USDA inspector general escorted out of office after defying Trump order

She did the right thing by making them force her out

I'm pasting Timothy Snyder's Twenty Lessons on Fighting Tyranny from the Twentieth Century here.

I think #1 is incredibly important in these dark times. Donald Trump and his cronies can make all the decrees they want, but these decrees depend on people obeying. Any resistance is better than none.

1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.

3. Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.

4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

5. Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

6. Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.

7. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.

8. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

9. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.

10. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

11. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.

12. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

13. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

14. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.

15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.

16. Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.

19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.

20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.

To be fair, rule of law IS rule of power. Laws are only ever as good as how well they are/can be enforced.

I don't want to criticize her too strongly because I absolutely think she did the right thing by ignoring the bullshit firing Friday night and going into work Monday, but why isn't she commenting publicly on this and why are we only finding out days after the fact that this happened?

But there is mechanisms in place to remove abusers of power, that also takes non compliance to the law in order for those with power to abuse it. Thanks sen Collins...

Laws that protect but do not bind, and laws that bind but do not protect.

as it has always been.

No reason I can think of, actually.

because we want a working functioning government and not just to fuck things up. Tying up the courts just mucks everything up.

You want our current judiciary system to have the power to nullify the presidents power? How is that a proper checks and balances approach?

Wait, did you mean a paddlin, or a paladin? Funy either way, but they both paint completely different pictures in my head.

Fucking Paladins always bubble and heal

They certainly want whatever their donors want.

American here, and what you wrote sounds pretty good on the surface. The problem is that the nutty vocal 2A fanatics are the exact people who delighted in putting the fascists in charge.

These cosplaying-few day old accounts need to get a life. Love how much you've distorted the reality of the situation thinking the 2A crowd is the same ones declaring fascists are in charge now. Please tell us more how an individual should put themselves into harms-way while you type behind your brave keyboard.

The lady refused to leave her post till forcefully removed, same action as a sit-in which was effective as a peaceful demonstration of a protest during the civil rights era. The fact that you're telling people to arm up in a government building makes me think you're just another Jan 6'er or watch way too much entertainment thinking it's facts.

This the plan. No government -> no regulations. No regulations -> no lube. No lube -> the US citizenry's anus. Gaping, flaccid, prolapsed US citizenry's anus' -> corporate profits.

Metaphorically speaking of course.

I'm talking broadly, US unions should be showing solidarity to government workers getting fired and put in place mass strike action. So employment in any and all industries necessitates union membership. That is union power.

I can’t tell if this is satire or not

The tone he had on Monday's Daily Show was, "let's not start throwing around the word fascism yet". He apparently still has faith in the courts? https://archive.org/details/COM_20250128_070000_The_Daily_Show

There have been growing criticisms of him coming from the left for a bit now on how some of his tendencies to diffuse situations learns more towards liberalism than leftism. This isn't an outright attack on him or to say he's moving rightward overall. I need to watch this video again but I think this is the one that touches on a bunch of the points, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hCxHvogsTY

From a comment on the video, "Jon Stewart made me a liberal as a child, adulthood made me a leftist."

If you like Jon Stewart I'm not trying to say you shouldn't. But as someone who has continually been moving left, I do feel more distance from him than I used to is all.

Only thing I can remember bad about Jon Stewart was that he didn't say who owned the Wall Street building during the occupy Wall Street movement. But even that is minor since you generally keep family stuff private.

Shopping mall "cops"

Eggs have been getting expensive before that. All animal products will continue to increase in price because of how inefficient they are.