I think Trump will be president for life, and he's unlikely to die before 2028. He will be hindered only by his own incompetence.

Boooooooooooooo. No feather for your cap.

The global financial crisis and COVID both hit hardest during election years, and the delayed impact redounded to hurt the Democrats elected in their wakes.

This administration by contrast has so much runway for their actions to reach the point that everyone is boiling.

No idea how much the paroxysms of dictatorial action will reach fruition by 2028, though.

I am pissed about DC and have friends there. Do most people really know? I'd like to protest but it does not seem to influence Democrats or elected Republicans.

Like, if they violate the law and send the military in to Chicago or Boston, it seems to me that the law is powerless. The only thing that stops and army like that is another army. I am most definitely not advocating violence, to be clear.

But also, heebie, what are you doing to express anger other than commenting on blogs? The question is not a criticism. I've only gone to a couple of marches, I ask because there might angry people fuming at home.

There was a green card holder detained b6 ICE for 10 days in MA who was just released. A local state Senator said something, but I hear nothing from the governor.

I've gone on a couple marches, and I run a local politics blog that's fairly influential (and unfortunately extremely time-consuming).

5: So, you do a little more than I do.

The elderly hippies are protesting ICE. I haven't been because it's during the workday.

I anticipate lots of prevaricating, not just here but among everyone left of Fox News and right of France, about what "free and fair elections" means.

I'd be very surprised if Trump is on the ballot in 2028. I wouldn't be surprised if Vance or whoever the Republican nominee is makes it a central part of their let's be realistic here, his platform to nominate Trump as an 11th Supreme Court justice, Secretary of Defense, or some made-up man-behind-the-curtain sort of thing. I wouldn't even be too surprised if they lose the presidency in 2028. Trump is Caligula-esque and there are still some democratic institutions and levers of power they don't control, some states they can't gerrymander as effectively as Texas. They can afford to lose the presidency if they have a lock on both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and 35 Governorships. (According to wikipedia, they currently have 27 governors and 28 state houses. Better for sanity than I thought. It could be worse!)

I can imagine a return to an actual healthy democracy, but the road back is longer and less likely as the weeks go by. I can also imagine a lot of better and worse non-democratic status quos. The average citizen of Singapore, Russia, China, and North Korea each has very different problems.

But also... what are you doing to express anger other than commenting on blogs?

I've gone to a few protests myself. Living in DC, most of the focus seems to be on trying to direct attention on abuses by ICE and the NG. Parents' groups are talking about legal guidance for undocumented and maybe-just-too-brown students and their families, parents keeping watch at school, maybe getting in the way of the jackbooted thugs or maybe just trying to film bad stuff before/as it happens, maybe watching over approaches to school to make it harder for them to grab kids and families en route. Back in May, when there was definite ICE activity in DC, I spent several hours working remotely from a folding table outside my kid's school in shifts with other parents. But it's hard to imagine what that would look like now, at my kid's new school.

8: I think DC folks are doing a lot. I also think it's incumbent upon those of us outside of DC to advocate on your behalf since you don't have representation.

I'm also kind of hopeful about this guy running to unseat Susan Collins in Maine - Graham Platner.

The occupations plus the attempt to fire the Fed Board member (and even somewhat the stake in Intel) has moved us to a new level in the descent. I think the Fed thing will be a bit of the gut check for the business/financial types (the Intel thing should be as well IMO) but I think they are in too deep now.

Wheee!

And I'm sure every Supreme Court Justice is having some thoughts right now. Very different ones.

Alito: "Break out the flag, Martha-Ann, we're going all the way!"
Clarence Thomas: "Yee ha! Long Dong Silver rides!"
Kavanaugh: "Hm... not so sure about this..." 10 beers later "Yee ha! Bart O'Kavanaugh rides!""
Gorsuch: "Hmmm...."
Roberts: " Ah, yeah, gee, gosh, not really what I had in mind, but gosh, gee willikers what are we ever to do?"
Amy Coney Barret: " Regrettable."
Women not named Amy Coney Barret: " Fuuuuuucccck...."