This short note opens the Comment section for October 5, 2025.
A short note about one development: On Saturday, the State of Oregon and City of Portland obtained a federal court order enjoining the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland. The opinion is here: Oregon v. Trump | Order Granting Temporary Restraining Order. In temporarily staying the deployment, United States District Judge Karin J. Immergut wrote, in part:
This case involves the intersection of three of the most fundamental principles in our constitutional democracy.
The first concerns the relationship between the federal government and the states.
The second concerns the relationship between the United States armed forces and domestic law enforcement.
The third concerns the proper role of the judicial branch in ensuring that the executive branch complies with the laws and limitations imposed by the legislative branch.
Whether we choose to follow what the Constitution mandates with respect to these three relationships goes to the heart of what it means to live under the rule of law in the United States. . . .
[T]he President is certainly entitled “a great level of deference,” . . . in his determination that he “is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” But “a great level of deference” is not equivalent to ignoring the facts on the ground. . . .
Here, this Court concludes that the President did not have a “colorable basis” to . . . to federalize the National Guard because the situation on the ground belied an inability of federal law enforcement officers to execute federal law. The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts.
Furthermore, this country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs. . . .
This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.
The opinion serves as a rebuke to Trump’s lawless federalization of state National Guard troops. It is all the more remarkable because Judge Immergut was appointed by Trump in 2019. Another sign of hope . . . .
Protest Photos
Below, Littleton, CO in front of a Tesla dealership
Below, “Saturday morning sign wave Rehoboth Beach, DE. 118 strong this morning. We have been coming every week since February.”
Below, “We posted this protest sign up over NJ state highway 1 on 10/3: “SAVE OUR HEALTHCARE”.
Below, Gettysburg, PA
Below: “This is from Richardson, TX, a suburb of Dallas. We’re out here every Saturday morning, and only occasionally do we get someone giving us the finger! Lots of honks too!”
Daily Dose of Perspective
NGC 7822 is 2,900 light-years from Earth and 150 light-years across. It is illuminated (in part) by a star that is 100,000 times as luminous as our sun.
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