Category Archives: Random Blogging

We The People

Wednesday night I attended an “Empty Chair” Town Hall, and I was absolutely blown away–in a very good way–by the event.

I was one of three people who “kicked off” participant testimonies with brief descriptions of what we are currently facing. My assignment was to explain why DOGE and the majority of Trump’s Executive Orders are unconstitutional; the other two addressed assaults on Medicaid and Women’s rights.

Here’s what I said:

Under the Constitution, Congress has exclusive power to raise revenue and “pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.”  The Appropriations Clause states that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” DOGE has never been authorized as a government unit of any kind, and it is exercising financial decision-making that the Constitution vests exclusively in Congress.

Accordingly, every decision DOGE has made and is making is illegal and unconstitutional until and unless ratified—or more properly, authorized in advance– by Congress.

Most of Trump’s increasingly incoherent, petty and autocratic Executive Orders are similarly unconstitutional. Most of them violate the Separation of Powers—a structural element fundamental to America’s constitutional system. The most blatant example was his effort to use an Executive Order to overturn birthright citizenship, which was established by the 14th Amendment. A president cannot amend the Constitution via Executive Order.

An Executive Order is defined as a written directive signed by the president, that orders agencies of the federal government to take specific actions in pursuance of the Executive’s duty to ensure that the laws of the nation “be faithfully executed.” To the extent that such orders apply to matters not properly within the Executive’s authority, they are legally unenforceable.

Trump’s disdain for the Constitutional limits on his authority have plunged the nation into a full-blown Constitutional crisis.

Following those first, very brief presentations, some sixty people (out of the nearly 600 in attendance) lined up to address that empty chair. They were a cross-section of ordinary Americans (not a “coastal elitist” to be seen)– working class folks, a mixture of young and old people, retired folks– and they were amazing.

Don’t take my word for it: here is a link to the recorded livestream.

The citizens who turned out on a week-night (and presumably those watching via the livestream) wanted Todd Young to know that they are angry at his lack of a backbone, and his failure to live up to the oath of office that he took both as a Marine and as a Senator. They wanted him to understand how this rogue administration’s attacks on government are harming Hoosiers–the shutdowns of mental health services, the refusals to pay funds legally due to local nonprofits, the disregard of Free Speech and due process guarantees, and especially the persistent, vicious assaults on America’s diversity.

The people addressing that empty chair were passionate, but more significantly, their charges of malfeasance were accurate. They’d done their homework. The people who attended that Town Hall were the epitome of the “informed electorate” that sustains democratic regimes. When I left, I felt more positive than I have since the election.

The Town Hall’s organization by the Central Indiana Indivisible Chapter was flawless–there were volunteers directing traffic (which significantly overflowed the church’s large parking lot); and others inside directing attendees, managing microphones and herding the people waiting to testify. The crowd was more than just energized–attendees applauded speakers, booed references to Trump and Musk, and clearly demonstrated their intent to protect the America they value–an America where every person is (at least theoretically) valued.

The minister who welcomed the crowd emphasized that message, insisting that “Everyone is welcome here,–we don’t care what color you are, we don’t care who you pray to or whether you pray, we don’t care who you love. You are valued and welcome here.” Several of those who spoke made a similar point: America is a land of immigrants, a “melting pot” (or “tossed salad”) of diverse folks–and that is our strength. That is what makes America great. That is the beauty of We the People, and we will fight to retain it.

If Senator Young is too weak and intimidated to join the fight for America, the people in that Town Hall will find someone who isn’t weak and intimidated to replace him.

If you weren’t there, I really, really hope you will watch the recording. We the People are beautiful.

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It Isn’t “Rigging”–But It’s Just As Bad

Our mob-boss-channeling President attributes any losses he experiences to various nefarious plots against him–that poll was rigged, that data has been tampered with…and especially, he couldn’t have lost that 2020 election fair and square, it must have been “rigged.” His inability to grow up has infected the MAGA cult, which is now busy deconstructing things they very obviously don’t understand. 

Just as there are perfectly reasonable efforts to improve government efficiency–efforts that don’t require destroying the village in order to save it–there are deficiencies (mostly unintentional) in election administration that operate to disenfranchise voters and skew election results. Here in Indiana, where Republicans rule and don’t worry a lot about the consequences of what they’re doing, those sloppy irregularities can significantly affect close elections.

That was in all likelihood the case in the contest between Tiffany Stoner and Becky Cash for Indiana House District 25–a race Stoner lost by 64 votes our of several thousands cast. I don’t understand why the Democrats didn’t demand a recount, given the extensive evidence of irregularities the party uncovered in the two weeks following the election.

A Democratic compendium of those irregularities included the following:

Approximately 280 absentee mail-in ballots were rejected across Hendricks County. The clerk’s office never gave a definitive and accurate number despite several requests.

An unknown number of absentee ballots were sent to voters without the required security initials from the clerk’s office. After the error was discovered, the clerk knowingly chose not to inform voters that their ballots would be rejected due to the office’s mistake. Consequently, any completed and returned ballots were not counted, and the affected voters remain unaware of this issue. 

Voting machines were left unattended at polling locations overnight, raising concerns about their security. One machine was powered off and its votes were not even tallied until the following day, while another was found to be broken and went unused. 

The county clerk’s office rejected dozens of absentee ballots, citing signature mismatches. However, signatures can vary due to changes in style, age, illness, or disability. Notices were sent via the postal service to affected voters on November 7th, requiring them to submit a signed affidavit by 12 noon on November 13th. This left voters with very little time to address the issue and resolve the rejection.

The county election board rejected a military ballot, claiming the signature did not match the one on file. This decision denied an active-duty service member, currently defending our freedoms, their vote. Moreover, they were not provided the legally required notice or opportunity to correct the issue.

Mistakes occurred in voter registration and the transfer of registrations between government agencies. For instance, the BMV failed to include a voter’s signature in one case. In other instances, voters who registered through the Secretary of State’s portal discovered their registrations were never processed. One voter with an Indianapolis address, but residing in Hendricks County was forced to vote provisionally after their registration was erroneously sent to Marion County.

Inspectors weren’t present at any early voting site. This is required by statute on election day and most counties employ these same secure practices in early voting.  One description we received from a poll-worker said, “everyone and no one was in charge.” We even discovered an instance where a librarian gave the keys to the room where voting machines were secured to a poll worker without confirming their identification.

These errors very obviously disenfranchised some number of voters. (You might expect the party of “election integrity” to care, but you’d be wrong. It’s not about integrity; it’s all about winning.) Whether these lapses in competent administration would have changed the outcome of that election is unknown, but the mere number of errors certainly should affect voters’–and candidates’– confidence in the system.

In the wake of the election, several Democrats have called for the creation of a nonpartisan voter protection organization. In stark contrast to the typical GOP whining about the “unfairness” of losses and unfounded accusations of “rigging,” that proposal sounds…what’s that word…adult.

In fact, looking into the documented irregularities of the Hendricks County vote prompted me to contemplate the differences between Democrats and MAGA Republicans that are demonstrated by their responses to election losses. It occurred to me that America’s political polarization isn’t between the informed and uninformed, or the educated and uneducated–striking as those divisions are.

It’s between grown ups and children throwing tantrums.

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What Did You Do In The War?

Ah, the parallels…

Those of us of a “certain age” can recall media reports of post-World War II German children asking their grandparents very uncomfortable questions, mostly versions of “What did you do during the war, grandpa?” We may well be approaching a time in the United States where a version of that question becomes widespread.

A year or so ago, Saturday Night Live aired a mock interview with a German woman who responded to a question about America’s “alt-right” MAGA movement by saying “In America you call it the alt-right, in Germany we call it ‘why Grandpapa lives in Argentina now.'”

A number of historians have documented the embarrassing connections between America’s Jim Crow laws and Nazi anti-semitic legislation. I will admit to being one of the clueless folks who believed we had surmounted–okay, begun to surmount–the ignorance and prejudices of former generations. If the current Trump/Musk assault on basic American principles proves anything, it proves how very wrong that belief has turned out to be. You really have to be purposefully blind to ignore the virulent bigotry that allowed Trump to win election (narrowly, to be sure) and reward his supporters with his anti-diversity rampage, or to downplay the pro-Nazi enthusiasm of Elon Musk, which was evident well before his “heil Hitler” salute.

So here we are. And assuming (as I devoutly hope) that this horrific time will pass and reasonable people will once again gain control, those of us experiencing this effort to re-install the Dark Ages should expect that same post-Nazi question: what did we do to counter the assault on American values? How did we respond to the neo-Nazi ugliness threatening our Constitutional liberties and social progress?

What did we do during this war for America’s soul?

I thought about that question when I came to the end of one of Robert Hubbell’s daily letters. Hubbell had been writing about Trump’s effort to punish law firms for the unforgivable sin of representing people he considers enemies. But as he concluded, the challenge to our most deeply-shared moral commitments extends more widely.

We are living through a consequential moment in our nation’s history. There is a “right” side and a “wrong” side to that history. Someday in the not-too-distant future, there will be a reckoning in which everyone—individuals and institutions—will be called to justify their response in a moment when democracy was under attack.

Institutions with proud histories will be forced to explain why they abandoned their commitments to fairness, justice, and human decency at the first opportunity. Were they afraid? Or greedy? Both? Or—worst of all—did they not care?

Were their lofty “mission statements” mere PR exercises to make themselves feel good and attract young talent with false promises about the firm’s values? Were their commitments to equality and inclusion something they never truly believed? Was it all “for show”?

Those are uncomfortable questions with deeply troubling answers.

We must choose to be on the right side of history—because it is the right thing to do. Do not surrender to fear or intimidation. Lift up those who are being attacked for defending the rule of law. And make known your displeasure with the products and services of those who are sponsoring Trump’s frontal assault on the rule of law.

But most importantly, make a personal commitment to do everything you can to help defend democracy in its hour of need. Make your future self proud by doing the right thing at a time when doing so takes courage and determination!

The most anguished question I get from readers of this blog–and I get it almost every day–is “what can I do?” And it’s a fair question. Most of us have limited means of protesting, and the means we do have are arguably of limited effectiveness. Still, when we get that “what did you do” question, at the very least we should be able to answer that we repeatedly called our elected officials, attended town halls, worked with one or more of the burgeoning number of grassroots organizations, attended protests and participated in boycotts of companies and firms that are knuckling under.

We should also be able to say that we shared factual information with friends and family members living in those “alternative” realities.

Repeat after me: real Americans are identified by their devotion to and protection of the American Idea-– not their skin color or religion. When your grandchildren or great grandchildren ask what you did when Trump/Musk attacked the American Idea, be sure you don’t have to answer from Argentina.

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Who Do You Distrust?

In 2009, I wrote a book titled “Distrust, American Style.” The publisher’s blurb summed up its theme: “When people wake up every morning to a system that doesn’t respond to their efforts or accomodate their most basic needs, it should not be surprising that they don’t face the day with an abundance of trust.”

Declining trust has ominous implications for something that sociologists call social capital--the relationships among members of society that facilitate individual and/or collective action. The term refers to networks of human relationships that are characterized by reciprocity and trust. As one scholarly paper has put it, social capital is the lubricant that facilitates getting things done, that allows people to work together and benefit from social relationships. It is absolutely essential to the internal coherence of society– the “glue” that facilitates social and economic functioning.

It isn’t really necessary to understand the functioning and varieties of social capital to understand the importance of trust. Think about your daily activities: you drop your favorite sweater off at the cleaners, trusting that it will be returned–clean. You deposit your paycheck in your bank, trusting that the funds will be credited to your account and available to spend. You  pick up a prescription, trusting that the medication has been properly prepared and is safe. At the grocery, you trust that food you buy is safe to eat. You board a plane, trusting that it will not crash into another mid-air.

You get the picture. In the absence of trust, society and the economy cannot function. And an enormous amount of that trust is based upon effective and competent government regulation of banks, food processors and air traffic (among other things).

In my book, I examined the decline of social trust, and the theories being offered for that decline. Robert Putnam suggested that growing diversity had eroded interpersonal trust; my own research pointed to a different culprit: the prominent failures of religious,  business and governmental institutions. When I wrote the book, America was in the midst of widely-reported scandals: Enron and other major companies engaging in illegal activities, sports figures taking performance-enhancing drugs, the Catholic Church covering up priestly child molestation, and several others. We were just emerging from an Iraq war widely understood to have been waged on specious grounds.

My conclusion was that fish rot from the head–that when a citizenry is no longer able to trust its economic and governing and religious institutions–especially its governing institutions– that lack of trust threatens essential elements of social functioning.

In the years since, our entire environment has become rife with distrust. White Christian Nationalists suspect and reject most elements of modernity; we’re faced with the enormous gap between the rich and the rest (and evidence that not all the rich amassed those fortunes ethically or legally); we have a rogue judiciary, a castrated Congress, and most recently a federal coup by mentally-ill autocrats intent upon destroying the government agencies that have been most effective at earning citizens’ trust.

A recent Gallup Poll surveyed the trust landscape, to determine who we still trust–and who we don’t.

Three in four Americans consider nurses highly honest and ethical, making them the most trusted of 23 professions rated in Gallup’s annual measurement. Grade-school teachers rank second, with 61% viewing them highly, while military officers, pharmacists and medical doctors also earn high trust from majorities of Americans.

The least trusted professions, with more than half of U.S. adults saying their ethics are low or very low, are lobbyists, members of Congress and TV reporters.

Of the remaining occupations measured in the Dec. 2-18, 2024, poll, six (including police officers, clergy and judges) are viewed more positively than negatively by Americans, although with positive ratings not reaching the majority level. The other nine, notably including bankers, lawyers and business executives, are seen more negatively than positively, with  more than 50% rating their ethics low.

That poll was conducted before the takeover of our government by Trump and Musk, before the clearly illegal, unethical and untruthful activities that have–in Steve Bannon’s immortal words–“flooded the zone with shit.” Even before that assault, Gallup reported that there had been a serious long-term decline in Americans’ confidence in U.S. institutions. Trust in Judges, police and clergy has plummeted.

In that 2009 book, I wrote that the trustworthiness of business and nonprofit enterprises depends on the ability of government to play its essential role as “umpire,’ impartially applying and reliably enforcing the rules. When government is not trustworthy, when citizens cannot rely on the Food and Drug Administration, the FAA or the Social Security Administration, among others, trust and social capital decline.

We’re back to Hobbes’ state of nature.

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When They Decline To Face The Music

The Trump/Musk administration has been in power for a mere two months, and during that time we’ve been treated to a firehose of destruction and illegality. Two months isn’t much time for people to begin recognizing the threats to their lives, their finances and their wellbeing posed by these insane incursions. Most people have busy daily lives–family to care for, jobs to do, obligations to meet….the would-be autocrats wreaking havoc with our lives have undoubtedly been counting on those distractions to delay resistance to their wrecking ball.

Meanwhile, the GOP cowards in Congress who have obediently bent the knee to those autocrats have decided to avoid face-to-face confrontations with We the People who elected them. However, as awareness and resistance have gained momentum, local organizations have decided to hold Town Halls anyway.

Hoosiers4Democracy and Central Indiana Indivisible will each hold an “empty chair” Town Hall at Broadway Methodist Church during the Congressional Recess.

Indivisible of Central Indiana has tried for the past few weeks to obtain an agreement from Senator Young to attend a Town Hall– without success. Accordingly, that organization will hold an “Empty Chair” Town Hall on Wednesday, March 19th, at Broadway United Methodist Church. Hoosiers will be able to address an empty chair (an emptiness that will signify not only Senator Young’s unwillingness to face his constituents, but the appalling emptiness/non-existence of his backbone in the face of Trump’s assaults on constitutional governance.) That event will also feature brief introductory presentations on the dire consequences of various elements of the Trump/Musk assault. (Yours truly will address the constitutional issues–others will explain assaults on Medicaid, etc.)

The Indivisible Town Hall will be held from 6:00 to 8:00, and registration will be required (they anticipate a large turnout, and while the sanctuary is spacious, space is still limited). You can access the Mobilize link here to register.

Hoosiers 4 Democracy will sponsor the second of those events. Here is the information provided by H4D:

Congress will be in recess from March 15-23, when representatives typically return home to engage with constituents. However, despite our repeated efforts, we have not received confirmation of any town halls hosted by Senators Jim Banks or Todd Young.  There is a possibility that Representative Victoria Spartz will hold an event in Muncie, but that has not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Braun administration has aligned itself with the Trump/Vance/Musk agenda, further jeopardizing our democracy. Now, more than ever, people must have a space to connect, share their experiences, and send a clear message to our leaders: their actions and policies are harming our lives and livelihoods.

To ensure our voices are heard, we are hosting a People’s Town Hall—a space for community members to come together, share their stories and concerns, and collectively demand accountability from our state and national representatives.

📅 Date: Saturday, March 22
🕛 Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
📍 Location: Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th Street, Indianapolis.

If any of you reading this wants flyers to promote the event, you can access them here.

Kudos to Broadway United Methodist Church for demonstrating that there are actual Christians–not just White Christian Nationalists– in Indiana. I hope those of you reading this will attend one or both of these events. I certainly intend to participate in both.

I know that this blog is an example of “preaching to the choir,” but sometimes, the choir needs to be reminded to sing…

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