[Reminder: I will hold my regular Saturday morning live stream on the Substack App at 9 am PDT / 12 pm EDT, on August 9, 2025. Open to all on the Substack app on your phone or tablet.]
We are in the thick of the fight over the 2026 midterm elections—and electioneering has not yet begun! Democrats in Texas and beyond continue to demonstrate a strong fighting spirit that recognizes the urgency of our present circumstances. Many Democrats are gratified by the change in tone and tactics coming from their elected leaders.
Still, I acknowledge that these are tough times for anxious Americans. For every article extolling the new backbone among Democratic leaders, there is another article predicting the end of democracy. I was sorely disappointed on Thursday when one of my favorite political commentators (who shall remain nameless) published an op-ed claiming that the 2026 midterms have already been canceled.
The commentator argues that the mid-decade redistricting fight that Trump started in Texas is the effective end of democracy because of reciprocal redistricting in blue states, which will then provoke additional redistricting in red states, ad nauseam. The result, he reasons, is a congressional map drawn by AI to entrench political power.
I disagree with the commentator, as did many of his readers. They, like me, criticized the commentator for pronouncing the death of democracy before a single vote has been cast in the 2026 midterms. The obvious downside of such doomsaying is that it demotivates people. If you tell people often enough that their votes don’t matter, they will believe you.
Sadly, doomsday op-eds generate reader interest, even if that interest consists mainly of outrage. The commentator’s post did not permit comments, but if it did, I would remind the commentator that he is not a disinterested player in the battle to preserve democracy. If it fails, as he seems to predict, then his First Amendment right to express political opinions (his livelihood) will disappear. The commentator has a stake in the outcome of the battle. He should act like it. Predicting defeat by reciting obstacles without urging resistance is defeatism at its worst.
I am not criticizing anyone for raising the alarm about Trump’s tactics. I certainly do my share of “alarm raising” in every newsletter. And I understand that predicting doom can be intellectually satisfying (for some) and an emotional catharsis for others. But in every battle, morale matters.
While we must be unstinting in our acknowledgment of reality, we must recognize that a fundamental truth about reality is that we can shape the future—but only if we try. If we convince others that giving up is the easy or rational thing to do, we are helping to create a future in which the likely outcome is defeat.
I am not giving up. I believe we can shape the future–so long as we make the effort. I believe most of you feel that way. One of the most important things you can do in this critical moment is to manifest courage and hope, even in the face of daunting challenges. In doing so, you will inspire and lift up others. That is how our ancestors delivered us safely to this moment, and that is how we will deliver democracy safely into the hands of future generations.
Treasury Secretary admits that tariffs are paid by American companies and are passed on to consumers
Despite his bellicose claims to the contrary, Donald Trump cannot impose tariffs on “foreign countries.” On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted during an MSNBC interview that tariffs are paid by US companies importing goods from foreign producers. Moreover, Secretary Bessent acknowledged that those US companies then pass the cost of the tariffs onto consumers. See Rolling Stone, Treasury Secretary Admits Trump’s Tariffs Are Paid by Americans.
In a shocking display of ignorance (or capitulation to Trump), a CBS news anchor and economics commentator discussed the reciprocal tariffs as if they are paid by foreign countries, rather than US companies that import goods from foreign countries. See CBS News, Breaking down the Trump tariffs economic goals.
Moreover, the CBS anchor and commentator failed to mention that the tariffs are illegal and unconstitutional. Finally, they touted the revenue raised by tariffs while failing to mention that the “revenue” is paid by US consumers in the form of higher retail prices.
Trump was undoubtedly proud that the CBS anchor and economic commentator delivered the administration’s talking points exactly as outlined by Peter Navarro.
Trump raises the possibility of a “new” census that excludes non-citizens
During his first term, Trump attempted to exclude non-US citizens from the 2020 census, a move that would have violated the 14th Amendment’s requirement that the census count “the whole number of persons in each State.” The Supreme Court dismissed as premature a case challenging Trump’s effort to rig the 2020 census. President Biden then reversed Trump’s executive order, and the 2020 census proceeded as required by the US Constitution.
Trump is making a second effort to exclude non-US citizens from the census by proposing a “new” census that will ignore the constitutional mandate requiring the count “of all persons in each state.” Trump will then attempt to use the fake census as a basis for redistricting before the 2030 census—a transparent effort to preserve minority control by Republicans in Congress. See Politico, Trump says he’s ordering new census
Per Politico,
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was ordering a “new and highly accurate CENSUS,” saying it will be based on the “information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.”
“People who are in our country illegally will NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” he wrote in the Truth Social post announcing the move.
If non-citizens were excluded from the census, states with large immigrant populations like California, New York, and Texas would likely lose congressional seats, which would be picked up by smaller states with no immigrant population.
It is true that the 2020 census was flawed—but in the opposite way claimed by Trump. Per Politico,
The Census Bureau acknowledged in a 2022 report that Black people, Hispanics and Native Americans were likely undercounted, while white and Asian people were overcounted. While some degree of under- or overcount happens every census, the pandemic likely exacerbated the challenge.
Trump’s proposal is unconstitutional on many levels. See AP News, Q&A: Can Trump hold a mid-decade census?.
Any changes in conducting a U.S. census would require alterations to the Census Act and approval from Congress, which has oversight responsibilities, and there likely would be a fierce fight.
The federal law governing the census permits a mid-decade head count for things like distributing federal funding, but it can’t be used for apportionment or redistricting and must be done in a year ending in 5. Additionally, the 14th Amendment says that “the whole number of persons in each state” are to be counted for the numbers used for apportionment, and the Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody residing in the United States regardless of legal status. Federal courts have repeatedly supported that interpretation, though the Supreme Court has blocked recent efforts to change that on procedural rather than legal grounds.
“He cannot unilaterally order a new census. The census is governed by law, not to mention the Constitution,” said Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional staffer who consults on census issues.
The fact that Trump is discussing a mid-decade census that changes the rules in a way that would be favorable for Republican states acknowledges that the Republican Party sees its unfair grasp of minority control slipping away.
So, while we should be outraged and on full alert to resist Trump’s “new census” efforts, we should take confidence from the fact that Republicans understand that they do not have the support of most Americans, and that their days are numbered. Our hard work can hasten the day when Republican minority control will be broken—forever.
Turmoil at the FBI
The FBI is being stress tested as never before. It is unclear whether the agency will survive or recover from Trump’s efforts to transform it into a private police force.
On Thursday, Trump and other Republicans stated that the FBI would assist in the efforts to locate and arrest Texas Democrats who have fled the state to break the legislative quorum.
Using the FBI as a political police force is antithetical to its mission and beyond its jurisdiction. See Center for American Progress, There Is No Legal Basis for the FBI To Arrest Quorum-Breaking Texas Legislators.
Per CAP,
It does not appear that the FBI has any credible legal basis to be involved in Texas’ efforts to retrieve these lawmakers. Indeed, it is not a crime in Texas for legislators to leave the state to break quorum. The only penalty they could ostensibly face is a $500-per-day fine imposed by rules of the Texas House passed in 2021.
Although federal law authorizes the FBI to investigate government officials, that authority is limited to “violations of Federal criminal law involving Government officers.” See 28 U.S.C. § 535.
Any agent who participates in an effort to interfere in state politics will be violating their oath to defend the Constitution and the mission statement of the FBI, which is “To protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States.”
In a matter that may be related, the FBI fired a high-profile agent on Thursday who was seen as an internal champion of FBI independence from political interference. See The Hill, Trump fires Brian Driscoll, ex-FBI director seen as champion of rank-and-file.
Per The Hill,
Driscoll has been viewed as a champion of the bureau’s rank-and-file staff. He declined to turn over a list of the thousands of FBI agents who worked on investigations into those that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. [¶]
Driscoll, in a final note to staff shared on LinkedIn by a former FBI staffer, said he was not given a reason for his removal.
“Last night I was informed that tomorrow will be my last day in the FBI. I understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding why, for which I currently have no answers. No cause has been articulated at this time,” he wrote. [¶]
Driscoll’s removal appears to be part of a wider purge.
Other outlets reported Thursday that Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office, was asked to leave, as was Walter Giardina, an agent who worked on a number of cases involving President Trump.
The firings on Thursday are part of an ongoing effort by Trump to rid the FBI of agents who helped investigate Trump and January 6 insurrectionists.
It is a moment of truth for the agents of the FBI. Trump is attempting to refashion the agency into a political police force. Whether agents will cooperate in that effort remains to be seen. If the firings on Thursday are any indication, at least some agents are refusing to bow to political pressure.
The real losers in the effort to compromise the independence of the FBI are the American people, who will be less safe because the FBI will be diverted from its primary mission of protecting the American people and the US Constitution.
Revision to past reports on climate
Just as Trump is attempting to deny the reality of the GOP’s inevitable demise, he is also attempting to deny the reality of decades of climate research documenting the threat from human-caused climate change. He has ordered Energy Secretary Chris Wright to revise and erase climate research reports prepared under prior administrations. See The Guardian, Scientists decry Trump energy chief’s plan to ‘update’ climate reports: ‘Exactly what Stalin did’.
Per The Guardian,
Wright, a former oil and gas executive, told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins earlier this week that the administration was reviewing national climate assessment reports published by past governments.
Produced by scientists and peer-reviewed, there have been five national climate assessment (NCA) reports since 2000 and they are considered the gold standard report of global heating and its impacts on human health, agriculture, water supplies and air pollution.
“We’re reviewing them, and we will come out with updated reports on those and with comments on those reports,” said Wright, who is one of the main supporters of the administration’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda to boost fossil fuels, which are the primary cause of the climate crisis.
Of course, retroactively changing past conclusions will not remove those scientific reports from circulation or from the knowledge base of the science community. The effort to produce a whitewashed report will fool no one in the scientific community or in the American electorate who is concerned about climate. The revised reports will be performative wish-casting by MAGA extremists and oil company executives who cannot dispute the consensus that human activity is contributing to climate change.
For readers participating in pro-democracy rallies, consider including posters and banners highlighting the environmental damage inflicted by Trump. This is an issue of particular importance to America’s young people, who will live with the consequences of Trump’s awful policies for decades to come.
Concluding Thoughts
For obvious reasons, the public’s approval rating of the Supreme Court has dipped to its lowest point ever. See Vox, The Supreme Court’s public approval rating is at its lowest point ever.
We should take no pleasure in the fact that a once highly regarded institution is now held in disregard by most Americans. But the fact that the Court’s approval ratings have dropped dramatically among Democrats and Independents suggests that Americans are paying attention to the Court’s increasingly partisan and unlawful opinions. That is a good fact because knowledge is the prerequisite to action.
Many of the efforts to rebuild democracy after we defeat MAGA will involve rehabilitating and restructuring the Court. We failed to act on the last opportunity because many “institutionalists” claimed that reforming the Court would “undermine its legitimacy.”
The widespread disapproval of the Court shows that it is too late to protect its “legitimacy.” The justices themselves have squandered the goodwill developed over nearly two-and-a-half centuries. We cannot allow false concerns over “legitimacy” to delay our efforts to protect the Constitution. We must dilute the toxic brew that infuses nearly opinion that emanates from the Roberts’ Court by increasing its size to overwhelm the reactionary majority.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27) is a “planetary nebula” that is 3,160 light years from Earth and 3 light-years in diameter. The nebula is lit by a central star that has ejected its outer layers, forming the “planetary” nebulosity that surrounds the star.
From Today’s Edition Newsletter via this RSS feed
You must log in or # to comment.