Dismantling Democracy: One Leg at a Time

By Mildred Robertson

While thousands take to the streets each week in opposition to the Trump administration and how it has run roughshod over the democratic process, there seems to be no singular entity prepared to take up the cause of democracy. Neither the Congress nor the courts appear able or willing to take up their role as the antithesis to a rogue president who freely issues executive orders instead of doing the hard work of seeking change through the Congress and courts. As the Founders designed the process, Congress makes the laws, and the courts interpret and apply them.  The executive branch is called upon to uphold laws, not enact them.

Donald J. Trump, who heads the Executive branch of government, has succeeded in undermining the power of Congress, one of the three branches designed to bring balance to our system of governance.  Congress, led by a Republican majority, has taken the knee to Trump, even when he appears to usurp their power. Trump pushed through clearly unqualified candidates to head vital government agencies.

As those agency heads stand by, Trump has allowed Elon Musk and a cadre of his assistants to run amok in those agencies, indiscriminately cutting programs and firing professionals integral to the continued efficient functions those agencies provided for the American public. Having successfully cuckolded Congress in the first 100 days of his second term, he has now turned his attention to the courts, the third leg of democratic governance upon which our freedom rests.

He has consistently defied court orders to halt deportations of immigrants and has upped the ante by deporting American citizens as well. Ignoring threats that he will be held in contempt of court, Trump and his administration continue to refuse to provide information in cases involving the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was admittedly deported by mistake. He has also ignored court orders to halt deportation flights, using the Alien Enemies Act as his excuse. The Act is a wartime immigration law that Trump used to deport certain individuals from the U.S. to El Salvador to be detained in the country’s maximum-security prison. He alleges the U.S. is at war with the detainees due to their alleged membership in the gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.  As many as 260 migrants have been deported to El Salvador as alleged gang members, on such flimsy evidence as tattoos. Further, he has deported children who are American citizens without any due process.

As he continues his power grab, Trump has ramped up his attacks on judges, this week arresting Judge Hannah Dugan on charges that she allegedly frustrated efforts of immigration officials to arrest an immigrant in her Milwaukee courtroom.  Dugan questioned the warrant the ICE officials presented because it was an administrative warrant, not an arrest warrant. She allowed the defendant to exit her courtroom, after which he was arrested in the courthouse hallway.  The arrest of Dugan appears to be designed to make other judges fearful of opposing the actions of this administration. They handcuffed and arrested her when normally she would have been served and allowed to appear. Instead, they publicly humiliated and jailed her.  Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened sitting judges, stating that others could suffer the same fate as Judge Duggan if they rule against the Administration's wishes.

So, we are witnessing the collapse of the co-equal branches of government our forefathers designed. Americans must now decide how to maintain their freedom when all the guardrails have failed to hold.

April 19, 2025. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)

If you ever wondered what you would have done in the infancy of Nazi Germany, you no longer must wonder. You are doing it now. There is nothing that stands between America and tyranny but the people. Will you take risks for democracy, or will you watch while our nation burns, and the ashes of destroyed humanity drop from the sky like snowfall? America has no legs to stand on, but ours.

America Spiraling Under Trump's Dictatorial Rule

We, the People Can Stop the Decline

By Mildred Robertson

America is at a crossroads that many societies have faced before us. We boast a glorious past that also features, if we are truthful, particularly inglorious chapters. That being said, America has created the premier society in the modern world. Our goal to become a true democracy has been marred by as many failures as victories. Nevertheless, we lead the world order in terms of freedom, democracy, and economic and social stability. Although many would point to our shortcomings, measuring society on a curve puts America at the top of the class.

But world domination is cyclical. And America like many empires before it has fallen prey to anti-intellectualism, the sowing of disinformation, and the pitting of the masses against itself rather than the rich and powerful who exploit them. Scientists, historians, politicians, and economists are all sounding the alarm as we watch America devolve from the leader of Western civilization to a two-bit third-world nation with a despot leader determined to bend the entire country to his will.

We have always prided ourselves on our three branches of government which are designed to ensure a free and stable society. Sometimes referred to as the “three-legged stool", our system of government is structured so the executive, legislative, and judicial branches provide the checks and balances necessary for good governance, safe from dictatorial rule. Unfortunately, America’s stability is hampered by an inept legislative branch and an ineffective judicial branch that recently has taken a knee before the executive branch. Donald Trump and his 2024 electoral victory have turned our nation upside-down.

There are many reasons why Trump was able to win the presidency for the second time. Let’s be honest, his victory was rooted in our national prejudices against women and people of color. A contributor to the national temperament were some bad decisions on the part of the Democratic leadership, and an economy perceived as faltering, although data showed the nation was in an economic upturn.

Trump took our economic fears, and the racist nature of many in America and created a narrative that made him look like a savior rather than the annihilator he is. Having learned from his first term, Trump removed everyone from the administration who would stand in the way of his implementation of plans to devastate this nation socially and economically. By purging all those who could possibly block his dictatorial whims, Trump has taken control of the military and all federal agencies. Those were our bulwarks against tyranny. All guardrails have been removed because those placed in leadership are corrupt, weak, or both. Now the struggle is between the might of the federal government and the will of the people. Unfortunately, in 2024 many people supported Trump, outright, buying into his lies, supporting him by sitting at home or throwing their votes away on third-party candidates with no chance of taking the seat.

While a functioning government is the best way to ensure that America does not fall into a dictatorship, there is an opportunity in the next election for us to make it better. But we cannot be splintered in our desire to reclaim our country. We must be of one mind, to wrest power from the hands of Republicans. Note, I am not saying ONLY republicans are corrupt and weak. But they have certainly taken the gold medal in this competition in recent years. 

America has two choices, freedom or tyranny.  It's either Democrat or Republican. If you don't support Democrats with your vote, then you are supporting Republicans. 

If you truly can't choose either of the dominant parties, then build a third party from the ground up. It would be a difficult task, but not impossible. It is unrealistic to think a third-party candidate can win a national election without any infrastructure to support it.

If you are serious about walking away from both the democrat and republican parties, then you need to do the hard work. Elect third-party candidates to your city council, school board, or other local governing body. Elect state and national reps and senators. That will give you a foundation for building a party that can successfully run a presidential candidate.  Otherwise, you are wasting your vote and dooming us to Republican rule. 

If you want to stop America's downfall, then you must be prepared to act and act responsibly. It is our only hope. You must choose your path. Make it a path toward freedom and democracy for all. Otherwise, America will join great nations such as Rome who once ruled the world. We will be doomed to the rule of a tyrant, and our freedoms will only reside in a history book. 

NC Supreme Court Halts Decision Favoring Republican Supreme Court Candidate

 By: Mildred Robertson

The battle for the seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court between Justice Allison Riggs, who currently holds the seat, and her challenger NC Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin takes another turn today as the NC Supreme Court issues a stay in the case.

Judge Jefferson Griffin (Rep) - Justice Allison Riggs (Dem)

On Friday, April 4, the North Carolina State Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that as many as 65,000 North Carolinians who thought they were eligible to vote could have their ballots thrown out. The appeals court said that the contested ballots in the state Supreme Court race should be recounted and verified. The Court of Appeals gave the challenged voters 15 days to prove eligibility.

But today, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the body to which Griffin aspires, issued a temporary stay of Friday's Court of Appeals order which directed election workers to identify and contact those voters whose ballots were challenged by Griffin. Justice Allison Riggs, who currently holds the contested seat, sought the stay. Following two recounts of the over 5.5 million ballots cast in the November, election results indicate that Riggs beat Griffin by 734 votes.

If the Appeals Court decision on Friday, April 4 is ultimately upheld, the elimination of hundreds of thousands of North Carolina voters' ballots could flip the election outcome, giving victory to Griffin. Democrat Toby Hampson, the only appeals court judge to dissent the ruling to eliminate votes, criticized Griffin's "indiscriminate efforts" to disqualify voters otherwise eligible to cast a ballot under existing state law. With the current ruling of the NC Supreme Court, the outcome of this case is unclear. The Court's findings will have a huge impact on the makeup of the North Carolina Supreme Court. 

Only absentee and early votes are among those challenged.  If you fall into those categories there are several databases, you can use to determine whether your vote was challenged.  You can go to the State Board of Elections’ website which is organized by county and the reason for the challenge. You can search https://tinyurl.com/3b826h3v, then locate the links to your home county. There you will find a list of names. You can search to see whether your vote is listed by hitting ctrl+f and then typing in your name.

Other alternatives include a searchable spreadsheet by government watchdog Bob Hall. Type https://tinyurl.com/bdf37zuy. Or you may access the Triangle Blog website at The Griffin List.

Court Rule May Jeopardize Your Vote In N.C.

 Early and Absentee Voters Should Check Status

BY Mildred Robertson

The North Carolina State Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision on Friday, April 4, 2025, that as many as 65,000 North Carolinians who thought they were eligible to vote could have their ballots thrown out. The court says that the contested ballots in the state Supreme Court race should be recounted and verified. The Court of Appeals gave the challenged voters 15 days to prove eligibility.

In this hotly contested race held in November 2024, Republican State Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin trailed incumbent Democrat Justice Allison Riggs by fewer than 1,000 votes.  Riggs and the Democratic Party declared victory months ago after all the votes had been counted. Griffin, however, challenged the validity of certain ballots for numerous reasons.

The lawsuit prevents the state elections board from certifying Riggs as the winner five months after the election. The 2-1 ruling from the North Carolina Court of Appeals came in response to Republicans’ months-long effort to overturn the results of the state Supreme Court election in November. Democrat Allison Riggs, who currently sits on the NC State Court of Appeals, defeated Appellate Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Republican, by 734 votes.

Justice Allison Riggs

After the election, Griffin filed a protest seeking to disqualify around 65,000 votes. Among those challenged are voters who did not present a photo ID and American citizens living abroad who voted but never resided in the U.S. The latter are individuals who are citizens because one or both parents are U.S. citizens.

Griffin currently sits on the North Carolina Court of Appeals – the body that issued Friday’s ruling. A panel of three of his colleagues heard the case. Court of Appeals Judge Toby, the lone registered Democrat, dissented from the decision, stating that Griffin had not identified one voter who was ineligible to vote in the November elections under the laws and rules governing elections.

Justice Riggs stated, “We will be promptly appealing this deeply misinformed decision that threatens to disenfranchise more than 65,000 lawful voters and sets a dangerous precedent, allowing disappointed politicians to thwart the will of the people.”

The state board of elections previously rejected Griffin’s request, and a superior court judge upheld their decision. Friday’s ruling from the court of appeals overturned that ruling. The Appeals Court ruling also reverses the decision of a trial judge who upheld the State Board of Elections' action in February.  

If you think you may be among those citizens whose vote has been challenged, you should have received a notice in the mail from the North Carolina Republican Party, which includes a link to protest. You can also go to the State Board of Elections’ website. It is organized by county and the reason for the challenge. You can search https://tinyurl.com/3b826h3v, then locate the links to your home county. There you will find a list of names. If your name is listed, you can find it by pressing Ctrl+F and then typing in your name.

Other alternatives include a searchable spreadsheet by government watchdog Bob Hall. Type https://tinyurl.com/bdf37zuy. Or you may access the Triangle Blog website at The Griffin List.

Trump, Musk Threaten Social Security

 By Mildred Robertson

The Trump administration is threatening to shut down the Social Security Administration (SSA), a benefits program that has served American retirees for the past 90 years. As part of the New Deal enacted in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the SSA uses funds collected from workers’ paychecks to pay small monthly checks to retirees, the disabled, and other qualified recipients.  In its pledge to destroy the “deep state,” the Trump administration appears poised to ignore a court order that would stop Elon Musk’s DOGE from continuing to access sensitive Social Security data and go after SSA. This is contrary to his campaign pledge to leave SSA out of his agency-busting agenda. 

 Leland Dudek, recently selected to head this vital organization, appears to have sown chaos and destruction in the SSA during his short tenure.  Dudek has granted complete unconstrained access to American citizens’ most personal sensitive data to Elon Musk’s Department of Efficiency of the Government (DOGE).  As part of its cost-cutting plan, DOGE recently announced the closure of Social Security offices in 18 states. This initiative follows the release of a list detailing nearly 800 federal lease contracts set for cancellation. In addition, significant layoffs and financial adjustments across various federal agencies will alter the landscape of social services nationwide.  

While allegedly focusing on cost savings, federal agencies are being decimated by office closures and staff reductions that DOGE claims will result in lower operating costs. The potential challenges that staff reductions and office closures pose to beneficiaries unable to access services seem to garner little attention. Among those states currently under threat of closure of Social Security offices are New York, West Virginia, California, North Carolina, Arkansas, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, and Nevada, among others.

In an unsubstantiated claim, DOGE alleges that millions of dead people are receiving Social Security benefits. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 101,000 centenarians live in the U.S.  It also notes that, although there are 18.9 million people aged 100 or more without death information in the agency records those deceased individuals are not receiving benefits.

Musk claims that Social Security is a “Ponzi Scheme.” However, those receiving Social Security payments have paid into the system, thereby safeguarding their retirement security. The Trump administration’s move to eliminate this retiree-funded payout will adversely impact the most vulnerable among us.  

Musk overlooks all these disadvantages and suggests that recipients who cannot access their data online may soon be required to visit their local agency to prove their identity. In-person visits will be exacerbated by downsizing and office closures. It will likely result in longer wait times and a need for recipients to travel a great distance to find an office that can service them.

This will be particularly burdensome for the low-income, the elderly, and those with disabilities. According to reports from USA TODAY, the memo estimated that between 75,000 and 85,000 more people would need to visit Social Security offices each week if phone services weren't available. The Trump administration's solution is to close offices and lay off staff.

 Is this what the American public voted for? I think not; and what about the cost of eggs?

DOGE Threatens Democracy

 

By Mildred Robertson

Let’s start this conversation by discussing what DOGE is and is not.

Trump established The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by Executive Order on January 20, 2025. It is supposed to modernize federal technology and software for maximum government efficiency. Instead, DOGE has taken a chainsaw to government agencies by decimating the workforce, shutting down offices, eliminating or reducing resources, and generally wreaking havoc throughout the federal government.

Many say an agency such as DOGE would need congressional approval. However, Trump created this entity through an Executive Order. He has no authority to allocate funds, so where does this agency get its resources? That power belongs to Congress.

While they appear not to have legal authority to do so, I don’t see it as bad that they purged the social security database of individuals no longer alive.  However, saying those people were actively being paid has been proven to be a lie. If a name is listed on a payroll account but that person is not receiving payment, then that is NOT government waste. An apt comparison would be if you found a match in a drawer as you cleaned the house, it would not mean the house is on fire. Accordingly, you cannot say you are recouping government funds when none are being spent. You are simply cleaning the database. 

That is what DOGE has done with social security. They have found some inefficiencies, but not widespread fraud or corruption. Are there individuals receiving social security payments to which they are not entitled? I am sure there are. A system as big as Social Security will likely have some discrepancies. It is good to look for and eliminate those discrepancies. But to trash the system that millions of Americans have paid into and rely on to secure their retirement is insanity. 

It also appears that DOGE has identified payees whom they claim are dead, who are alive and well, and dependent upon those payments to live. So, mistakes happen, right? Further, even if DOGE were more competent and efficient than the agencies under attack, it has no authority to shutter them.  Agencies established by Congress cannot be eliminated by the stroke of a pen. Federal workers cannot be summarily dismissed without following personnel procedures.  And, unelected officials cannot enact policies and procedures for the federal government.

At the end of the day, we will know whether our constitution is sufficient to maintain our freedom. We will see whether DOGE will be allowed to freely move forward, swinging its chainsaw throughout the federal government. We will see whether Congress and the judiciary will withstand the onslaught of a rouge administration.

If they do not, whether millions of Americans receive their unemployment benefits will be the least of our worries.

Threat of Violence Taints American Politics

 NC Senator Thom Tillis Targeted with Death Threats

By Mildred Robertson

This is despicable behavior. This is not the way politics is supposed to work. I hope that he and his family remain safe. In this hot political atmosphere, many must cope with threats on their lives and the lives of their families. There are judges, politicians, lawyers, media, and countless others who have found themselves in the crosshairs of violent individuals who feel they have the license to intimidate folks who disagree with them politically. 

While many politicians hide from their constituents behind form letters and Zoom calls, this is not the time for politicians to be cavalier in response to the voting public. However, these practices appear to be the chosen response to the constituent's concerns. Those letters likely only serve to heighten the political temperature. Constituents want to be heard.

I am a Democrat, but once the election was completed, I expected that my legislator would still want to hear from me and consider my input regardless of my party affiliation. When I contacted Tillis on legislation or political issues across the country, his response made it abundantly clear that the conversation was one-sided, and he only wanted YOU to hear his thoughts on the subject. He missed the point that he works for us.

If constituents take issue with his legislative agenda, he should take the time to truly listen and respond authentically instead of sending out form letters. I would prefer to get no response than receive the missives sent in response to my inquiries and complaints. (Tillis' responses at least attempt to imply that he hears you, unlike North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd's delayed and belittling responses.)

I reiterate, that although I disagree with almost every position Tillis holds, threats of violence should not be part of our political process. Unfortunately, our politics is inhabited by people who are either evil, unwell, or both. The mean, spiteful, and threatening discourse that leads to violence has been perfected by the man who currently sits atop American politics.

So I am sorry that Tillis and his family live under the threat of violence. He is not alone. Many progressive and conservative politicians currently experience this hateful turn in our political landscape. I wish for his safety and for others who have come under similar threats such as Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden...

While I wish for his safety; I also wish for his wisdom and strength of character. I pray that he stands on what is right and not just what is expected by his Party and the man who would be king.