Week 31
By
and Zooey is wondering why he has to put up with this.
This week, a bunch of National Guardspeople and various Feds are standing around the tourist areas of Washington, DC, wondering what they are doing there. A few know they are there to make Stephen Miller’s numbers and generally frighten everyone else. There have been a fair number of demonstrations against them. I can’t tell if what I see on social media, because the demonstrations are almost unreported otherwise, exaggerates what is happening or can’t cover all of it.
The week began with the Group of Seven heads of state coming to Washington with Volodymyr Zelinskyy to push back on Donald Trump’s love of Vladimir Putin. They seem to have kept the worst from happening, but nothing actively good is happening either. Russia continues its missile strikes on Ukraine, and Putin continues his insistence that Ukraine must become part of Russia and he will speak to Zelinskyy only when Zelinskyy is ready to admit that. Trump thinks that Putin will end the war as a favor to him.
More retailers are saying out loud that Trump’s tariffs are raising prices. There are variations in how much they emphasize the cause, but it’s there.
The resistance governors are continuing to protect people in their states. Gavin Newsom currently has the spotlight. The California legislature approved a vote on redistricting later this fall, after Texas Republicans did what Trump told them. Lawsuits were also entered against the Texas actions. Governor Pritzker of Illinois:
ISTM that there have recently been actions from mayors of sanctuary cities to emphasize that Trump cannot reverse their cities’ governments’ decisions, but I don’t have a link.
Oh yeah (added after publication) – This was the week that the government began to take over the means of production. Intel presented its belly to the bully. There were a few others earlier. I would like to know exactly what the arrangement is. Does Trump take the shares with him as he plans to do the shiekhs’ plane after he leaves office?
Yesterday Trump looked really bad. He had one of his red motto hats jammed way down on his head to hide a bad hair day, and his facepaint was lighter than normal, as far as you could see it. His answers to questions were low energy. There is a continuing concern with his right hand, and yesterday’s photos showed a swatch of yellowish something not matching his skin tone covering it. There seem to be more days like this lately.
A while back on Bluesky, I followed a “starter pack” of small local newspapers, and I am enjoying them immensely. They are more honest than the majors (surprise) and cover some interesting local doings. Unfortunately, I don’t have the link for the starter pack.
Doing a much better job than I am at summarizing the week’s outrages and pushbacks are Heather Cox Richardson, whom most of you know about, and Dan Froomkin, whom you may not. Check out their newsletters. I’m not fond of the emailed newsletter format, but it’s what we’ve got.
Follow the court-watchers for the details of the lawsuits. Chris Geidner (LawDork, Bluesky), Roger Parloff (Lawfare, Bluesky), and the Just Security tracker.
As usual, keep it to things that have actually happened, not hypotheticals. What is actually happening is bad enough.
Caring for yourself and loved ones is resistance too. Post your pets. The piano arrived! It is such a big piece of my mental health. It’s easier to take a walk here too. In Santa Fe, it was always steeply uphill for large parts of any walk.
177 more weeks to go. What are you doing?
Previous weeks: Week 10, Week 20, Week 30