These electric gloves require only a touch on the bare arm or any bare skin to send 390 volts into the victim and instantly incapacitate him or her, taking them to the ground. The long-term damage to the health of those being electrocuted may not be seen immediately, but the short-term damage could be seen in heart attacks and deaths or other mental and physical ailments.

There may be a place for electric shock gloves in the hands of responsible police officers who must deal with a riot situation such as the attack on our Capitol on January sixth, but in the hands of thugs, it is another brutal assault on the non-violent citizens and residents of this country.

The physical and psychological warfare that is being waged against us by the leader of our so-called democratic state is nothing less than dictatorial rule. The prisons and ICE detention centers being built are not to house violent criminals; they are to house you and me and anyone who opposes the Trump Regime. The electric gloves are just one more tool in the arsenal to achieve that oppression.

No matter what despair I feel at such oppressive policy, I am not giving in to the intimidation. I reject it. Somehow I know, goodness and sanity will be restored. The question is, when?

And with Trump’s love of gold, he thinks he’s got the Midas touch. But everything he touches turns into mufflers.

The first order of business mentioned in Project 2025 is to “deconstruct the Administrative State.” The manifesto goes on to clarify the intention to consolidate power in the office of the President of the United States and to dismantle the federal government office by office. People like Russell Vought and the hundreds of contributors structured an elitist system of rule in this document. Under their conservative influence, the Project’s founders intend to guide the President and all future Presidents to follow the dictates laid out in the Project’s guidelines.

The Project’s policy document, Mandate for Leadership, calls for nearly everything Trump has accomplished in the first year of his new term in office: taking control of the FBI, DOJ, DOC, DHS, FTC, eliminating the Department of Education, reducing environmental regulations, and realigning the National Institute of Health with conservative values. The blueprint calls for reducing taxes on corporations, cutting Medicare and Medicaid, and also reversing as many of President Joe Biden’s policies as possible. It proposes removing legal protections against anti-LGBT discrimination, ending DEI programs, and having the DOJ prosecute anti-white racism. The project recommends mass deportation of “illegal” immigrants. The plan also proposes enacting laws supported by the Christian right, such as criminalizing abortion and birth control medications, as well as eliminating coverage of emergency contraception. The ultimate goal of the Project’s founders is to control the entire government through the office of the President, and then to privatize it so the elite will have ultimate control.

The mentality is difficult to comprehend for anyone who holds democratic values. The best insight I ever got into the NAZI mentality was when I learned of the letter written by the wife of Joseph Goebbels after the fall of the Third Reich. Joseph Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister of the NAZI party and one of the highest NAZI officials. Three days after Hitler’s suicide, in a bunker under the Berlin Reich Chancellery, one week before Germany’s surrender, Goebbels and his wife, Magdalena, poisoned their six children and then took their own lives. In the letter Magdalena left behind, she wrote she did not want her children growing up in the new world which was to come, intimating that it would be too degenerate. Her attitude and actions show the uncompromising nature of a privileged class whose elitist beliefs show disdain toward the lives of the less privileged masses. While the act of murdering her children may have been more extreme than that of many NAZIs, her attitude seems typical of the NAZI authoritarian personality still in existence today. A NAZI aims to reject compromise, shape the world into his or her own vision and then to rule over their creation.

Due to American fascists and the organizations they foster, the U.S. democracy is on the shakiest ground it has ever stood on since our country’s inception. In only one year, an astonishing number of our democratic safeguards have been breached, opening the path toward a full dictatorship. We should all be frightened. The open executions in the streets by ICE are a warning to us all that breaches of our civil rights are very likely to get much more severe and commonplace. The new mega detention concentration camp human warehouses which will be privately run are already funded by the Big Ugly Bill and will need a lot more prisoners to fill them to capacity to make their owners rich. It is quite possible that our constitutional form of government may be permanently undermined and that we will live under increasing tyranny for years or decades to come, especially with convenient places to warehouse dissent. Most Americans still cannot conceive that this may happen. Many seem to feel that our democracy is strong and will endure. But democracy is only a concept. It is not a physical force, such as a police force or a military force or “stormtroopers” patrolling the streets. Democracy’s only power lies in the unity of the people and their willingness to act.

Recognition of our vulnerability can be turned into active resistance, if we do not give in to despair, if we never abandon our values, if we never accept this coup, no matter how powerful and oppressive it may grow or how hopeless our situation may seem. Authoritarian regimes can fall just as they rose, and it has been shown historically over and over again that the people’s opposition can prevail if they are determined enough to fight for their beliefs. What is in our favor is that our numbers are growing and that the eighty-year-old creature with a demented brain has limited time.

Even after his eventual downfall however, we must stay vigilant about the dangers posed by the creeping NAZI influence around us and not allow that authoritarian mindset to poison our society again. We never have arrived at our ideal democracy and perhaps we never will, but it is far better than the alternative. While we strive to create a more perfect system, we should not forget that the preservation of democracy requires constant tending. Small encroachments over time add up to gaping wounds.

I’m left with the only conclusion that makes any sense to me. There must be a NAZI personality and it must exist in a substantial number of the population. The fascist personality is nothing new. It has always existed. These are people who believe in dictatorial rule, rigidity, control, strict enforcement of laws of their own choosing while ignoring civil rights. They would rather arrest a thousand innocent people to catch one criminal, than let one criminal escape to avoid massive inhumanity. They express anger and hatred for any opposition. Dissent is only patriotic when it suits them. Where does freedom play a role in that way of thinking? Somehow the practice of democracy eludes them. And the problem is, they have taken over our country.

How did the fascist ideology prevail in our society? We’ve had the best historical warning of the terrors and abuses of human rights from World War II NAZI Germany, and yet so many voting Americans chose that course because they believed a “strongman” could deliver them a better life. Perhaps many did not understand the repercussions of their own choice. But, what they chose was a world for the elite, rich and white, whether they realized it or not. A large number of disillusioned Americans hoped to improve their economic situation, and they followed a leader because he promised them that relief, a relief that never came. Instead, most American lives have been made considerably worse, whichever side of the aisle that person is on. Only a small percentage is benefiting, and that, not surprisingly happens to be the rich. It is not only the economic decline of the nation, but perhaps more importantly, a moral decline has taken place. We are living with the leadership of a criminal in every sense.

It is not only our society which is suffering. Trump’s havoc has encircled the globe. The new policies of the United States have caused Inflation, worse living conditions, fear, chaos, war, famine in poor countries, and death to many who might otherwise have survived. The responsibility lies not only with the Trump regime but with half the American voting public who put the deranged sex offender felon into the most powerful office in the world.

To be fair, the majority of Americans are not fascists. Party affiliation does not make one a NAZI by itself. I still maintain a positive view of humanity, despite the human shortcomings of every one of us. I believe there are many more balanced people in our world than imbalanced, who just want to lead their own lives, take care of their families, and be able to afford occasional vacations. But with the rise of social media and the takeover of news channels, people can be more easily deceived and manipulated by the propaganda. Progressive issues have been shamelessly under attack from the conservative media for years. This is clear in the denial of climate change, in the denial of the danger of Covid and rejecting the wearing of masks, in the rejection of the Affordable Care Act with no replacement, in fighting abortion and health care rights, in the ridiculous claim that Obama was not born in the U.S., and in opposition to every progressive idea no matter how sound. The conservative MAGA news denies science, education and common sense, and many party members are deceived by the lies, and are not necessarily NAZIs.

The true NAZI fascists, dictators who are the enemy of the people, are those who mislead the public with false information. They are the ones who are the preservers of elitism, thought-manipulators and propagandists who envision a world in which their minority rules over the rest of us. The leaders are usually rich oligarchs. Under our present system, one billionaire can and often does control an enormous amount of votes in election campaigns, as well having other ominous means of control, such as direct election tampering.

The “Face” of American’s new authoritarian regime consists of the public figures—the President, his cabinet, MAGAs, loyal Republican senators and Republican members of Congress as well as some members of the Supreme Court. They are the executioners of the program. The “Architects” (the true brains of the movement) are the NAZI ideologists behind the scene. They are the ones who strategized the playbook and organized the plans for the takeover. Most are intellectual conservatives and the founders of the plan to bring down the United States federal government and replace it with their own personal privatized system. The founders and followers of the Heritage Foundation and those of Project 2025 manifesto compose a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

The Heritage Foundation (founded in 1973) is a think tank of conservative U.S. policy makers. In 1979 the Heritage Foundation handed Ronald Reagan its 300 page conservative mandate for leadership. In 2019 it was ranked among the most influential public policy organizations in the U.S. Today the Heritage Foundation president, Kevin Roberts, is closely aligned with Trump and “Trumpism” as is the more recent Project 2025 (founded in April 2022) and launched by the Heritage Foundation along with other ultra-conservative contributors.

Project 2025 ( also known as the Presidential Transition Project) has taken conservative influence to a whole new realm. Its contributors call it “a governing handbook” of conservative values to be carried out by all the conservative presidents to come. While its contents claims to make the lives of the average American better by giving back freedom and Constitutional rights, its aim is clearly to suppress any progressive influence and make the people of the United States slaves to their rigid autocratic system.

Part Two Soon To Follow—

https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/2025/11/03/what-they-are-saying-slotkin-delivers-speech-at-brookings-institution-calls-out-trumps-authoritarian-playbook/

This is about the rich manipulating the working class and dividing us so we fight against each other and do not see the real enemy oppressing us.

Our democratic norms have sunk to the point of danger for a free society. Quite possibly, we have reached a point of no return. The American democracy, so hard fought at the inception of our nation, and revered by so many in the world, has now collapsed and may never return. Democracy is only an idea, after all; it cannot compete with force when challenged directly. It needs the awareness and support of its followers in large and overwhelming numbers in order to maintain itself when undermined and attacked.

Whether we are willing to admit it or not, everyone of us has been severely damaged by the takeover that has solidified in the past year. DOGE, ICE, public executions of American citizens on the streets, the attack on Venezuela, threats against Canada and Greenland and NATO, where will this tyranny end? We are looking more and more like a third-world country with increasing brutality toward anyone who opposes the unhinged regime leader. And the paramilitary ICE is looking more and more like the NAZI “Brown Shirts” in 1930s Germany, militia thugs who brutalized people in the streets to establish fear of opposition in the citizens. The killing here has just begun.

Mid-term elections, wishful thinking, wait and see attitude and all the hopes put into a change of direction, are self-dooming. It is only the massive flooding of people into the streets that will show the strength we possess. Only voices unified in opposition can choke the arteries of this nation to force change. It is up to everyone of us to object. It will take a unified effort of freedom-loving and just, yet tough Americans, to take back our country.

New order

Ultimately, the preservation of our nation as an enduring, healthy entity, requires creation of a new order. The old Democratic Party and the old Republican Party have not served the working-class well. Income inequality has favored the wealthy-class for too long. The rich become richer, the super-rich become filthy rich, while the working class, the ones who do the work of this nation, remain at a low level of income. Families increasingly cannot afford to buy a house. Minimum wage earners often have to work three jobs to take care of their families. A major medical treatment for cancer or heart failure can wipe out every cent someone has worked for their whole life, rendering them homeless. Others have to choose between buying food or their medication. Others live in the streets, even veterans who have served our nation. When I hear that we are the richest county in the world, I retch and think, the few rich have ninety percent of the wealth, but they are poor empathy.

America needs a new order, fair and equitable to all. For this we will need to restructure our entire economic system. End tax breaks for the rich. Social security must be preserved for all. Our national debt should be paid down through taxing the rich. Having made obscene wealth off this country by underpaying labor, they owe us back.

The new order must replace the one which has brought us to this place, and we should be thinking in terms of what we want and how we will accomplish it. The first business at hand, however, is the defeat of the authoritarian regime now murdering citizens in our streets.

Laws and rules are only thoughts and ideas, after all. They are guidelines for behavior, not the behavior itself. Force ultimately overrides ideas. Trump gives executive orders, sends terror agents against our people and now has sent troops to invade a sovereign nation which he plans to run and exploit for its oil, deeply injuring the United States and its people. That is why we, the people of the United States, cannot sit back and allow this carnage to take place. We must be vigilant and actively block the regime in any capacity we have. Democracy is only a concept until it is reinforced with backbone.

Following are examples of actions we can take.

Toppling the Pillars of Authoritarian Support

Every structure has pillars of support.  It starts with a core and goes out in concentric rings.  In business, for example, the core is the CEO, then the investors around him or her, then workers, suppliers, product makers and finally the consumer.  Undermining the structure of a company can be done in a variety of ways. Driving customers away with bad publicity such as word of mouth or bad reviews is one way. More drastic measures are consumer boycott or a workers’ strike. Suppliers and product manufacturers, or any group in the supply chain, can also be targeted.

When it comes to the government, the pillars of support can also be toppled.  The pillars are the civil service, police, media, military, and big businesses which support or even capitulate to the regime. Sectors such as oil and gas, technology, finance, campaign financiers, and many others, have all been involved in supporting Trump and his business plans. Any business supporting Trump should be a target if we are to turn this country around. We can and must make a better society for all.

Resistance Can Come in Many Forms

Delegitimizing Authority

Delegitimizing Authority through ridiculing its figures with cartoons and slogans, and creating laughter at their expense can help to delegitimize them in the public eye.  The protesters in frog suits in Portland, Oregon were refreshingly delightful in creating humor and lightness at the ICE raid.  The silly, inflatable frog suits stand out in ludicrous contrast to the threatening, violent masked men armed to the hilt. In general, making light of the fear the authoritarian wants to instill is a powerful antidote to the poison they spew.  

Organizing Resistance Groups

People united in the streets can interfere with illegal roundups and detentions.  On a local level, we can organize groups of responders ahead of the upcoming threats such as ICE raids.  Organized groups can warn those being targeted by ICE, create chaos and noise and diversion at the scene, and do it all without assaulting the heavily armored masked men.  It is clear that those who are targeted by ICE are less likely to be protesting. That is why it is up to us who are not yet targeted to participate.

Attend Protests

Show our numbers. The protests of “No Kings Day” should continue, and grow bigger and bigger, showing increasing opposition to the regime. Join the Indivisible protests or start a branch of your own.

The massive protests of the Vietnam War caused the collapse of support for the war machine and ended the war.  The war we are in at present is for the survival of democracy and all that which most of us believe in, beliefs instilled by our founding fathers. As important as ending the Vietnam War was, we have an even far greater cause in ending this regime. The dangers are so real!

Perhaps the most recent and hopeful turn-around of authoritarianism was in 2024-25 in South Korean when protesters responded, within hours, to a declaration of martial law by President Yoon.  The streets were choked with protestors who saw the declaration as a coup.  The response was so overwhelming in the streets, it could not be ignored by lawmakers.  The South Korean congress removed Yoon from power.  Yoon and 23 others were indicted for alleged roles in the December 2024 declaration of martial law.  He is still in jail, while undergoing legal prosecutions for several illegal acts.

Citizen power and unity in an overwhelming response made the difference.

Partake in Boycotts and Strikes

Since big business is the primary driver and supporter of our system, disrupting its profits is perhaps one of the most effective means of getting their attention.  This played out recently with Tesla and Disney.  Tesla lost billions of dollars in the months Musk led DOGE.  Disney lost 4.2 billion dollars in one week through subscription cancellations and stock sell-off over the firing of Kimmel.  If the boycott had gone on for one year, Disney would most likely be out of business.  Target stores lost $12.4 billion in market value since the start of a boycott in 2025 after Target cancelled $2 billion in DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) promises.  The cancellations by Target can be seen as direct capitulation to Trump’s objection to DEI.

 In other instances such as the Bus Boycott in Montgomery, AL, in 1955-56, the Delano Grape Strike in Delano, CA in 1965-1070, the people eventually won, despite the years it took. 

Today, we have companies and corporations which support the Trump regime. A list of these can be found in the Newsweek article from February 2025, entitled List of American Companies That Support President Donald Trump. With enough pressure from the public, many of these companies can be motivated to do the right thing.

Erode Regime Support and Encourage Defections

By bringing followers of the authoritarian regime to the side of the working class movement, the sheer numbers of opposition to the tyrants will eventually far outnumber the proponents. The resulting masses will be difficult, if not impossible, to control and manipulate.

As difficult as it is to convince someone of the opposite stand to listen and hear what you have to say, it starts with kindness and by finding our similarities rather than our differences. We, the working class, are all in the same lifeboat when it comes to wanting a decent life, feeding our children, having health insurance coverage, owning a home, having freedom of choice and expression. Rather than taking a stand against their beliefs, talk about making life better for all, and especially those who have been left behind. Of course, they will come to their own conclusions in the end, but once the seed is planted, they may be more open to seeing how they are being injured by what is happening, rather than gaining.

Contribute to Organizations

Contribute money to organizations which support the kind of effort and education you wish to promote. Federal cuts have injured so many grants and programs such as NPR, PBS, Planned Parenthood, charities, private environmental groups, private food aid programs, legal aid and privately funded groups like the ACLU which fights for our rights.

Contribute also to those groups actively involved in opposition to Trump’s regime: news groups, magazines and organizers of resistance programs.

Filing Federal Income Tax Extensions

Taxpayers can also affect the government through filing extensions to their income tax returns to keep the money out of government hands as long as possible.

Make your voice heard

Be loud and decisive. Send emails and letters or make phone calls to our government officials. Correspond with senators, representatives, governors, mayors, etc. all over the U.S., not just the ones elected to represent your state or district. This is not a local issue. Also, talk to friends and people you meet.

Elections

VOTE!

Vote in every election you can, not only the presidential election, but the elections of representatives and senators and all those who share your values can help change the tide. By voting, we show our numbers. It is the principle method by which Democracy functions.

Stand united against tyranny!

Resistance training, knowing what we can do to resist, is exactly what so many of us need at a time such as this.  Several friends have expressed to me their desire do something, but didn’t know what to do or how to go about doing it. Some say, we should wait and see. No!  We cannot afford to wait! We must act now before it’s too late! We must stop the encroaching dictatorship before it is completely formed. By that time we would have no rights and the rule of law would no longer exist. The resistance workshop gives immediate direction and specifics on how we can oppose the system of oppression currently bulldozing its way through our legal system.

The basis of this resistance movement is to disrupt, delegitimize, invalidate and demystify in order to cause defections of followers of the regime and bring the system down. The ultimate goal is to establish a new, better and more fair order for working people beyond what we have had in the past under either party.

Resistance means “non cooperation.”  Non-cooperation is the act of refusing to cooperate or comply with requests, demands or orders.  No system or government can function without cooperation from its supporters, workers and the public.  By withholding buying power, labor and every other form of participation in the government or authority, the system cannot function. If workers refuse to carry out their duties or quit their jobs, there will be delays in getting the work done, and those delays will likely be costly. Of course, refusing to follow orders can come at a personal cost.

It is important to understand that fear is one of the most powerful tools of authoritarian regimes.  They stoke fear and chaos to keep their opposition off balance, make threats to get people to obey their dictates in advance, and also weaponize fear in each of us to keep us divided and apart. Our greatest danger is to feel isolated and alone, without any support, and so demoralized that we find ourselves incapable of resisting. It is critical to keep the fear contained and know that we are not alone. After all, there are millions of us.

Authoritarians also depend on people’s ignorance of the law, which they themselves violate constantly.  It is therefore essential to know our laws, especially those pertaining to protest and resistance. The ACLU provides a booklet at a negligible cost.

It is also important to emphasize that resistance requires active participation and unity of at least some of the people. The immediate goal is to unify a minimum of 3.5% of the population throughout the country in order to be effective.  The organizers of this training have requested that the 200 attendees each bring 10 more people to their next meeting.  While 3.5% is far less than “all the people,” it is representative enough to make a powerful statement which expresses the voices of many more who are not yet heard.

Specific Tactics of Resistance are covered in Part Two.

There can be little, if any doubt, that Hegseth ordered the killing of the two men by issuing the command to “kill everybody.” Even in times of war, which this is not, there are international rules of engagement. When my father was drafted into the Russian army during WWII, he was instructed not to fire on enemy pilots or their crew while they were parachuting to safety and helpless in the sky.

Hegseth is a murderer, and we can only hope that when the Trump regime comes to an end, he will be tried and prosecuted for war crimes and sentenced to decades in Federal prison. Yet, there is a lot more blame to go around. If Admiral Mitch Bradley was the one responsible for issuing the final attack orders on any of the boats or on the two survivors, whether following orders or giving his own, he is also a war criminal and should not escape a war crimes tribunal. Disobeying military orders is a serious offense. It is a lot to ask of someone who has spent his life in the service of his country, knowing the severe consequences, court martial, prison sentence, loosing his pension, but murder cannot be condoned.

“Following orders” is no defense against criminal behavior. This judgment was clarified at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal during the prosecution of NAZI war criminals following WWII by an international commission of prosecutors. The war crimes cited were based on human rights violations of private individuals who were tortured, falsely imprisoned, and ultimately deprived of life. According to that judgment, Admiral Bradley is guilty of at least one war crime, and probably more in sinking non-combatant civilian boats. In my opinion, Hegseth, Admiral Bradley and Trump, the commander in chief, must be held accountable.

The shameful eight played right into the hands of the MAGAs. Short-term, some benefits will be restored to where they were; Long-term, the American people will be squeezed further and further into poverty by paying higher and higher prices for everything—healthcare being only one. There are other important issues at stake as well. While everyone cares about the economy and their own personal and economic well-being, democracy and civil rights, the core of our society, are being dismantled on a daily basis.

Democratic senators Dick Durban, Jackie Rosen, Tim Kaine, Maggie Hassan, John Fetterman, Jeanne Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto and Independent Angus King, claim that they wanted to help their constituents who had been hurt by the shutdown. That, in itself, is noble. I can well understand wanting SNAP payouts and veteran’s benefits restored and federal worker salaries to be paid. Which Democratic senator didn’t want that? But there was so much more at stake.

Any good intentions of those eight are overshadowed by the greater harm created in undermining the progress the Democratic congress was trying to achieve, namely the preservation of affordable healthcare for all Americans; continuation of the momentum Democrats had gained in the recent election, winning every important position, even in red states, with the possibility of putting Democrats back in power by winning the House next year; and actively opposing Trump’s plans of consolidating unchecked power to take over the entire government and remake America in his own deranged image. Accomplishing these goals would be a boon for the Democrats, as well as the nation.

If anyone believes that the GOP congress would support any of these Democratic goals to benefit the American people rather than just the rich, or stop their attack on decency, that person is living in a fantasy world. Hopefully, the cave-in by the eight senators does not diminish voter confidence in the whole Democratic Party.

The government shutdown was not caused by the Democrats. It was the majority Republican congress which caused the stalemate by refusing to support or even negotiate vital programs necessary to keep our country healthy, both literally and figuratively. The Republican congress was playing chicken with the Democrats. And Trump added pressure by dishing-out punishment: holding SNAP payments hostage as well as salaries of many federal workers, including air traffic controllers; he also threatened to fire more federal workers, adding to his severe DOGE cuts. There were emergency funds at his disposal which could have been paid out.

Democrats had an opportunity with the shutdown. It played worse against the Republicans than against the Democrats. The Republicans are the ones in power, after all, and have the responsibility to pass legislation beneficial to all the people. Voters are aware of that. Healthcare is one of the major issues at stake. Medicare has been severely cut by the recent Republican “Big Ugly Bill” and government subsidized health insurance, ACA, “Obama Care,” is on track to expire. Anyone depending on those services is going to be in trouble very shortly. Republicans have made it worse for the American people. With lower payouts for medicare and insurance premiums set to double or triple by January, the entire American public, Democrat or Republican, will feel the pain.

The short-sighted betrayers of Democratic resistance should not go unanswered. Because of their willingness to undermine the party, I, for one, will never contribute another penny to any of the eight’s re-election campaigns. I have in the recent past contributed to help Democratic political campaigns in all the states in close elections. Now I can shorten that list by eight. From now on, I will return all of the email solicitations from those eight with a note stating their failure. Republicans would not betray their ranks like this.

All is not lost, however. The continuing fight for affordable healthcare is far from over. Democrats will not relent, and if the Republicans allow the ACA to expire without an affordable option, people on both sides will revolt. Their inability to afford heath insurance will turn a vast number of voters against the Republican brand. How could any informed citizen vote against his or her own best interest? The Republican Party will suffer as a result and lose elections.

While the American public is moderate in general, they cannot remain that way when their opposition continually undermines their well-being.

Tearing down the East Wing of the White House at this particular time underscores Trump’s authoritarian resolve. Whether the timing has anything to do with Trump’s anger over the government shut down and the “No Kings Day” protests is open to speculation.

What is certain however, is that Trump’s intent in defacing an American symbol of power and prestige is to express his domination over the laws and the people of this nation.

His usurpation of our government and our lives must not go unchallenged. We must resist him! Give him nothing! Give his Congress nothing! Oppose his agenda to build the ballroom.

Stand tough on the government shut down despite the pain inflicted on the most vulnerable. Trump’s malfeasance will not stop with them. We are all in danger if his plans succeed. The agenda of Trump and his enablers in congress is to siphon life-supporting benefits intended for the poor and middle-class into the coffers of the rich. In this time of increasing menace, we cannot afford to be weak. If we choose to wait, we give the regime even more time for mayhem. We must stand united against this moral corruption. To everyone who believes in democracy, stand tough! Don’t give in! Don’t give an inch!

Musk’s gutting of federal institutions infuriated the public, and his Tesla company suffered massive financial losses as a result. The assault on freedom of speech by Disney and ABC, were also met with harsh public sentiment and financial loss.

It took Musk’s retreat from DOGE to stop the bleeding of his company.

It took Kimmel’s rehiring to stop the heavy financial losses sustained by Disney.

It is clear that consumer power was at work. With Tesla, auto sales and stock prices dropped steeply until Musk left government and went back to running Tesla. With Disney, many customers canceled their subscriptions and/or sold their stocks. The pain of lost revenue is what changed the minds of the corporate heads. The loss for Disney was between 3.8 and 5 billion dollars in one week. Imagine what a year’s boycott might have done.

The public was not unjust to Disney. It knew that Kimmel was fired on ridiculous grounds. His comedic comments did not in the least denigrate Charlie Kirk, but rather attacked the MAGAs and Trump. Kimmel’s firing took place primarily because Trump had wanted Kimmel gone for some time, and Kimmel’s mentioning of Charlie Kirk right after his assassination created a perfect focus of attack. The Republicans supported the lie that Kimmel had offended Kirk’s memory. ABC-Disney capitulated to MAGA pressure, and Kimmel was on the chopping block.

While the public has little control to stop Trump’s hollowing out of the federal government, I would argue that it has in its consumerism the ability to bring great pressure, even damage, to a business entity. Businesses are vulnerable to consumer fury. We are all consumers, and without our spending, business does not survive, and the oligarchs cannot amass more wealth.

Boycotts have been an effective means of protest and of power all our lives. Even going back to colonial times, they have been used to fight unjust and tyrannical practices. We’ve seen an escalation of those tyrannical practices over the past nine months and will see a lot more if we take a “wait and see attitude” and do not respond to injustice whenever we can.

In fighting “Trumpism” and tyranny, I suggest boycotting any business or entity which is involved with him, influenced by him or caves to his will. I suggest a complete boycott of any products or services of that company or corporation. This punishment by the consumer will cause a lot of pain for those business owners who somehow support Trump and his corrupt regime. If tyranny and money are all they understand, let’s deprive them of money. Even if we cannot change who they are, we can change their behavior.

If boycotting is not enough, it may be necessary to escalate to a general strike and cripple targeted industries. With solidarity, consumers can have a say in shaping the world into a more fair place.

Proposition 50 is California’s response to Texas, which is gerrymandering their state by redrawing the voter map so Republican districts will win the majority in the next election. Republicans will stop at nothing to win, even trying to block the legitimate voting rights of American citizens. They must not be rewarded for such antics.

Voting yes on California’s Prop 50 will allow our state to redraw our voter map in favor of California’s Democratic majority. It will add five districts and in turn possibly add five Democratic Representatives to Congress.

While I find the whole business of voter manipulation and gerrymandering distasteful, I will be voting yes to counteract the Republican-led assault on fair elections.

The heart of democracy is not only the will of the majority, but the carrying out of that will in its governance. The vote is the voice of those expressing their right to be counted in making the decisions which affect us all. Without that vote, a small minority could rule the vast majority. The rich and powerful oligarchs have always sought to rule this country. They are now joined by Republicans and the Republican Party, MAGAs and other right wing entities such as Project 2025. Yet there are so many Republicans as there are Democrats who are poor or middle class and will be injured by the present regime’s cuts to health care, medicare, social security and other social programs. It is difficult to conceive how any struggling person could support laws which go against their own best interests. Unfortunately, the long-term Republican campaign of propaganda and misinformation has done its damage in duping its own constituents.

While our vote does not ensure we will win our battle for fair governance, it is certainly a necessary expression of our will, even as a minority. As citizens of this country, we have obligations to give, not just take. An informed voter who understands what he or she is voting for is essential in shaping the world into a better place.

I urge you to educate yourself about this issue and join the “Vote Yes on Prop 50.”

Don’t give up the fight! We’re with you. Preserve health care for us and the nation.

Thank you.

Haik Hakobian

***Note: In my earlier post of the same subject, I made an embarrassing blunder calling Democratic Senators, Democrat Senators. My cousin just informed me of my error. Thank you Kay.

Thank you.

Haik Hakobian