In January 2025, although Melania was holding a Bible on which her spouse could place his hand while taking the oath of office, he chose not to. I sometimes wonder if that was superstition on his part, that he wouldn’t place his hand on a Bible while taking an oath he had no intention of respecting, much like his marital vows.
Yes, Jack, I totally agree, conduct by 47 that is “unconstitutional” was planned and is intentional. I guess my surprise is that the same has shown to be true for the majority of Congress.
Excellent points All, Jack, which is why I wouldn't be surprised if he is going to his golf course this weekend. He lights fires and watches it burn. Pure evil this whole Regime is‼️ looking forward to your next drop and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
When a country is threatened by a foreign force, its men and women line up to enlist in the military to protect their homeland. They knowingly risk life and limb to battle the enemy. They sacrifice because that is what the moment demands. Their families suffer and sacrifice because they realize that heroes are needed to preserve life and liberty.
Right now an army of amateur internet sleuths and independent journalists are sifting through the limited evidence released. They are doing a great job, but the clock is ticking, as the trump regime pulls every dirty trick in the book to ensure its continued control.
There are definitely people that know the full truth, that are not involved in any nefarious way. Stepping forward with that information would surely involve consequences, but there is so much more at stake here than their personal fears.
America is facing the most heinous attack it has ever faced right now. Democracy is under siege from the enemy within the Oval Office. Are we to accept that the potential heroes, those that know the facts and have the evidence, are cowered in fear by the threat of breaking an NDA?
When the President has cast aside all semblance of law and order, and justice is only served by bribes, those NDAs should be considered mere scraps of paper, worth nothing more than kindling. If the threat of being sued is enough to make you abandon your countrymen, then you are nothing but cowards, traitors and the lowest of the low.
Absolutely! The constitution has to be enforced and Congress has failed their responsibility in that terribly. Next up will be him taking over elections because there is a war, or there was fraud or WTF he doesn't need an excuse he just wants to do it. We need Congress to act to rein him in and I do not see that happening. I fear we will not make it to an election in November.
Wow! This just smacked me across my face. I keep thinking that SOMETHING in our constitution will hold him back. All the while knowing that he will do whatever he damn well pleases. And you are so right.
And the fact that so many lawmakers (R’s) have adopted the same approach to laws and norms is staggering.
I’m putting on my grown up pants, and accept that we really do have outlaws running our country.
I’m gonna need to breathe deep while I retrain my brain.
What strikes me most about your argument is not its anger — it is its precision. You are not lamenting the death of norms in the abstract. You are identifying the specific mechanism by which constitutional systems fail: the gap between the language used to describe institutions and the reality those institutions are actually capable of delivering. When elected officials repeatedly invoke constitutional boundaries as if invocation were itself a form of enforcement, they are not being naive. They are making a calculation — that the comfort the language provides is more politically valuable than the honesty it forecloses. That calculation, repeated often enough, becomes the very condition that makes authoritarian consolidation possible.
What you understand, and what historians have documented across failed democracies from Weimar to Hungary, is that the erosion is never announced. It arrives as a series of individually explicable moments — each one rationalized, each one survived, each one quietly expanding the boundaries of what the executive may do without consequence. By the time the pattern is undeniable, the tools available for reversal have themselves been compromised by the process they were meant to prevent. Reading this morning, on the day American bombs are falling on Iran without a congressional vote, I find myself thinking that you have written something that future historians will cite — not as prediction, but as diagnosis delivered in real time, with the rare clarity of someone who refused to look away.
My fear, B H, is Nat’l Guards are made up of individuals with their own political leanings. I don’t know how many support what 47 is doing. If they reflect those who were eligible to vote in Nov 2024, then about 35% may support what is going on, 34% may not, and the remaining 31% may not have an opinion that they care to express.
Pointing out that the Constitution is not a force field made me chuckle. You're right though...we treat it like it has some kind of magical properties, but Trump has demonstrated that it is, in fact, words on paper.
I wonder if some of the perception of magical properties has come from the emphasis, at least throughout my lifetime, of "originalist" or "strict textual" interpretation of the Constitution from SCOTUS has misled people into thinking that at least the courts would hold the line. But, we learned that the courts have no enforcement mechanism and this executive and administration are willing to shrug and carry on as they want to.
You mentioned that if Dems were serious, we would see pre-planned mitigation strategies, including rapid litigation frameworks. The only place I'm seeing that is from Marc Elias.
A crystal clear examination of the situation. We have seen this play out time and again since he was first elected(?) Franklin is quoted as saying "we must all hang together, or we will surely hang separately." tRump told the Iranian people to rise up and over throw their government. It is time we did the same! Stay strong!
Right on again Jack,thank you! There is no constitution right now,time to look back before the constitution and become the patriotic militia. Just a thought
A few articles back you told us the next few months could be pretty rough, but keep the faith. I didn't realize how rough it was going to be. The ups and downs are the toughest. The hope and then the fear. An endless loop. I will make it through but this is tough.
In January 2025, although Melania was holding a Bible on which her spouse could place his hand while taking the oath of office, he chose not to. I sometimes wonder if that was superstition on his part, that he wouldn’t place his hand on a Bible while taking an oath he had no intention of respecting, much like his marital vows.
Yes, Jack, I totally agree, conduct by 47 that is “unconstitutional” was planned and is intentional. I guess my surprise is that the same has shown to be true for the majority of Congress.
Excellent points All, Jack, which is why I wouldn't be surprised if he is going to his golf course this weekend. He lights fires and watches it burn. Pure evil this whole Regime is‼️ looking forward to your next drop and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
He declared war from Maralago.
And he announced where he would be. That is just taunting Iran.
I believe he's hosting a dinner party tonight.
I saw it on video. He was there acting as the host of another ultra rich party. Those people are real suck -ups for what I do not know
When a country is threatened by a foreign force, its men and women line up to enlist in the military to protect their homeland. They knowingly risk life and limb to battle the enemy. They sacrifice because that is what the moment demands. Their families suffer and sacrifice because they realize that heroes are needed to preserve life and liberty.
Right now an army of amateur internet sleuths and independent journalists are sifting through the limited evidence released. They are doing a great job, but the clock is ticking, as the trump regime pulls every dirty trick in the book to ensure its continued control.
There are definitely people that know the full truth, that are not involved in any nefarious way. Stepping forward with that information would surely involve consequences, but there is so much more at stake here than their personal fears.
America is facing the most heinous attack it has ever faced right now. Democracy is under siege from the enemy within the Oval Office. Are we to accept that the potential heroes, those that know the facts and have the evidence, are cowered in fear by the threat of breaking an NDA?
When the President has cast aside all semblance of law and order, and justice is only served by bribes, those NDAs should be considered mere scraps of paper, worth nothing more than kindling. If the threat of being sued is enough to make you abandon your countrymen, then you are nothing but cowards, traitors and the lowest of the low.
Absolutely! The constitution has to be enforced and Congress has failed their responsibility in that terribly. Next up will be him taking over elections because there is a war, or there was fraud or WTF he doesn't need an excuse he just wants to do it. We need Congress to act to rein him in and I do not see that happening. I fear we will not make it to an election in November.
Wow! This just smacked me across my face. I keep thinking that SOMETHING in our constitution will hold him back. All the while knowing that he will do whatever he damn well pleases. And you are so right.
And the fact that so many lawmakers (R’s) have adopted the same approach to laws and norms is staggering.
I’m putting on my grown up pants, and accept that we really do have outlaws running our country.
I’m gonna need to breathe deep while I retrain my brain.
My brain hurts.
My hair hurts.
My heart hurts.
Thank you Jack (I think)
Chrissy
What strikes me most about your argument is not its anger — it is its precision. You are not lamenting the death of norms in the abstract. You are identifying the specific mechanism by which constitutional systems fail: the gap between the language used to describe institutions and the reality those institutions are actually capable of delivering. When elected officials repeatedly invoke constitutional boundaries as if invocation were itself a form of enforcement, they are not being naive. They are making a calculation — that the comfort the language provides is more politically valuable than the honesty it forecloses. That calculation, repeated often enough, becomes the very condition that makes authoritarian consolidation possible.
What you understand, and what historians have documented across failed democracies from Weimar to Hungary, is that the erosion is never announced. It arrives as a series of individually explicable moments — each one rationalized, each one survived, each one quietly expanding the boundaries of what the executive may do without consequence. By the time the pattern is undeniable, the tools available for reversal have themselves been compromised by the process they were meant to prevent. Reading this morning, on the day American bombs are falling on Iran without a congressional vote, I find myself thinking that you have written something that future historians will cite — not as prediction, but as diagnosis delivered in real time, with the rare clarity of someone who refused to look away.
Excellent article Jack! #holdfast
Much needed, especially now, and MUCH appreciated. I’m so thankful to have found our Jack on Substack. I only wish I’d found him earlier.
#HoldFast
Our very freedom could - in the end - rely on armed resistance against ICE by blue states' own National Guard troops
My fear, B H, is Nat’l Guards are made up of individuals with their own political leanings. I don’t know how many support what 47 is doing. If they reflect those who were eligible to vote in Nov 2024, then about 35% may support what is going on, 34% may not, and the remaining 31% may not have an opinion that they care to express.
This is exactly the problem we have right now - thank you for making it crystal clear.
Pointing out that the Constitution is not a force field made me chuckle. You're right though...we treat it like it has some kind of magical properties, but Trump has demonstrated that it is, in fact, words on paper.
I wonder if some of the perception of magical properties has come from the emphasis, at least throughout my lifetime, of "originalist" or "strict textual" interpretation of the Constitution from SCOTUS has misled people into thinking that at least the courts would hold the line. But, we learned that the courts have no enforcement mechanism and this executive and administration are willing to shrug and carry on as they want to.
You mentioned that if Dems were serious, we would see pre-planned mitigation strategies, including rapid litigation frameworks. The only place I'm seeing that is from Marc Elias.
A crystal clear examination of the situation. We have seen this play out time and again since he was first elected(?) Franklin is quoted as saying "we must all hang together, or we will surely hang separately." tRump told the Iranian people to rise up and over throw their government. It is time we did the same! Stay strong!
#HoldFast
Again, Congress has abdicated their responsibility to the 🍊💩.
It has become so obvious that dump will not leave power unless forced to. Where is that force going to come from?
Right on again Jack,thank you! There is no constitution right now,time to look back before the constitution and become the patriotic militia. Just a thought
#HOLDFAST
it may be the only way. so much damage has been done.
Great article once again! 👍💯❤️
What was it about moving the fleet/ planes to surround Iran that Congress didn’t understand?"
He kept warning Congress/ Everyone what he was going to do. If he "warned" them and they did nothing, then it was a green light to DO MORE.
This wasn't a secret. He has been moving his war toys out in the open.
Now I imagine "CONGRESS" will fuck this up.
From day one he has been taking his orders from Russia.
Congress has had a whole YEAR!
Congress could shut this down, but I don't see that they will.
💕🗽🇺🇲🇺🇦
A few articles back you told us the next few months could be pretty rough, but keep the faith. I didn't realize how rough it was going to be. The ups and downs are the toughest. The hope and then the fear. An endless loop. I will make it through but this is tough.