Want to understand what Trump is doing? Part 3

It must be so upsetting to be a person with any sensitivity right now in the US.

There will always be the need and the desire to be heard wherever you stand on the political spectrum and quite right too, its one of the key rights one a democracy.

Rallies are only part of what takes place politically, you can't attribute success or failure to them alone. they can encourage or inspire those who take part of view them or get debates going.

They have their own place and it isnt necessarily directly associated with a successful vote or decision.

Indeed, I'd say Trumps MAGA rallies had their own kind of success. He certainly always counted the numbers and thought them significant....

Bit like those huge Brexit rallies in London back in the day I expect.
Nowhere.

Looks like they are beginning to head that way.

Just checked up on yesterday's demonstrations. This CNN article has a report which gives a really good idea of the breadth of issues of concern and also that

"In addition to rallies, Saturday’s day of action saw communities coming together through food drives and donation campaigns, offering support to those most affected by the administration’s policies.

edition.cnn.com/2025/04/19/us/50501-protests-trump-administration/index.html

the title is

"‘50501’ protesters denounce Trump administration in nationwide rallies while supporting impacted communities

this 50501 movement is an interest phenomena, to see where it goes.

Hopefully ACB does her job as a Supreme Court judge (as they all should) instead of being a political stooge for the Trump presidency.

Amy Coney Barrett has turned into quite the wildcard. MAGA is not happy with her right now.

Brett Kavanaugh seems to step up when absolutely necessary lately.

I am happy that Roberts stood up for the rule of law. He could easily join Alito and Thomas on the corruption train.

imaround

Supreme Court came in after midnight last night and told Trump he had to stop deporting Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.

He will likely ignore it. But this os good news that the court is going to push back.

Of course Thomas and Alito dissenting. They are on the billionaire payroll.

Yes, the significance of this ruling against Trump has just hit home, because a 7 to 2 ruling against him means that the 5 to 4 majority of more right wing jurists has just been broken on the subject of the necessity of Due Process.

Scum also rises to the top of a stock, it has to be skimmed off to stop it spoiling. The US definitely needs to skim off it's scum as it's tainting the whole country, which is really sad. I had lunch with a friend today who is married to an American, she was in tears talking about what is happening in the US. Her husband is due to retire soon and they planned to live part of the year in the US and part in the UK, she doesn't want to set foot in the US ever again!

Oldnproud

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Just meritocracy all the way for me.
Cream always rises to the top. If someone’s good enough, it’ll show.
Stop meddling with stats, figures and percentages. Often sowing division where none exists. These quangos have to justify their existence (and salaries).
Enough already.

Shit sometimes floats on top too.

And some minorities have to be creamier than others to get recognition as the best for the job.

I finally finished reading today NYTimes.

Interesting. Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard

An official on the administration’s antisemitism task force told the university that a letter of demands had been sent without authorization.

Harvard was emailed a letter detailing demands by the Trump administration when administration lawyers were still willing to continue talks.

Credit...Sophie Park/Getty Images
Michael S. SchmidtMichael C. Bender
By Michael S. Schmidt and Michael C. Bender
April 18, 2025

Harvard University received an emailed letter from the Trump administration last Friday that included a series of demands about hiring, admissions and curriculum so onerous that school officials decided they had no choice but to take on the White House.

The university announced its intentions on Monday, setting off a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a U.S. president. Then, almost immediately, came a frantic call from a Trump official.

The April 11 letter from the White House’s task force on antisemitism, this official told Harvard, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized,” two people familiar with the matter said.

The letter was sent by the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sean Keveney, according to three other people, who were briefed on the matter. Mr. Keveney is a member of the antisemitism task force....

Harvard officials, including several who worked in government earlier in their careers, were shocked that such an important letter — bearing the logos of three government agencies, with signatures of three top officials at the bottom — could be sent by a mistake.

But at that point, there was no way for Harvard to undo what had already been set in motion. The university had already declared that it would rebuff the letter’s demands. And despite claiming that the letter should not have been sent, the Trump administration did not withdraw it.

In response to Harvard’s decision to fight, the White House announced that Mr. Trump was freezing $2.2 billion in grants to the school. Within a day, he was threatening to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Just meritocracy all the way for me.
Cream always rises to the top. If someone’s good enough, it’ll show.
Stop meddling with stats, figures and percentages. Often sowing division where none exists. These quangos have to justify their existence (and salaries).
Enough already.

Shit sometimes floats on top too.

Details of who is organising the demonstrations and the different elements involved.

www.newsweek.com/anti-trump-protest-locations-list-map-april-19-50501-2059609

Whitewavemark2

TRIP suggested that the protests are beginning to have a feel of the 60s protest movement.

I think it will need more than that.

The MAGA movement is so strong and the opposition has nothing to compare I think.

Well, the "more than" is/are judicial proceedings and battles? and eventually the ballot box in the mid terms. Some hope that more Republicans say "not on my name" but great courage to do this with Trumps not only tyrannical but also completely spiteful response to opposition to anything and everything.

Movements like this gather ground slowly however and MAGA of course has been well organised for some long time.

TRIP suggested that the protests are beginning to have a feel of the 60s protest movement.

I think it will need more than that.

The MAGA movement is so strong and the opposition has nothing to compare I think.

Massive protests in all 50 states again today. Hopefully the remain peaceful as counter protestors are increasing.

Supreme Court came in after midnight last night and told Trump he had to stop deporting Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.

He will likely ignore it. But this os good news that the court is going to push back.

Of course Thomas and Alito dissenting. They are on the billionaire payroll.

Good discussion on TRIP US about freedom, constitution and Trumps flouting the law.

It is being done to the peril of freedom in USA

And thank you Chocolatelovinggran for saying very succinctly the real nub of this deportation issue. If someone can be deported without due process, then frankly anyone can.

On a more serious note, I share the huge concerns with other posters about the deportation to an appalling foreign prison for a person who has, as far as we know, committed no crime .
If we were to imprison every man someone/ anyone thinks that they might be guilty of something not tested in courts ( maybe he's a domestic abuser? maybe he's a gang member? maybe I don't like his tattoos? ) we'd have to build a prison the size of the Isle of Wight and the streets might be a little empty.

Gotta love Boston!

Trump's using emergency powers (illegally IMO and that of the courts) to deport people without evidence or due process yet some think that's ok. What on earth has happened to people? There will be an acceptance of lynch mobs next

Good for Boston!

Sorry! I bit of US History here.

www.bostonteapartyship.com/paul-reveres-ride

"There were two routes that the British soldiers could take: by land through the Boston Neck and by sea across the Charles River. Paul Revere arranged to have a signal lit in the Old North Church – one lantern if the British were coming by land and two lanterns if they were coming by sea – and began to make preparations for his ride to alert the local militias and citizens about the impending attack."

They have taken the "One if by land, 2 if by sea" and updated it to "one if by land, two if by D.C." meaning Washington DC.

Boston was one of the biggest protests in the country 2 weeks ago and I was a bit surprised a Tesla didn't end up in the harbor at the time a la the Boston Tea Party.

It is a bit disconcerting to think that we may be witnessing history repeating itself exactly 250 years later. These same types of underground resistance are everywhere and growing right now, just with better technology.

The ending of the human rights report is a devastating sign of the times.

I dont really understand what is written on the Boston clock, imaround