Yays & Nays
YAYS
Legal Wins
You’d have to Wiki him to get his full background, personal history and proof of pure grit - but Norman Eisen, co-founder of the States United Democracy Center along with columnist Jen Rubin, pen a Substack publication entitled The Contrarian. His current legal work is enviable and should be lauded and supported how and when ever possible.
His latest news: “…Just weeks after I was in court to help argue the case, a federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to close the Kennedy Center and change its name. The court ordered that Donald Trump’s name be stripped from the building within two weeks, rightly declaring that only Congress has the power to change the name of this national cultural landmark. Hat tip to my colleagues at Democracy Defenders Action and the Washington Litigation Group and, of course, to our wonderful client, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)...
…And that was not our only major breakthrough Friday in the fight against Trump’s illegality. As a result of a motion we and our great partners filed for 35 bipartisan former federal judges, a Florida federal court has reopened Trump’s IRS case — the one he used to create that notorious $1.8 billion fund. In a sternly worded order, the judge launched an investigation at our request. In addition to the judges, I thank Platkin LLP and Susman Godfrey for partnering with Democracy Defenders Fund on this case.
Not Today Fascists is a great headline for this story which also happens to be the name of podcaster Jennifer Welsh’s book, is able to make me laugh about unfunny news and for that, and her incredible cojones, I adore her. Democracy Now reported that one of the most high-profile cases against American activists arrested last year was during immigration raids last year in Chicago outside the Broadview ICE facility. The federal Attorney General’s office admitted that federal prosecutors committed misconduct during the grand jury proceedings that resulted in the indictments, including having conversations with grand jurors outside the courtroom.
Impunity to Plunder
Thanks to author and Professor Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, Ruth Ben Ghiat two phrases from her recent Lucid Substack hit hard. One was describing the unrelenting corporate and government elite as those who believe they have the impunity to plunder. The solution? Effective resistance. Not just resistance, but making use of proven ways resistance (particularly peaceful resistance) has been effective.
With the global proliferation of data centers on our minds, Ruth interviewed Robin Broad the co-author of “The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed,” which tells the story of public push back against gold mining in El Salvador, where the extraction process would pollute the water with cyanide.
Ben Ghiat offered a short video clip of the interview in front of paywall, as well as her notes and takeaways:
It is not enough to engage in denunciation. Resistance efforts must be framed in a positive manner as contributing to an alternate vision of the future. In the case of El Salvador, the resistance coalition was less anti-mining than pro-water. Agua es Vida was one of their slogans, and one that everyone could understand and get behind, regardless of how they felt about mining and the jobs it might bring to local communities. Jobs are no good if you cannot survive because your water is poisoned. Water is life.
Resistance must be bottom-up, grounded in the community, and powered by grassroots action. “In the roots lie the moral compass,” Robin stated. The community is also the source of immense ancestral wisdom in opposing tyranny, survival in difficult circumstances, and bringing people together for righteous action.
Successful resisters are pragmatic. When necessary, they take on “unlikely allies,” as Robin put it. That means working with people who are perhaps distant from you on many issues and finding common ground. in this case, religion was a bridging factor, and I would add that working with faith institutions also enacts the maxim that resistance struggles can be accelerated by involving people who are already organized (whether in unions, congregations, or civil society organizations).
Local resistance is enhanced by having global partners who can bring international pressure to bear. This is especially important when the aggressors are multinationals or, say, billionaires whose power and investments have a global reach.
And here are some last bullet points added by me. They give an expanded definition of authoritarianism I have been working with, which seems more relevant every day. I present it here because the way we conceive of the adversary determines the methods and messaging we use in our resistance efforts.
Authoritarianism cannot only be defined in political-legal terms, as the executive branch’s encroachment on the independence and impartiality of the other branches of government and institutions. It is also a massive operation of transferring wealth and power.
Authoritarianism is a process of taking away the rights of the many and giving unprecedented freedoms to the very few to plunder the environment, the economy, female bodies and the labor force with impunity.
NAYS
More State Media
CBS news is continuing to be stripped of its parts after the recent sale of Paramount to Skydance. Words I still can’t believe I’m typing. Scores of people have pulled the Paramount Plus plug when the news of Colbert’s fate hit…many more after his last episode. The newest group to become state news media, also made sure not to renew the contract of Sharyn Alfonsi, the journalist responsible for the segment that was temporarily pulled exposing the horrors of Cecot.
So be sure to boycott the whole lot of them: Showtime, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, CMT, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Paramount Sports, CBS, CBS Sports - as well as CBS News. We can still be on the look out for all of CBS’ advertisers and boycott and complain to them. When you do so, let everyone in their PR offices (for entertainment) and here (for stations), and these ladies below to tell them that you are doing so and why!
Kristen Hall: Executive Vice President, Communications (kristen.hall@paramount.com)
Elizabeth Rolnik: Vice President, Communications (Elizabeth.Rolnik@paramount.com; 212-975-1553)
Advertisers reportedly still include the following:
Pharmaceuticals: Otezla, Dupixent, Jardiance, Prolia, and Vraylar
Insurance & Finance: Liberty Mutual, Allstate, and Fidelity Investments
Tech & E-commerce: Amazon and T-Mobile
Consumer Goods & Services: Consumer Cellular, Carvana, and Prevagen
Just Disgusting
Since those with a middle school mentality are in office right now there is now a website (built with your tax dollars), further proving the racism and inhumane treatment of those in the US who were not born here. The website Alien.gov has a video game look, comic book text and hate speech throughout with stats on how many deportations there have been since January 2025 and offering a way for anyone to report anyone they wish on a whim. What could go wrong? Further – strap in if you were wondering what the co-founder of Airbnb, and Tesla board member…he’s been busy. And this fair lady, Audrey explains it all in her Drey Dossier…it is worth a watch.