Week 55
By 
Brave Minnesotans continue to resist the occupation. The mini-Nazi has been replaced by someone who tries to look like a normal bureaucrat until he opens his mouth and makes the same sounds. Seven hundred ICE and BPD goons allegedly have been removed from Minnesota, but that leaves 2300 too many.
One of the temporary prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office broke down in court and begged to be held in contempt so that she could get some sleep. The office for Minnesota has been losing attorneys because they felt they could not ethically carry out the jobs being imposed on them, leaving the impossible number of cases wrought by the occupation to those remaining. Another way in which the administration is overreaching.
ICE teargassed peaceful demonstrators in Portland and Eugene, Oregon.
In other parts of the country, including Mississippi and Texas, citizens are rejecting ICE purchase of warehouses to make into concentration camps. Citizens in Springfield, Ohio, rumored to be next on the occupation list, are training to resist in the same way the Minnesotans are.
Donald Trump did a racism, which his team denied and then he proudly owned. I’ve watched him a bit recently, and I don’t necessarily see dementia. What I see is a narcissistic and ignorant man who wants vengeance on his enemies. He occasionally becomes incoherent, which may be a sign of dementia, and his qualities seem enhanced from his earlier narcissistic, ignorant, and vengeful life, which may also be a sign of dementia. But he seems strong and purposeful when he is not confused.
He is extremely dangerous as President of the United States, especially with the endorsement of a majority of the Supreme Court for his every whim. But here we are. I comment on his dementia (or not) just to clarify things in my own mind. I could be entirely wrong, but his past life is so ugly and bizarre that a little dementia may not make much difference.
Perpetual vacationer and Trump toady JD Vance got booed at the Olympics, despite a request from the organizers not to do that.
There are a lot of names in the Epstein materials. Howard Lutnick, Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, was in business with Epstein. The British government may fall because of connections there, and the Norwegian royal family is splitting. There are two kinds of people who were friends with Epstein: those who were using the sexual services he offered, and those who didn’t use them but knew and didn’t care. All are culpable. The New York Times is doing a good job of following up on selected subjects within the materials.
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 plenty..
Caring for yourself and loved ones is resistance too. Post your pets. The local variety store has plants. I’ve always loved primroses and ranunculus, so I’ve made a pot of them. It’s still likely to freeze. The primroses can take it, but I’m not sure about the ranunculus, which is the large red flower with ferny foliage in today’s photo. There are also some tiny pansies, which can also take the frost.
153 more weeks to go. What are you doing? As Jane Goodall often put it: Do what you can, where you are, when you are able. It’s getting more important to participate. Previous weeks: Week 10, Week 20, Week 30, Week 40, Week 50, Week 51, Week 52, Week 53, Week 54