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This weekend was the third No Kings protest, and it was the biggest one yet. There were millions of heroes across the country this weekend. But we’ll get to that in a minute. First, let’s take a look at the jerks of the past week…
Like his boss, Donald Trump, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth might soon be a mainstay on our “Jerk of the Week” list, as he again finds himself atop our weekly roundup. This week, Hegseth intervened to stop the promotions of four Army officers, two Black and two female soldiers, on track to become one-star generals. It’s a highly unusual move for a sitting Defense secretary to make, but given that Hegseth previously wrote books calling the military “woke” and suggesting that diversity had weakened the force, it’s hardly surprising.
Perhaps even less surprising is that deploying ICE agents to airports hasn’t “shortened long lines” like White House Border Czar Tom Homan claimed it would. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Homan maintained that ICE agents would help “support security officials whose ranks have thinned…amid a partial government shutdown.” However, federal data and union officials say having ICE in airports has done “nothing” to ease security lines, forcing travelers to arrive hours early just to make their flights on time. Who would’ve thought?
If you feel like you can’t escape Trump, well, get ready for even more Trump—this time on your money, thanks to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent. That’s right, Trump’s signature will be added to U.S. bills to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, with Bessent calling the move “not only appropriate, but also well deserved.” He also hailed Trump as “the architect of America’s Golden Age economic revival.” What fucking planet is this guy living on?
Former FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller died on March 20 at the age of 81, to which Trump responded by saying he was “glad he’s dead” because he “can no longer hurt innocent people.” Democrats, and even a few Republicans, fiercely condemned Trump’s comments, but jerks like far-right activist Laura Loomer and ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone celebrated Mueller’s death as well. Personally, I’d much rather align myself with someone like Mueller, who bravely enlisted in the Marines and earned a Purple Heart, rather than a draft dodger like Trump. But maybe that’s just me.
Our final Jerk of the Week is the White House Social Media Team, which posted a bunch of weird stuff this week. First, in a clip filmed with a camera pointed at someone’s feet, a female voice asks: “It’s launching soon, right?” A male voice is heard answering “yes,” and the on-screen text reads: “sound on.” A second video showed a black, staticky screen with a phone notification sound playing. An American flag was briefly visible in one frame. A third cryptic video begins with a black screen before a sketch of the White House appears with the words “President Donald J. Trump” underneath. An indecipherable voice can be heard, which some social media users have claimed says “exciting announcement tomorrow” when played backwards. This is just stupid, and it’s no way for an official government account to act. But it’s Trump, so, again, no shocker here.
Of course, the biggest jerk of the week, month, year, and decade is always Donald Trump himself, but there’s only so much space here to write about all the horrible things he does in a single day, much less a week. Fuck Trump.
Now scroll down for our Heroes of the Week!
This Past Week
My Substack Lives are open to all subscribers, unless noted. Click below if you missed any of my conversations from the past week!
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Amid the daily onslaught of infuriating news, we have to acknowledge the heroes among us. The list continues to grow, as more and more of us stand up to the tyrant and his fascist regime. Courage is infectious. Be brave!
NO KINGS MARCHERS. Millions of patriots across the nation flooded the streets this Saturday to take a stand against the Trump Administration. From New York to Nashville to L.A., over 8 million people took part in marches calling for an end to this administration’s terrorization of our communities, war mongering, and disregard of our rights. We made our voices heard, and the message was loud and clear: America will never have a king.
VOTERS IN FLORIDA’S STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 87. This week, voters in the district that includes Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago decided it was time for a change. They voted to flip their state House seat from red to blue, choosing Democrat Emily Gregory over Trump-endorsed Republican Jon Maples. Gregory says she knew her community was ready for a change: “I knew we deserved better. We deserve a leader who will fight for us.” And she was 100% right.
TEXAS LAWMAKERS HELPING ICE VICTIMS. After an entire family was arrested as their immigration cases were processed, leaders in Texas worked across the aisle to get them safely home. Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz and Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro responded to the family and their supporters’ pleas for help by visiting them in detention and communicated with DHS and immigration authorities until they were released this Monday. These lawmakers put aside partisan differences to do what’s right. It’s an example we need others to follow.
FIGHTERS EVERYWHERE. Brave fighters across the nation are resisting the Trump Administration’s overreach. The state of Minnesota is suing for information related to the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good and the nonfatal shooting of another resident, which they say federal authorities have unjustly withheld. The administration is also facing a lawsuit from a group of preservation and architectural groups who want to stop the renovation of the Kennedy Center, which they say violates “the public’s right to be meaningfully informed and heard before irrevocable actions are taken” and would cause “irreparable harm” to the space. They’re fighting for the accountability America deserves.
OLIVIA RODRIGO. Also standing up is singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, who once again spoke out against ICE in a recent interview with Vogue. She reflected on the DHS’ use of music in a video threatening migrants last November, calling it “awful” and “dystopian”. She also called them out for their aggressive tactics, saying that “the way that ICE is ripping apart communities and terrorizing people is so disturbing”. Right on, Olivia.
HONORABLE MENTION: This Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul was the lone Republican to vote “yes” on a resolution to prevent Trump from striking Iran without congressional approval. It’s the second time Paul has crossed party lines on a War Powers resolution related to Iran, despite criticism and threats from Trump. “Only Congress can declare war,” he said after the first resolution failed, “History will not be kind to a Congress that gave away its most solemn responsibility.” And he’s right.
Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way!
Good Reads for This Week
Is the Character of Our Nation in Doubt? —Defiance.news
Why Is The FBI Buying Your Location Data? —The Lever
From Trump, a Noxious Equivalence —The Next Move
The Grifter’s War —America, America
One Crazy Day That Defined the Decline and Fall of the American Empire —The Philadelphia Inquirer
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