At 3:23 this afternoon, sitting before the Senate Appropriations Committee for the first time since taking over as Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem's replacement was asked a simple question: Would he follow court orders? He refused to say yes.
Markwayne Mullin... a near perfect example of the slimy weasels Trump loves to have around him. When you can't answer a question as it was put to him with a simple YES or NO answer, you're hiding something. It's as simple as that.
That brown nose of his is a dead giveaway... and we all know whose "brown" it is.
Yes, Mullin's brown nosing is true but where is Congress? If Mullin is that corrupt, and he is, where is Congress? I hope in 2028, we begin 16 years of Democrats, many of them women, after these horrible years of Twump, Covid and Twump. America deserves better. At least the idea of America, and the America we are holding onto by a thread. Come midterms we win or we fight. That's it. Either we succumb fully or we form our own militias.
What I would like to see is a military coup. First thing, establish a firing squad on the front steps of the Supreme Court and stand up Thomas, Alito, and Roberts - and execute their sentence.
Trump and any of his family members who are found to be in on the corruption... even if it's only TAKING the money from The People, pile them on top.
Then, Trump's Cabinet Members who publicly sucked his dick in every Cabinet meeting when they should have been analyzing Trump's mental acuity and adherence to his Constitutional oath... and removing him from office.
I would restore those in military service at the time of Trump's inauguration to the rank and privileges they had at that time.
Let the military run the show for a year while new elections were held with a 90-day window for campaign activity ahead of both the Primary and the General Elections. Gradually turn governing back to The People where it belongs.
That’s a bridge too far, Joseph, several bridges too far. That is not the country that’s sweet land of liberty. It’s replacing one corrupt autocracy with another. There needs to be accountability for the crimes committed by Trump and his worshippers, but the accountability must include fair process. I hope to see that happening and that history will record the “Trump years” as the dark ages of the 21st century.
Please tell me how what Trump/Project 2025/Republican leaders in Congress who refuse to rein Trump in for his unConstitutional behavior... is not near treasonous behavior?
Your Reply to my Comment is what I mean by the voters being lazy. Hell, the MAGA crowd - to the tune of 34% of the electorate, think Trump is doing a good job.
Really? He gets rid of ALL of the most senior officers in our military and starts a voluntary war without Congressional approval or funding - there's 2 violations of his oath right there.
This is far more serious than people think it is.
I did not say "Replace one autocracy with another". I said, "Get rid of the attempted coup on our government especially the Executive and Judicial branches and replace it with newly elected officials".
And just consider this... look who Trump appointed as the Acting Head of the Dept of Intelligence. What do you think would happen if Russia or China executed a serious cyber attack right now? NOTE: Don't forget that the DOGE Boys fired a bunch of our Intelligence Officers.
That move by Trump with that appointment has moved our vulnerability as a nation up a substantial notch.
In my view, Trump needs to be removed from office involuntarily yesterday for Mental Incompetence if nothing else. Let's all sit on our hands and see what happens instead.
And when we allow the people in power to define the law and follow only what they choose to follow, we are beyond saving what we consider American Democracy. It leaves only "We the People"to stand up and say not now, not ever". I'm not sure what that would look like in 2026, but I think we're going to find out in the coming months.
I hope you're right... but if you bet on the American voters to be lazy, you pretty much win every time.
I'm not sure the average voter understands how subversive the Republicans are this time out. Currently they are hollowing our government out from the inside.
Excellent, Heather, to illuminate by name and evidence the incompetent sycophants outside Trump's insanity bubble, to build the cases that will soon be used to prosecute them when the shoe is on the other foot.
Thanks Joseph Jacobs. 'Slimy weasels' is a vicious slur against weasels I think, although i understand, and agree with the intent. Jimbob is all that and more. People always asking why trump picks such awful characters for his cabinet and other high ranking positions. Easy really. These piss weak individuals are easier to manipulate. It's always easier to manipulate a flawed character that an upright, righteous one.
Blanche was apparently a good lawyer, in every sense. Not so much now. I'm being too kind. Not at all.
He even said, on the record, that he remains trump's personal lawyer. And AG.
That's a bit confusing.
Anyway, 'slimy weasel' and 'lickspittle' will continue to appear on resumes slid under trump's nose.
Ms. Reese once again hits the nail squarely on the head. We have been witnessing this administration disobey judicial orders, practically since its beginning. Although this is despicable, it is not earth shattering. What is earth shattering is the so called Republican Party, the once proud party of Law and Order, whistling past the graveyard. In a blatant display of party loyalty over their oaths to uphold the Constitution, they refuse to reign in this corrupt government because they would rather keep their personal power than their oaths. History will note that this is the beginning of the end for a once great party. Many true Republicans saw this coming and, shamefully, ran for the exits. Even more shameful however is their continued silence at what this new Republican Party has morphed into, still placing party loyalty over the Constitution. They will be noted for recognizing the danger early on and refusing to do anything about it, the exact definition of a politician versus a statesman. Keep this in mind when you go to vote. Bring a friend or two with you. Encourage your neighbors to vote. Senior citizens who might not be able to drive, volunteer to take them to the polls. We MUST show up in overwhelming numbers if we want to keep our Constitutional Republic.
"If a Republican administration gets to ignore the court orders it decides are political, then so does the next Democratic one." This means to me that MAGA does not plan to ever have to worry about a Democratic administration. Scary thought.
I am surprised that this is happening to ‘white’ america. Out in the open. But a lot of ‘white’ America voted for this administration knowing how corrupt and evil he is.
But they agreed with him.
All this has happened before, in ‘Indian’ America. And white america either ignored it, went along with it, or were blissfully unaware of.
Now it is out in the open and affecting them and this reporter is surprised and angered by it.
Markwayne Mullen says he’s an Indian. But I don’t see it. I doubt very much whether he even speaks the language of the tribe he says he is. But from where I stand, I see that he very much speaks the language of tRump.
I hate to be defeatist, but I do believe it is nearly over. The only chance we have to bring back our democratic republic is before the midterms. We have from now until then. I do not believe the midterms will be properly conducted. There is no chance of the Ds taking control. The fixes are in throughout the country and in congress. Ds will not be certified, nor sworn in. I honestly believe the 2024 election results were manipulated, and the midterms will be even worse. And, those that cannot be manipulated via satellite, will be rejected by the states or questioned by Congress.
When you have an executive branch that believes it should decide which court orders are legit, with a legislative branch that agrees that such is proper, the system cannot recover. There is a 3-way system so that, if one part f’s up, you have two remaining parts to fix it. We’ve lost that.
Knuckle draggers like Redneck Mullin are the most dangerous of all because they follow a leader, not the law. We need to get these people and perhaps their agencies out of government. If DHS and ICE and Border Patrol can align themselves with corrupt governments then the whole system is broken. I believe these men and their guns will be at polls in blue states come November. What will be their orders?
As I wrote on Professor HCR letter this morning what stands out for me most is not the politics that is being played but the human beings who are sitting in these concentration camps. Are they seen, heard or even a thought of being acknowledged, that they even exist on this earth. How does “.. one judge that has 74 cases before her in just that one day, that’s roughly about five minutes per case, if that’s everything is perfectly aligned…. [I]t’s just a…farce. This is not actual justice. This is not actual… legal proceedings as per our Constitution, and as per our laws.”
Everyday is a barrage of blatant disregard for any judges court judgement on the laws, unless that court judgement is in agreement with their policies. If you don’t like that court ruling, they call it a political attack and ignore the ruling. If you like the judges rulings like an Aileen Cannon or Mathew Kacsmaryk or especially those six on the Supreme it’s all good. So as per the message from MarkWayne, “But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.” This entire regime decides not to abide when it’s not aligned in their favor, but when it is that ruling on the law is stretched as far as possible until the rubber band breaks.
Our founding fathers had much to say about laws. John Adams, "A government of laws, and not of men." Which was written in the Novanglus Essays (1775), encapsulating the core principle of the American legal system. Then there is Thomas Paine, "For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other." That was published in his revolutionary pamphlet, Common Sense (1776). One of the best origins and nuances of this phrase can be understood by breaking down who made the laws and how the saying is used was made by William Godwin, "Law is made for man and not man for the law" which actually that concept itself predates Godwin and appears in the Bible. In the Gospel of Mark (Mark 2:27), Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”
What was the reason that our Constitution was written in the first place? Was it not to protect “We the people” from the tyranny of one man and the laws of just a King. Our democratic republic and our laws were not meant to be how it treats the powerful, but by how it treats those with the least power.
Find Aristotle words so accurate in our times, “For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all."
I read and share your post every day. Keep writing as that is what opens the regular American’s political conscience. If we stand by and just watch, we are as guilty as those creating the injustices.
I am proud of you Heather Delaney Reese. Stay brave, stay strong, and stay loud. We need your voice.
Thank you for breaking everything down for us daily. I have one technical peeve - I listen to your report daily - at the gym, on my way to work or just taking a walk. The “reader” reads the subscription bit in the middle of the blog. Can you move that text to the end? For the first couple of weeks, I thought I had reached the end of your report - not realizing I was only half way through!
Your deepest concerns are once I share. I am not surprised at any of the cabinet. I expect that each deletion will be replaced by something or someone worse yet. I am continually saddened by Congress, who have in the past and do now have an opportunity to do well when America is in the breach. The thing is, I no longer expect those who are in favor of Trump to choose otherwise either. Many of them are people that I have cared for. I continue to. But I do it now by putting them in a box because, as our democracy crumbles, I do not want to focus on my loved ones as a good target to defray my disappointment. It is bewildering.
Markwayne Mullin... a near perfect example of the slimy weasels Trump loves to have around him. When you can't answer a question as it was put to him with a simple YES or NO answer, you're hiding something. It's as simple as that.
That brown nose of his is a dead giveaway... and we all know whose "brown" it is.
Yes, Mullin's brown nosing is true but where is Congress? If Mullin is that corrupt, and he is, where is Congress? I hope in 2028, we begin 16 years of Democrats, many of them women, after these horrible years of Twump, Covid and Twump. America deserves better. At least the idea of America, and the America we are holding onto by a thread. Come midterms we win or we fight. That's it. Either we succumb fully or we form our own militias.
What I would like to see is a military coup. First thing, establish a firing squad on the front steps of the Supreme Court and stand up Thomas, Alito, and Roberts - and execute their sentence.
Trump and any of his family members who are found to be in on the corruption... even if it's only TAKING the money from The People, pile them on top.
Then, Trump's Cabinet Members who publicly sucked his dick in every Cabinet meeting when they should have been analyzing Trump's mental acuity and adherence to his Constitutional oath... and removing him from office.
I would restore those in military service at the time of Trump's inauguration to the rank and privileges they had at that time.
Let the military run the show for a year while new elections were held with a 90-day window for campaign activity ahead of both the Primary and the General Elections. Gradually turn governing back to The People where it belongs.
That’s a bridge too far, Joseph, several bridges too far. That is not the country that’s sweet land of liberty. It’s replacing one corrupt autocracy with another. There needs to be accountability for the crimes committed by Trump and his worshippers, but the accountability must include fair process. I hope to see that happening and that history will record the “Trump years” as the dark ages of the 21st century.
Please tell me how what Trump/Project 2025/Republican leaders in Congress who refuse to rein Trump in for his unConstitutional behavior... is not near treasonous behavior?
Your Reply to my Comment is what I mean by the voters being lazy. Hell, the MAGA crowd - to the tune of 34% of the electorate, think Trump is doing a good job.
Really? He gets rid of ALL of the most senior officers in our military and starts a voluntary war without Congressional approval or funding - there's 2 violations of his oath right there.
This is far more serious than people think it is.
I did not say "Replace one autocracy with another". I said, "Get rid of the attempted coup on our government especially the Executive and Judicial branches and replace it with newly elected officials".
And just consider this... look who Trump appointed as the Acting Head of the Dept of Intelligence. What do you think would happen if Russia or China executed a serious cyber attack right now? NOTE: Don't forget that the DOGE Boys fired a bunch of our Intelligence Officers.
That move by Trump with that appointment has moved our vulnerability as a nation up a substantial notch.
In my view, Trump needs to be removed from office involuntarily yesterday for Mental Incompetence if nothing else. Let's all sit on our hands and see what happens instead.
And when we allow the people in power to define the law and follow only what they choose to follow, we are beyond saving what we consider American Democracy. It leaves only "We the People"to stand up and say not now, not ever". I'm not sure what that would look like in 2026, but I think we're going to find out in the coming months.
I hope you're right... but if you bet on the American voters to be lazy, you pretty much win every time.
I'm not sure the average voter understands how subversive the Republicans are this time out. Currently they are hollowing our government out from the inside.
Excellent, Heather, to illuminate by name and evidence the incompetent sycophants outside Trump's insanity bubble, to build the cases that will soon be used to prosecute them when the shoe is on the other foot.
Thanks Joseph Jacobs. 'Slimy weasels' is a vicious slur against weasels I think, although i understand, and agree with the intent. Jimbob is all that and more. People always asking why trump picks such awful characters for his cabinet and other high ranking positions. Easy really. These piss weak individuals are easier to manipulate. It's always easier to manipulate a flawed character that an upright, righteous one.
Blanche was apparently a good lawyer, in every sense. Not so much now. I'm being too kind. Not at all.
He even said, on the record, that he remains trump's personal lawyer. And AG.
That's a bit confusing.
Anyway, 'slimy weasel' and 'lickspittle' will continue to appear on resumes slid under trump's nose.
Ms. Reese once again hits the nail squarely on the head. We have been witnessing this administration disobey judicial orders, practically since its beginning. Although this is despicable, it is not earth shattering. What is earth shattering is the so called Republican Party, the once proud party of Law and Order, whistling past the graveyard. In a blatant display of party loyalty over their oaths to uphold the Constitution, they refuse to reign in this corrupt government because they would rather keep their personal power than their oaths. History will note that this is the beginning of the end for a once great party. Many true Republicans saw this coming and, shamefully, ran for the exits. Even more shameful however is their continued silence at what this new Republican Party has morphed into, still placing party loyalty over the Constitution. They will be noted for recognizing the danger early on and refusing to do anything about it, the exact definition of a politician versus a statesman. Keep this in mind when you go to vote. Bring a friend or two with you. Encourage your neighbors to vote. Senior citizens who might not be able to drive, volunteer to take them to the polls. We MUST show up in overwhelming numbers if we want to keep our Constitutional Republic.
"If a Republican administration gets to ignore the court orders it decides are political, then so does the next Democratic one." This means to me that MAGA does not plan to ever have to worry about a Democratic administration. Scary thought.
I am surprised that this is happening to ‘white’ america. Out in the open. But a lot of ‘white’ America voted for this administration knowing how corrupt and evil he is.
But they agreed with him.
All this has happened before, in ‘Indian’ America. And white america either ignored it, went along with it, or were blissfully unaware of.
Now it is out in the open and affecting them and this reporter is surprised and angered by it.
Markwayne Mullen says he’s an Indian. But I don’t see it. I doubt very much whether he even speaks the language of the tribe he says he is. But from where I stand, I see that he very much speaks the language of tRump.
I hate to be defeatist, but I do believe it is nearly over. The only chance we have to bring back our democratic republic is before the midterms. We have from now until then. I do not believe the midterms will be properly conducted. There is no chance of the Ds taking control. The fixes are in throughout the country and in congress. Ds will not be certified, nor sworn in. I honestly believe the 2024 election results were manipulated, and the midterms will be even worse. And, those that cannot be manipulated via satellite, will be rejected by the states or questioned by Congress.
When you have an executive branch that believes it should decide which court orders are legit, with a legislative branch that agrees that such is proper, the system cannot recover. There is a 3-way system so that, if one part f’s up, you have two remaining parts to fix it. We’ve lost that.
Knuckle draggers like Redneck Mullin are the most dangerous of all because they follow a leader, not the law. We need to get these people and perhaps their agencies out of government. If DHS and ICE and Border Patrol can align themselves with corrupt governments then the whole system is broken. I believe these men and their guns will be at polls in blue states come November. What will be their orders?
As I wrote on Professor HCR letter this morning what stands out for me most is not the politics that is being played but the human beings who are sitting in these concentration camps. Are they seen, heard or even a thought of being acknowledged, that they even exist on this earth. How does “.. one judge that has 74 cases before her in just that one day, that’s roughly about five minutes per case, if that’s everything is perfectly aligned…. [I]t’s just a…farce. This is not actual justice. This is not actual… legal proceedings as per our Constitution, and as per our laws.”
Everyday is a barrage of blatant disregard for any judges court judgement on the laws, unless that court judgement is in agreement with their policies. If you don’t like that court ruling, they call it a political attack and ignore the ruling. If you like the judges rulings like an Aileen Cannon or Mathew Kacsmaryk or especially those six on the Supreme it’s all good. So as per the message from MarkWayne, “But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.” This entire regime decides not to abide when it’s not aligned in their favor, but when it is that ruling on the law is stretched as far as possible until the rubber band breaks.
Our founding fathers had much to say about laws. John Adams, "A government of laws, and not of men." Which was written in the Novanglus Essays (1775), encapsulating the core principle of the American legal system. Then there is Thomas Paine, "For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other." That was published in his revolutionary pamphlet, Common Sense (1776). One of the best origins and nuances of this phrase can be understood by breaking down who made the laws and how the saying is used was made by William Godwin, "Law is made for man and not man for the law" which actually that concept itself predates Godwin and appears in the Bible. In the Gospel of Mark (Mark 2:27), Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath”
What was the reason that our Constitution was written in the first place? Was it not to protect “We the people” from the tyranny of one man and the laws of just a King. Our democratic republic and our laws were not meant to be how it treats the powerful, but by how it treats those with the least power.
Find Aristotle words so accurate in our times, “For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all."
TJ, your commentary was very well stated.
We are not safe. That is all.
I read and share your post every day. Keep writing as that is what opens the regular American’s political conscience. If we stand by and just watch, we are as guilty as those creating the injustices.
I am proud of you Heather Delaney Reese. Stay brave, stay strong, and stay loud. We need your voice.
Excellent analysis. (And a great election watch buddy to keep you company!)
Thank you, Heather, for the lifelines you throw us every single day and the light you shine on all this.
We’ll find out if electoral norms hold in November, when the stakes are real, and a democratic victory could end Trump and his pocket Nazis.
Thank you for breaking everything down for us daily. I have one technical peeve - I listen to your report daily - at the gym, on my way to work or just taking a walk. The “reader” reads the subscription bit in the middle of the blog. Can you move that text to the end? For the first couple of weeks, I thought I had reached the end of your report - not realizing I was only half way through!
Your deepest concerns are once I share. I am not surprised at any of the cabinet. I expect that each deletion will be replaced by something or someone worse yet. I am continually saddened by Congress, who have in the past and do now have an opportunity to do well when America is in the breach. The thing is, I no longer expect those who are in favor of Trump to choose otherwise either. Many of them are people that I have cared for. I continue to. But I do it now by putting them in a box because, as our democracy crumbles, I do not want to focus on my loved ones as a good target to defray my disappointment. It is bewildering.