We’re facing a national crisis, and it’s time to wake up.

“I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.” That’s what Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, said today after meeting with President Trump.

She didn’t suggest stronger screening. She didn’t propose tighter processes. She demanded a blanket ban based on origin. And then she went even further: “Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom, not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”

This isn’t immigration policy. It’s political messaging designed to blur the line between border enforcement and ethnic cleansing. Noem didn’t name which countries she wants banned because she doesn’t need to. That’s the point. She and the president can sit down and pick whatever countries they don’t like this week, and their supporters will fill in the rest. It’s not about screening for actual threats. It’s about turning entire populations into threats by default. When she says, “we don’t want them, not one,” she’s not talking about dangerous individuals. She’s talking about groups, millions of people, being stripped of the right to be seen as human beings. This is how fascism works, and it’s a roadmap to mass removal with immeasurable human casualties. It’s as un-American as it can get.

We’ve already seen what this looks like in action: missile strikes on unknown sailors at sea, survivors targeted with more missiles instead of rescue, and a sitting senator threatened with court-martial for reminding troops to follow the law. And Trump continues to incessantly try to criminalize that reminder itself.

Today, the President posted this to his followers: “There are laws that impact our Nation. Read Title 18, Chapter 115, Section 2387, ‘Whoever with the intent to interfere, impair, influence the loyalty, moral or discipline of the military and Naval Forces,……to be fined or imprisoned up to 10 years.’ Commander Kirk Lippold, U.S. Navy, Ret. This is right on point. DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE!!!”

But here’s the truth: Section 2387 was written to protect the military from enemy propaganda during wartime, not to target elected officials upholding the Constitution. It’s the same statute once used against civilians handing out anti-war leaflets during the Vietnam War. But Trump won’t stop trying to twist its meaning. Military officers are legally required under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to refuse unlawful orders. Senator Mark Kelly didn’t incite rebellion. He restated military ethics. This isn’t about sedition. It’s about silencing lawful dissent. About rewriting loyalty to mean obedience to one man, no matter the cost.

Because that’s what all of this really protects. The missiles, the travel bans, the loyalty tests, they’re not just about controlling people at the border or intimidating elected officials. They’re about protecting the system that’s been bleeding the rest of us dry. Economists are once again warning about what they’re now openly calling a K-shaped economy, one where the top shoots upward while the bottom collapses. The rich are getting record returns. Billionaires are gaining billions. But most Americans are sliding down: higher prices, vanishing savings, and more debt. And Trump’s policies are making it worse. He gutted oversight. He slashed taxes for the ultra-wealthy. He’s already signalled that he wants to give Wall Street as much freedom as possible and as few regulations as he can get away with. So while the rest of us are watching our communities be torn apart and our rights stripped away, the people at the very top are cashing in. Authoritarian governments don’t serve the people. They serve the elite.

And I can’t let the day go by without mentioning that it is World AIDS Day. The Trump administration kept its word, refusing to acknowledge it for the first time in decades. Just like they’ve done with other historically sacred or solemn moments, they’ve replaced recognition with silence. And I can’t stop thinking about all the people who are alive today because of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. global AIDS program that has saved over 25 million lives since its launch in 2003, and how Trump tried to gut its funding. Because of his actions, critical resources are now delayed, withheld, or diverted away from the people they were meant to help. It’s just another example of how the Trump administration isn’t interested in saving lives. It’s interested in slashing public health programs so more money can flow to his supporters and enablers. But what he forgets, what they all forget, is that even if you don’t care about human life, HIV doesn’t stop at borders. Viruses don’t care about ideology or geography. If you dismantle the systems that protect others, you’re dismantling the ones that protect you, too.

But here is where we can find real hope for better days in America. People are pushing back, and not just on the sidelines. Even the powerful ones are done playing along. Costco just joined a growing list of companies suing for refunds if the Supreme Court decides to strike down Trump’s tariffs, and they’re not alone. A long list of other U.S. businesses have filed similar suits because they know what Trump won’t admit: these tariffs aren’t protecting American workers. They’re punishing them. They’ve driven up prices and wrecked supply chains. They are not making America Great Again.

And today, we finally saw what it looks like when an elected official stops sugarcoating the danger and calls it out for what it is. At a press conference, Senator Mark Kelly said: “The President has gone too far. Everybody needs to wake up. The occupant of the Oval Office is ignorant to the Constitution and has no regard for the rule of law. Trying to silence me, proposing to court-martial me, and threatening to kill me for fighting back when our democracy demands that we must fight back, President Trump has crossed the line. And this time, it’s not going to work. I will not be intimidated by this president. I am not going to be silenced by this president or the people around him, because I’ve given too much in service to this country to back down to this guy.”

That’s what real leadership looks like. That’s what courage sounds like. And that’s exactly the energy we need, loud, clear, and unafraid.

Because this isn’t just about what Trump is doing. It’s about what we’re willing to let him get away with. We need to keep reminding Trump and his enablers that they don’t own this country. And we’re not just fighting to survive the next election. We’re fighting to build something better than it’s ever been before.

And I believe we still can, because like Abraham Lincoln said, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis.”

So that’s what we’ll keep doing. Telling the truth. Facing the crisis. And refusing to surrender what’s ours.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, chances are we see things the same way. You can help keep this work going by subscribing to my Substack; there’s a free option, or you can become a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. Paid subscriptions help me reach more people, cover more ground, and keep telling the truth about what’s happening to our country.