I am again beginning the newsletter with Concluding Thoughts, given the strong emotions that readers are feeling following last week’s events.

Concluding Thoughts

It is difficult not to feel exhausted by the events of last week and the hypocritical moralizing that seeks to simultaneously blame and silence those standing for democracy. There is only one path forward during troubled times: Leaning into resistance with greater effort and courage.

We are on the right path, but we cannot expect everyone to maintain peak intensity every day. Do not despair because participation waxes and wanes over time. That is the natural order of the universe.

Our most important task is to persevere and remain steadfast in resistance. The massive crowds will return. When they do, they will look to us to be the way markers, the sentinels who never left their posts, holding the bulwarks of democracy until reinforcements arrive.

We do not know what surprises the future may hold, but we must be prepared to take advantage of unexpected developments when they occur. The only way to ensure that we can convert chaos into opportunity is to never quit!

If you are standing on the same street corner or roadside and feeling down because the crowds of volunteers have decreased, do not despair! Your continued presence is a beacon to others, telling them not to lose hope, that the resistance has not quit, and that we will be waiting for them with open arms and pre-made protest signs when they return!

They see you, they hear you, they are grateful that you are still on the street corner as they care for sick parents or newborn infants, work two jobs, or struggle with health issues.

The sense of deflation that some (not all) are feeling is compounded by the fact that the media has effectively forgotten about the ongoing resistance to Trump’s unlawful agenda. I searched major media sites Sunday evening for reports on pro-democracy protests over the weekend, but was unable to find any links to photos.

I encourage readers to send me photos of their ongoing protest activities. I will print appropriate photos on a daily basis. (Crowd shots are better; creative signs are good; include location and date!)

Although Substack limits the number of pictures that I can post, sharing even a few can lift our collective spirits!

See, for example, two sets of photos I received late Sunday.

The first is a creative message along a road in a small town in Maine that John Roberts visits while on breaks from granting Trump ever more authoritarian power.

(Courtesy of Bonnie P.) The colorful roadway artwork says, “Equal Justice Under Law.” Fabulous, creative, peaceful, and impactful! Good work, Bonnie and friends!

The second set of photos shows the work of a Visibility Brigade on an overpass in New Hampshire. Good job, Susan M. and friends!

For those who need a pep talk, I recommend watching my Substack livestream from last Saturday. It is posted here: Hubbell livestream 9/13. As I note in the livestream, Democrats, independents, and Republicans resisting Trump secured several significant victories last week, victories that were lost in the news of the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Stay strong, my friends! We are in this battle together. We are honoring the sacrifices made by prior generations. They made those sacrifices even though they did not expect to see victory in their lifetimes. Instead, they trusted that we would finish the battle for them.

We have been charged with a sacred trust, and we must not waver in our commitment, despite transitory feelings of exhaustion and worry. We are up to the task. Indeed, the undercurrents have shifted in our favor because of our steadfast efforts.

Another Trump loss in federal district court, and another bailout by the Supreme Court

Trump lost another significant battle in his DOGE onslaught of illegal layoffs. Late last week, U.S District Court Judge William Alsup ruled that the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) exceeded its powers in telling agencies across the federal government to terminate probationary employees. See Federal News Network, Court finds OPM unlawfully directed mass firings, tells agencies to update personnel files

The ruling was bittersweet. Although the court ruled that the employees were illegally terminated from their jobs, Judge Alsup recognized that the intervention in delay imposed by the US Supreme Court made it effectively impossible for the employees to return to their jobs.

As explained in Federal News Network,

Alsup wrote that under normal circumstances, his ruling would invalidate OPM’s mass-firing directive, and would return terminated employees back to their posts, but the Supreme Court ruled in July that the Trump administration has broad authority to reshape and shrink the federal workforce.

”The Supreme Court has made clear enough by way of its emergency docket that it will overrule judicially granted relief respecting hirings and firings within the executive, not just in this case but in others,” he wrote.

In any case, Alsup wrote that reinstatement would unlikely provide much relief, because terminated probationary employees “have moved on with their lives and found new jobs.”

In effect, the Supreme Court rewarded Trump for engaging in unlawful activity by lifting the temporary restraining order originally imposed by Judge Alsup in February to allow the judge to consider the merits of the case. By lifting Judge Alsup’s temporary restraining order, the Supreme Court ensured that the damage became irreversible, and Trump got what he wanted—even though what Trump wanted was unlawful, i.e., the mass firing of probationary employees.

The Supreme Court’s reactionary majority is complicit in Trump’s ongoing violations of the Constitution. The Court must be reformed from the ground up!

The DOJ admits that it lied to a federal judge about the reason for deporting hundreds of Guatemalan children.

Two weeks ago, the Trump administration attempted to deport hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors by sending them to Guatemala.

During an emergency hearing, the Trump administration falsely claimed that the parents of the minors had requested the return of the children to Guatemala. DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign said,

It’s outrageous that the plaintiffs are trying to interfere with these reunifications. All of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return.

The statement by DOJ attorney Drew Ensign was a complete falsehood. The DOJ now admits that NONE of the parents or guardians of the children had requested their return to Guatemala. See Slate, Mark Joseph Stern and Dahlia Lithwick, Trump’s DOJ finally told a lie so brazen it had to take it back.

Drew Ensign, the attorney who made the admittedly and materially false statement to the court, did not show up to admit that the statement was a lie. Instead, the DOJ sent another attorney, who confirmed that Ensing’s statement was false.

In a typical DOJ administration, Ensign would likely apologize to the court and face discipline from the DOJ for his actions. Instead, the Trump administration will likely promote Ensign for being willing to misrepresent the facts to the court.

Opportunity for Reader Engagement

Come be inspired and uplifted by Molly Jong-Fast (MSNBC & Vanity Fair contributor) as she leads a conversation with the founders of two outstanding organizations:

–Jason Berlin, Founder of Field Team 6, the only national organization focused on registering non-voters who are likely to register and vote as Democrats. Their mission: Register Democrats. Save the world. They are accomplishing this goal at the largest scale and for the lowest cost ever, and they have the metrics to prove it.

–Lyzz Schwegler, Co-Founder of Sister District, the only Democratic grassroots organization in the country focused exclusively on state legislatures (where all the voting rights are controlled, among other crucial ways to fight back against the federal government).

You will learn about their work and how they focus on races with the most impact that are competitive and winnable! There will be a specific focus on Virginia, the only state in the country that has statewide elections this November-- the last state in the south without an abortion ban, a state on the cusp of approving a constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality, and a bellwether for the upcoming national midterm elections.

RSVP and donate here! The event is in downtown NYC on September 17th at 6pm; tickets start at $25 and any donation amount helps. If you would like to learn more, click here for info on Field Team 6 and here for Sister District.

Force Multiplier

Force Multiplier invites you to Zoom with three California House Freshmen: Reps. Dave Min (CA 47), Adam Gray (CA 13) and Derek Tran (CA 45) on Tuesday September 16 at 7 pm ET.

Register and Donate HERE. Link will be sent the day of the event. Please register by 6 pm to make sure you get the link in time.

To win the House in 2026 we must defend the most vulnerable incumbents. Gray, Min and Tran all won by less than 3% in 2024 and all three are top targets of the Republicans. This is a chance to learn about their Freshman experience and about the potential effect of redistricting on their races as well as to ask questions.

Register and tell your friends!

Coda

I have already delivered the Concluding Thoughts above. I wrote—and then deleted—a long section on the discourse surrounding the killing of Charlie Kirk. It’s simply too ugly to recount in today’s newsletter. I will address the topic as the week goes on. The gist of the commentary can be found in this HuffPo article, Everyone Is Talking About The Double Standard Between How Trump Responded When Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated Vs. When A Minnesota Lawmaker Was Assassinated.

But amidst the din, Utah Governor Spencer Cox has made an important point about social media: It is designed to amplify hate and division. Social media companies have discovered that dividing America is the most effective way to maximize profits. As Governor Cox said,

Some of the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to outrage — which is the same type of dopamine, the same chemical you get from taking fentanyl — and get us to hate each other.

If you consume the majority of your news from social media, remember that the editorial slant of the stories is designed to alarm you and upset you—even if true. Social media distorts reality by overemphasizing those stories that are likely to cause you to spend more time on social media

So, consider taking a break and a deep breath. America is out there, outside your door, not on your four-inch smartphone screen.

Stay strong, everyone!

Daily Dose of Perspective

The remnant of an exploding star, the Crab Nebula is located about 6,500 light-years from Earth.

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