THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS
EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER
RULES IN THE DIARY
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YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY
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Hello everyone! I’m afraid you are stuck with me for the next 3 days as I timidly try to fill Nanny’s shoes. I hope she’s having a fantastic time and enjoying some well-deserved time off!
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Violence is NEVER the answer. I know we all know that, but in answer to so many who are calling for it:
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wolvesandsheep.substack.com/…
The whole article is good. I’ll post some of the main points...
✂ While reactions ranged from appreciation for the analysis to disagreement with Chris’ conclusion, many of the comments we received displayed a high level of emotional intensity. And rightly so. This was a painfully hard turn of events to accept. There is a lot of anger about Schumer’s move, extending in some cases to feelings of betrayal.
Underlying much of this anger is a sense of helplessness. It’s painful to watch Donald Trump turn the United States into a rogue nation, dismantle the economic and international arrangements that provide us with stability and security, defy the Constitution, and hurt so many people. We all want to make it stop.
We arrived at a moment when many of us thought Democrats could finally fight back, and Schumer decided not to engage. It’s hard to take.
So what do we do now with our anger? How do we channel it into something constructive that can advance our shared goal of defying, diminishing and degrading Donald Trump in order to survive this reactionary period in our history and shape the future?
I’d like to offer a little perspective on our limitations and strengths. I want to distinguish tactics from strategy and focus our response on the latter, because what we do now needs to be smart, measured and oriented toward advancing our long-term interests.
Schumer led a tactical retreat
Let’s start by appreciating what it means to be out of power. What it means to be out of power in the White House, the House and the Senate. What it means for the balance of power on the Supreme Court to be held by John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett. We knew it was going to be hard and it is.
I don’t believe we will be out of power for long, but any realistic planning on our part should acknowledge that the situation as it stands today, barring something unforeseen, will likely continue until the midterms.
You have limited legislative options when you’re out of power. Those who saw the continuing resolution as our first chance to confront Trump may have been indulging expectations that were unrealistically elevated.
Chris noted something important in his Saturday post when he said “the jig was up once the continuing resolution passed the House without needing Democratic votes”:
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Senate Democrats need a communications strategy
If you want to be critical of Schumer’s leadership, you could point to the absence of a strategic approach to the administration that channels the urgency of the moment with any degree of clarity. On this score, Senate Democrats have been repeatedly letting us down.
In the early weeks of the administration, Senate Democrats were acting as though they were listening to consultants who were telling them that they should look for common ground with Republicans because Trump won the popular vote and every swing state. Let’s just say this misreads the moment to a degree that surpasses malpractice. But it’s the baseline from which we were starting.
I’m hopeful that as Democratic leaders hear from angry constituents about what just happened, it will move them closer to recognizing the existential imperatives we’re facing and devise a strategy to confront the administration accordingly. ✂
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This moment is an opportunity if we choose to see it that way
✂ Note how Jeffries frames the Democrats’ retreat as a call to action. Note how he contrasts his party with MAGA, saying Democrats are a coalition, not a cult. Note how he acknowledges there will be tactical disagreements and they can be intense, but we remain united by our goals, and we advance our goals by taking actions that are within our ability to control.
We can push Chuck Schumer to recalibrate his approach to the moment. Senators listen when we speak loudly and in large numbers. In fact, it’s questionable that the House would be taking an aggressive posture to the administration if not for weeks of hearing from ordinary Democrats telling them to wake up.
As Jeffries wrote, “Our struggle continues.” And so it does. We can use this setback to reset our expectations and take meaningful and constructive action if we choose.
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I believe this will be the reset we need. I’m not sure why Democrats, historically, can’t win the communication battle. Maybe we are focused on ACTUALLY WORKING FOR AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! Stupid Rs ONLY have to spew out whatever pops into their heads. They don’t care if it’s a lie and they certainly can’t figure out how to help anyone but themselves. It really is disgusting. We HAVE to be able to go toe to toe with them. It is an age-old argument. If you argue with an idiot, who’s the idiot?
Maybe we can appeal to the masses by laying out the stakes.
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BREAKING: Senate just UNANIMOUSLY restored $1.1 billion for DC local govt that was eliminated
Why?
Because Senators of BOTH parties work in DC - and most have homes there - and none of them want to be in a hellhole
Now - try applying that same logic to THE REST OF THE COUNTRY
— Tristan Snell (@tristansnell.bsky.social) March 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
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Everything Musk oversees stays together for a while, but falls apart over time: Cybertrucks, SpaceX rockets, Twitter... It's only a matter of time before we see a rapid unscheduled disassembly of the Trump regime. We just have to keep pulling back the facade until it falls apart, too.
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— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.bsky.social) March 15, 2025 at 2:11 PM
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Even Hungary is waking up!!
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Now about those being deported under the Aliens Enemies Act.
This is really harrowing. You know the felon is using a 1798 law to justify deporting Venezuelans citing no proof whatsoever these people committed any crimes. Judge Boasberg ordered them to stop and to “turn the plane around”. The maladministration said, “neener neener neener.” So the Judge ordered them back to court last night to explain themselves. What transpired was more bullshit like ‘how dare a lone disgruntled judge in one insignificant court tell them what to do and we are demanding this judge be removed from this case!’ (I’m paraphrasing).
www.nbcnews.com/...
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Boasberg ordered Kambli to answer several questions about the flights by noon Tuesday and to give him an official explanation about why he was not able to disclose that information in court at Monday's hearing and what forum he can answer those questions in.
"If the government takes the position that it will not provide that information to the Court under any circumstances, it must support such position, including with classified authorities if necessary," he ruled. ✂
Let’s hope justice prevails and everyone from these lame lawyers to the AG, herself, is found in contempt of court! (I’m dreaming, but I hear dreams really do come true!)
There’s more on the worry of a constitutional crisis over this. I’m actually getting a little tired of always citing an impending constitutional crisis. If we haven’t reached constitutional crisis yet, we never will!
www.democracydocket.com/…
✂ Over the weekend, the Trump administration may have pushed the country closer to that crisis by going ahead with deportations after judges had ordered that they be paused.
A federal judge Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador without due process. Despite the order from U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, at least 137 people were flown to a Salvadoran “Terrorism Confinement Center.” ✂
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“It seems that at a very minimum, the court’s orders were ignored, and, more likely, that there was an intentional choice to not comply with them,” Noll said.
“Court order defied,” national security attorney Mark Zaid said in a post. “First of many as I’ve been warning and start of true constitutional crisis.” ✂
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Boasberg scheduled a Monday hearing for the government to address allegations that it defied his order. Just minutes before the hearing was set to begin, the Justice Department asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to remove Boasberg from the case.
“I could see this ending in a very hot showdown between the courts and the executive,” Noll said, though he added that it depends on how vigorously courts pursue contempt proceedings.
I, for one, hope the courts vigorously pursue contempt proceedings!!!!!!
From first blush, it seems the judge was not amused.
I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing anxiety over how the SC will rule when at least one of these cases comes before them. I never dreamed they’d give the felon a win over “official acts” but here we are. Surely the slightly less awful R justices see the destruction happening in real time and will stop this nonsense. I know, I know. But I AM hoping for encouraging news soon. There IS this as of this afternoon:
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The Chief Justice speaks out to protect democracy, at least as far as his own institution is concerned. Hopefully this signals an intent to stand for more. In the face of silence from the GOP, he has chosen to take this remarkable step of warning the president to back off.
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— Joyce White Vance (@joycewhitevance.bsky.social) March 18, 2025 at 12:05 PM
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It really is impossible to cover all the news in one shade. I’ll focus on other important things happening tomorrow!
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Good evening, shady people!
Today is filled with national and international observances.
We start with Global Recycling Day! This one is near and dear to my heart. I'm a chronic recycler!
It's also World Social Work Day
In America, it's Sloppy Joe Day and in the UK it's Black Pudding Day
This is a trippy video:
It is National Biodiesel Day AND National Ag Day (I see a connection there).
It is also National Awkward Moments Day
And National Supreme Sacrifice Day
On this day, we honor those who sacrificed their lives for a good cause, no matter how small the cause might have been.
Tomorrow is National Chocolate Caramel Day!
Welcome to the comments, shady people! 😁
