Joni Askola: The Most Un-American Administration in History!

Mar 23, 2025

Bravo Joni Askola! What you say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! – © Mark Alexander

Democracy Now! "Grand Theft Government": Federal Workers Send SOS over Musk's DOGE, Mass Firings & Service Cuts

Feb 20, 2025 | Amid the indiscriminate dismantling of the federal government by the Trump administration's Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, federal workers, thousands of whom could lose their jobs, are fighting back. "All of us do something not only essential, but also mandated by Congress," says union organizer and Army Corps of Engineers employee Chris Dols. Dols is part of a growing movement of federal workers and their allies staging mass protests to "Save Our Services" and warning of the long-term consequences of these extreme cuts to the bureaucracy. "They're trying to immiserate the working class, and they're doing it through the federal workforce," says Dols, who is also a national coordinator with the Federal Unionists Network. "It's about gutting the services that create a safety net in this country, because the more miserable we are, the easier it is for them to exploit us." He calls on the larger public to join the worker-led movement resisting these radical cuts. "The whole public sphere is at stake."

Democracy Now! can be supported here.

It seems pretty clear to me that Trump, Musk and henchmen are making a bloody mess of the American economy. This is all going to end in tears for so, so many people. The only ones who will be laughing are those that will profit handsomely from this, and they will be laughing all the way to the bank! America is in the process of being gutted and ruined. These people should be in jail, not allowed to be free to vandalise the economy like this, and ruin people’s lives. – © Mark Alexander

As Trump Broadens Crackdown, Focus Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics at ports of entry as the administration scrutinizes green card and visa holders who have expressed opposition to its policies.

U.S. immigration agents wearing masks arrested a Georgetown University academic outside his home in Virginia. They detained two German tourists for weeks when they tried to enter the country legally through the southern border. They knocked on doors at Columbia University apartments, searching for pro-Palestinian protesters.

The Trump administration has opened a new phase in its immigration agenda, one that goes well beyond the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics, which the administration calls “enhanced vetting,” at ports of entry to the United States, prompting American allies like Germany to update their travel advisories. At the same, the administration is targeting legal immigrants who have expressed views that the government believes threaten national security and undermine foreign policy.

The tactics have unnerved foreign tourists and sent a chill through immigrant communities in the United States, who say they are being targeted for speech — not for breaking any laws. » | Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Tyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz | Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz reported from Washington, and Tyler Pager from New York. | Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Supporters Silent as Chilling Videos Emerge

Mar 19, 2025 | Trump supporters silent as chilling videos emerge

We’re not even two months into the second Trump administration, and already it’s defied the US Constitution, placed the President above any restraint or reproach, and eroded civil liberties, says news.com.au's US politics reporter Sam Clench.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration published a video of alleged criminals being sent overseas to El Salvador, despite no evidence that they are proven gang members.

Meanwhile, Trump's supporters and conservative "free speech" advocates have gone silent.

For all the talk of slippery slopes, this is one they're not willing to talk about.

Fox News: The MAGA Propaganda Machine | The Warning with Steve Schmidt

Mar 20, 2025 | While Trump's administration and their policies destroy America, Fox News pretends everything is great and serves only to amplify Trump's message. Steve Schmidt looks at the propaganda being broadcast by Fox News and explains why it's all an attempt to distract you.

‘He’s Afraid of What I’ll Tell the American People’: Official Who Trump Fired Speaks Out

Mar 20, 2025 | President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission with both commissioners saying they were “illegally fired.” Fired Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter joins CNN’s Kaitlan Collins to discuss.

Jesse Dollemore: Donald Trump Press Secretary Demands Gratitude from France that They Don't Speak German!

Mar 18, 2025 | Jesse talks about certified dummy Karoline Leavitt and her ridiculous assertion that the people of France should be grateful to the United States that they're not speaking German after Hitler's occupation of the country in the last century. She said, "And, my advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now. So, they should be very grateful to our great country." Jesse gives Leavitt a much-needed history lesson straight from American history related to the immense assistance the French gave us in the founding of our own nation.

Trump's Inhumane Deportations akin to Nazi Roundups, Creates Constitutional Crisis

Mar 18, 2025 | A federal judge today questioned whether the Trump administration ignored his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador, a possible violation of the decision he’d issued minutes before. This comes after J.D. Vance suggests that Europe needs to embrace Nazi sympathizing views. Anthony Davis reports on the connection between this regimes deportations and European history.

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Trump Administration Is Sliding toward Dictatorship (w/ Robert Kagan) | Bulwark On Sunday

Feb 23, 2025 | Bill Kristol & Robert Kagan talk about Trump, his thirst for power, companies bending the knee, the situation in Ukraine, and the administration sliding towards dictatorship.

Inside Trump’s Crackdown on Dissent: Obscure Laws, ICE Agents and Fear

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump is clamping down broadly on dissent using the tools of the federal government.

For months now, President Trump has been threatening to deport foreign students who took part in last year’s campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

Behind the scenes, his administration got to work.

Investigators from a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that typically focuses on human traffickers and drug smugglers scoured the internet for social media posts and videos that the administration could argue showed sympathy toward Hamas, administration officials said. The investigators handed over reports on multiple protesters to the State Department, which used an obscure legal statute to authorize the arrest over the weekend of a 30-year-old lawful permanent resident: Mahmoud Khalil.

Mr. Trump said this week that Mr. Khalil’s case was the first of “many to come.”

Civil rights groups say the arrest of Mr. Khalil, who is a legal permanent resident and is married to an American citizen, is a clear violation of the First Amendment. But it also illustrates how Mr. Trump is using the tools of the federal government to launch a crackdown not only on those who break the law — but also on dissent more broadly. » | Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Elon Musk Is the Enemy of Freedom and Democracy, Prof. David Cay Johnston

Mar 11, 2025

Elon Musk is not only a man-child, he is also a POS! – © Mark Alexander

‘I Feel Utter Anger’: From Canada to Europe, a Movement to Boycott US Goods Is Spreading

THE GUARDIAN: Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items

The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet have cancelled a summer tour of the US.

“There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on,” Tetzlaff said, describing his horror at the authoritarian polices of Donald Trump and the response of US elites to the country’s growing democratic crisis.

“I feel utter anger. I cannot go on with this feeling inside. I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts.”

Tetzlaff is not alone in acting on his disquiet. A growing international move to boycott the US is spreading from Scandinavia to Canada to the UK and beyond as consumers turn against US goods.

Most prominent so far has been the rejection by European car buyers of the Teslas produced by Elon Musk, now a prominent figure in Trump’s administration as the head of the “department of government efficiency” a special group created by Trump that has contributed to the precipitous declines in Tesla’s share price. About 15% of its value was wiped out on Monday alone. » | Peter Beaumont | Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Boycott all things American! Teach Donnie a lesson he'll never forget! And the MAGA hooligans! Bring the US economy to its knees! Support Canada! Support Greenland! Support Panama! Support Mexico! Furthermore, it is to be hoped that that ridiculous second state visit will be cancelled too. We need no racist, anti-LGBTQI+, pro-billionaire, autocrat wannabe visiting this country. We have enough bigots of our own to contend with. – © Mark Alexander

Dr Russell Razzaque: US Policy Shakeup: Is America Now a Mouthpiece for Russia?

Feb 20, 2025 | Have you ever wondered how 80 years of global alliances could be turned on their head overnight? In this video, I talk about the unprecedented shifts in international relations sparked by recent U.S. policy changes. From the shocking rhetoric surrounding the Ukraine war to how America's stance echoes Russian propaganda, I break down what this all means for the future of global stability.

Trump will go down in history as the worst US president EVER. Trump is treasonous; he’s a traitor. Down with Trump! Down with Trump’s USA! – © Mark Alexander

Schiff Delivers Message Direct to Donald Trump

Mar 7, 2025 | Let’s talk about fear. And what we can do about it.

Under Trump and his criminal henchmen, America will soon be an autocracy just like Russia is. This is what happens when the voters don’t pay attention. The writing has been on the wall from the very start. A clever person need only have looked at the expression in Trump’s eyes and then listen to the cr** he has been spewing to know EXACTLY what they could expect. It is doubtful that America will be able to reverse this sh**. A once truly great nation is truly on the skids. – © Mark Alexander

‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves

THE NEW YORK TIMES: People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.

The silence grows louder every day.

Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute.

Even longtime Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, stunned by President Trump’s revisionist history that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia, and his Oval Office blowup at President Volodymyr Zelensky, have either muzzled themselves, tiptoed up to criticism without naming Mr. Trump or completely reversed their positions.

More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond.

People on both sides of the aisle who would normally be part of the public dialogue about the big issues of the day say they are intimidated by the prospect of online attacks from Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, concerned about harm to their companies and frightened for the safety of their families. Politicians fear banishment by a party remade in Mr. Trump’s image and the prospect of primary opponents financed by Mr. Musk, the president’s all-powerful partner and the world’s richest man. » | Elisabeth Bumiller | Reporting from Washington | Thursday, March 6, 2025

We Need to Fight Back against Trump | The Warning with Steve Schmidt

Mar 6, 2025 | As Donald Trump starts tariff wars and abandoning our allies around the globe, the opposition in America is nowhere to be found. Steve Schmidt looks at the Democratic response to Trump and how the best example of opposition was from a Senator in France.

Trump is a DISGRACE, and so is his team of DANGEROUS FOOLS! America is on a fast track to becoming a DICTATORSHIP. – © Mark Alexander

Trump’s Pause on Ukraine Intelligence Sharing ‘Akin to Extortion’ | Former CIA Director

Mar 6, 2025 | “It can have devastating consequences if it remains in place.“

Trump’s “unprecedented” pause on military intelligence sharing to Ukraine is “akin to extortion”, says former CIA director John Brennan.

The USA is no longer to be trusted. The so-called ‘Special Relationship” is well and truly dead. People need to disabuse themselves of their illusions. Under Trump, the USA is no longer our friend. – © Mark Alexander

Trump’s Illegitimate Power Grab Brings US Closer to Dictatorship

THE GUARDIAN: Experts warn president’s blatant violations of law could upend US government’s system of checks and balances

The deceptively legalistic camouflage rendered the words almost banal – while still clearly communicating their ominous undercurrent.

“Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” wrote Vice-President JD Vance, a graduate of Yale law school, on X as he waded into an escalating tug-of-war between his boss, Donald Trump, and the US federal courts.

Whatever it lacked in rhetorical flourish or polish, the post represented an unambiguous rejection of long-established constitutional norms while offering no supporting legal basis, some scholars say.

It also amounted to an implied statement of intent to ignore court rulings which, if enacted, would upend the US government’s intricate system of check and balances and lay the ground for dictatorship, they warn. » | Robert Tait in Washington | Thursday, February 13, 2025

'Baffling' Trump Flies Tate Brothers to the US

Feb 27, 2025 | “They've got their passports back. They got on a private plane and flew to the US. Why? Donald Trump's administration thinks this is a good use of their time.”

Andrew and Tristan Tate have fled Romania to the US on Donald Trump's orders, says Times Radio presenter Hugo Rifkind, who has previously interviewed Andrew Tate.

Trump Administration, Breaking With Musk’s Directive, Says Replying to His Email Is Voluntary

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The response to Elon Musk’s “What did you do last week?” email to federal employees suggests that there may be limits to how far he can push the government’s work force.

A screenshot taken from this article in today’s newspaper. | Elon Musk participated in a fireside chat with the TV host Rob Finnerty during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., last week. | Eric Lee/The New York Times
Elon Musk’s monthlong rampage through the federal bureaucracy appears to have met its first real test, as some of President Trump’s top loyalists flatly reject the billionaire’s demand that their employees justify their jobs or be summarily fired.

By Monday, just 48 hours after an email from Mr. Musk with the subject line “What did you do last week?” landed in the email boxes of millions of federal workers, personnel officials proclaimed the “request” to be voluntary even as Mr. Musk renewed his demand.

For the first time since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s return to power, government employees appeared to be fending off, at least for now, an ambush in their war with the world’s richest man. Even if the head-spinning series of events — contradictory tweets from Mr. Musk, comments from the president and emails from agency heads — left many of them confused.

After Mr. Musk’s email, several agencies quickly sent out emails telling their employees they did not need to provide the five bullet points about their activity that he wanted. » | Michael D. Shear and Kate Conger | Michael D. Shear reported from Washington, and Kate Conger from San Francisco. | Monday, February 24, 2025

Who does this arrogant, one-time, allegedly undocumented immigrant to the USA think he is telling American-born employees what they should do, and need to do, to be able to keep their employment?! It seems clear to me that this man’s wings need to be clipped – and with despatch! – © Mark Alexander