapped by his desk which was bolted to the floor. He was trying to get up, but Brooks was beating him on the head with that cane. He eventually did break the desk free, but by that time he was nearly beaten to unconsciousness.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatardelverByTorJun 13, 2025 at 06:35:27 AM

    I see, thanks. Would have been nice for Sumner to have a pocket pistol — use of which would surely be um “polarizing” but just desserts. BTW, I wonder if our own writer (miss him) Mark Sumner is related?

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarByTordelverJun 13, 2025 at 07:07:49 AM

    There is a really good book about violence in Congress in the early to mid 19th century — The Field of Blood. A lot of them did take to carrying pistols and there were fist flights on the floors. Sumner didn’t believe in it though.

    In one debate on the Senate floor over the Compromise of 1850, Mississippi Senator Henry Foote pulled a pistol on Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. Benton tore open his coat to expose his chest and yelled “Let the assassin fire!” Foote was wrestled to the ground and disarmed. So, debates could be exciting in those days.

    Not sure if Mark Sumner is any relation to Senator Sumner. I miss him here too.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarktozBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 01:26:27 AM

    She knew exactly who he was, but she serves only the cult leader Donald Trump. Nothing in this life matters more to her. Not the constitution, not the thousands of Americans who’ve died protecting this country, there is no god but Donald Trump.

    ReplyRecommend 4avatarshmuelmanBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 02:51:24 AM

    You need to wake up. They are seeing how far they can go and what the consequences are for their outrageous and illegal actions.

    ReplyRecommend 4avatarByTorBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 06:27:40 AM

    Well, she is stupid, but the lack of shame and a conscience are her more salient traits.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatardrshatterhandBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 07:02:00 AM

    Also demonstrated in public she had no clue what Habeus Corpus is.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarA Noah CountdrshatterhandJun 13, 2025 at 07:20:37 AM

    I doubt she’d care.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarBaltimoreSteveBobRRJun 13, 2025 at 07:46:23 AM

    Because she didn’t have to recognize him.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarIndieGuydelverJun 12, 2025 at 09:21:16 PM

    Or not.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarJudge MoonboxIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:00:42 PM

    What possessed Goldin to accuse Padilla of shoving a police officer???? If he had seen what actually happened, he would know that Noem was the theatrical one.

    ReplyRecommend 25avatarRtRheadJudge MoonboxJun 13, 2025 at 12:27:33 AM

    Unbelievable. What's possing me off so much is the oath and how cavalier all this shit is.

    The Oath resonates for me these days. I made it. And I definitely feel it's weight. I know what it means. Why make an oath not know what it means? My father asked me what promise I made when I pledged my allegiance at school. He made me think about it. Pointed me to understanding that it was a burden.

    Trump didn't make his oath. He believes that. He somehow reasoned that not touching the Bible relieved that burden. I'm certain of it.

    I can't imagine not being tethered to my country. How does someone believe in nothing? For money they don't even spend and people they don't even like. What misery.

    ReplyRecommend 9avatarktozRtRheadJun 13, 2025 at 01:32:31 AM

    Trump holds the Bible with about as much esteem as the wrappers on his McDonalds burgers, maybe less. Him swearing an oath on one is less than meaningless to him.

    The entire swearing in was pointless because he never had the slightest intention of following any rules.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatarRtRheadktozJun 13, 2025 at 02:49:27 AM

    My point is that this gesture was worth making to him. Who gives a shit if he puts is hand on the literal stack of Bibles that his wife had to carry for the do?

    He did. So, I disagree. There was a meaning to his action. A rebellion. The symbology mattered enough, at least, to defy it. An oath to something he despises or even his characteristic caution with accountability. It wasn't indifference. This is as raw a thing about his workings as it gets, imo. He put thought into it.

    ReplyRecommend 6avatarTMerrittJudge MoonboxJun 13, 2025 at 01:16:41 AM

    I realize Golden comes from ME-2, which is conservative, but Mainers are pretty down to earth people. They will lilely be horified by this incident and I suspect not br happy. Golden may be hurting himself seriously. IIRC, Maine now uses a rsnked choice primary. That should make a challenge by a true moderate Drmocrat more feasible.

    ReplyRecommend 6avatardkosdanTMerrittJun 13, 2025 at 07:55:08 AM

    Let the DNC kid primary his ass!

    ReplyRecommendavatarshmuelmanJudge MoonboxJun 13, 2025 at 02:56:04 AM

    This is not political theater. Goldin probably would call the Munich Beer Hall Putsch political theater. What a freak — he should be censured by the Democrats.

    ReplyRecommend 6avatarFeithlinshmuelmanJun 13, 2025 at 07:59:12 AM

    This is so tone deaf! He should have been outraged and not blaming the victim here!!! No wonder we continue to lose elections. The Dems have no unified, coherent message. Schumer should have called a meeting with the Dems and hammered out a unified message and not allowed anyone to deviate from that message.

    ReplyRecommendavatarjhechtJudge MoonboxJun 13, 2025 at 07:35:25 AM

    He was the only Democrat in the House to vote in favor of the CR. He's a DINO.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarFeithlinjhechtJun 13, 2025 at 08:01:00 AM

    I apologize for my earlier post, I thought he was in the Senate! Still, Jeffries needs to get a simple message out that doesn’t blame the victim in this case and make everyone toe the line. We are perceived weak otherwise.

    ReplyRecommendavatarnorthcountry21stIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:10:52 PM

    Not surprised — he’s pretty darn conservative.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatardenignorthcountry21stJun 12, 2025 at 10:31:21 PM

    That's one word for it.

    ReplyRecommend 6avatarBaltimoreStevenorthcountry21stJun 13, 2025 at 07:50:54 AM

    It’s not as if Republicans will give him a pass now.

    ReplyRecommendavatarFeithlinnorthcountry21stJun 13, 2025 at 08:01:23 AM

    Yet blind to what is happening.

    ReplyRecommendavatardoinaheckuvanutjobIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:12:53 PM

    You're out of line again...

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarIndieGuydoinaheckuvanutjobJun 12, 2025 at 11:37:52 PM

    In what way?

    ReplyRecommendavatarBroken0doinaheckuvanutjobJun 13, 2025 at 07:29:10 AM

    Yes, Indeguy is out of line.

    Repeating obviously false accusations against a Democratic Senator has no place on this site.

    Maybe on Breitbart, but not here.

    ReplyRecommendavatardelverBroken0Jun 13, 2025 at 08:06:00 AM

    What false accusations?

    ReplyRecommendavatarBroken0delverJun 13, 2025 at 08:09:13 AM

    That the Senator from California somehow instigated DHS’s thuggery.

    ReplyRecommendavatarJohnny QIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:18:04 PM

    Fuck you Jared.

    ReplyRecommend 12avatarKertuIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 11:32:25 PM

    I have had it with Jared Golden. He voted with Republicans to require proof of citizenship when voting by voting for the SAVE act. He voted with Republicans to pass the CR. He praised Trump's tariffs. He needs to go.

    ReplyRecommend 13avatarBroken0KertuJun 13, 2025 at 07:12:14 AM

    Absolutely.

    And the Dem leadership should condemn Jared, right now.

    ReplyRecommendavatardoinaheckuvanutjobIndieGuyJun 13, 2025 at 02:24:36 AM

    Meh 😕 😑, who the heck cares if Golden (who dat??) don't like it & can't handle the realities of impolite 2025...

    Hmmmmppphhhhh....!!

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarDer KommissardelverJun 12, 2025 at 09:21:34 PM

    Stop.

    If 1/6 wasn’t enough of a tipping point to make a difference, this isn’t going to do anything.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatardelverDer KommissarJun 12, 2025 at 09:32:36 PM

    Stop the cynicism. It’s up to us to make it make a difference.

    ReplyRecommend 13avatarshmuelmanDer KommissarJun 13, 2025 at 03:00:26 AM

    You don’t know that — you don’t know that at all. Democrats couldn’t rein in Trump, but maybe when they see that they can get arrested, maybe they will snap out of their stupor. Or maybe Obama can give a talk in his charming style that now is the time for responsible, adult governance and cooler heads, and urge us to go high when they go low.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarBroken0shmuelmanJun 13, 2025 at 07:14:40 AM

    And where is Obama now?

    Still taking his “high road”?

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarG2geekdelverJun 13, 2025 at 02:39:41 AM

    Agreed: a(nother) tipping point. Defying the 9-0 SCOTUS ruling was another. So far they haven’t just shot anyone. But the pattern is clear, they are slowly ratcheting up the autocratic measures, following the Orban playbook.

    We are going to kick a bunch of them out of office next November.

    Everybody in!, it starts now!

    ReplyRecommend 6avatarshmuelmanG2geekJun 13, 2025 at 03:07:36 AM

    Unless Democrats show some balls, some initiative, people won’t vote for them. Will they talk about defunding ICE or will they go around talking in circles about normalcy and a return to good manners and that they promise to be good players but certainly no retribution or responsibility should be taken to the Republicans because a fascist takeover of the United States is part of the institutional privilege of the President. I still have not recovered from Obama’s “some folks were tortured” speech.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarproudAFRICANshmuelmanJun 13, 2025 at 06:19:17 AM

    Of course, Trump and his goons are crazy because “Obama”.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 08:33:23 PM

    I’m sure Schumer will respond forcefully with a sternly worded letter.

    ReplyRecommend 35avatarDalbertquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 08:34:39 PM

    Give it a rest.

    ReplyRecommend 13avatarquaoarDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 08:47:39 PM

    No, I won’t.

    ReplyRecommend 16avatarDalbertquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 08:50:07 PM

    Then you re part of the problem. What we need right now is unity. After we boot Noem, and arrest her goons, then you can start whinging again.

    ReplyRecommend 16avatarBottomleftcornerDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 08:57:06 PM

    Then you [a]re part of the problem.
    then you can start whinging again.

    Yep. This kind of response is exactly what we need to foster unity. /s

    ReplyRecommend 10avatarDalbertBottomleftcornerJun 12, 2025 at 09:05:14 PM

    Thank you for recognizing my restraint. You should have seen my initial reply…

    Seriously, you guys have really lost the plot. In case you haven’t heard,

    1. Trump federalizes the National Gaurd and then sends in the military in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

    2. Noem shows up and states her intent to use federal forces to “"liberate the city of socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country."

    2. Senator Padilla seeks to ask a question. Padilla clearly told them he was United States Senator, it did no good.

    3. Plain clothes goons force Padilla out of the room where FBI agents throw him to the ground and handcuff him.

    ReplyRecommend 18avatarBottomleftcornerDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:10:17 PM

    Seriously, you guys have really lost the plot. In case you haven’t heard,

    Yep, that really won me over. /s You have the touch alright. /s

    And just for your information, you have no idea what I think. I was making a personal observation about that communication, which you reinforced with your response to me.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatarDalbertBottomleftcornerJun 12, 2025 at 09:12:49 PM

    As long as we are on the same page now, it’s water under the bridge.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarBottomleftcornerDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:15:11 PM

    Uh, no. It is not water under the bridge. I do not like the way you communicate. So try civility next time.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarDalbertBottomleftcornerJun 12, 2025 at 09:18:28 PM

    You are soooo right. The real issue here is how I communicate.

    Get. A, Life.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarBottomleftcornerDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:25:14 PM

    The real issue is your failure to understand that the unity you seek is not made better by writing like a bully.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarDalbertBottomleftcornerJun 12, 2025 at 09:30:05 PM

    “A bully”. H ah aha ahaha haha hahaa.

    Have a nice day.

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarBottomleftcornerDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:39:55 PM

    H ah aha ahaha hahah,

    . . .responds the guy with the honors degree deconstructing writing.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarAnOceanOfNotionsBottomleftcornerJun 13, 2025 at 01:26:52 AM

    This whole conversation is depressing and you both look like stupid children, get a grip and grow up. Sincerely, a rando reading the thread for the first time and that’s how you two come off.

    ReplyRecommendavatarRyan in FLAnOceanOfNotionsJun 13, 2025 at 08:02:57 AM

    Unfortunately, the culture of this place for the last several years has been leftie-bashing with no pushback (encouraged by Kos)… so everyone not into that has left for Reddit.

    So… have fun if you like mocking the left while cheerleading mainstream centrists?

    ReplyRecommendavatardoinaheckuvanutjobBottomleftcornerJun 13, 2025 at 02:30:10 AM

    You have a certainly hilarious knack for missing clues, so I commend you for your skills, in relentless pursuit of the shallowest of misunderstood goals, with excellent amateur efforts at professional noncomprehending annoyance...

    ReplyRecommendavatarAnOceanOfNotionsDalbertJun 13, 2025 at 01:27:32 AM

    You are not helping. Grow up too.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarquaoarDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 08:57:15 PM

    If you think that Noem is going to be booted and her goons will be arrested, you’re living in Fantasyland.

    ReplyRecommend 8avatarDalbertquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 09:17:23 PM

    What I believe is irrelevant.

    What I know is this:

    That is what Dems everywhere need to be four-legs-good, two-legs-bad-ing from now on.

    No more National Gaurd; no more Marine Battalions. Thanks to Padilla, we can and will win this showdown. Trump even before this read the polls, and TACO. Now is the time to finish the deal. Break off a few Republican senators and the spell is broken.

    Will it work? Who knows. but I also know this:

    it won’t if we don’t try.

    United We Stand.

    ReplyRecommend 14avatarquaoarDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:27:53 PM

    Here’s the thing — if I thought we still lived in a country where the rule of law is respected I would agree with you and I would eagerly await the appropriate criminal charges/firings. But we no longer live in such a country.

    You seem to still have faith that the way we have handled problems like this in years past can still work. I wish that was the case. I used to believe that, but I no longer do.

    Hopefully one day soon we can return to that.

    In the meantime, we need a different approach.

    ReplyRecommend 5avatarDalbertquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 09:30:48 PM

    Right. Ok then. See you.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarHedhnterquaoarJun 12, 2025 at 10:10:30 PM

    “My Honorable friends from across the aisle should be outraged” won’t fire folks up?

    Try something new...

    ReplyRecommend 2avatarByTorquaoarJun 13, 2025 at 06:35:37 AM

    What is this different approach? Give up and get in line for the door to the gulag? Violence? What are you talking about?

    ReplyRecommend 1avatardkosdanquaoarJun 13, 2025 at 08:14:07 AM

    Pinochet was defeated by a cacophony of banging on pots and pans. Stay safe.

    ReplyRecommendavatarexpatwhereitsatDalbertJun 13, 2025 at 02:45:51 AM

    here’s the thing, quaoar and many other people have said ,’let’s go democrats! fight. fuck ‘ em up.’

    and you said —

    Seriously, you guys have really lost the plot.

    so, your plan is to wait and see and wait and see and wait and see.

    every democrat should walk out of the congress/senate and not go back. protest with regular citizens, let the republiKKKans do whatever they want.

    OR

    they should never miss a day of work and use every legislative and procedural ability to gum up the works and slow this shit down.

    100+ days into the drumpf administration and the dems are doing neither.

    and _you_ are ok with that.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatarAnOceanOfNotionsquaoarJun 13, 2025 at 01:28:21 AM

    I don’t believe it, but I do believe it’s good to uphold that as the expected standard instead of giving up on it.

    ReplyRecommend 1avatardoinaheckuvanutjobAnOceanOfNotionsJun 13, 2025 at 02:33:43 AM

    As comical as it sounded, it's the required way to communicate in Congress, with each other. There are rules of communication they have to follow.

    ReplyRecommendavatarDer KommissarDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:23:12 PM

    No what we need now is leadership……LEADERSHIP! And we do not have it.

    Get outta here with your BS “you’re part of the problem for not being happy with the actions of our leaders.” That’s how a simpleton thinks.

    ReplyRecommend 8avatarIndieGuyDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:24:52 PM

    Unity.

    ReplyRecommend 3avatarkamachandaIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:29:09 PM

    I wonder what happens if you tackle a Senator?

    ReplyRecommend 4avatarMadisonianIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 10:29:32 PM

    Wow. Fuck everything about this “Democrat”.

    ReplyRecommend 9avatarKertuIndieGuyJun 12, 2025 at 11:36:17 PM

    David Hogg is correct. People like Jared Golden need to be primaries by Democrats who understand that we are in a Constitutional crisis and need to go on the attack because the rules have changed.

    ReplyRecommend 9avatarJClarkPDXDalbertJun 12, 2025 at 09:31:38 PM

    Don’t delude yourself. Who exactly is going to arrest her goons? Do you think if Democrats take back Congress in the midterms they’ll be arrested? By Pam Bondi’s Justice Department? By Kash Patel’s FBI? Do you think if Democrats take back Congress and win the White House in 2028 they’ll be arrested? What percentage of elected Democrats will actually want to pursue justice and what percentage will want to turn the page, move on, look to the future?

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    And while Republicans hide behind flimsy excuses, Democrats like Rep. Eric Swalwell of California took to Capitol Hill to demand Noem’s resignation.

    "Kristi Noem must resign. She has deported a four year old with cancer, detained a U.S. marshal, and arrested two members of Congress. She’s lost the confidence of the American people. ICE must stop terrorizing our communities,” he wrote on BlueSky.

    Along with the post, Swalwell included a video of himself alongside other politicians, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in which he compares masked ICE agents to "Russian KGB agents."

    "It's No Kings Day this Saturday. Americans need to show up,” he added. “Because if we don't show up, democracy dies."

    Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

  • California Republicans Continue To Purloin Ballots In Illegal Drop Boxes

    California Republicans Continue To Purloin Ballots In Illegal Drop Boxes

    Despite a cease-and-desist order from California's Secretary of State, the state's Republican party continues to deny wrongdoing after setting up multiple illegal ballot drop boxes around the state.

    Law enforcement discovered the drop boxes — some of which were falsely labeled "official" — over the weekend.

    On Monday, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said that the operation was a clear breach of election law.

    On Wednesday, Republican officials falsely claimed that their unofficial ballot drop boxes don't violate state law, and said they would continue to put up the fake drop boxes.

    "There is nothing illegal about the collection of ballots provided by voters, on a certainly volunteer basis, and entrusted to the persons who are operating that local election, or local party office, from transmitting those ballots," California Republican Party general counsel Tom Hiltachk said.

    "We're going to continue with the program because it complies with the law," he added.

    Padilla said many of the ballots found in the drop boxes were invalid because they were missing information, such as the identity of the person submitting the vote and their relationship to the voter.

    Donald Trump has routinely accused his adversaries of exploiting official state drop boxes to tamper with ballots, which he has called "a whole big scam."

    "Some states use 'drop boxes' for the collection of Universal Mail-In Ballots," Trump tweeted in August. "So who is going to 'collect' the Ballots, and what might be done to them prior to tabulation? A Rigged Election? So bad for our Country. Only Absentee Ballots acceptable!"

    There is no evidence for this claim. Official ballot boxes are designed to ensure the security and integrity of individual ballots.

    This is just the latest example of Trump working to undermine the legitimacy of the presidential election that former Vice President Joe Biden is favored to win.

    The Trump campaign has filed a flurry of lawsuits mostly targeting blue states to make it more difficult to vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Meanwhile, Republicans across the country continue to uphold restrictive voter ID laws and other laws that make it harder for citizens to vote.

    In Texas, a three-judge panel upheld Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to limit each county in the state to just one official ballot drop box. The judges who ruled in the case were all appointed by Trump.

    As Nov. 3 inches closer, Trump will likely continue to try to sow confusion and invalidate the election's results ahead of time.

    Last month, a reporter asked Trump if Americans could expect a peaceful transition of power if Biden wins the election.

    "We're going to have to see what happens, Trump replied.

    Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

    California Republicans Promoting Phony, Illegal Ballot Drop Boxes

    California Republicans Promoting Phony, Illegal Ballot Drop Boxes

    Reprinted with permission from DailyKos

    California Republicans are so concerned about voter fraud that they're flagrantly breaking election laws. They're promoting "official ballot drop off boxes" that are not only not official, they're illegal. Republicans are promoting the "official" drop boxes on social media, with the boxes reportedly located at churches, gun stores, and candidate campaign offices in at least three counties.

    Republicans have claimed that the practice is legal under a 2016 California law that allows people to designate a person to drop off their ballots—a benefit to people who have disabilities or are elderly or otherwise might not be able to return their ballots in person. Republicans actually sued to overturn this law, but now they say it allows their unofficial drop boxes. Except it doesn't. Leaving a ballot in an unsecured box does not equal giving it to a designated person.

    Read NowShow less

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