I’ve been a bit busy to keep up day by day, dealing with a rather impressive volume of bureaucratic paperwork. As such, I didn’t have much time to deal with any of this moment to moment over the last week. So you get a round-up of what’s been happening instead!
First off, Trump signed the Executive Order known as “Preserving and Protecting American Elections“. This EO essentially attempts to usurp the role of individual states in how elections are administered and run, moving everything under review of the federal government – namely the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, and DOGE.
Obviously, there is no reason for DOGE to be involved in elections for any legitimate reason. What’s more, the Executive Branch cannot set election law under any circumstances, and this is a transparent power grab by the president. Lest we forget, Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution:
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.”
This EO relies on two things to enforce its’ bullshit: the willing compliance of States, and the threat of federal funding being withheld. We’ll see how callow individual states are soon, I suppose.
Trump also told automakers in the United States not to increase prices due to his tariffs. I don’t know how he expects that to go; no corporation is gonna eat a massive loss on every item sold just because they want to appease his ego – at least not for long. If they can’t make money selling cars, it won’t matter if he’s mad at them or not. Obviously, this signals he knows his tariffs are shit that will hurt consumers in the United States, but we already knew he didn’t give a shit about them.
Still, seeing it in the open is good, just so there’s some kind of public acknowledgement of this rank insanity.
There was also a Trump EO that basically orders the Smithsonian and other federal museums/monuments to enforce white supremacist history, re-erect confederate monuments, strip anything uncomfortable (i.e. accurate) from their displays, and re-write the history of the USA to be pro white people. Among the more offensive things in the EO is the demand that race be identified as a quantifiable, genetic reality, rather than something socially constructed and understood. Note: this isn’t ‘some people have dark skin’ type of race, but the notion that there are identifiable, distinct ‘races’ of human beings.
The EO also risks shutting down any museum dedicated to non-white history, under the guise of ‘protecting’ us from “racially divisive exhibits.”
JD Vance addressed Greenland while there with his wife, saying both that Greenland hadn’t been treated very well by Denmark and that only the United States will respect their rights. Funny way to show it, by simultaneously threatening them by (essentially) saying “The United States will get Greenland no matter what.” That’ll be a shitshow of epic proportions if it happens. I’m not wasting any more time on JD Vance, though.
ICE is disappearing students around the United States for political speech. We’re up to 8 at least now, and in each case these students were targeted for things like writing Op-Eds in their student newspaper, engaging in protest or other protected speech, or generally saying stuff the Trump administration doesn’t agree with. They’re being taken while on the streets by ICE agents who are usually out of uniform, masked, and who only identify themselves as ‘police’ – which, I should note, is fucking terrifying.
ICE is trying to deny all of these students their day in court before an immigration judge, and Rubio is trying to deport them without due process, all because they said some uncomfortable truths about the United States and Israel.
Elon Musk is in hot water with Wisconsin after deciding to hand out several million dollars to select voters, in return for them voting. While federal law prohibits payment in exchange for voting for a particular candidate, Musk isn’t doing that. It’s Wisconsin state law he’s run afoul of.
In Wisconsin, paying for voter turnout is explicitly against state law, and it seems Wisconsin isn’t having any of his shit. He deleted his tweet advertising this, but many people captured it before it vanished. I doubt anything will happen legally, but I sure hope Wisconsin tries. We don’t need any centibillionaires messing around with out already broken political system.
I suppose we shall see what horrors next week brings. Stay safe out there.