In these troubled times, with a President who challenges the clear meaning of our Constitution, and dodges the law with flagrantly abusive tactics, I have felt frustrated by the silence and passivity of my elected representative. In April 2025 I resolved to write a brief note to each of those representatives daily. I programmed my browser to fill out the constituent information automatically and proceeded to write.
There has been no shortage of material, most gleaned not from mainstream media, but rather from more candid and, frankly, more honest sources. I am not naive. I know that my reps rarely if ever read my comments. If they are seen by human eyes at all, they are read by hapless staffers. Nevertheless, I write knowing that the sheer volume of discontent is communicated and does cause some in the representative’s inner circle to consider how decisions and floor votes will be reflected at the ballot box.
Here’s a log of my comments. These paragraphs are cut and pasted into my daily email, and then customized for the congressperson I am writing to. If you like any of these, feel free to send them to your own elected representatives or use them as copy for a letter to the editor or a social media post with or without attribution. Be clear, direct, and respectful.
———- log of themes ————
Messages to my Reps
3/17/25
Sabotage Social Security?
An SSA official said they believe the new ID verification steps are an effort to “create additional hurdles to filing claims and overwhelm the system.” Read all here: https://popular.info/p/exclusive-memo-details-trump-plan. Trump wants to privatize (corrupt) Social Security, which is already vastly more efficient and cheaper to administer than private systems. STOP THE COUP.
3/17/25
What we see today at the federal level is a degenerate, malfunctioning national government. Donald Trump is not acting as the chief administrator of the state. He daily reaches deep into the limbs and digits of the apparatus of the government and either commands or dismisses anyone who is not answering not simply to his commands but to his personal will and interests. His vision of the presidency is one in which his hold on the executive office entitles him to use the powers of the state to make war on the half or more of the country that doesn’t support him. He’s exploiting these unexplored and heretofore un-assaulted lacunae of presidential power every way he can. The branches of the federal government which are supposed to restrain a renegade president, in part because of jealousy of their own power, are mostly obedient to his control.
3/18/25
The Voice of America is silent. The Administration is acting unlawfully and in defiance of Federal Court orders. At the same time, it is using the threat of prosecution to intimidate political adversaries and anyone else who criticizes or opposes them. We can not rely on “facts” or assessments reported by government agencies. Federal agencies are compelled to remove materials about the Code Talkers and other heroes representing minorities. SHAMEFUL! STOP THE COUP.
3/19/25
Are people to be deported because they have tattoos? The President and the DOJ blatantly skirting or outright defying the orders of a Federal Judge? Unlawful firing of people who hold the government accountable. The general lack of honor, integrity, and the disrespect of Congress and the Judiciary are contemptable, but Trump gave you plenty of warning that this would happen. STOP THE COUP!
3/20/25
“Trump and today’s MAGA Republicans are proudly ignoring the law and the Constitution, not only in Trump’s attacks on the judiciary but also in things like the administration’s lie, reported today by Andy Kroll of ProPublica, that nearly 7,000 employees at the Internal Revenue Service were fired for poor performance despite the repeated warnings of a top IRS lawyer that this was “a false statement” that amounted to “fraud” on the courts.” – H. C. Richardson.
This is an attack, not on government waste, but upon people – Americans who’s rights are being violated. It’s dishonorable, unlawful, unconstitutional, and outrageous. STOP THE COUP!
3/20/25
EBE and ID Verification
Together, the two policies could send up to 160,000 additional people to SSA field offices each week as the agency slashes 12% of its staff and closes dozens of field offices. Even before these changes, the average wait time for an in-person appointment was one month, and some people had to travel 100 miles to reach their nearest field office.
3/21/25
The American Way? Not!
Devlin Barrett of the New York Times reported today that lawyers in the Trump administration believe the 1798 Alien Enemies Act Trump used to deport migrants also permits federal agents to enter people’s homes without a warrant, an assault on the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. Federal Judges, their spouses, and family members are being harassed in an effort to disrupt the due process accountability for actions that violate the law and the Constitution. STOP THE COUP!
3/21/25
Eric Schmitt, Eric Lipton, Julian E. Barnes, Ryan Mac, and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported that the Pentagon has scheduled a briefing tomorrow for billionaire Elon Musk on the U.S. military’s top-secret plans for any potential war with China. Alexander Ward and Nancy A. Youssef of the Wall Street Journal confirmed the story, adding that their sources told them that Musk had asked for the briefing. They also reminded readers that Musk “has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a close partner of China, the country that has supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Senator, what are you doing about this outrage?
3/23/25
Ayn Rand, Lee Atwater, Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Carl Rove, Steve Bannon, and Steven Miller represent the political lineage of the present Administration. What are the lofty values and high principles they manifest that you find compelling? Would you celebrate your kids wanting to be like any of them?
3/24
In the wake of the DOGE attack on the IRS, government officials are predicting a decrease of more than 10 percent in tax receipts by the April 15 deadline compared with 2024, a loss of more than $500 billion in federal revenues. Federal agencies must now allow any officials designated by the president or agency leadership to have complete access to unclassified records, data, software systems and IT systems, President Donald Trump declared in an executive order late Thursday night. What could possibly go wrong? STOP THE COUP.
3/25
H. Res. 229
Judge Boasberg is serving the law and Justice. The Administration is abusing power not the judge. If people have no opportunity to contest the legality of actions the government takes against them, if grotesque injustice is being layered on top of grotesque injustice by our government in our name, it becomes increasingly difficult to call ourselves a democracy. STOP THE COUP!
3/26
The Administration knows that it violated Judge Boasberg’s order, and it knows he can verify it if they lie under oath. The tail numbers and take-off times of departing flights are available on the internet. All the posturing and drama are to divert attention from the facts. If we still respect the law, people should be sanctioned for contempt. Are you for the law, for the constitution? Don’t be a spectator. STOP THE COUP.
3/27
Signalgate
Inexperienced, unqualified, arrogant people; a clueless President; colossal hubris; reckless disregard of security . . . The response? Lies, personal attacks on Goldberg, a journalist of impeccable reputation. Now we watch the train wreck as reality meets delusional thinking. STOP THE COUP!
3/28/2025
“The craziness going on around us in the first two months of the second Trump administration makes a lot more sense if you remember that the goal of those currently in power was never simply to change the policies or the personnel of the U.S. government. Their goal is to dismantle the central pillars of the United States of America—government, law, business, education, culture, and so on—because they believe the very shape of those institutions serves what they call ‘the Left.’” ~HCR
3/29
Congress created USAID and funds it. The executive branch, overseen by the president, cannot abolish an agency created by Congress or withhold its funds. Project 2025 aims to challenge this principle by centralizing power under the president, using USAID as a test case. Will you defend the Constitution and Congress?
STOP THE COUP!
3/31/2025
“Lawyers and big firms: For God’s sake, stand up for the legal profession, and for the Constitution. Defend the oath you took when you became officers of the court. If we stand together and fight, we will win.” ~John Keker. When will you and you fellow legislators stand against lawlessness and tyranny?
4/1
What the Hell?
The U.S. government did not charge Abrego Garcia with a crime but deported him to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) because of an administrative error. “This was an oversight,” the government told the court. But, because he is no longer in U.S. custody, the government said it is beyond the reach of U.S. courts to get him back.
4/2
Democrats didn’t “win.” Booker stood for honor, Crawford for justice. When the stakes are high, and yet your word and deeds contradict your core values, you inflict moral injury on yourself. The harm is real but hidden. The Founders spoke of their sacred honor and were prepared to hang for it. When I urge you to STOP THE COUP, I’m asking you to save yourself.
4/3
October 19, 2024, The Economist said our economy was “the envy of the world.” Today, stock market futures plummeted after Trump imposed a 10% tariff on all imports to the United States, with higher rates on China, Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea, as well as the European Union. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost more than 1,000 points upon the news, falling by 2.5%; the S&P 500 dropped 3.6%. The loss? $300,000 per family of 4 or $30 trillion. When Trump gets it wrong, OTHER people get hurt, and he plays golf. STOP THE COUP – HE’S WRONG MOST OF THE TIME.
4/4
McC
I’m disappointed in your naive support of Donald Trump (your letter to me was received this week). As I write this, the news is reporting that the stock market has lost more than 11 trillion in value since January 17th. No credible economist can make any sense of the tariffs. But they agree that the effect will be like imposing a national sales tax, a regressive tax that burdens those least able to pay. You implied that all the disruption was justified because it would somehow reduce the deficit spending by almost two trillion. Fat chance. Burn eleven trillion here, to save two trillion there? Somehow I fail to grasp the math. Maybe Putin does?
STOP THE COUP!
Fitz and Fet
Eleven trillion Dollars ($ 11,000,000,000,000) has evaporated from the Stock Market since 1/17. Your Colleague, Dave McCormick, thinks that’s fine and says all is well. He likes Donald Trump’s “strong leadership and bold actions.” He thinks Trump has matters in hand. I’ll bet his buddies at Bridgewater aren’t quite so sanguine as they watch the pension funds they manage shrink. Trump gets it wrong most of the time. STOP THE COUP!
4/5
Encroachment
You enable Trump’s encroachment upon the rightful powers of Congress. The tariffs are another tool for dominance, and he’s using them for that purpose, and against the best interests of America and its Allies. His power to impose tariffs should be revoked. Stop the encroachment. Say “HANDS OFF.”
STOP THE COUP!
4/6
About 1000 constituents rallied in front of Brian Fitzpatrick’s Langhorne office Saturday to say HANDS OFF. The enthusiasm of drivers on the Newtown Bypass was thrilling—horns honking and thumbs up everywhere. The Administration lacks popular support for the delusional acts that have been in the headlines, and those who were once apathetic about politics are now angry. Stop Trump’s encroachment on Congress and abuse of the Courts. STOP THE COUP!
4/8
Your fired!??
Evidently, if you are an honorable attorney, if you uphold the rule of law, BUT you displease the boss, you get “administrative leave.” With no paycheck, that’s the same as being laid off. The government lawyer in the Garcia case was placed on leave after he answered the district court’s questions honestly when he didn’t have the information the judge required. Silence is complicity. STOP THE COUP! (Pray that Garcia survives to be brought home.)
4/9
In 2023, Department of Defense (DoD) spending exceeded that of the next 10 largest government agencies combined. DoD spending has been growing rapidly. In 2015, the United States spent $585 billion on the military. In the current fiscal year, that figure is $892.5 billion. Now Trump wants a trillion? Trump is wrong most of the time. STOP THE COUP!
4/9
“Traders with inside information about what Trump was about to do — some of them, presumably, Trump family members and cronies — just made a fortune.
It looks like chaos but Trump’s chaos always creates winners and losers, and Trump makes sure he’s on the winning side.” ~ Robert Reich.
Follow the money. When it makes no sense, find out who benefits from the chaos. STOP THE CORRUPTION!
4/10/2025
“As more than $50 trillion moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% between 1981 and 2021, Republicans deflected attention from the hollowing out of the middle class by demonizing racial, religious, and gender minorities. By 2012 they were talking of “makers” and “takers,” and by 2016 they were feeding voters ideas and images straight out of the nation’s white supremacist past.” ~ Richardson
Is this your vision for America? STOP THE COUP!
4/11/2025
Please support libraries and protect the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) from being dismantled under President Trump’s March 14 Executive Order.
IMLS provides crucial funding for libraries across the country. In Pennsylvania, IMLS supports many services, including training for the next generation of library leaders, statewide educational databases, improving broadband access in underserved areas, summer reading programs, and library delivery for older Pennsylvanians and people with disabilities. This funding helps ensure that libraries in Pennsylvania can offer essential services and access to vital information for all residents, regardless of location.
It’s outrageous to approve $1,000,000,000,000 for the military, contemplate five trillion in tax relief for the 1%, and then defund libraries, a basic civic resource. Shameful, short sighted.
4/12/2025
“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently warned, if the administration can take noncitizens off the streets, render them to prison in another country, and then claim it is helpless to correct the error because the person is out of reach of U.S. jurisdiction, it could do the same thing to citizens. Indeed, both President Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt have proposed that very thing.” ~ Richardson
Unamerican. STOP THE COUP!
4/14/2025
Whisper to the Enabler
You knew the truth, you felt the twist—
Each lie he told, you half-resist.
You winced, then smiled, then looked away—
And told yourself, just one more day.
You thought you’d steer, or slow the slide,
But silence kept you safe inside.
He grew, while you stayed small and still—
You called it duty, not your will.
I am the voice you tried to drown—
I watched you trade your name for crown.
It’s not too late to break the spell—
But if you wait… you fall as well.
~ By Richmond Shreve, with assistance from ChatGPT (OpenAI)
4/15/2025
State terror creeps in shadows deep,
Where rights are lost and silence seeps.
With power’s claim,
It feeds the flame,
As justice falls, we wake from sleep.
Garcia was taken, no crime to crow,
To El Salvador, they made him go.
With law ignored,
His rights deplored,
A warning that we all should know.
4/16/25
- “Shocking disclosures regarding a data breach at the National Labor Relations Board suggest illegal conduct by DOGE members” Based upon allegations by a whistle-blower and additional sources it looks like Russia has obtained sensitive data. CISA has been decapitated by the administration, and “The employee who asked CISA to begin the investigation received a typed note on his residence door which warned the employee to drop the request for CISA assistance and included personal details about the employee known only from government files. The note also included a drone photo of the employee walking his dog on a public street.”
- Does this trouble you? [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5355896/doge-nlrb-elon-musk-spacex-security]
4/17/25
The Thrall of the Coup
They swooned like a teen in a trance,
Enchanted by swagger and stance.
But charm turned to spite,
And daydream to fright—
They’d fallen for doom at first glance.
4/22/2025
He barked at the winds of the market,
As if shouting could rewrite the charts.
But numbers don’t bend to the bluster of men
Who govern with ego, not smarts.
Reality, steady and stubborn,
Won’t yield to a tantrum or tweet.
No matter how loud the illusion,
It crumbles when markets retreat.
————
There once was a bully named Trump,
Who gave the Fed Chair quite a thump.
He shouted and blamed,
But markets were maimed—
His bluster just led to a slump.
4/23/2025
While truth lay bleeding on the floor,
The Kremlin called it “info war.”
Trump silenced those who’d counter lies,
While friendly voices echoed spies.
No guns, this coup, but lies galore.
“Over the past three years of these new conditions in which we live, we have learned and become quite skilled in waging information wars,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a March 2025 press conference in Moscow. “And this is a great result, this is a great achievement.” Odd that President Trump has decapitated and eviscerated government-funded efforts to counter misinformation. Meanwhile Gabbard and other insiders spout Russian talking points. Trump is mostly wrong. STOP THE COUP!
4/25/2025
Trump promised to fix it with flair,
With a deal pulled from thin, empty air.
Vlad laughed at the bluff,
Said, “He’s weak, he’s all puff—
A showman who’s barely aware.”
4/26/2025
Limerick:
When democracy teeters and sways,
And a strongman demands all the praise,
Will you honor the law,
Stand firm without flaw—
Let’s stop him without more delays!
Poem:
When Will You Name It?
The cracks in the walls are all showing,
The winds of autocracy blowing.
Yet you sit on your hands,
Drawing lines in the sands,
While the seeds of our ruin keep growing.
Will you wait for the courts to be shattered?
For your voice, for your rights, to be battered?
Or speak while you can,
Take your place, make a stand,
Before all that we cherish lies scattered?
Will you say, Yes! Today!
Not after the tyrant holds sway,
Not after the law
Is all shock and awe—
Act now, while your honor holds sway.
Optional short intro (if you want to include one in a message):
In the spirit of Robert Reich’s urgent question to elected officials, here’s a brief call to reflection and action.
Freedom’s survival depends on recognizing the moment — and rising to meet it.
4/27/2025
Republican President Ronald Reagan: “Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”
ICE is cruel and flaunts the law. Restore due process. STOP THE LAWLESS COUP!
4/28/25
Senators Warren and Schiff say that the $Trump contest “may implicate several federal ethics laws and constitutional prohibitions, including the federal bribery statute and emoluments clauses of the U.S. Constitution.” They also said that the contest “raises the troubling prospect that foreign actors are using the meme coin as a vector to buy influence with President Trump and his associates without needing to disclose their identities publicly.”
STOP THE COUP! Trump is for sale.
These things are breaches of constitutional law:
- Proclaiming an end to birthright citizenship;
- Deporting people without due process;
- Targeting law firms;
- Targeting universities;
- Targeting the press (esp. Associated Press);
- Impounding and withholding funds appropriated by Congress;
- Imposing tariffs without congressional review;
- Firing directors at independent agencies;
- Ignoring court orders; and
- Politicization of the Justice Department.
You were elected to represent us and defend our Constitution. Do it NOW. STOP THE COUP!
4/30/2025
It’s still a Coup attempt
Trump’s first hundred days in office are an ongoing coup attempt that seeks to overturn the Constitution and democratic norms. Those who say he is “expanding the powers of the presidency” or “reshaping America” are overlooking lawlessness, cruelty, and wanton destruction of institutions that serve most Americans well. These are not mere political policy disputes; he’s attacking our core values and the rule of law. Those who enable these attacks, those who fail in their sworn duty to defend the Constitution, are destroying America and wrecking the prospects of future generations. STOP THE COUP!
4/30/2025
More Mendacity
In Trump’s first 100 days, he’s destroyed “the envy of the world,” our thriving economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank from a healthy 2.4% in the last quarter of 2024 to -0.3% in the first quarter of 2025. He’s also defying SCOTUS, saying his lawyers won’ let him bring Garcia back from hell in El Salvador. He deludes himself with lies.
Surely you aren’t so credulous. STOP THE COUP!
May 3, 2025
Fund Public Radio
NPR and PBS provide high-quality news, education, and entertainment as a public service. I personally donate money, and I’ve also worked as the volunteer chief engineer of WCFA in Cape May. The motivation to cut Federal sources of funds is political and not in the public interest. It’s part of an un-American effort to dominate and control media both public and private. STOP THE COUP!
May 5, 2025
We have an HHS Secretary, Kennedy, with no training in health or medicine, who doesn’t believe in vaccines. We have Rubio with no expertise in three of the four departments he nominally leads. And a President who isn’t sure he must defend the constitution, and thinks it amusing to imagine himself as Pope. But far worse, we have a Congress that does nothing to correct these wrongs. Trump is mostly wrong. STOP THE COUP!
May 6, 2025
A Plague on Both Our Houses
Gaming the System for political advantage is unacceptable. In North Carolina, the judge rightly ordered an end to the transparent effort to reverse election results by tinkering with which votes get counted. Gerrymandering is rampant. Both Dems and the GOP have done it. Bring back honor and ethics. All is NOT fair in love, war, and politics. Graft, lies, legal posturing, and intimidation are un-American. STOP THE COUP!
May 6, 2025
Reject Ed Martin
With no applicable experience, Martin is unqualified. He is manifestly part of Trump’s assault on justice, due process, and the rule of law. His confirmation will speed the descent of America into a cruel, lawless, authoritarian regime. If you value character, honor, truth, and the Constitution, you must reject Martin. The Hitler moustache says it all.
May 7, 2025
Throughout his life, Trump has used deception and lies to game the system. The Alien Enemies Act (AEA) is transparently misapplied as a cover for unlawful and unconstitutional acts by US officials. Trump may be immune from prosecution, but is Stephen Miller or any other advisor? Support the courts. STOP THE COUP!
5/10 The obsession with the border, Sen. Murphy said, “has left the country unprotected elsewhere…. To fund the border, you have illegally gutted spending for cybersecurity. As we speak, Russian and Chinese hackers are having a field day attacking our nation. You have withdrawn funds for disaster prevention. Storms are going to kill more people in this country because of your illegal withholding of these funds.”
May 8, 2025
Robert Reich: “New analysis from Bloomberg reveals that more than half of the top buyers of Trump’s memecoin are likely based outside the US. Trump’s stablecoin, his other major crypto venture, is also receiving major backing from the UAE. How is this not an Emoluments Clause violation?”
Graft, corruption, influence peddling . . . It’s up to you and Congress to act.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. STOP THE COUP!
‘May 12, 2025
Trump is requesting $1 trillion in military spending as one in ten children face food insecurity, one in four adults experience financial hardship, and homelessness is at a record high. Human security — which includes reliable access to food, income, and shelter — is deteriorating in a nation that spends more on its military than the next 12 highest-spending countries combined.
And, Trump has alienated most of the free world. I don’t feel more safe, do you?
STOP THE COUP!
May 14
(per CBO, HJCT, & J. Hawley) Republicans want to:
- Cut $715 billion from Medicaid and
- Take away health coverage from 8 million Americans,
- To pay for billionaire tax cuts that will cost $5 trillion.
Most Medicaid recipients (a) already work full or part time, or (b) can’t work due to disability, caregiving responsibilities, or age. Indeed, providing affordable health insurance helps promote employment!. Trump is mostly wrong. STOP THE COUP!
May 14
Combined with the 10% across-the-board tariffs Trump has imposed on goods from other countries, Krugman estimates that the average tariff is up about 10% since Trump took office, from about 3% to about 13%. Krugman also notes that the tariffs have only been paused, making economic uncertainty worse. Trump appears to relish uncertainty because it keeps attention glued on him. Such uncertainty is good for television ratings but terrible for the economy, as executives cannot plan for the future. ~HCR
May 14
$300 million meme coin, $400m Qatari flying palace, and too many other corrupt acts. He fires the watchdogs and neutralizes whole agencies. His efficiency experts steal data. His ICE cops kidnap people. Corrupt, lawless, tyrant. STOP THE COUP!
May 15, 2025
Intimidation
Lawyers striipped of security clearances for spite. Former prosecutors harassed with proceedings and the expense of hiring counsel. Afrikaners offered US Citizenship while brown skinned people are expelled without due process. Congressional librarians fired for shelving books that discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion. Universities extorted by withholding of funds Congress authorized. Are you silent? Do you support this? Will you represent those of us who object? STOP THE COUP!
- – – –
- “It’s been completely insane,” economist Michael Strain, from the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute think tank, told the Washington Post reporters. “When I step back from the euphoria over easing tariffs with China, what I see is the tariff rate is five times as high as when Trump took office. And we seem to have gotten nothing out of it at all.”
May 17, 2025
“Good Night, and Good Luck” was Edward R. Murrow’s iconic sign-off. We remember him for his gutsy role in exposing the injustice of Sen McCarthy’s abuse of Senate Hearings. Roy Cohn mentored Roger Stone and spawned the viper’s nest of Lee Atwater, Carl Rove, and Paul Manifort. Murrow risked his career and both he and CBS paid a price for his stand.
America needs politicians inspired by Murrow, not Stone. Where do you stand?
May 18,2025
From The Atlantic:
Donald Trump “is not a man who respects the rule of law, nor one who seeks to understand it,” writes J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in a new article for The Atlantic.
Luttig argues that, in the first few months of his second administration, Trump has proven himself an existential threat to the rule of law, his presidency recalling the tyranny from which the nation sought to free itself in establishing the Constitution.
“The 47th president of the United States may wish he were a king,” Luttig writes. “But in America, the law is king, not the president.”
Donald Trump “is not a man who respects the rule of law, nor one who seeks to understand it,” writes former federal judge J. Michael Luttig in The Atlantic. He calls Trump “an existential threat to the rule of law,” likening his presidency to the tyranny the Constitution was meant to prevent. “The 47th president may wish he were a king,” Luttig writes, “but in America, the law is king, not the president.”
May 20
To sneak through a MAGA-made thrill,
They drafted a thousand-page bill.
At one in the night,
Out of public’s clear sight—
They counted on sleep to kill will.
May 21
Reality is cruel
A new study finds that even if global temperatures remain below the 1.5 C threshold (a level we’re practically assured of exceeding), the polar icecaps will continue to rapidly melt, leading to sea level rise that will be catastrophic to coastal communities around the world.
Keep this in mind next time the fossil fuel guys tell you about cheap energy and good jobs from oil, gas, and coal. The aren’t pricing in the value of most of Florida, New York City, and other horrors that lie ahead.
May 22
The GOP budget will cause the biggest transfer of wealth in our nation’s history, taking $1.2 trillion from the middle class and the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich. When Lyndon Johnson spoke of a vision of a Great Society, he challenged us not to allow “soulless wealth” to rule. Not one of the people who benefit from the tax cuts will eat any better, but children will go hungry, and the old and sick will suffer. If this bill becomes law, America will be poorer, not greater. You face the proverbial “eye of a needle.”
Trump corrupts everyone and everything he touches. STOP THE COUP!
May 23
Not a beautiful budget
A $44,000 tax cut is pocket change to someone earning $1 million, but a $700 or $1,000 loss can be crushing for a low-income family—especially where health needs or high living costs compound the blow. The bill gives bonuses to the wealthy while stripping essentials from those already stretched thin.
Abuse
Do you really want to give Trump the power to intimidate independent agencies, firing those he sees as political adversaries, or merely disrespectful? Strip away all provisions of the budget that aren’t directly budget items.
Trump is mostly wrong. STOP THE COUP!
May 27th 2025
Sick and Disgraceful
Hubbell speaks my mind: “The fact that Trump’s Memorial Day [address and] social media post is similar to thousands of other posts over the past eight years is no defense to an assertion that external signs strongly suggest that the president is deeply, seriously mentally ill and should be evaluated by a qualified professional.
May 28, 2025
Trump is using taxpayers’ dollars to harass those who rightly and honorably oppose his corruption. He mocks justice by pardoning criminal acts of loyal followers. Money changes hands to his benefit in questionable circumstances. In May, he lost 96% of the court cases his actions spawned. How do your daily decisions as a legislator make this travesty possible? Stop the erosion of Congress’s authority and independence. STOP THE COUP! . . . Restore sanity.
May 29, 2025
Consider the values these influencers share. (Their lives speak volumes about them.)
Larry Hoover, Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, Lee Atwater, Paul Manafort, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Karl Rove, Michael Caputo, Brad Parscale, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump, Jason Miller, Rudy Giuliani, Rebekah Mercer, Ed Rollins, Ralph Reed, Frank Luntz, Sidney Powell.
Your Tribe? Your “family” values? The future of America?
Personally, I’m glad none of my kids admire any of them. If you lie down with dogs, you get up with ticks and fleas.
STOP THE COUP! Return integrity and honor.
May 31, 2025
Deaths
Musk’s destruction of the United States Agency for International Development, slashing about 80% of its grants, is killing about 103 people an hour, most of them children. The total so far is about 300,000 people, according to Boston University infectious disease mathematical modeller Dr. Brooke Nichols. Ryan Cooper of The American Prospect reported today that about 1,500 babies a day are born HIV-positive because Musk’s cuts stopped their mothers’ medication.
You proud? STOP THE COUP!
6/4/2025
David Richardson, who became the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last month, told FEMA employees on Monday that he did not know the United States had a hurricane season. Richardson has no training or experience in Emergency Management. I do, and his ignorance and cavalier attitude pisses me off.
I hold you, as my congressional representative, accountable for these dishonorable and disgraceful appointments of grossly unsuitable leadership. In the US, FEMA has institutionalized some of the most effective planning for emergency management and recovery in the world. The systems for preparation, coordination among first responders and officials at all levels of government are superb. They have taken decades to evolve, and many chapters in the process are written in blood from lessons learned. It is criminal to appoint a political hack to run the agency.
STOP THE COUP!
June 5, 2025
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economic outlook reports that economic growth around the globe is slowing because of Trump’s trade war. It projects global growth slowing from 3.3% in 2024 to 2.9% in 2025 and 2026. That economic slowdown is concentrated primarily in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and China. The OECD predicts that growth in the United States will decline from 2.8% in 2024 to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026.
Are you complicit? STOP THE COUP!
June 6, 2025
Normandy
On the morning of June 6, 1944, five naval assault divisions stormed the beaches of Normandy. By the end of the day, more than 10,000 Allied troops were wounded or killed, but the Allies had established a foothold in France that would permit them to flood troops, vehicles, and supplies into Europe. 133,000 troops risked everything to stop fascism and preserve democracy.
Trump and Musk swap threats, clueless of the sacrifices 81 years ago. Congress looks pathetic by comparison. STOP THE COUP!
June 7
When asked what the Declaration of Independence meant to him, Trump answered: “Well, it means exactly what it says, it’s a declaration. A declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot. And it’s something very special to our country.” His Secretary of the Navy thinks Pearl Harbor Day is June 6th.
Maybe you should reconsider their competence to lead the nation's military.
Democracy is a way of life and a core value. Live it. STOP THE COUP!
June 10, 2025
Reconciliation?
According to a new CBS News/YouGov poll, 60% of Americans think the bill will help wealthy people, while 54% think it will hurt poor people. Forty-seven percent think it will hurt the middle class, while only 31% think it will help the middle class. As Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles noted, it’s “[s]tunning how badly Trump and the Rs have lost the debate on what their reconciliation bill will do.”
Trump and Miller are wrong again. Wrong about America. STOP THE COUP!
June 11, 2025
Do you, as a citizen and legislator, believe in freedom of speech?
Today, President Donald J. Trump made it clear that the provocations he and his administration are escalating in Los Angeles and now elsewhere are using the issue of immigration to suppress dissent entirely.
In the Oval Office today, Trump said of the military parade scheduled for this Saturday: "For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force.”
Defend democracy. STOP THE COUP!
June 12, 2025
Quinnipiac says most Americans disapprove of almost everything the President is doing. Only 27% of voters like the BBB. His tariffs are shrinking the US and world economy. He's provoking conflict in LA to distract from the dismal reality of his negative impact on everything he touches. Congress is largely responsible for allowing executive excesses to bring us to this moment. America protests. You must resist. **Defeat the BBB reconciliation bill.**
Represent US. Defend democracy. STOP THE COUP!
June 13, 2025
The tragedy of Kent State shows how quickly military force against protest can lead to irreversible harm. Troops belong on battlefields, not college campuses or public squares. Preserve civil protest as a protected right—-not a provocation for force. Let history be your guide. Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWdjZetqqgM.
US Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed after identifying himself. The offending officers ignored his words; their aim was clearly to prevent him from speaking at all.
June 17th, 2025
There's no honor among the Trumpists. In the wake of the Minnesota shootings, MAGA zealots seek to blame Democrats. This rush to deflect blame for the psychopath's actions, serves to confirm that they recognize the connection between MAGA's violent tendencies and the killings.
Whitehouse staff knows Trump himself is not well, and Stephen Miller is openly calling the shots. They got DJT out of the G7 meeting, but not before he delivered Putin's talking points. Did he miss his nap?
STOP THE COUP!
June 19, 2025
In 2015, the United States reached a permanent agreement that blocked all of Iran's paths to a bomb. It did this by creating the most intrusive inspection regime ever negotiated. In 2018, Donald Trump pulled out of that agreement. So, today, Iran is a threshold nuclear weapons state, and Netanyahu wants Trump to bomb. Realistically, bombing delays nuke production but can't eliminate Iran's know-how.
Trump created this dilemma. Why would you trust his judgment now? Remember Iraq. STOP THE COUP!
June 20, 2025
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) pointed out to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the $1 billion mission he led against the Houthis—who do not have a navy—has not restored the ability of U.S.-flagged commercial vessels to go through the Red Sea. Instead, it cost the U.S. two F18 Hornets, which cost $60 million apiece, and seven Reaper drones that cost another $200 million. This is the leadership that Trump relies on to control Iran.
What could possibly go wrong?
STOP THE COUP!
June 26, 2025
Representative Jim Himes (D-CT), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said: “The law requires the congressional intelligence committees to be kept fully and currently informed, and I expect the Intelligence Community to comply with the law.”
The administration is lying about the impact of the attack on Iran. Trump doesn't admit his mistakes and doesn't learn from them.
America is not safe under his leadership. We both know this. What will you do?
STOP THE COUP!
Independence Day
To Brian Fitzpatrick
Thank you for your NO vote on the procedural for the BBB. HCR (3,000,000 subscribers) mentioned you in today's Substack column. Keep resisting. Trump doesn't even know that the bill cuts Medicaid! He's easily manipulated because he's out of touch with reality and has obvious cognitive issues. The GOP is not on the brink, it's falling into the abyss. Don't let it drag you and all of America with it.
STOP THE COUP!