Trump’s push to deploy troops in our cities isn’t about safety, but a political weapon that threatens democracy itself, writes Meghan Hays, Democratic strategist and former Biden aide.
Trump doesn’t care about “Crime“. He cares about deploying military control as practice for what is coming. He wants blue cities to explode and then he can declare martial law.
His goal is a military dictator coup. He is moving towards dictatorship for America using the military this way. In a fascist dictatorship, that's the way it works.
Where is the Congress? Where is the SCOTUS? 🤔
Our separation of powers created to DEFEND the Constitution and our democracy is failing us.
He said before the election he will rule as a dictator if elected and now is what he is doing..
The fact that anyone could support such a move, tells me that much of MAGA supports fascism. They just don't understand or lack the education to know better! Apparently they are OK with this situation. I saw a poll recently that said 25% of Americans still strongly approve of Trump. Even after all of his Pure Dictator garbage!
Well, after all, they CHEERED when Trump on the campaign trail said: “Vote for me this one time and you'll never have to vote again”
You can't fix stupid! 🤦♀️
This "We the People will NOT comply with tyranny" tee is more alive than ever before 👇
My fervent hope/wish/prayer is that he's too ill to see it through. He's a monster, aided and abetted by numb sculls and monsters. They've crapped on their oath to uphold the constitution and must be removed. He can lead the pack as the worst offender.
I agree that the rule of law must be restored somehow. The disabled oath breakers and insurrection supporters must be removed from power. They are disqualified under the 14th amendment section 3 disqualification clause. they are traitors.
It has to be every day . It has to be done through work walkouts. It’s needs to be done Dem through Congress. They should walk out. They should stand on the capitol steps. They should talk from stop their desks.
Send the troops to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to take the corrupt out and give us a real government. One that honors the Constitution and wants democracy for all. Not this regime that we have, that thinks that they are the chosen ones and can do whatever crime and corruption things that they want to do. That would be a good thing for the troops to do, not turn against their brothers and sisters, but to get rid of the traitors.
“No one is suggesting that America is China” might not mean what you think anymore. China might even be more democratic than the US these days and that’s not saying much.
Wasn’t there a ruling just today in which a federal judge said it was illegal for him to send troops to California this past summer? Pritzker and Raul need to be ready to file the papers with the court.
Yes. Reeber that The Dictator Criminal Deranged Felon Psycho doesn't obey any laws. He's sending them anyway. Los Angeles needs to surround those national guard people in protest. Violence is not a good idea, but somehow this bullshit dictator dingbat has to be stopped. If he's not going to obey the law in circumstances, why should we?
Every single troop involved in this should be charged, starting with a few. Every single troop…should be made to do training from start to end…all over again, including the higher ups. They seemed to be at total loss on what their services are for.
Problem is the top brass who agree to accept higher positions are in on it as well, ambition over their oaths. Regular troops are in a tough position in that they can't disobey a direct order unless its CLEARLY illegal. Deploying to a city to 'guard' facilities/buildings isn't 'illegal' enough to risk a court martial. Patrolling streets also isn't enough. What should be happening is the officers and generals in charge should be protesting to their superiors. Someone in that chain of command must at some point raise the alarm enough that it makes SecDef and Chairman take a hard minute to reevaluate.
Donnie is a first-class bully. He doesn't have heart. I bet he was a spoiled little shit. He is still spoiled the way people yes, yes him about everything. It's a shame we have to put up with him and his regime. Gotta keep showing up at rallies and protesting.
Pritzker added more to the speech worth noting (Sorry! I was driving in heavy traffic & couldn't note the PBS program).
President Biden in his wisdom funded successful community programs that reduced CRIME.
That's how you do it - not with ICE GESTAPO ASSAULTS & BRUTALITY.
Non-profits created programs to educate kids, get them off the streets, get educations....
Those programs are not SEXY, but they worked & funding needs to be restored.
(Don't expect the Orange Turd to do anything sensible that lacks fanfare.)
Gov. Pritzker also raised the issue of the MASSIVE INFLOW OF GUNS!
There are too many states that allow unlimited gun purchases that are flooding across states' borders.
On August 31, 2025, COMMONWEALTH BEACON offered the following article written by LEE PELTON of CEO of THE BOSTON FOUNDATION:
Trump rejects data he doesn't like. Boston faces troubling facts head-on to craft solutions to problems.
August 31, 2025
By LEE PELTON
Read the headlines of the past few weeks – and you’ll see a common theme of an administration that rejects data and science that don’t suit their quest to consolidate power.
Don’t like the jobs report? Fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Want to clamp down on American cities? Ignore the data that says crime in Washington, DC, is down 30 percent and call up the National Guard. Reject climate science. Dismantle the Education Department. Undermine academic research. And last week, force out your own head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only weeks after she took office, apparently over her unwillingness to reject the CDC’s own science.
These are far from the only examples, in an administration that has systematically replaced experts, researchers, and data with sycophants, charlatans, and falsehoods.
Why does this matter? In an era when facts are contested and expertise is under siege, it’s worth remembering that data not only informs policy—it can transform lives.
In 2008, The Boston Foundation released a groundbreaking report with a stark finding: only 35 percent of Boston Public Schools graduates who enrolled in college were earning a degree within seven years. The implications were clear and deeply troubling. A system that was helping students reach the college door was failing to see them through it to graduation.
Mayor Tom Menino didn’t look away. He didn’t question the data’s accuracy, attack the researchers, or dismiss the messenger. Instead, he called a meeting.
Gathering city leaders, educators, philanthropists, and nonprofits at the Boston Foundation’s offices, Menino declared: “We can do better. And we will.”
From that moment came Success Boston—a citywide initiative that provided coaching, advising, and support to help students persist through college and into careers. Today, nearly two decades later, Success Boston has helped to nearly double the share of Boston Public Schools graduates completing higher education. The lessons are simple: Data reveals the problem, and leadership turns it into progress.
Data doesn’t solve problems, especially when these problems are as complex and systemic as the challenges that face us in areas like housing, education, and health care. However, it provides us with insights into what is working and what is not. It guides innovative strategies that can make a meaningful difference in tackling those problems.
When leaders fire the messenger instead of confronting the message, as the president did when firing Erika McEntarfer as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consequences go far beyond politics. They erode public trust in our institutions. They blur the line between fact and fiction. And most dangerously, they leave us flying blind in moments that demand clear-eyed solutions.
At The Boston Foundation, we’ve long believed that data is not an obstacle to be overcome—it’s a compass to be followed. It allowed my predecessor, Paul Grogan, whose sometimes rocky relationship with City Hall caused some to think that he would be a political rival to the mayor, to work with Mayor Menino to benefit the children of Boston.
Success Boston is far from the only example. For more than two decades, the Greater Boston Housing Report Card has used local, state, and federal data to track housing supply and affordability in Greater Boston.
By examining more granular affordable housing data, Mayor Michelle Wu was able to identify specific buildings with expiring affordability restrictions, map neighborhoods most at risk of displacement, and quantify the gap between existing affordable units and projected need. This evidence base enabled policymakers and funders like The Boston Foundation to prioritize investments, craft targeted preservation strategies, and mobilize community-based organizations to intervene before homes were lost.
Without this data-driven approach, the effort would have been reactive rather than proactive, missing the window to protect the housing that families depend on. It’s why Boston has emerged as a national leader in so many areas—not because we’ve had all the answers, but because we’ve had the humility to ask hard questions.
We are now relying on data as we work with partners across Massachusetts to address the numerous harms being inflicted on the state by federal actions. Our work to address food insecurity, for example, in the wake of federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is informed by Boston Indicators’ research to identify the communities most at risk and the organizations most in need of additional funds to meet what will be a rising demand for food assistance.
As citizens, we should expect and demand smart, informed leadership at every level of government. We deserve leadership that listens when the numbers are uncomfortable. Leadership that believes in transparency over theatrics. Leadership that trusts evidence over agendas. Leadership whose mantra is: “Let’s solve this together,” not “You’re fired.”
Numbers don’t create change—people do. What Mayor Menino understood, and what we strive to carry forward today, is that data must be paired with courage, collaboration, and community voice. Success Boston didn’t just work because of spreadsheets; it worked because coaches met students where they were, nonprofits stepped up to expand their services, and a city was willing to invest in long-term solutions.
Boston is not perfect. No city is. But we are at our best when we treat knowledge as a public good, not a political threat. When Donald Trump ignores, denigrates, discards or destroys data that counter his narrow world view, he condemns us all to a future of failed policies and flawed decisions.
As we in Massachusetts are forced to repair the damage inflicted on us by these policies, we can and should use the available data to make informed choices. If we do that, we can provide the strong leadership this nation will need to get through the coming years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee Pelton is president and CEO of The Boston Foundation.
As a POST SCRIPT to this article, BOSTON is turning VACANT OFFICE SPACE into AFFORDABLE HOUSING & some encouraging numbers were offered today. That's how you solve problems.
Ben! 😄😄😄 You need to have on as a guest writer Chris Armitage. Also you need to do a Live here on Substack with him. Please give him a platform. He's good. He's for democracy!
what good are recitations of Trump's fascism what the hell are we collectively doing about it?!! Is Max Frost the only counter to Republican/Trump we hear from?? Military boots in American cities??Impeachment becoming a must for this corruptive usurpation of Constitutional rights. Trump must sit there and think. ".... WHAT ELSE CAN I FOIST ON THE CITIZENS OF THE USA....."! Where are DEMOCRATIC PARTY meaningful opposition rather than "hand-wringing" constant pleas for DONATIONS!!!!
The people need to protest in full force against this tyranny.
Trump doesn’t care about “Crime“. He cares about deploying military control as practice for what is coming. He wants blue cities to explode and then he can declare martial law.
His goal is a military dictator coup. He is moving towards dictatorship for America using the military this way. In a fascist dictatorship, that's the way it works.
Where is the Congress? Where is the SCOTUS? 🤔
Our separation of powers created to DEFEND the Constitution and our democracy is failing us.
He said before the election he will rule as a dictator if elected and now is what he is doing..
The fact that anyone could support such a move, tells me that much of MAGA supports fascism. They just don't understand or lack the education to know better! Apparently they are OK with this situation. I saw a poll recently that said 25% of Americans still strongly approve of Trump. Even after all of his Pure Dictator garbage!
Well, after all, they CHEERED when Trump on the campaign trail said: “Vote for me this one time and you'll never have to vote again”
You can't fix stupid! 🤦♀️
This "We the People will NOT comply with tyranny" tee is more alive than ever before 👇
https://libtees.dashery.com/products/78688428-we-the-people-will-not-comply-with-tyranny-t-shirt
I REFUSE to show any tolerance or complicity by remaining silent in the fight against tyranny!
Many Congressional Republicans privately admit Trump is nuts. The issue for some of them is how to protect them -- from MAGA.
First step is to stop it.
No Daniel, they have the power to impeach the entire administration. They are not in fear, they are a part of this takeover.
Brian Fitzpatrick is the prototype.
My fervent hope/wish/prayer is that he's too ill to see it through. He's a monster, aided and abetted by numb sculls and monsters. They've crapped on their oath to uphold the constitution and must be removed. He can lead the pack as the worst offender.
I agree that the rule of law must be restored somehow. The disabled oath breakers and insurrection supporters must be removed from power. They are disqualified under the 14th amendment section 3 disqualification clause. they are traitors.
Protest numbers are climbing....... need to make 12 million....3.5% of the US population.
TacoTits is sick and vulnerable. Give him absolute No Quarter.
Until and unless we do, it will continue. And get worse.
October 18th, No Kings 2.0
It has to be every day . It has to be done through work walkouts. It’s needs to be done Dem through Congress. They should walk out. They should stand on the capitol steps. They should talk from stop their desks.
And before that! I live in a wonderful blue state n dickwad has his sites on us. Start calling ANY member of congress! Especially red states!
202 225 3121 or 202 224 3121
Any member, any state!
Don’t miss this!
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5447819-thomas-massie-ro-khanna-jeffrey-epstein-victims-capitol/
Just HELL NO!!
https://www.nobelprize.org/contact
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-burger-is-brought-to-you-by-immigrants/ar-AA1KNNV8
Are these the treasonous bastards that are terrorizing our cities n citizens??
FYI!!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/07/wall-of-shame-january-6-pardons
trump n his cabal must go!
We the people need to fight like hell!!
Interesting that he says he couldn’t call in the Guard on Jan 6 but suddenly he can send them wherever he wants
Send the troops to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to take the corrupt out and give us a real government. One that honors the Constitution and wants democracy for all. Not this regime that we have, that thinks that they are the chosen ones and can do whatever crime and corruption things that they want to do. That would be a good thing for the troops to do, not turn against their brothers and sisters, but to get rid of the traitors.
Force them to get
proof of the
" emergency", and not something AI generated. Court. Court. Court. Posse comitatis.
FIGHT BACK! If YOU Live in a Blue State, follow this link and Contact Your Governor!
https://open.substack.com/pub/jodygorran/p/if-you-live-in-a-blue-state-contact?r=68rn&utm_medium=ios
He is deplorable and evil and mentally deranged....I wish he could vanish..
And a crook!
“No one is suggesting that America is China” might not mean what you think anymore. China might even be more democratic than the US these days and that’s not saying much.
Xi, Vlad, modi n Kim are laughing there asses off at trump!
Full Fascist
Wasn’t there a ruling just today in which a federal judge said it was illegal for him to send troops to California this past summer? Pritzker and Raul need to be ready to file the papers with the court.
Yes. Reeber that The Dictator Criminal Deranged Felon Psycho doesn't obey any laws. He's sending them anyway. Los Angeles needs to surround those national guard people in protest. Violence is not a good idea, but somehow this bullshit dictator dingbat has to be stopped. If he's not going to obey the law in circumstances, why should we?
Every single troop involved in this should be charged, starting with a few. Every single troop…should be made to do training from start to end…all over again, including the higher ups. They seemed to be at total loss on what their services are for.
Problem is the top brass who agree to accept higher positions are in on it as well, ambition over their oaths. Regular troops are in a tough position in that they can't disobey a direct order unless its CLEARLY illegal. Deploying to a city to 'guard' facilities/buildings isn't 'illegal' enough to risk a court martial. Patrolling streets also isn't enough. What should be happening is the officers and generals in charge should be protesting to their superiors. Someone in that chain of command must at some point raise the alarm enough that it makes SecDef and Chairman take a hard minute to reevaluate.
The truly professional ‘top brass’ have been removed already. For that reason.
Donnie is a first-class bully. He doesn't have heart. I bet he was a spoiled little shit. He is still spoiled the way people yes, yes him about everything. It's a shame we have to put up with him and his regime. Gotta keep showing up at rallies and protesting.
You are correct, "America is not China"; China is more disciplined and better governed by an adult.
Pritzker added more to the speech worth noting (Sorry! I was driving in heavy traffic & couldn't note the PBS program).
President Biden in his wisdom funded successful community programs that reduced CRIME.
That's how you do it - not with ICE GESTAPO ASSAULTS & BRUTALITY.
Non-profits created programs to educate kids, get them off the streets, get educations....
Those programs are not SEXY, but they worked & funding needs to be restored.
(Don't expect the Orange Turd to do anything sensible that lacks fanfare.)
Gov. Pritzker also raised the issue of the MASSIVE INFLOW OF GUNS!
There are too many states that allow unlimited gun purchases that are flooding across states' borders.
On August 31, 2025, COMMONWEALTH BEACON offered the following article written by LEE PELTON of CEO of THE BOSTON FOUNDATION:
Trump rejects data he doesn't like. Boston faces troubling facts head-on to craft solutions to problems.
August 31, 2025
By LEE PELTON
Read the headlines of the past few weeks – and you’ll see a common theme of an administration that rejects data and science that don’t suit their quest to consolidate power.
Don’t like the jobs report? Fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Want to clamp down on American cities? Ignore the data that says crime in Washington, DC, is down 30 percent and call up the National Guard. Reject climate science. Dismantle the Education Department. Undermine academic research. And last week, force out your own head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only weeks after she took office, apparently over her unwillingness to reject the CDC’s own science.
These are far from the only examples, in an administration that has systematically replaced experts, researchers, and data with sycophants, charlatans, and falsehoods.
Why does this matter? In an era when facts are contested and expertise is under siege, it’s worth remembering that data not only informs policy—it can transform lives.
In 2008, The Boston Foundation released a groundbreaking report with a stark finding: only 35 percent of Boston Public Schools graduates who enrolled in college were earning a degree within seven years. The implications were clear and deeply troubling. A system that was helping students reach the college door was failing to see them through it to graduation.
Mayor Tom Menino didn’t look away. He didn’t question the data’s accuracy, attack the researchers, or dismiss the messenger. Instead, he called a meeting.
Gathering city leaders, educators, philanthropists, and nonprofits at the Boston Foundation’s offices, Menino declared: “We can do better. And we will.”
From that moment came Success Boston—a citywide initiative that provided coaching, advising, and support to help students persist through college and into careers. Today, nearly two decades later, Success Boston has helped to nearly double the share of Boston Public Schools graduates completing higher education. The lessons are simple: Data reveals the problem, and leadership turns it into progress.
Data doesn’t solve problems, especially when these problems are as complex and systemic as the challenges that face us in areas like housing, education, and health care. However, it provides us with insights into what is working and what is not. It guides innovative strategies that can make a meaningful difference in tackling those problems.
When leaders fire the messenger instead of confronting the message, as the president did when firing Erika McEntarfer as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consequences go far beyond politics. They erode public trust in our institutions. They blur the line between fact and fiction. And most dangerously, they leave us flying blind in moments that demand clear-eyed solutions.
At The Boston Foundation, we’ve long believed that data is not an obstacle to be overcome—it’s a compass to be followed. It allowed my predecessor, Paul Grogan, whose sometimes rocky relationship with City Hall caused some to think that he would be a political rival to the mayor, to work with Mayor Menino to benefit the children of Boston.
Success Boston is far from the only example. For more than two decades, the Greater Boston Housing Report Card has used local, state, and federal data to track housing supply and affordability in Greater Boston.
By examining more granular affordable housing data, Mayor Michelle Wu was able to identify specific buildings with expiring affordability restrictions, map neighborhoods most at risk of displacement, and quantify the gap between existing affordable units and projected need. This evidence base enabled policymakers and funders like The Boston Foundation to prioritize investments, craft targeted preservation strategies, and mobilize community-based organizations to intervene before homes were lost.
Without this data-driven approach, the effort would have been reactive rather than proactive, missing the window to protect the housing that families depend on. It’s why Boston has emerged as a national leader in so many areas—not because we’ve had all the answers, but because we’ve had the humility to ask hard questions.
We are now relying on data as we work with partners across Massachusetts to address the numerous harms being inflicted on the state by federal actions. Our work to address food insecurity, for example, in the wake of federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is informed by Boston Indicators’ research to identify the communities most at risk and the organizations most in need of additional funds to meet what will be a rising demand for food assistance.
As citizens, we should expect and demand smart, informed leadership at every level of government. We deserve leadership that listens when the numbers are uncomfortable. Leadership that believes in transparency over theatrics. Leadership that trusts evidence over agendas. Leadership whose mantra is: “Let’s solve this together,” not “You’re fired.”
Numbers don’t create change—people do. What Mayor Menino understood, and what we strive to carry forward today, is that data must be paired with courage, collaboration, and community voice. Success Boston didn’t just work because of spreadsheets; it worked because coaches met students where they were, nonprofits stepped up to expand their services, and a city was willing to invest in long-term solutions.
Boston is not perfect. No city is. But we are at our best when we treat knowledge as a public good, not a political threat. When Donald Trump ignores, denigrates, discards or destroys data that counter his narrow world view, he condemns us all to a future of failed policies and flawed decisions.
As we in Massachusetts are forced to repair the damage inflicted on us by these policies, we can and should use the available data to make informed choices. If we do that, we can provide the strong leadership this nation will need to get through the coming years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee Pelton is president and CEO of The Boston Foundation.
As a POST SCRIPT to this article, BOSTON is turning VACANT OFFICE SPACE into AFFORDABLE HOUSING & some encouraging numbers were offered today. That's how you solve problems.
Ben! 😄😄😄 You need to have on as a guest writer Chris Armitage. Also you need to do a Live here on Substack with him. Please give him a platform. He's good. He's for democracy!
His Substack page is called The Existential Republic Chris Armitage an investigative reporter.
what good are recitations of Trump's fascism what the hell are we collectively doing about it?!! Is Max Frost the only counter to Republican/Trump we hear from?? Military boots in American cities??Impeachment becoming a must for this corruptive usurpation of Constitutional rights. Trump must sit there and think. ".... WHAT ELSE CAN I FOIST ON THE CITIZENS OF THE USA....."! Where are DEMOCRATIC PARTY meaningful opposition rather than "hand-wringing" constant pleas for DONATIONS!!!!