The situation is, as they say in the military, FUBAR’d. We are under a full-on authoritarian attack to democracy in progress in broad daylight, being carried out by the (unfortunately) legitimate president and his illegitimate best buddy Elon Musk. What can we do — the situation seems so bleak, you say. I hear you and I feel you. But AOC and HCR (two of my favorite acronyms) are here to break it down about how we should not go quietly — and how to do it.

First up: what are we facing? Among other things, what is most probably the biggest data breach of all time — perpetrated by Elon’s Musk’s fake department DOGE. Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens called Musk’s land grab of the federal till and all its payment information about citizens “the most significant data leak in cyber history.” On top of that, the conflicts of interest inherent in this unlawful caper are so staggering they’re well out of scope of this single blog post.

Beyond that, Trump waited for Congress to go out of session before beginning the blitzkrieg of illegal Executive Orders and maneuvers designed to attack America and throw its citizens off balance. Here’s a list of the main actions we need to be pressing our Congresspeople to get answers for:

Events of the authoritarian push

Impoundment Attempt and Judicial Reversal:

• Early in the Trump administration, an Office of Management and Budget memo attempted to freeze federal spending pending a review for alleged “DEI contamination”. A federal judge quickly ruled this action “blatantly unconstitutional,” forcing the administration to backtrack. However, related Executive Orders freezing some payments are said to “still be in order” which is (intentionally) causing confusion around the status of almost everything.

Elon Musk’s Intervention in the Treasury Payment System:

• On Friday, Musk’s team pressured a long-serving Treasury official—the individual responsible for managing the government’s payment system—to resign. Following his departure, Musk’s team was granted limited (and highly questionable) access to this system, which processes all federal transactions.

Breach of USAID’s Secure Systems:

• Musk’s people, reportedly a group of young men between 19 and 24 according to Wired, attempted to access a “secret area” within USAID (the agency responsible for U.S. foreign aid). In the process, two top officials were sidelined (put on administrative leave), and Musk’s team gained access, potentially compromising sensitive U.S. intelligence data.

Announced Cuts to Federal Programs:

• Following these breaches, Musk (acting as a Trump ally) has claimed on social media that he is “cutting” certain federally funded programs, including a human services organization linked to the Lutheran Church. This move threatens funding for critical services such as migrant support, nursing homes, and possibly even affects Social Security and Medicare (though Trump has stated these will not be touched).

Tariffs and International Implications:

• Additionally, Trump’s administration is imposing tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, which could inflict economic pain, especially in regions that predominantly support the Republican agenda.

These recent events (the inimitable Heather Cox Richardson covers them in-depth in her Letters from an American column) highlight an aggressive attack on constitutional governance marked by executive overreach and the manipulation of public funds. Actions such as unilateral spending freezes—disguised (thinly) as efforts to address DEI concerns—and the controversial transfer of control over federal financial systems to private interests like world’s richest man Elon Musk (who apparently still doesn’t have enough money) reveal a dangerous shift in power.

This reckless endangerment jeopardizes not only the integrity of critical public services and security measures but also the core democratic principle of accountability, underscoring an urgent need for citizens to remain vigilant and demand that elected officials uphold the constitutional order. We The People still wield the ultimate power — as AOC is about to so eloquently tell you more about.

AOC on what we can do: Do not comply in advance.

In this ~90 minute densely-packed live video, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is adamant that we “do not comply in advance” — do not let cynicism and apathy prevent us from taking action and levying the full force of the American people in the direction of our government. That is what they want. Do not give them what they want — throw sand in the gears.

Know your rights; help others know their rights; get involved with your local community as well as at the state level as well as at the federal level. Do what you can, and that is enough — don’t exhaust yourself trying to fight every fire. That is what they want also — to wear you down and exhaust you. Fill your own well; put your own mask on first; and generally take care of yourself too.

Then, buckle up — because we got work to do. Peace ain’t comin’ this way. We got to work for peace.

To do list

• Follow the House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats for info about how Democrats are fighting back on all the different fronts (legislative, legal, state/local, educational, etc.)
• Focus on the NY race for Elyse Stefanik’s seat
• Watch the April 1 special election in FL to fill Matt Gaetz’s vacant seat
• Raise hell and tell everyone you know about the tech brozos’ power grab, the 2017 tax cut extension coming up, where to get info about what’s happening, and what to do about it

An “unpredictable window has opened”

Like AOC said so well — thanks to the backlash against these insane and unprecedented power moves, an “unpredictable window has opened” in which anything can happen. And these are the exact kinds of moments when things start to go right for the left. For example, Democrats have just flipped a red seat that went 60% for Trump in November in an Iowa special election — a clear sign that even in deep Republican territory, there is already intense momentum building against the machinations of Trump 2.0.

Moreover, think of South Korea — where the Korean people stopped a coup in progress by President Yoon Suk Yeol, then impeached him for that abuse of power. Think of Syria, where Putin-backed dictator Bashir Al-Assad was toppled by Syrian rebel forces. The supposed “Iron Grip” of the despot is often much more loosey goosey than it seems.

There is cause for hope — and we are not powerless. Many of the Congress members sycophantic to Trump still fear losing re-election — they more than anything do not want to lose power. We must listen to AOC and put pressure on these people, as well as on our Democratic elected officials, to do the right thing and stand up to the wizards behind the curtains.

Join me?