Vengeance is mine, sayeth Donald J Trump! And, it is so!
If there were ever doubts about the power of the presidency, they’ve been settled by the election of Donald J Trump as the 47th president of the US. It is truly astonishing what Trump has wrought in the first 80 days of his second administration – although “reign” might be a more appropriate word. At least, he would like to think so.
In less than 100 days, Trump’s managed to divide the “free world” against itself, discriminately rip apart pieces of the federal government that offend him, shift the budgets of NATO nations from butter to guns, lay claim to countries that don’t belong to him – asking them to give up their sovereignty (or else).
Wait, it’s not the whole story. The US is now engaged in tariff wars with our closest allies, causing the markets to drop as a warning of a possible recession and for no other reason than to please the president.
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetime because of President [Donald] Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,”· Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
Whims are not the only “promises made, promises kept” of the 47th president – or as he likes to think – in the reign of Donald the First. I don’t doubt that he’s agreed to become part of the British Commonwealth, believing he can become the next – dare I say – king of England. (Charles, watch your backside.)
Chaos is the currency of this administration – hoping that once they restore order, people will forget who created the problems in the first place. It’s a tried-and-true formula. It’s especially true when you have command of the military, a willing and dysfunctional legislature, and control of the courts.
Trump has managed two of those three truths in less than 100 days. Now, his gambit is to take over the courts – but not just the courts. He’s making moves on the legal profession, hoping to prevent defendants from finding legal representation. As well, he and his cabal are looking to remove and replace judges whose decisions don’t comport with Trump’s opinion of himself.
Following Judge Boasberg’s order to stop deportations under the 200-year-old Alien Enemies Act (AEA), Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would consider taking action against Boasberg.
Border Czar Tom Homan, who’s yet to be confirmed, said: I don’t care what judges think. Trump’s call to impeach Judge Boasberg was ominous enough to cause Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roberts to question the president’s words.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”· Chief Justice John Roberts
Secretary of Defense Hegseth, whose qualifications for the position include being a FOX News contributor and unabashed Trump loyalist, ordered the separation of all transgender military personnel from the services. The reason was his unfounded opinion that only heterosexuals are fit to defend the nation and democracy. He believes the same of LGBTQ+ members of the military.
As often happens, a federal judge had a different opinion of the situation. According to US District Court Judge Ana Reye:
“The Military Ban is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext. Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.”
Judge Reye’s words perfectly describe the forces driving the second Trump administration during its first 100 days. The Trump whirlwind is a political blitzkrieg against friends and foes alike.
The chaos and frenzy of these first days of the Trump 2.0 have seemingly sucked the air out of the congressional Democrats and traditional conservative Republicans. Appeasement, rather than opposition, is the watchword of these early days. Members of Congress are hardly alone in their reaction. Universities, corporations, and the leaders of other nations have followed suit.
It’s not hard to understand how the president and his minions are accomplishing their objectives. It’s through extortion and fear. The might of the US is not to be trifled with when Donald Trump’s in charge.
Of all the many threats to the democratic order, I see Trump’s executive orders directed at private sector law firms and the capitulation of one of the most largest law offices in the world – Paul, Weiss – as perhaps the most ominous.
As reported, Trump “issued an executive order that suspended the firm’s lawyers from holding security clearances, terminated any of its federal government contracts, and prevented its employees from entering federal government buildings on national security grounds.”
“We have a lot of law firms that we’re going to be going after because they were very dishonest people.”· Donald J Trump
The firm capitulated rather than fight the order, promising to provide the White House with $40 million in pro bono legal services on issues dear to the president.
Trump’s attack on Paul, Weiss came just days after a federal judge in Washington “ruled that the nearly identical order against Perkins Coie was likely unconstitutional and issued a temporary restraining order blocking it from taking effect.”
Following his victory over Paul, Weiss, the president has gotten more aggressive in his efforts to undermine the judicial system. In a recent executive order, Trump stated:
“I hereby direct the Attorney General to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States.”
It’s not surprising Trump is trying to limit the involvement of the courts in his business. However, impeachment of judges is a real long shot. Even if the House voted to impeach, the Senate would be very unlikely to agree.
“The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.”· Dick the Butcher
A second, and perhaps the better plan, is to go after the lawyers. He’s doing it by giving the attorney general license to make an example of somebodies. Who defines what’s frivolous and when?
It’s the US Attorney General chosen for her loyalty to the president – some say rather than the US Constitution — that’s who. There’s nothing subtle in the message or the means.
Attempt to stop me and I’ll throw the might of the federal government after you.
According to the New York Post, the Trump administration already faces over 100 lawsuits. Every time a new executive is issued, lawyers start lining up at the courthouse doors.
Ask yourselves this. If one of the largest, wealthiest, and best politically connected firms, with some of the brightest lawyers, couldn’t withstand the attack, what chance do average lawyers representing progressive causes have? It’s a question whose answer involves careful thought and preparation – ahead of time.
If all of this, by which I mean Trump 2.0, weren’t chilling enough for climate and other progressive causes weren’t enough, there’s the recent decision by a North Dakota jury that Greenpeace must pay $666 million and change “to a pipeline company in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.”
The company, Energy Transfer, claimed defamation of character, trespass, nuisance, civil conspiracy, and other acts. (I wonder if the jury knew the biblical significance of the number 666?) The decision in the Greenpeace case is going to encourage fossil fuel companies to file similar suits in other states.
The moral of this story is not to stop being activists. There’s already enough passivity on Capitol Hill. The message is straightforward — be careful because the administration could come after you from many directions. So, be prepared.
Strategize ahead of time about your vulnerabilities and do something about them. If you’re hiring attorneys, consider how vulnerable they might be to Trumpian pressures.
Two Republican administrations have attacked me, so I speak from experience. And I learned two things from my encounters. First, being ultimately vindicated can be both expensive and of little consolation.
Second, and far more critical today, appeasing a bully only encourages the bully. You have to stand up to them. You might lose, but it’s the only chance of winning.
I was reading Foreign Affairs last Saturday and laughing about how Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way
were clinging to their Competitive Authoritarianism theory they'd pushed since 2000. As Trump imposed Nazi style Fascism in only 53 days (by March 15) they kept expecting pushback that never materialized. Levitsky admitted in a New York-Intellgencier interview they had applied the concept to
places like Turkey, Argentina and Hungary while ignoring the same trends in the USA. American Empire
is no island. As goes PolyCrisis and Overshoot, so goes the United States. No one can build a wall
against climate change.
I pledge disobedience
To the corrupt, criminal regime of Trump the Cruel,
And to the illegitimate, neo-fascist oligarchs he serves,
One people divided by patriarchal Christian white supremacy
With tyranny, inequality and injustice for all!
Lean to the Left.
Lean to the Right.
Stand up.
Sit down.
Fight, fight, fight.
Politics is so old and quaint.
Good piece, especially the conclusion. This craziness could have been stopped if the Republicans in Congress, and the Democrats in Congress, and a few judges and virtually all "mainstream" media were not all cowering with their tails between heir legs. Surrender to a bully and he stomps forward, demanding more. Stand up an d he steps back.
I wish Patti-Michelle Shaffer were here. She's courageous.
Because famine is nearing (see bee collapse 3-2025, also wildfires).
I doubt Congress and Media could have saved us.
The 5/3 majority @ SCOTUS has been pushing Extinction.
Fascism is filling a void of overshoot and betrayal, in the worst way.
Since I lack a tail you'd never detect how afraid I have become.
I have been saddened by the lack of commentary on Resilience these days. This essay needs comments and expansion, but after half a day, only two exist. It makes those of us who work tirelessly and care deeply see little comfort or encouragement. But because I am a heavily burdened warrior taking fire on many fronts, not Ukrainian or Gazan, but dealing with the irreality of this pathetic shitshow, I will attempt one more comment. Note that in Nov., Resilience was loaded with commentary.
If I may, I would like to invoke the ages old NIMBY metaphor. I see, watch, observe, talk with, and assess, daily, many folks who live in my region. I am not hesitant to bring up the overarching mood of resignation and rage among many of us, mostly more aged and seasoned persons. The younger seem almost oblivious, probably because they, in truth, cannot proffer a single amendment, historical catharsis, recent constitutional breach, or contextually relevant threat to something/someone in their ecosphere that probably will be damaged by the stochastic melee taking place. They deny they have a backyard, so nothing bothers them. They choose their reality, regardless of what they cannot comprehend.
But even the middle aged behave as if they will weather every storm, regardless of how little they actually comprehend of the polycrises, that's a double positive, that they are now enmeshed in, even if they do not comprehend them. I am the product of a conservative, patriotic, public education. I cannot blame the D brand for this mental vacuousness, but the reality is there. Intelligence is now just another 'exception' to the rules that have guided, however casually, 'murkan behavior for 100 years or more. Facts only matter as a nuance to 'how' humans in 'murka decide upon truths.
Sure, without doubt, 'murka has been sleepwalking in a room filled with delusions for decades. But the stochastic contra has nothing to do with endorsing 'woke' consciousness among the public. The maga rat pack is nothing new, it is the penultimate of the OLD. Evil saves the worst for last.
I find it ridiculously ironic that the most egregiously wasteful and consumptive jerks among us are using 'inefficiency' and waste as a hammer on all the nails they wish to affix to the junkyard of history. Talk about gaslighting and Newspeak. They know their enemies have also drunk the koolaid, and they want to drown them in the teacup.
Sacrifice????? I am stunned by this pejorative in the title of this piece. Literally 60 percent of 'murka lives on less than paycheck to paycheck. The shortfall is govt. aid, absolutely created by the D brand. I am not, never have been, a D brand. But the gulf between maga, conservatives, the R brand and almost any D brand is the distance between Sol and Pluto. 200 million persons here are the standard bearers of 'sacrifice.' Not that they are hyper-efficient, or progressing toward a 'better' life, but because they exemplify doing at least the minimal with much less than the neoliberals and magas who suck the life out of them hourly.
Thirty percent who serve the elite ( who consume 50 percent) consume another 20 percent of the total largess made by the bottom 60, so let's be clear about sacrifice. Most of us cannot do much more. And yes, we will do it, because we have no choice. It will benefit us most, but not enough, because the top 40 percent will just lap up the excess, creating more excess.
You want to know what I actually think will happen? The elderly boomers will take the big hits, about half will just die, which is what the younger creeps want. But the other half will wreak vengeance upon all others. Why? Betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal. We have given most of our lives for others, here near the bottom. You want to throw us away? Go ahead and try. We have something you will never have – memory, strength and honor. You come for us, we will ask you in, and then cut your guts out.
Historically this author gets 2-3 comments per post. So, with my comment we are above the normal range for him.
Also, you seem to have a lot going on. I hope you are doing okay.
But comments are down all across the board.
Joel doesn't fit the Resilience profile too well.
Because he's a critic we may see him more popular here
as conditions worsen, if Resilience continues publishing
him.
Haven't you heard the old joke about:
A Harvard professor (Steven Levitsky)
and a Canadian (Lucan Way) walked
into "Competitive Authoritarianism" and out
the other side into Fascism without leaving
the United States. This is a designation they'd been kicking around
since 2000 as applied to places like Argentina or Hungary.
On March 3, 2025 Levitsky admitted he and Way never expected
to apply their construct to the USA. (Benjamin Hart- New York Intelligencier-
"This Is Going Even Worse Than Steven Levitsky Expected")
By Feb. 21 in Foreign Affairs the professors were frantically trying to patch leaks in their theoretical boat but by today (March 29th) it has become swamped and they are treading water with no rescue in sight.
Resilience has also been merrily paddling down the stream for years powered by the same fragile memes and assumptions, and now its content about attitude and
upper middle class resourcefulness is becoming flaccid like wet cardboard. Because we made assumptions about our savings and incomes and our educational attainments that just don't hold up under Fascism. They slip away like Net Zero. I like Joel, so I'll give him a chance to catch up . He may be in the Kubler- Ross denial stage, moving to anger. (DABA progression: denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, acceptance) But US Empire is definitely dying. And it may take Civilization with it. Bloody likely.
Joel may get more popular on Resilience as conditions deteriorate.
Me too on comments getting rare and dopey.