I really appreciate these items as they are concise, precise and always extremely on point! Thank you!
The point about the Senate filibuster is whole lot more important right now than another 200 posts in my feed with pretty much the same take on Charlie Kirk. I am just a civilian, but common sense tells me to shut it down anyway. Here is why. If we stay and vote under the filibuster rule, Republicans get to maintain the veneer of democracy, when it is really not democracy because they don't negotiate, they dictate. They don't keep their promises, they cave when Trump threatens them. What is it to say they won't still get all their votes to do all those bad things anyway?
When we shut down the government and take a stand against the brute force Republicans use, when we call out the fact they have no intentions of engaging in good-faith democratic processes, we start to arouse the population against them. As the first word of Texas' Democrats was when they emerged in Chicago after breaking quorum, "We will not be complicit".
The fact is Republicans have already destroyed regular order. Now, I say we make them own it. Start an organized campaign to take back Congress right now. Incrementalism doesn't work because Schumer is incapable of rallying the public for it. Congress has ceded far too much power to the other branches over the course of these last decades. Now it reaps the whirlwind because Republicans have turned Congress into Trump's quisling validators.
Of course, I'm not the one making these life-altering decisions. I am from Texas, so I am pretty bellicose. And, I am right sick of Texas Republicans not just taking away our liberties, just because they can and then demanding we thank them for it. I am furious that a little old lady like me is demonized merely for exercising my right to the political opinion of being a Democrat. But that is the Republican rallying cry right now - to eradicate Democrats from the face of the earth. So that's where I'm coming from. And I am pretty sure there is a real hunger out in the country for Congress to take a stand against tyranny the way Texas Democrats did.
Olivia, your thoughtful Saturday posts always give me hope someone w/a brain is paying attention! Kash Patel really showed us what an incompetent he is this week. Instead of the FBI heads of yore (corrupt J Edgar Hoover being the exception), we had a mouse of man speaking from a podium who had nothing to add. No gravitas. This moment in our great political divide calls for someone who can lead the FBI w/o partisanship. Truly sad he is singularly focused on revenge as are all the other Trump picks.
Thank you Olivia ; Yes move the UN meeting to Geneva. Trump may control all folks and issues in the USA but that is not going to work for the world. Bolsonaro received exactly what Mr. Trump should of received. Mr. Garland was just not fast on the trigger. The drone strikes on Poland has caused me some concern. Just when one needs a seasoned statesman , one is not available. I understand Mr. Trump is not too happy, . Maybe a sanction or two and a new ballroom. Love those Saturday posts.
Also, we need more resources applied to stop remote terrorism. We should change our technology and processes so that it is much harder to make an anonymous threat, and then apply the law to stop people who make them.
In a few days, "Speak Up for Justice" will be having their next Zoom call. You can go to their website (https://speakupforjustice.law/) to register. There are well over 400 credible threats to federal judges and their families. This should totally stop.
One of the key ways to stop fascism is to make the fascists face real legal action. Breaking the law is the enabling factor in a fascist take over. But how do you bring them to justice if they've intimidated the judges?
It's time to really crack down on the violence, and in doing that, crack down on the threats of violence.
Kash Patel and what's happening to the FBI are eerily similar to what happened in the George W. Bush administration before 9/11. They disregarded real threats (like "bin Laden determined to attack U.S." kinds of threats) to focus on getting tax cuts for the rich.
What they are doing to the FBI and all our intelligence services today is even worse. They only got a domestic terrorist this week. But what they are inviting is far worse than the 9/11 attacks.
People need to push back and demand they re-hire the people in the intelligence and justice communities that they got rid of. And they need to return to the rule of law.
We are looking at disasters because the Trump regime isn't looking for threats and isn't staffed up for threats. You saw what happened after the flash floods in Texas. Pathetic. You saw their response to the massive tornadoes this spring. Pathetic.
They need to think in terms of what the country needs, not what Criminal Trump needs.
After listening to Marren Morris’ Better Than We Found It, I can understand why you were moved to tears. A beautiful song. Thank you for featuring that this morning.
Olivia, I am very happy to be on the same side as you! Great songs. I am so proud of all the substack and podcast people that are showing their bravery in resisting this takeover. If only we could have been like Brazil..
We stand at a precipice. The very foundation of our democracy, the principles that define us as a nation – freedom, justice, and the power of the people – are under siege. A regime has taken root that seeks to dismantle these ideals, to centralize power, and to silence the voices of ordinary Americans.
This is not a drill. This is not a partisan debate. This is a battle for the soul of our nation, and we, the American people, are the last line of defense.
To reclaim our democracy, we must face an uncomfortable truth: we must halt the engine that fuels this regime. We must, together, choose to disrupt the very systems it relies upon. This means a collective act of non-cooperation. It means temporarily stopping the flow of productivity that empowers those who seek to undermine us. It means, for a time, accepting financial pain.
I understand the gravity of these words. I know the fear and uncertainty that such a prospect evokes. Families will struggle. Businesses will face hardship. But I ask you: what is the cost of losing our democracy? What is the price of living under a system where our rights are eroded, our voices are silenced, and our future is dictated by a few? That cost, my friends, is far greater and far more enduring than any temporary economic pain we might endure.
Think of those who came before us – who risked everything, who shed blood and treasure, to establish and preserve this nation. They endured famine, war, and unimaginable sacrifice for the promise of a free society. Are we, in this generation, less capable of defending that legacy?
This is not about surrender. This is about strategic withdrawal of our energy and resources from a system that has become weaponized against us. By stopping our collective productivity, we starve the regime of its power. We deny it the resources it needs to perpetuate its control. We create an undeniable crisis that forces a reckoning.
This will be painful. There is no sugarcoating it. But we are a resilient people. We are ingenious. We will organize. We will support each other through community, through shared resources, and through the unbreakable bonds of our common purpose. We must prepare for this pain, knowing that it is the necessary path to a greater good.
The choice before us is stark: a brief, intense period of shared hardship for the promise of a free future, or a slow, agonizing slide into authoritarianism with consequences that will echo for generations.
Let us rise to this challenge. Let us stand together, united in our resolve. Let us choose freedom, no matter the cost. Our democracy, our future, depends on it.
A veterinary clinic near us (Nixa MO) has had threatening calls because it has a dominating name to an organization in OK that MAGA has suddenly taken a dislike to. Police are investigating.
This was a wonderful Saturday Morning Covfefe! The music was a nice touch as well. I've been a Dem my whole life and never swayed, but I realize there a bunch of people that are now realizing that maybe some of the things they believed to be true may not be. But you have to plow through it. Most of the current administration cabinet are truly "unqualified" for their positions. Just because they have money in the bank and are loyal doesn't qualify them for the positions they are in and thus things truly just don't work right anymore.
Always love reading your thoughtful “5 things”. It’s interesting because while you come from a different party than me, I see that we still share so many of the same views. I respect your opinions and they help me look at things from all angles. I appreciate you and your voice. Thank you.
I really appreciate these items as they are concise, precise and always extremely on point! Thank you!
The point about the Senate filibuster is whole lot more important right now than another 200 posts in my feed with pretty much the same take on Charlie Kirk. I am just a civilian, but common sense tells me to shut it down anyway. Here is why. If we stay and vote under the filibuster rule, Republicans get to maintain the veneer of democracy, when it is really not democracy because they don't negotiate, they dictate. They don't keep their promises, they cave when Trump threatens them. What is it to say they won't still get all their votes to do all those bad things anyway?
When we shut down the government and take a stand against the brute force Republicans use, when we call out the fact they have no intentions of engaging in good-faith democratic processes, we start to arouse the population against them. As the first word of Texas' Democrats was when they emerged in Chicago after breaking quorum, "We will not be complicit".
The fact is Republicans have already destroyed regular order. Now, I say we make them own it. Start an organized campaign to take back Congress right now. Incrementalism doesn't work because Schumer is incapable of rallying the public for it. Congress has ceded far too much power to the other branches over the course of these last decades. Now it reaps the whirlwind because Republicans have turned Congress into Trump's quisling validators.
Of course, I'm not the one making these life-altering decisions. I am from Texas, so I am pretty bellicose. And, I am right sick of Texas Republicans not just taking away our liberties, just because they can and then demanding we thank them for it. I am furious that a little old lady like me is demonized merely for exercising my right to the political opinion of being a Democrat. But that is the Republican rallying cry right now - to eradicate Democrats from the face of the earth. So that's where I'm coming from. And I am pretty sure there is a real hunger out in the country for Congress to take a stand against tyranny the way Texas Democrats did.
Olivia, your thoughtful Saturday posts always give me hope someone w/a brain is paying attention! Kash Patel really showed us what an incompetent he is this week. Instead of the FBI heads of yore (corrupt J Edgar Hoover being the exception), we had a mouse of man speaking from a podium who had nothing to add. No gravitas. This moment in our great political divide calls for someone who can lead the FBI w/o partisanship. Truly sad he is singularly focused on revenge as are all the other Trump picks.
As always, an excellent read. Thanks!
Right again Olivia. Thank you.
Thank you Olivia ; Yes move the UN meeting to Geneva. Trump may control all folks and issues in the USA but that is not going to work for the world. Bolsonaro received exactly what Mr. Trump should of received. Mr. Garland was just not fast on the trigger. The drone strikes on Poland has caused me some concern. Just when one needs a seasoned statesman , one is not available. I understand Mr. Trump is not too happy, . Maybe a sanction or two and a new ballroom. Love those Saturday posts.
Keep on keeping on!
Also, we need more resources applied to stop remote terrorism. We should change our technology and processes so that it is much harder to make an anonymous threat, and then apply the law to stop people who make them.
In a few days, "Speak Up for Justice" will be having their next Zoom call. You can go to their website (https://speakupforjustice.law/) to register. There are well over 400 credible threats to federal judges and their families. This should totally stop.
One of the key ways to stop fascism is to make the fascists face real legal action. Breaking the law is the enabling factor in a fascist take over. But how do you bring them to justice if they've intimidated the judges?
It's time to really crack down on the violence, and in doing that, crack down on the threats of violence.
Kash Patel and what's happening to the FBI are eerily similar to what happened in the George W. Bush administration before 9/11. They disregarded real threats (like "bin Laden determined to attack U.S." kinds of threats) to focus on getting tax cuts for the rich.
What they are doing to the FBI and all our intelligence services today is even worse. They only got a domestic terrorist this week. But what they are inviting is far worse than the 9/11 attacks.
People need to push back and demand they re-hire the people in the intelligence and justice communities that they got rid of. And they need to return to the rule of law.
We are looking at disasters because the Trump regime isn't looking for threats and isn't staffed up for threats. You saw what happened after the flash floods in Texas. Pathetic. You saw their response to the massive tornadoes this spring. Pathetic.
They need to think in terms of what the country needs, not what Criminal Trump needs.
After listening to Marren Morris’ Better Than We Found It, I can understand why you were moved to tears. A beautiful song. Thank you for featuring that this morning.
Olivia, I am very happy to be on the same side as you! Great songs. I am so proud of all the substack and podcast people that are showing their bravery in resisting this takeover. If only we could have been like Brazil..
https://c.org/n2PF9ctc4n
* The Price of Freedom: A Nation's Stand
My fellow Americans,
We stand at a precipice. The very foundation of our democracy, the principles that define us as a nation – freedom, justice, and the power of the people – are under siege. A regime has taken root that seeks to dismantle these ideals, to centralize power, and to silence the voices of ordinary Americans.
This is not a drill. This is not a partisan debate. This is a battle for the soul of our nation, and we, the American people, are the last line of defense.
To reclaim our democracy, we must face an uncomfortable truth: we must halt the engine that fuels this regime. We must, together, choose to disrupt the very systems it relies upon. This means a collective act of non-cooperation. It means temporarily stopping the flow of productivity that empowers those who seek to undermine us. It means, for a time, accepting financial pain.
I understand the gravity of these words. I know the fear and uncertainty that such a prospect evokes. Families will struggle. Businesses will face hardship. But I ask you: what is the cost of losing our democracy? What is the price of living under a system where our rights are eroded, our voices are silenced, and our future is dictated by a few? That cost, my friends, is far greater and far more enduring than any temporary economic pain we might endure.
Think of those who came before us – who risked everything, who shed blood and treasure, to establish and preserve this nation. They endured famine, war, and unimaginable sacrifice for the promise of a free society. Are we, in this generation, less capable of defending that legacy?
This is not about surrender. This is about strategic withdrawal of our energy and resources from a system that has become weaponized against us. By stopping our collective productivity, we starve the regime of its power. We deny it the resources it needs to perpetuate its control. We create an undeniable crisis that forces a reckoning.
This will be painful. There is no sugarcoating it. But we are a resilient people. We are ingenious. We will organize. We will support each other through community, through shared resources, and through the unbreakable bonds of our common purpose. We must prepare for this pain, knowing that it is the necessary path to a greater good.
The choice before us is stark: a brief, intense period of shared hardship for the promise of a free future, or a slow, agonizing slide into authoritarianism with consequences that will echo for generations.
Let us rise to this challenge. Let us stand together, united in our resolve. Let us choose freedom, no matter the cost. Our democracy, our future, depends on it.
God bless America!
A veterinary clinic near us (Nixa MO) has had threatening calls because it has a dominating name to an organization in OK that MAGA has suddenly taken a dislike to. Police are investigating.
https://www.ky3.com/2025/09/11/police-investigate-direct-threat-nixa-mo-animal-care-hospital/
Olivia, you're a treasure. Thank you! ♥️
This was a wonderful Saturday Morning Covfefe! The music was a nice touch as well. I've been a Dem my whole life and never swayed, but I realize there a bunch of people that are now realizing that maybe some of the things they believed to be true may not be. But you have to plow through it. Most of the current administration cabinet are truly "unqualified" for their positions. Just because they have money in the bank and are loyal doesn't qualify them for the positions they are in and thus things truly just don't work right anymore.
Always love reading your thoughtful “5 things”. It’s interesting because while you come from a different party than me, I see that we still share so many of the same views. I respect your opinions and they help me look at things from all angles. I appreciate you and your voice. Thank you.