I’ll be honest, I thought last week was something. To recap, the President goaded uniformed military members to boo their fellow Americans; the National Guard and U.S. Marines were sent into Los Angeles against the wishes of the Governor of California; a sitting Cabinet member declared that her agency would occupy the city in order to overthrow the LA and California governments; a U.S. Senator was thrown to the ground and cuffed by federal agents for asking a question of said Cabinet member; two Democratic state lawmakers were horrifically targeted and shot in their homes—and many others were named on a hit list—by a psycho with an apparent political agenda; and the President hosted an expensive, soggy, and ultimately embarrassing military parade.
It’s only Tuesday evening, and a New York comptroller was arrested by masked ICE agents for accompanying a migrant to a court hearing; the White House has authorized the VA to refuse service to military veterans based on political affiliation or marital status; and Donald Trump is conducting “statecraft” by tweet during a deepening war in the Middle East.
Hang on, America. It’s getting bumpy.
In Today’s Issue
The Social Briefing (skip this if you don’t want to read about Trump!)
The Social Spotlight: My No Kings Day in South Carolina
This Week
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IS THIS BECOMING NORMAL NOW? Is masked federal agents arresting public officials for doing nothing wrong just a thing now? Last week it was Sen. Alex Padilla at a Kristi Noem press conference in California (if you missed Sen. Padilla speaking about the experience, check it out here). Today it was NYC comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander at a courthouse in Manhattan. Lander was accompanying an immigrant to a hearing, and when ICE moved to arrest the man, Lander locked arms with him and demanded to see a judicial warrant. He was then detained, cuffed, and taken away by the agents—even though they don’t actually have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens. But that’s what happens when rule of law becomes optional.
HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE? I had to make sure this was legit. Doctors at Veterans’ Affairs medical centers can now refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new guidelines imposed by a Trump executive order. Medical staff are still required to treat veterans regardless of race, color, religion, and sex, but politics and marital status have been explicitly eliminated, meaning individual workers are now free to decline to care for patients based on these personal characteristics. Physicians can also be denied employment at VA hospitals based on these factors. What year is this?
ARE WE AT WAR WITH IRAN? Trump’s social media posts today seemed to suggest that we are, even though there has been no declaration as such. The problem with trying to analyze ANYTHING Trump says is twofold: 1) he’s an idiot, and 2) he’s a pathological liar. Which is why it’s pointless to try to understand him—and also why it’s so damn dangerous having a man like him lead the free world. Trump is a psychopath. He believes in nothing. He’s not “America First.” He’s “Trump First.” Always has been, always will be. Stay tuned.
AND WHERE WAS TULSI? Not included in a critical meeting just days before Israel’s attack on Iran. According to Jim Geraghty at the National Review:
The President and his entire national security team gather[ed] for a high-stakes meeting, almost certainly knowing that a massive Israeli airstrike against Iran [was] days away, and U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard [wasn’t] invited? What does that tell us? Maybe someone in the Trump inner circle doesn’t want to trust Gabbard with the knowledge that an Israeli strike against Iran is imminent?
Well duh. I’ll say what I’ve been saying for months now: If I were one of America’s allies, there’s no way I would share intelligence with America. Because Gabbard is not on their side. Even the Trump inner circle gets it now, which is really saying something.
AND FINALLY, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?
What else is there to say? What kind of President doesn’t call the governor of a state that has just endured such a shocking occurrence of political violence—and then insults him to boot? He’s just a terrible person. Period. This country knowingly elected the absolute worst of us.
No Kings Day!
Let’s end on a good note. The No Kings protests last Saturday were incredible! You SHOWED UP and delivered a message to Donald Trump loud and clear: no kings…not here…not now…not ever. Indivisible reports that at least 5 million Americans marched. If you were one of them, thank you! The next protest is planned for July 17. More details here.
I spent the weekend in South Carolina, joining some awesome people at three fantastic events in Columbia and Charleston. If you were there too, thanks so much for coming out! It was great resisting with you. Here are some pics. #NoKings
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Just another day of disappointment in the obituaries.
Joe, how does this not turn into a violent conflict between felon34 and the non-maga citizens of this country! The farther down felon34’s polls sink on the handling of; his budget bill that kills, the economy(his tariffs), immigration, the military activation, Israel-Gaza-Iran, etc., the more extreme his SS advisers will be willing to go.
The public will eventually figure out that the administration has slow-walked the dismantling of the rule of law and the destruction of the three separate branches of government.
After slowly establishing a military occupation of the major “blue” cities and fully implementing project 2025, we will be forced to fight our way out of felon34’s authoritarian rule. I don’t want it to happen, but they are not going to stop until they have fully divided this country and have complete control of the levers of government.
For the first time since our two young boys were born, I feel guilty for bringing two human lives into this world. How the fuck was this POS able to do this to our country?