I’m still in shock after seeing the Voice of America get gutted with its entire staff placed on administrative leave this morning. The first indication that something was wrong was when one of the shortwave radio discussion groups I participate in via e-mail had messages showing VOA not being on its scheduled frequencies. A reporter from NYT posted the news to Bluesky that VOA had fallen silent for the first time since 1942.
There’s just no sense to any of this. We still haven’t hit the bottom yet, I think.
So lovely to hear from you, Asha. I had already watched you and Renato discuss the fate of the legal profession, so this is an extra bonus. Enjoy your safari!
USA now vs Chile: Then - we should bear in mind the Chilean atrocity occurred at the behest of players in the Nixon Presidency.
Kissinger, CIA director Richard Helm, with the he ilk of younger movers and shakers such as Roger Stone.
Now - Those once upon a time younger movers and shakers, are the withered old goon elders of Donny Two Tone’s Presidency. They have insiders grasp of the horrid Pinochet coup to serve them as a template.
A regard for that history may inform an effective resistance
My means of info now center around folks like you on Substack … my fear they will figure ways to stop you and others here or away to shut down ways for citizens to get info from folks like you
That’s why I canceled my cable and no longer can stomach watching CNN and the daily chaos from the orange turd dismantling our democracy and aligning with putin and other enemies. Thanks Mitch McConnell!!!
Make sure you return, Asha. And your suggestions of the end of the piece are key elements of survival. I had to unplug today from mental overload between ordinary life demands and the news you are blissfully unaware of. (Too bad more Americans don't take the opportunity to travel and see the real world, especially its natural beauty. It seems to many Americans have been programmed by decades of marketing and consumerism, and think "beauty" is a pickup truck or a McMansion in McMinnville.) Stay strong everyone! We are all here to support one another (I hope).
Very good analysis of a situation that is really still in flux. This guy is trying to break our country. And end the First Amendment. He just defunded public libraries. God.
I am now dismayed as we found out yesterday that the Democratic Party will not resist our fall into autocracy. For reasons that are not obvious they decided to be complicit in the collapse of our democracy.
Now when we protest against autocracy we know we will receive no political support from Washington. Can lawyers hold our democracy together? We can and must resist protest against autocracy. I realize that Mr.Trump will eventually arrest me for my free speech but I am old. I fear for my children and grandchildren.
Good luck with the struggle against authoritarian rule I suspect without any political support we will fail but I would refer to fail than to surrender
Thank you for this. Enjoy the rest of your trip! You deserve to be in a bubble for a while!
Love the Shelley quote. What a beautiful one.
I’m still in shock after seeing the Voice of America get gutted with its entire staff placed on administrative leave this morning. The first indication that something was wrong was when one of the shortwave radio discussion groups I participate in via e-mail had messages showing VOA not being on its scheduled frequencies. A reporter from NYT posted the news to Bluesky that VOA had fallen silent for the first time since 1942.
There’s just no sense to any of this. We still haven’t hit the bottom yet, I think.
So lovely to hear from you, Asha. I had already watched you and Renato discuss the fate of the legal profession, so this is an extra bonus. Enjoy your safari!
USA now vs Chile: Then - we should bear in mind the Chilean atrocity occurred at the behest of players in the Nixon Presidency.
Kissinger, CIA director Richard Helm, with the he ilk of younger movers and shakers such as Roger Stone.
Now - Those once upon a time younger movers and shakers, are the withered old goon elders of Donny Two Tone’s Presidency. They have insiders grasp of the horrid Pinochet coup to serve them as a template.
A regard for that history may inform an effective resistance
My means of info now center around folks like you on Substack … my fear they will figure ways to stop you and others here or away to shut down ways for citizens to get info from folks like you
That’s why I canceled my cable and no longer can stomach watching CNN and the daily chaos from the orange turd dismantling our democracy and aligning with putin and other enemies. Thanks Mitch McConnell!!!
Have people started to refer to Trump as a “Strongman”? - I know he would be flattered. I still question how we, as a country, elected this guy.
Make sure you return, Asha. And your suggestions of the end of the piece are key elements of survival. I had to unplug today from mental overload between ordinary life demands and the news you are blissfully unaware of. (Too bad more Americans don't take the opportunity to travel and see the real world, especially its natural beauty. It seems to many Americans have been programmed by decades of marketing and consumerism, and think "beauty" is a pickup truck or a McMansion in McMinnville.) Stay strong everyone! We are all here to support one another (I hope).
The town halls led by dems in repub districts will save this country.
Any pics to share?
Very good analysis of a situation that is really still in flux. This guy is trying to break our country. And end the First Amendment. He just defunded public libraries. God.
Thank you for your thoughtful article.
I am now dismayed as we found out yesterday that the Democratic Party will not resist our fall into autocracy. For reasons that are not obvious they decided to be complicit in the collapse of our democracy.
Now when we protest against autocracy we know we will receive no political support from Washington. Can lawyers hold our democracy together? We can and must resist protest against autocracy. I realize that Mr.Trump will eventually arrest me for my free speech but I am old. I fear for my children and grandchildren.
Good luck with the struggle against authoritarian rule I suspect without any political support we will fail but I would refer to fail than to surrender
We need our law,!!
law, firms and law schools need to figure out a way to protect themselves from this administration.
Lawyers are very capable of figuring out ways to utilize the law . We must get creative.!!
I don’t understand how he legally has this much power over private law firms?
It's a great example, but Gulen died in 2024.
Oh, I didn’t know that! Hope there was no foul play
Apparently not, although that was my first thought at the time. He was 83, being treated for heart and kidney failure, and died in a hospital. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen