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LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
LetMyPeopleVote's Journal
April 2, 2026
Mike Luckovich-Redactions are a Force of Habbit
— Mike Luckovich (@mluckovich.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T19:36:53.732Z
April 2, 2026
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/iran-says-it-has-started-to-achieve
The Borowitz Report-Iran Says It Has Started to Achieve Regime Change in US
Iran Says It Has Started to Achieve Regime Change in US www.borowitzreport.com/p/iran-says-...
— Ray Beckerman (@raybeckerman.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T20:14:46.048Z
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/iran-says-it-has-started-to-achieve
TEHRAN (The Borowitz Report)—The leaders of Iran’s Islamic Republic crowed on Thursday that they have begun to achieve their goal of regime change in the U.S.
“First Kristi Noem, and now Pam Bondi,” the official Iranian statement read. “The dominoes are falling one by one.”
Iran said that, although the US claims Donald J. Trump is still in power, “His speech last night did not prove that he is still alive.”
“First Kristi Noem, and now Pam Bondi,” the official Iranian statement read. “The dominoes are falling one by one.”
Iran said that, although the US claims Donald J. Trump is still in power, “His speech last night did not prove that he is still alive.”
April 2, 2026
Statement on the Colorado Court of Appeals upholding Tina Peters conviction for election tampering
This statement made me smile
https://x.com/COAttnyGeneral/status/2039734785417916883
https://coag.gov/press-releases/weiser-statement-on-the-colorado-court-of-appeals-upholding-tina-peters-conviction
April 2, 2026 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser released the following statement regarding today’s decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals in The People of the State of Colorado v. Tina Peters:
“The original sentence that the court imposed on Tina Peters for illegally tampering with election equipment was fair and appropriate. The Court of Appeals raised concerns about the length of the sentence and asked a district court judge to reevaluate the sentence. Ms. Peters is in prison because of her own criminal conduct to prove false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections, and she has not shown any remorse for her actions.
“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain.
“Moreover, the court affirmed that the president’s pardon of Tina Peters is meaningless and won’t free her from prison. Presidential pardons do not extend to state crimes, and the president cannot wipe away Ms. Peters’ conviction with a stroke of a pen.”
###
“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain.
“Moreover, the court affirmed that the president’s pardon of Tina Peters is meaningless and won’t free her from prison. Presidential pardons do not extend to state crimes, and the president cannot wipe away Ms. Peters’ conviction with a stroke of a pen.”
###
April 2, 2026
Statement on the Colorado Court of Appeals upholding Tina Peters conviction for election tampering
This statement made me smile
https://x.com/COAttnyGeneral/status/2039734785417916883
https://coag.gov/press-releases/weiser-statement-on-the-colorado-court-of-appeals-upholding-tina-peters-conviction
April 2, 2026 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser released the following statement regarding today’s decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals in The People of the State of Colorado v. Tina Peters:
“The original sentence that the court imposed on Tina Peters for illegally tampering with election equipment was fair and appropriate. The Court of Appeals raised concerns about the length of the sentence and asked a district court judge to reevaluate the sentence. Ms. Peters is in prison because of her own criminal conduct to prove false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections, and she has not shown any remorse for her actions.
“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain.
“Moreover, the court affirmed that the president’s pardon of Tina Peters is meaningless and won’t free her from prison. Presidential pardons do not extend to state crimes, and the president cannot wipe away Ms. Peters’ conviction with a stroke of a pen.”
###
“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain.
“Moreover, the court affirmed that the president’s pardon of Tina Peters is meaningless and won’t free her from prison. Presidential pardons do not extend to state crimes, and the president cannot wipe away Ms. Peters’ conviction with a stroke of a pen.”
###
April 2, 2026
https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2026/03/mike-luckovich-strait-of-jacket-needed/
Mike Luckovich: Strait of jacket needed
https://x.com/mluckovichajc/status/2039415587290452423https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2026/03/mike-luckovich-strait-of-jacket-needed/
— Mike Luckovich (@mluckovich.bsky.social) 2026-03-31T17:08:52.683Z
April 2, 2026
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-scrambles-to-change-the-meaning-of-regime-change-among-other-phrases
MaddowBlog-White House scrambles to change the meaning of 'regime change' (among other phrases)
Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.
Trump and his team aren’t just eyeing targets in Iran, they’re also taking aim at the dictionary.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-01T18:32:42.833Z
Ahead of tonight’s remarks, remember: “Regime change†is one of several phrases they think they can redefine to suit their purposes.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-scrambles-to-change-the-meaning-of-regime-change-among-other-phrases
In a piece for The Bulwark, Will Saletan explained, “Donald Trump’s war in Iran has shocked and confused people around the world, including foreign officials. One reason might be that many of these people learned English before Trump came to power. In Trump’s war, words no longer mean what they used to mean.”
But perhaps no phrase has been targeted with the vigor and enthusiasm as “regime change.” On Tuesday morning, for example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted during a press briefing that “regime change has occurred” in Iran.
A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt used similar language, arguing that there’s been “regime change” in Iran because so many Iranian officials have been killed as part of the war.
The president, meanwhile, has begun pushing a similar message on a nearly daily basis. On Sunday night, for example, during a Q&A with reporters on Air Force One, he declared, “We’ve had regime change.”
Pressed on the point, he added, “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”...
There’s no great mystery as to the motivation here: The war hasn’t exactly gone as smoothly as the White House hoped, so Team Trump is scrambling to manufacture objectives and concoct victories it can brag about to the public.
But that this effort apparently relies on changing the meaning of established words and phrases speaks volumes about its merits.
But perhaps no phrase has been targeted with the vigor and enthusiasm as “regime change.” On Tuesday morning, for example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted during a press briefing that “regime change has occurred” in Iran.
Hegseth: "Regime change has occurred"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-31T12:15:20.864Z
A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt used similar language, arguing that there’s been “regime change” in Iran because so many Iranian officials have been killed as part of the war.
The president, meanwhile, has begun pushing a similar message on a nearly daily basis. On Sunday night, for example, during a Q&A with reporters on Air Force One, he declared, “We’ve had regime change.”
Pressed on the point, he added, “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change.”...
There’s no great mystery as to the motivation here: The war hasn’t exactly gone as smoothly as the White House hoped, so Team Trump is scrambling to manufacture objectives and concoct victories it can brag about to the public.
But that this effort apparently relies on changing the meaning of established words and phrases speaks volumes about its merits.
April 2, 2026
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/iran-agrees-to-end-war-only-if-there
The Borowitz Report-Iran Agrees to End War Only if There is Regime Change in U.S.
Iran Agrees to End War Only if There is Regime Change in U.S.
— Blue Skies In Utah (@papabear333.bsky.social) 2026-04-01T23:24:42.080Z
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/iran-agrees-to-end-war-only-if-there
TEHRAN (The Borowitz Report)—Shortly before Donald J. Trump was set to address the American people on Wednesday night, Iran declared that it would agree to end the war only if there was regime change in the United States.
“The United States is a rogue state led by an unstable ruler,” the Iranian statement read. “Such a madman must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.”
The Islamic Republic’s ultimatum drew immediate and strong support from Greenland, Canada, and the rest of NATO.
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said only that Trump was well-rested for his televised address, having spent the day sleeping at the Supreme Court.
“The United States is a rogue state led by an unstable ruler,” the Iranian statement read. “Such a madman must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.”
The Islamic Republic’s ultimatum drew immediate and strong support from Greenland, Canada, and the rest of NATO.
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said only that Trump was well-rested for his televised address, having spent the day sleeping at the Supreme Court.
April 1, 2026
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/i-dont-care-about-that-trump-moves-the-goal-posts-on-irans-uranium-stockpile
MaddowBlog-'I don't care about that': Trump moves the goal posts on Iran's uranium stockpile
Iran has enough highly enriched uranium for 10 to 12 bombs. The American president knows this but no longer appears to care.
If Trump told Reuters the truth, and he’s prepared to let Iran keep its current uranium stockpile, this would:
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-01T19:45:18.613Z
- drastically reduce the need for ground troops
- contradict everything he’s said for a decade
- generate fresh questions about why he started this war in the first place
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/i-dont-care-about-that-trump-moves-the-goal-posts-on-irans-uranium-stockpile
As for whether Trump’s newly manufactured “goal” has actually been “attained,” The New York Times reported, “Unless something changes over the next two weeks — the target Mr. Trump set to begin withdrawing from the conflict — he will have left the Iranians with 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough for 10 to a dozen bombs. The country will retain control over an even larger inventory of medium-enriched uranium that, with further enrichment, could be turned into bomb fuel, if the Iranians can rebuild that capacity after a month of steady bombing.”
The American president has acknowledged that these details are true, though he apparently no longer cares. Ahead of an Oval Office address to the nation about the war in Iran, the Republican spoke to Reuters about his perspective:
The president’s comments definitely have a practical element: It’s been an open question for weeks as to whether Trump intends to try to seize Iran’s uranium stockpile, which would require ground troops and be profoundly dangerous for U.S. military service members.....
Trump’s goalposts, in other words, are on the move.
Indeed, if the American president’s comments reflect his true perspective (and with this guy, one never really knows), we’re due for a serious public conversation about the motives and objectives for the war. Because as things stand, before the war, Iran had a regime run by radical religious clerics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; the country had a significant uranium stockpile; and the Strait of Hormuz was open.
And now, Trump’s apparent vision for a successful offensive will include Iran with a regime run by radical religious clerics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; the country still holding a significant uranium stockpile; and the Strait of Hormuz will be open.
Mission accomplished, I guess?
The American president has acknowledged that these details are true, though he apparently no longer cares. Ahead of an Oval Office address to the nation about the war in Iran, the Republican spoke to Reuters about his perspective:
Of the enriched uranium, Trump said: ‘That’s so far underground, I don’t care about that.’
‘We’ll always be watching it by satellite,’ he added. He said Iran was ‘incapable’ of developing a weapon now.
The president’s comments definitely have a practical element: It’s been an open question for weeks as to whether Trump intends to try to seize Iran’s uranium stockpile, which would require ground troops and be profoundly dangerous for U.S. military service members.....
Trump’s goalposts, in other words, are on the move.
Indeed, if the American president’s comments reflect his true perspective (and with this guy, one never really knows), we’re due for a serious public conversation about the motives and objectives for the war. Because as things stand, before the war, Iran had a regime run by radical religious clerics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; the country had a significant uranium stockpile; and the Strait of Hormuz was open.
And now, Trump’s apparent vision for a successful offensive will include Iran with a regime run by radical religious clerics and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; the country still holding a significant uranium stockpile; and the Strait of Hormuz will be open.
Mission accomplished, I guess?
April 1, 2026
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kid-rock-helicopter-hegseth-trump
MaddowBlog-Hegseth's intervention in Kid Rock flyby fiasco is part of a more serious problem
Even Donald Trump conceded that the helicopter pilots “probably shouldn’t” have done what they did. His defense secretary came to a different conclusion.
Hegseth’s intervention in Kid Rock flyby fiasco was ridiculous, but it’s the larger context that matters:
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-01T14:50:01.253Z
An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States. It is a principle for which Team Trump has no use, creating an untenable dynamic.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kid-rock-helicopter-hegseth-trump
Even Donald Trump conceded on Monday that the helicopter pilots “probably shouldn’t have been doing it” since “you’re not supposed to be playing games, right?”
The president’s defense secretary, however, came to a very different conclusion soon after. The New York Times reported:
The Times added that the moves represented “a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon,” adding that the decree “was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.”......
An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States. Partisan, ideological and electoral considerations must be utterly irrelevant to what the military is and how it functions.
It is nevertheless a principle for which Trump and his team appear to have no use, creating an untenable dynamic: In a healthy democracy, the politicization of the military isn’t just misguided, it’s also genuinely dangerous.
In October, The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols highlighted what he described as an ongoing “civil-military crisis,” arguing that “Trump and his valet at the Defense Department, Secretary of Physical Training Pete Hegseth, are now making a dedicated run at turning the men and women of the armed forces into Trump’s personal and partisan army.”
Hegseth’s intervention in the Kid Rock flyby fiasco offered timely evidence that bolstered the underlying fears.
The president’s defense secretary, however, came to a very different conclusion soon after. The New York Times reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday abruptly reversed the suspension of Army crews that piloted two Apache helicopters close to the musician Kid Rock’s residence in Nashville over the weekend. […]
Mr. Hegseth appeared to end both the suspensions and the investigation, with a social media post on Tuesday night declaring: ‘No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.’
The Times added that the moves represented “a remarkable intervention from the highest level of the Pentagon,” adding that the decree “was another indication of his contempt for legal guardrails in the military.”......
An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States. Partisan, ideological and electoral considerations must be utterly irrelevant to what the military is and how it functions.
It is nevertheless a principle for which Trump and his team appear to have no use, creating an untenable dynamic: In a healthy democracy, the politicization of the military isn’t just misguided, it’s also genuinely dangerous.
In October, The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols highlighted what he described as an ongoing “civil-military crisis,” arguing that “Trump and his valet at the Defense Department, Secretary of Physical Training Pete Hegseth, are now making a dedicated run at turning the men and women of the armed forces into Trump’s personal and partisan army.”
Hegseth’s intervention in the Kid Rock flyby fiasco offered timely evidence that bolstered the underlying fears.
April 1, 2026
https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-roberts-new-world-same-constitution
Deadline Legal Blog-How John Roberts' retort sums up the case against Trump's birthright citizenship order
“It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution,” the chief justice told Solicitor General John Sauer on Wednesday.
How John Roberts’ retort sums up the case against Trump’s birthright citizenship order
— Irish News 🇮🇪 (@news-flows-ir.bsky.social) 2026-04-01T19:06:01.000000Z
💾
©
https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-roberts-new-world-same-constitution
If there’s one line to take away from Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing in the birthright citizenship case, it might be this: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
Those words were spoken by Chief Justice John Roberts, who I predict will be with — and will possibly lead — the majority of the court in rejecting President Donald Trump’s bid to single-handedly redefine that citizenship......
“Having said all that,” Roberts replied, “you do agree that that has no impact on the legal analysis before us?”
That’s a judicial way of saying it’s irrelevant.
Sauer maintained that “we’re in a new world now, as Justice [Samuel] Alito pointed out to, where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen.”
That’s when the chief justice replied, “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
If the court holds true to that principle, then Trump will lose this case......
Yet even the possibility that his fringe position will get any votes in this case is remarkable. “Blatantly unconstitutional” is what one federal judge called the executive order that sparked this litigation. Due to the administration’s series of lower court losses, the order hasn’t taken effect. If the high court continues that streak, it never will. If it does take effect, then it will change the country.
As Sauer alluded to in the exchange with Roberts, Alito might be the most likely justice to cast such a vote for the government, though the precise breakdown and rationale of the court’s forthcoming ruling won’t be known until it’s published, which is expected to happen by early July.
Those words were spoken by Chief Justice John Roberts, who I predict will be with — and will possibly lead — the majority of the court in rejecting President Donald Trump’s bid to single-handedly redefine that citizenship......
“Having said all that,” Roberts replied, “you do agree that that has no impact on the legal analysis before us?”
That’s a judicial way of saying it’s irrelevant.
Sauer maintained that “we’re in a new world now, as Justice [Samuel] Alito pointed out to, where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a U.S. citizen.”
That’s when the chief justice replied, “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
If the court holds true to that principle, then Trump will lose this case......
Yet even the possibility that his fringe position will get any votes in this case is remarkable. “Blatantly unconstitutional” is what one federal judge called the executive order that sparked this litigation. Due to the administration’s series of lower court losses, the order hasn’t taken effect. If the high court continues that streak, it never will. If it does take effect, then it will change the country.
As Sauer alluded to in the exchange with Roberts, Alito might be the most likely justice to cast such a vote for the government, though the precise breakdown and rationale of the court’s forthcoming ruling won’t be known until it’s published, which is expected to happen by early July.
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