Morning all. Likely to be a two post day today as we have the big meeting today of Trump and the four Congressional leaders. Dems are holding firm. Rs continue to refuse to negotiate. We will see what happens, but as we’ve been discussing here we are now having the fight with Trump we all wanted to have, and we need to win it in the coming weeks.
Join me in sending good vibes to Leaders Schumer and Jeffries this morning! Go get ‘em boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I start today with a video, above, from Chicago. The Proud Boys - I’m sorry - DHS/Border Patrol/ICE - showed up in force in downtown Chicago yesterday. The video is of a DHS encounter with a delivery man that looks more like something out of the Marx Brothers or Monty Python or Sascha Baron Cohen than something that could come from America itself, but here we are. An iconic moment in this deeply ridiculous age of Trump The Return.
He are images of the Border Patrol - yes the Border Patrol - on the Chicago River yesterday.
Yesterday the regime announced they were calling up the Oregon National Guard to go into Portland. The state and city of Portland immediately sued to block it. Here’s a recap of what happened yesterday from the Willamette Weekly:
President Donald Trump invoked federal law Sunday morning to take control of a portion of the Oregon National Guard, court documents show. Oregon sued to block the move Sunday afternoon.
“Earlier today, the Secretary of Defense sent a memo to Governor Tina Kotek authorizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to perform federal functions for 60 days, including protecting federal property ‘where protests are occurring or likely to occur,’” the governor’s office said in a news release.
The state moved to block the move in court hours later. In documents filed Sunday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the state argues that the president lacks authority under Title 10 of the United States Code to federalize the National Guard. Oregon says the law only allows for the federalization of the guard in circumstances of invasion, rebellion, or when federal laws cannot otherwise be executed.
“None of those circumstances exist in Oregon,” the state says.
The state will seek a temporary restraining order to pause the actions of the president and subordinates, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a news briefing Sunday afternoon. He said the state hopes to be in front of a judge within days.
Trump said Saturday he had authorized a U.S. military mission to protect “War ravaged” Portland, a move local leaders immediately condemned as an egregious abuse of power. The president’s decision to call up troops appears focused on nightly, small-scale protests at the driveway of the South Waterfront headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“When the president and I spoke yesterday,” Kotek said in the Sunday news briefing, “I told him in very plain language that there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state. Despite this—and with all evidence to the contrary—he has chosen to disregard Oregonians’ safety and ability to govern ourselves. This is not necessary. And I believe it’s unlawful. And it will make Oregonians less safe.”
The Oregon National Guard consists of Oregonians. Kotek said she has received no notice of U.S. troops that are not part of the state National Guard being assigned to Oregon.
In the news briefing, Oregon officials summarized the events of this weekend. Like many Oregonians, Kotek said she was surprised by Trump’s announcement yesterday that he wanted to deploy troops in Portland. She then got him on the phone. “I attempted to have reasonable conversations with the administration about what the goal was, what the basis of maybe taking that action would be,” she said. “And we just have a substantive disagreement about what the situation is.”
She described the situation thus: Free speech demonstrations are happening near a federal facility in Portland. Portland police are actively engaged in managing the situation, with the federal officers who are at the facility. And when people cross the line into unlawful activity, they are being held accountable.
“This is not an insurrection,” she said. “This does not require military troops in an American city.”
Federal agencies have also surged staff to Memphis with the National Guard expected there in days.
While we rally behind Leaders Schumer and Jeffries in their budget fight this week national Democratic leaders must also begin to speak in a single unified and far more aggressive voice in challenging this escalating use of the military and armed, masked agents on American streets. For if we are silent, if we do not challenge this aggression forcefully, we give Trump permission to keep escalating.
These tactics are not making America safer as in the last few weeks we’ve seen spectacular acts of violence across the country - from the killing of Charlie Kirk to the shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas to a gunman on a boat shooting up a river bar in North Carolina this weekend to the attack on that Mormon church in Michigan yesterday. And it needs to be repeated - there is no ideology of violence in our pro-democracy movement or on the left. There is no leader in our broad movement calling for violence. Our movement is peaceful, in support of democracy and rule of law, not working against it. We have sought to make access to guns far harder; to provide people with good jobs and affordable health care. It is the right that has and is today working against all that.
As we’ve discussed here again and again Trump is desperate, as he grows more unpopular, his government fails and his powers ebb, to find ways to make him feel STRONG and POWERFUL and MANLY. It is almost impossible to imagine something more authoritarian, more illiberal, more mad - and more dangerous - than the use of the military on our streets to fight a fictional enemy in an imaginary war.
Not only is what Trump doing wrong, anti-American, and authoritarian, it is also deeply unpopular, and “threats to democracy” have risen to become a top tier issue for voters in recent weeks. Forcefully opposing Trump on this unacceptable - and wildly expensive - escalation is not just the right thing to do it is good politics too. Here’s a snapshot of recent polls on the question of the use of the military in American cities (support/oppose):
38%-49% - NPR/Ipsos
41%-56% - Quinnipiac
39%-48% - Yahoo/YouGov
42%-58% - CBS
For those who live in blue states an action you can take today - call your Governor and AG and encourage them to sign on to the Oregon suit against Trump as soon as possible. We need to have Portland’s and Oregon’s back for we are stronger together than apart.
A Remarkable WaPo Story About Trump Voters Growing Disappointment In Him - True must read from the Washington Post today, “Is Trump keeping all his promises? This MAGA couple doesn’t think so” (gift link):
SWAINSBORO, Ga. — Jessie Meadows told her mother-in-law not to panic when business slowed at the family flower shop last year. They just needed to hold on a little longer — until Donald Trump got back in office.
She’s still waiting for the turnaround.
The phone that used to ring all day during Trump’s first term sits mostly quiet. Customers are still reluctant to spend on an “extra” like flowers in her corner of small-town Georgia. A box of faux berries from China recently arrived at the shop with a note explaining that they cost 17 percent more because of Trump’s tariffs.
“Fruit’s getting outrageous now,” Meadows, 36, lamented to a customer one recent afternoon, explaining the rising price of the gift basket the woman orders every year for a friend’s birthday.
Trump campaigned on grand promises: Cut energy costs in half. “Immediately bring prices down.” “Drain the swamp.” Make IVF free and end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now Meadows was starting to question the president’s ability to keep his word — and not just on the economy. She didn’t like his dismissive attitude toward MAGA Republicans who wanted to see the government’s full files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Trump said last year that he was “inclined” to release information on Epstein.
“Is there anybody that can go up there and stay what they ran on?” she asked her husband, Carter Meadows, one evening…….
Jessie said she planned to oppose her local congressman in next year’s GOP primary, upset by his stance on the Epstein files, and she wasn’t sure she could trust Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, whom many believe will run to succeed Trump.
Carter, 37, who runs the local funeral home, also voted for Trump last year, believing he would be good for the economy. Now tariffs are pushing up prices for one of his suppliers, and Carter isn’t sure how long he can hold off raising his own rates. The tariffs, he said, “seemed unplanned and childish.”
………………
Jessie and Carter were sitting in the living room one day in July when Jessie saw a reference on Facebook to Trump’s latest Truth Social post. Republicans and Democrats alike were pressing for more information on Epstein, and Trump was furious.
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success,” the president continued, “because I don’t want their support anymore!”
Jessie turned to her husband.
“It’s gotta be fake,” she said.
They looked up Trump’s post and found that it was real. Briefly, Carter felt ashamed of his vote.
Jessie was angry. She was MAGA, she decided, but MAGA wasn’t synonymous with Trump.
Make America Great Again “does not depend on one man,” she said later. “And if he abandons the movement, then we can continue on without him.”
Important Election Win in Moldova - From The BBC:
The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Sandu has claimed victory and a new majority in parliament in Sunday’s elections seen as critical for her country’s future path to the EU.
Sandu had warned of “massive Russian interference” after voting, saying the future of Moldova, flanked by Ukraine and Romania, was at stake.
Igor Grosu, the leader of Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) which secured about 50% of the vote, said Russia had thrown “everything it had” at the election.
Opposition leader Igor Dodon had claimed victory even before results came in and called for protests outside parliament in the capital Chisinau on Monday.
However, the win by PAS is emphatic: Monday’s protest was tiny and mostly attended by pensioners. And there is no sense at this point that they have any momentum.
With 99.9% of the 1.6 million votes counted, PAS had 50.17% of the vote - far ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc on 24.18%, Moldova’s central electoral commission said.
Turnout was 52%, higher than in recent years.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the result. “You made your choice clear: Europe. Democracy. Freedom,” she wrote on X on Monday.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk praised Sandu, saying she had “saved democracy” and “stopped Russia in its attempts to take control over the whole region. A good lesson for us all”.
Fuck Putin. Cannot be said enough.
Tomorrow is the final day of the 3rd quarter, a very big filing deadline. Do what you can to help our candidate close strong by donating before midnight tomorrow night!
Winning The Fall - Support Our November, 2025 Candidates and Yes On 50
Hopium members in CA/NJ/PA/VA - please vote on Day 1, or as early as you. When you vote early your names comes off the campaign GOTV rolls allowing them to move on to lower propensity voters, which increases D turnout and makes it more likely we win. Voting early = another way to help us win. Please vote early and encourage everyone you know to join you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The Midterms - Support Our 2026 Candidates
Expanding The Map - Support Our Audacious Expansion Fund (2026-2032)
Our updated fundraising goals are now for the end of the year, December 31st, except for the 2025 races, which are now for Election Day, 2025.
Defending America, Winning The Big Argument With Trump - We have two recommended actions today:
1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our our emerging four part agenda. Demand that your Senators and House Member work to keep the government open and
Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world
Defend our democracy, rule of law and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE, restore due process to our immigration system, defend the 1st Amendment, and end the use of the military on our streets and the occupations of our cities
Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA and Medicaid; support and co-sponsor Rep. Haley Stevens’ effort to Impeach and remove Robert Kennedy
Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia and China
2 - Bring “Resolutions Of Condemnation” To Your Community - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders learn about how Hopium members are advancing “Resolutions of Condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town. Be sure to check out our new discussion with Deborah Potter and Rachel Poliner who have passed resolutions in New Mexico and Boston, and offer advice on how to get a resolution passed in your own community.
Remarkably, members of this community have passed or are advancing 84 (!!!!) resolution projects in 22 states + DC. Can we get to all 50 states by the fall election?
Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Been impressive to see how many of you remain involved in local, in person protests of all kinds in your communities. Great to see!
Keep working hard all. We have a country to save and a future to reclaim for our kids and grandkids, together - Simon
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