Jocko's Independence News
July 5, 2025
The Zookeeper is checking in briefly on his wards and has a few things to tell Jocko:
These past two weeks have been especially disheartening. The Supreme Court is manipulating the law to illegitimately grab more power for itself and Trump. The birthright citizenship case is particularly disturbing because it removes one of the key ways to check Trump’s illegality – nationwide injunctions – and concentrating the power to issue such injunctions in itself. There are good reasons to limit such injunctions. Right-wingers repeatedly used them to hamstring Biden’s policies. When he sought relief, the Court showed little interest. Now that Trump is back in power, the same tools are suddenly deemed intolerable.
Most experts agree that Trump’s effort to dismantle birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment is plainly unconstitutional. The Court said it had the power to issue a nationwide permanent injunction; it refused to do so. Instead, it gave litigants 30 days to try again in lower courts – after which Trump’s unconstitutional policy could take effect. Class actions remain one appropriate tool for nationwide remedies – yet the Court has steadily made them harder to use.
The Court has increasingly used the “shadow docket” to make momentous decisions undoing lower court injunctions without careful argument and often without any reasoned opinion. Although the plaintiffs may ultimately win the litigation, the Court permitted Trump’s policies to go into effect indefinitely and sometimes irreversibly.
This week’s disgusting display of Congressional cowardice and cruelty is especially heartbreaking. It unravels decades of the incremental progress made under FDR, LBJ, Obama, and Biden.
Trump continues to operate like the crime boss he is, threatening anyone who dares to stand in his way. Many Republicans quietly oppose aspects of Trump’s policies, but they refuse to act collectively – and he continues picking them off, one by one, making examples of any who resist.
It is as if much of the country – including the media – forgets that he is a twice-impeached president, convicted felon, and habitual liar. He would have been tried for serious felonies if he hadn’t been re-elected. He is an insurrectionist who pardoned thousands of fellow insurrectionists.
So, it is not surprising that many of us feel heartbroken and discouraged. This issue closes with two reflections from True Blue Americans – taking stock of where we are and how it feels.
In times like these, it is worth remembering that our country has endured many dark periods before. Our history of slavery was, obviously, a moral abomination. As a country, we survived Jim Crow, the Gilded Age, brutal suppression of the labor movement, the Palmer Raids, the first pro-Nazi America First movement, the McCarthy Era, the Viet Nam War, and George W. Bush’s Iraq War, among others. I believe that our country will get through our current dark times. Don’t completely give up hope. Be well and do good where you can.
Huge Horrible Policy Bomb
Jennifer Rubin: “The worst bill in modern history. Democrats must make it a career-ender for Republicans.”
Steven Rattner: “How Bad Is This Bill? The Answer in 10 Charts.”
Paul Waldman: “Why They Did It. Their budget bill is terrible politics for Republicans. But there's something greater at stake for them. … They are willing to take the political risk, even the certainty of future defeat, because they believe so strongly in what this bill does. They despise Medicaid and have contempt for everyone who uses it. The same goes for SNAP, aka food stamps. They desperately want to cut taxes for the wealthy, and always have. They don’t just want to roll back Biden-era climate policies, they want to destroy the entire green energy and manufacturing sectors of the economy. Their hearts flutter excitedly at the sight of a gang of masked thugs pummeling a landscaper or arresting a 6-year-old with leukemia; the thought of spending $150 billion so ICE can seize millions of immigrants and cart them off to a network of brutal detention centers fills them with joy. That’s just part of what’s in the bill, but the point is that this is the fulfillment of their fondest policy wishes. If it costs them their House majority and maybe even their Senate majority as well (a long shot, but not impossible), they’re willing to do it. Because they believe in it.”
Ed Kilgore: “No President Has Ever Had Something Like Trump’s Megabill.”
Ed Kilgore: “Poll Shows Public Knows Little About Trump’s Ugly Megabill.”
Ross Barkan: “Trump Has Betrayed His Base With the Big Beautiful Bill.”
Dana Milbank: “The last breath of small-government conservatism. As the GOP budget bill rushed toward passage, one so-called principled objector after another lost their nerve.”
RACO – Republicans Always Chicken Out: “All the times the Freedom Caucus folded under pressure from Trump. The far-right caucus caved to pressure from the president and GOP leaders to allow bill to pass.”
Brendan Buck: “Is This Really How We’re Legislating Now? Congress is no longer in the business of thoughtful legislating. Its role has been reduced to putting political points on the board for the president.”
“5 things Jeffries said in his record-breaking House floor speech. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries breaks the record for longest speech delivered on the House floor with nearly nine hours of remarks about how the Republican tax bill would hurt Americans.”
“From Court to Congress to the Mideast, Trump Tallies His Wins. There are serious questions about the wisdom and durability of President Trump’s policies, but on his terms, he can point to a string of accomplishments.”
“Trump ignored GOP warnings to gamble on a politically risky bill. In the president’s eagerness to score a win and extend tax cuts, he walked away from a key campaign promise on Medicaid. The GOP fears that will cost the party.”
“6 ways Trump’s tax bill could shape the battle for control of Congress. The GOP tax bill is deeply unpopular, but Republicans still have an opportunity to influence public perception because many Americans know little about it.
Paul Waldman: “The GOP megabill fulfills JD Vance’s incredibly depressing vision of patriotism. The "big beautiful bill" enormously increases the resources ICE will devote to rounding up and incarcerating immigrants.”
“GOP tax bill bets big on Trump’s immigration agenda despite poll warnings. The GOP tax bill stands to deliver a $170 billion windfall to turbocharge immigrant detentions and deportations. But public approval of Trump’s approach has soured.”
“ICE increasingly targets undocumented migrants with no criminal record. ICE officers are ramping up arrests. But the share of detained migrants with a criminal conviction has been declining.”
Supreme Court In The Tank For Trump
“The Supreme Court and Congress cede powers to Trump and the presidency. The high court has given the president immunity and protected him from nationwide injunctions. Congress is giving ground on spending and tariffs. It adds up to a turbocharged executive.”
“How Trump’s emergencies and wins dominated the Supreme Court term. The justices’ regular caseload was overshadowed by requests from the president to allow some of his most controversial policies to go forward. … The justices permitted the president to remove protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, fire independent agency regulators before their terms expired, kick transgender troops out of the military and give Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to the sensitive data of millions of Americans held by the Social Security Administration — all while litigation continues on the legality of each action. … The emergency rulings, often issued without any explanation of the majority’s reasons, raised questions about how the court operates. The three liberal justices called out their colleagues in sharply worded written dissents for making consequential decisions on a short fuse. … Despite Trump’s talk of not complying with court orders, his sharp denunciation of judges who rule against him and his willingness to ignore settled law, Lazarus said, the majority has mostly treated Trump “as they would a normal President, entitled to all the deference and good faith assumptions to which the holder of that office is traditionally entitled. It is a disappointing result.”
“A Triumphant Supreme Court Term for Trump, Fueled by Emergency Rulings. Using truncated procedures, the six-justice conservative majority gave a green light to many of the president’s most assertive initiatives. … The emergency rulings in Mr. Trump’s favor were theoretically temporary and provisional. In practice, they allowed the president to pursue his policies indefinitely and sometimes irreversibly. … Friday’s decision, which limited the availability of nationwide injunctions — rulings that bind not only the parties to the case but also everyone else affected by the challenged executive order … was the most important case on the emergency docket this term, as it did more than pause rulings from lower courts finding Trump administration measures unlawful. It made it much harder for lower courts to thwart such measures at all.”
“With Supreme Court Ruling, Another Check on Trump’s Power Fades. The court tied the hands of judges at a time when Congress has been cowed and internal executive branch constraints have been steamrolled.
“Eight charts that explain the Supreme Court’s term. Numbers illustrate the term’s key themes and decisions. … Trump has fared poorly in the lower courts but has found remarkable success at the high court.
True Blue Views About the US
Heidi and Guy Burgess: “The 4th of July, a Time to Celebrate — Or Not?” They asked ChatGPT "Can you tell me what progressives think about celebrating the 4th of July in the United States?" and “"Using a similar style, can you tell me what conservatives think about celebrating the 4th of July in the United States?"
Heidi and Guy argue, “What's missing, we believe, from the left's focus on American's faults, is a counter-balancing inventory of the positive things that the US has done and continues to do. As we, in the US, work to overcome past injustices, we need to be sure to do so in a way that maintains and strengthens the good things that those in the US have done and are doing. Simply rebelling against things we don't like does not assure that things will get better. To do that, we need to defend and strengthen a democracy capable of navigating today's complex trade-offs (while also resisting the attacks from bad-faith actors who seek to exploit inevitable political tensions). Bottom line, we think it is important to recognize that Americans have a lot to be proud of — and a lot to protect and build upon — as we go into this 4th of July holiday.”
Douglas Yarn: “Celebrate the 4th. … Personally, I’m putting the flag out on the front of the house to accompany our various “resist” yard signs. I’ll light up the grill and share food with neighbors. When it’s time for me to go back in the water, I hope I’m brave enough to do so, and I hope I’m surrounded by all of you (safety in numbers!). As much as I’m trying to put a light spin on some of this, I am weeping for my country right now. Nevertheless, on July 4th, I will celebrate what citizenship should mean in spite of the authoritarian assault on its concomitant freedoms.