The Telegraph: Only Europe can stop the slide back to the rule of Trumpian tyrants

Posted on March 22, 2025 by M

Good article except that the journalist appears not to understand the meaning of “sycophant”. Trump is a narcissist, not a sycophant. The sycophants are the suck-ups surrounding him and providing him with the adulation that he craves.

This North Korean level of idolatry for the magnificence of the presidential persona is not normal. It is, indeed, out of character with the spirit of the nation’s historical conception of itself as an egalitarian democracy in which anyone – the child of any family – may rise to the highest office in the land while still remaining, at heart, an ordinary American. Being elected president does not make you a god – or even the bearer of a sacred truth.

According to the Constitution, it does not even give you the power to do what you like. You are simply the head of the Executive branch of the federal government whose intentions may (indeed, should) be held in check by Congress and the courts.

I reiterate this point, which I realise that I have made before on these pages, because I still find myself endlessly shocked by the flouting of the basic assumptions of American nationhood which were once ingrained in the consciousness of every schoolchild …

Only Europe can stop the slide back to the rule of Trumpian tyrants

As America swoons before a sycophant, the rest of the West must defend its hard-won values from autocratic incursion

Only Europe can stop the slide back to the rule of Trumpian tyrants

1973: Trump sued by DOJ for systematically excluding Afridan-Americans and Puerto Ricans from apartments he owned

Posted on March 22, 2025 by M

Vietnam Veterans and Friends Against Trumpism

Vietnam Veterans and Friends Against Trumpism. 32,944 likes · 508,430 talking about this. We are Vietnam Veterans and Friends for Democracy

https://www.facebook.com/VietVetsforDems/posts/1713504176034827

Deportation case judge may have reached limit

Posted on March 22, 2025 by M

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, says the Trump administration’s attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged migrant gang members without due process is potentially dangerous for everyone.

“I don’t care how unpopular those people are, because if they can do it to them, they can do it to anybody …”

The federal judge locked in a dispute with the Trump administration over the deportation of alleged migrant gang members last weekend may be forced to use his authority against the Justice Department, a former court official says.

Chief U.S. District Judge William Boasberg on Friday held his latest hearing with government attorneys to determine whether authorities ignored his temporary order barring the migrant removals while parties argue in court whether Trump can do it under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

“I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order, who ordered this and what the consequences will be,” Boasberg said Friday.

John E. Jones III, former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, says Boasberg appears ready to “go off” after DOJ attorneys played “hide the ball” with him this week. He said the judge could deploy sanctions, contempt powers, monetary penalties or even order someone jailed, though he likely doesn’t want to go there.

“What he will do, and he has an obligation to do this as a judge, is to vindicate the order that he handed down, the injunction, and determine whether anybody violated that …”

Deportation case judge may have reached limit: Ex-court official

Deportation case judge may have reached limit: Ex-court official

Howard Lutnick, Fool: Grannies won’t complain if they don’t receive their Social Security checks

Posted on March 22, 2025 by M

Presumptuous moron!

The fastest way to start a revolution and throw Krasnov out of office is to start withholding the Social Security checks of 70 million Americans.

As the staff cuts at the Social Security Administration leave monthly benefit payments to tens of millions of Americans up in the air — alarming former SSA leaders on both sides of the aisle — Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, doesn’t think you should be complaining if your check doesn’t show up.

“Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month — my mother-in-law, who’s 94, she wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t,” Lutnick told All-In Podcast hosts David Friedberg and Chamath Palihapitiya on Thursday. “She’d think something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain if her Social Security check didn’t arrive this month

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says his mother-in-law wouldn’t complain if her Social Security check didn’t arrive this month

Members of British punk rock band UK Subs denied entry into the US

Posted on March 21, 2025 by M

Trump critics denied entry:

Three members of the pioneering band were detained and returned to the UK after flying to Los Angeles for a gig.

Members of the punk rock band UK Subs have said they were denied entry and detained in the US, according to accounts from the band themselves.

Bassist Alvin Gibbs shared details of the incident in a Facebook post on Wednesday, which comes amid widespread reports of people being denied entry to the US, including a French scientist who said he was barred because of anti-Donald Trump comments he had made.

Gibbs, along with bandmates Marc Carrey and Stefan Häublein, were deported back to the UK following their detainment. Only vocalist Charlie Harper had been allowed entry. Harper ended up playing the band’s scheduled show in Los Angeles with a group of stand-in musicians.

He recounted how after he landed at the LA airport with his partner, he was told he would be questioned after being flagged. He was informed the flagging was for two reasons: first, he was told he had an incorrect visa, but he was also told that there was another reason that the agents would not disclose to him.

“I can’t help but wonder whether my frequent, and less than flattering, public comments regarding their president and his administration played a role – or perhaps I’m simply succumbing to paranoia,” he said.

The band, considered pioneers in the genre of British punk rock, have been outspokenly critical of Trump and his policies in the past. They are known to often make political statements during live performances.

Members of British punk rock band UK Subs denied entry into the US

Three members of the pioneering band were detained and returned to the UK after flying to Los Angeles for a gig

Members of British punk rock band UK Subs denied entry into the US | US immigration | The Guardian

Mediaite: Trump Lashes Out at Judges in Rant Against Blizzard of Injunctions: ‘The Danger Is Unparalleled!’

Posted on March 21, 2025 by M

“… nearly 50 adverse rulings against Trump’s agenda so far, including at least 15 injunctions …”

Trump Lashes Out at Judges in Rant Against Blizzard of Injunctions: ‘The Danger Is Unparalleled!’

ABC News: Man deported under Alien Enemies Act because of soccer logo tattoo: Attorney

Posted on March 21, 2025 by M

An attorney representing a migrant sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act says her client was deported due to a soccer logo tattoo, according to court declarations submitted Wednesday night.

Linette Tobin is representing Jerce Reyes Barrios, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who protested the Maduro regime in February and March 2024 and was detained and tortured after one of the demonstrations.

Man deported under Alien Enemies Act because of soccer logo tattoo: Attorney

Man deported under Alien Enemies Act because of soccer logo tattoo: Attorney

Washington Post: Venezuelan couple detained again by ICE after judge ordered their release

Posted on March 21, 2025 by M

Federal immigration authorities on Friday arrested a Venezuelan couple for a second time this month, their lawyer and relatives said, after a federal judge in D.C. ordered their release last week in a case that stemmed from their having illegally crossed the border more than two years ago.

The couple was driving in Suitland, Maryland, with their 4-year-old son when authorities stopped the vehicle and arrested them, said Madhvi Bahl, a volunteer with the group Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, which had been supporting the family.

They were then taken to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Chantilly, Virginia — the same facility from which they had been released last week.

Venezuelan couple detained again by ICE after judge ordered their release

Venezuelan couple detained again by ICE after judge ordered their release