Week 7
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It seemed to me that there was a tiny turnaround this week. Just a little vibe shift. Last night I saw a reporter saying the same thing. The administration continues to lose lawsuits. The resistance is ramping up. Republican congresscritters are being yelled at in townhalls, so much that they’re giving up on town halls. But Democrats are volunteering to go into their districts. I’ve seen that from AOC and one other whose name eludes me. I’m feeling better, anyway.
One of the things we can do is to keep repeating truths. A weakness of the administration is that they love lies so much, they don’t know what truth is until it hits them in the face, and maybe not even then. That’s one place they will run into trouble in governing. Don’t be afraid to say a truth. Here are a few I stole from somewhere.
- Vaccines save lives.
- Climate change is making natural disasters more disastrous.
- DOGE isn’t making government more efficient.
- Russia invaded Ukraine.
I can’t include everything in these Saturday wrap-ups. The lists are always somewhat random, although they lean toward topics I’m particularly interested in. As always, follow the court-watchers for the lawsuits. Chris Geidner (LawDork, Bluesky), Roger Parloff (Lawfare, Bluesky), and the Just Security tracker. They went over 100 lawsuits this week.
As usual, let’s keep it to things that have actually happened, not hypotheticals. I think it’s important to stay grounded with what has happened. I want to avoid hypotheticals because they add to anxiety and confuse us as to what has actually happened.
It’s exhausting. Take time out when you need to. Post your pets.
Here’s what the Trump administration did this week, in no particular order
- Canceled the meeting of the committee that decides on the flu strains to be included in this fall’s flu shots. It takes about six months to prepare the flu vaccines, so I’m guessing the manufacturers will go with last year’s mix, which may not be as effective as a customized version.
- Tariffs were announced on Canada, Mexico, and China and then removed and then maybe added back again. All three announced retaliatory tariffs. The stock markets rollercoastered with the announcements, probably making some of Trump’s friends even richer. My guess is that Trump has a tantrum, some of his advisors (and the stock indices) pull him back, and then he has a trantrum again. Rinse and repeat.
- Trump said all the things he usually says in his speech to Congress. The Democrats mounted a scattering of protests.
- The US withdrew support from Ukraine in a number of ways, including ceasing intelligence support. The European countries are figuring out ways to fill the gap. Also, the US said it would not participate in a number of NATO exercises.
Continuing
- Tesla protests continue and increase
Pushback
- Mexico is suing American gunmakers for providing the cartels.
- Supreme Court says admin must disburse USAID contract payments. This doesn’t seem to be happening, though.
- Georgetown Law stands firm to Ed Martin’s bullying.
- In Trump’s speech, he said that he gives orders to Elon Musk. This is becoming an issue with the Cabinet members, who are beginning to be annoyed at Musk’s pushing them around. Of course Trump has to say he’s in charge, but that plays into the lawsuits in which the administration is trying to obfuscate Musk’s role.
- Science protests across the country on Friday
- The US African Development Foundation held off Musk’s boys. Videos here. The code camp children got in with the help of US marshals, but there is a lawsuit.
201 more weeks to go. What are you doing?
Previous weeks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6