1933 and 2025 by Ruth Neuwald Falcon

We are living in a moment that explains the insistence of the Founding Fathers on sharing power among the three branches of government, so that no one branch could become too powerful and corruptly seize control in a way that is contrary to the best interests of Americans. This week, we watched the neck-and-neck race between the executive and judicial branches of government. Congress, which could step in and shift the balance decisively if it chose to, is still in thrall to the president. — The Democracy Index, May 23, 2025 (The Contrarian)

Time and again, they (Hitler and the Nazis) used legal means to give their actions a semblance of legality. Step by step, Hitler managed to erode democracy until it was just a hollow facade. — Germany 1933: From democracy to dictatorship (Anne Frank House)

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to immediately end immigration protections that had allowed roughly 350,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S. to receive work permits and temporarily avoid deportation. — Supreme Court allows Trump to revoke immigration protections for 350,000 Venezuelans (Politico)

After his election in 1933, Hitler bragged that the German electorate welcomed him with “jubilation,” and rolled out a plan to force out longtime career civil servants with political stooges committed to his vision. He then executed a plan to get two-thirds of the Reichstag (the German parliamentary body) to pass an “empowering law” that would allow him to centralize his authority and govern by decree. — Historian reveals how Hitler ‘dismantled’ democracy in less than two months (AlterNet)

The Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a huge victory on Thursday, breaking with nearly a century of precedent protecting agency leaders from presidential removal. All three liberal justices dissented from the unsigned decision, which allowed him to fire leaders of two independent agencies while their lawsuits work their way through the lower courts. — The Supreme Court Just Rewarded Trump for Brazenly Breaking the Law (Slate)

It’s part of an expansionist view of presidential power that asserts the president is due near-total control over the entirety of the executive branch. — Supreme Court clears way for Trump to fire 2 independent agency leaders over liberal dissents (The Hill)

Hans Frank served as Hitler’s private attorney and chief legal strategist in the early years of the Nazi movement. While later awaiting execution at Nuremberg for his complicity in Nazi atrocities, Frank commented on his client’s uncanny capacity for sensing “the potential weakness inherent in every formal form of law” and then ruthlessly exploiting that weakness. — How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days by Timothy W. Ryback (The Atlantic)

Lawyers and advocates this week reported arrests of migrants outside of immigration courthouses across the U.S., saying teams of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had detained individuals whose cases in front of immigration judges had just been terminated at the request of the government. — ICE ending migrants’ court cases in order to arrest and move to deport them (CBS News)

German resistance was not recognized as a united resistance movement during the height of Nazi Germany, unlike the more organised efforts in other countries… The German resistance consisted of small, isolated groups that were unable to mobilize mass political opposition… Nazi leaders quickly banned extra-party demonstrations, fearing displays of dissent on open urban spaces might develop and grow, even without organization. — Some Stood: German Resistance to Nazism, 1933-1945 (Brewminate)

What happens if Trump blatantly violates a Supreme Court order? People keep asking that question, wanting some kind of legal answer. The true answer is that Trump should be impeached, convicted, and removed from office. That’s what the Constitution says. That’s not going to happen.

So, the other answer is that we need to keep doing what we are doing, only with more of us, louder and more frequently.

Ultimately, we are the bulwark of democracy. And if Trump violates a direct Supreme Court order, there need to be work stoppages and massive protests and transportation stoppages, all within the realm of civil disobedience and legality. But we can do it. We can bring the business of this country to a halt so that Trump’s corporate overlords understand that there is no way for them to run their businesses and make a profit. They make money every day because implicit in our nation is this concept of ordered liberty, where people follow the laws. And if Trump says he’s not going to follow the law, then we’re going to be in the streets by the tens of millions.

That’s the only answer.

We need tens of thousands of protests on No Kings Day involving tens of millions of people so that the story on June 14 is not the stupid $50 million parade in Washington, D.C. The story is in the streets. That’s how we take back our country. That’s how we defend democracy, by becoming a bigger story. — Live with Robert B. Hubbell, May 24, 2025