Margaret: As a board member of the AP, I want to thank you for amplifying this important issue. Courage seems to be in short supply these days but we all need to step up and do our part. Thank you for your wisdom and clear-eyed perspective.
In the past, as a PhD in Macroeconomics, I've submitted on occasion about stories, to include tips. I've never even received the courtesy of a reply, which is okay because I know that AP and Washington Post and NY Times and others save their space for writers to get more articles. That makes sense if you are a literary organization, but your writers don't present expert opinions as much as click bait.
I am not asking for AP to respond. I spend more of my time on Paul Krugman's Substack, or responding to less than scholarly articles on AEI, Brookings, RAND, Cato, Bruegel, etc.
I am telling you that is hypocritical to play the victim-rescuer-persecutor triangle.
I live in a state with two Republican senators and a Republican gerrymandered representative. I email them every day on a different issue; Trump provides plenty. When they respond, it’s with self-congratulatory form letters. But we aren’t standing still. Protests in my city and state are building. I’m ready to work for the candidate challenging our senator next year.
Margaret, thanks as always for fighting the good fight. I am a journalist in Paris - print and digital - and I am frequently asked to appear on French TV news shows as a commentator on politics. My contribution to the cause is to take pains to call out disinformation and both-sides-ism when I hear it. The other day, on a panel show, a French academic started repeating Trump talking points on Ukraine as an example of "the American point of view." I interrupted him: "Let's call that what it is - propaganda - and not the view of America, but of the Trump administration."
I am on substack daily, commenting on various newsletters as my small attempt to speak up, speak out, express solidarity and resistance and encourage others to do the same. I use my real name and almost 2000 readers a week click 'like' after reading a comment. Small change, but I'm an old lady and private person not typically involved in public protests anymore. But here I am. I will say, however, and weirdly, that my FB account has now been hacked for the first time, and someone is posting messages I didn't write under my name. I also, for the first time, can't access my photo/image files in order to attach them to my often political posts. But regardless of what happens, I refuse to shut up. It's my right as an American Citizen to speak up, and I'll keep defending that right.
Bravo! I, too, have found Substack newsletters a lifesaver, and I am beginning to comment more often. I am a retired journalism professor and I am aghast at what is happening in the media world. I left Facebook and Instagram when I created my own Substack, Observations from The Wit. It isn’t just political, but writing it empowers me and strengthens my voice.
Thank you, Barb. I will subscribe to your newsletter in a few minutes. Like you, left Facebook (4 years ago), yet post my substack articles on Instagram, as well as Linked In and Blue Sky. I feel a sense of empowerment in my writing and frustration in the reality of the disaster that I cannot quash.
"As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding," Treanor wrote.
Now there's a sentence that would make the fascist felon's mouth go slack while his eyes glaze over.
He can neither read nor comprehend the English language at that level.
Take a look at Ed Martin’s DOJ bio page and you’ll see he’s some kind of schismatic Catholic reactionary, hence his special animus towards Catholic Georgetown University. Besides the general attack on free speech rights, there’s an element of religious discrimination.
Another reason why I no longer belong to the Catholic church. They've lost their way. The Jesuits (and Sisters of Loretto) were always the "intellectual" branch of religious orders. I'm surprised they haven't been kicked out of today's reactionary, Christian Nationalist "Catholicism" that seeks to rule the political sphere.
To be fair, the Jesuits have been considered too liberal by many Catholics for a long time. I, too, am no longer a practicing Catholic. The hypocrisy is strong, particularly among the Christian Nationalist "Catholics". I miss the days when the Church supported Labor, and served those in great need instead of aligning with the wealthiest.
Here's what I'm doing to resist and protest the 4547 agenda. I've selected as my battle - to support the LGBTQ+ community as a priority. I've started a donation feed on social media to support the Trevor Project, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth and will volunteer for Garden State Equality. I post regularly on social media, pointing out a daily dose of DC drama. I will also start a Substack and share the link on social media. I've joined numerous online organizations and call my reps when I can. There are so many battles that individuals can wage, it's overwhelming. This is why we have to choose those battles carefully. In addition to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, I'm trying to call out attacks on the media, which your article outlines. I'm ever conscious of Christiana Amanpour's 2016 message to the Committee To Protect Journalists, a video which I played frequently for my journalism students. Here, she suggests that the goal of the authoritarians around the world is to silence the media. In 4547 1.0, we only saw a smattering of this with phrases like the Enemy of the People. In the 2.0 version. Without an informed and active media, democracy ceases to exist.
Thank you for posting this valuable reminder of the great (and grave) importance of free speech.
As a former AP domestic correspondent and current financial journalist, this column is the perfect ammunition to kick off the work week with purpose, focus and pride.
I have never worked under a blackish cloud of fear and censorship in my 45-year career.
Thank you for writing this important essay regarding the First Amendment and the importance of a Free Press. I have been writing to Senators and calling Mike Johnson’s office (they haven’t picked up yet but I leave a message.) I’ve written to the entire Senate Republican leadership about the budget and my opposition to tax cuts for the wealthy. When the inhumane cuts to Ukraine occurred, I wrote to every Senator on the Foreign Relations committee. I’ve been writing to them all every day, and I will until we start supporting Ukraine again, and when Congressionally-appropriated funds are disbursed.
My Senators and my Representative in the House are all Democrats so I write to them to thank them when they speak out against the administration. My Representative, Rosa DeLauro, has been targeted by Musk on Twitter. I wonder why?
Great piece and thank you for everything you are doing to shine light on what is, indeed, an American Crisis.
As for me, I feel frustrated about by how little leadership there seems on fighting this attack on Democracy. I do live in a swing district with a Republican congressman. I've written him four times about different issues and called his office twice so far. No responses at all.
Also, for the first time, I am responding to family members who voted for Trump (in-laws, I must point out) and am challenging them where I once kept silent.
Also contributing money to organizations fighting to protect our rights.
But everyone around me feels despair and so do I. I know my congressman is threatened with a well-funded primary fight if he doesn't buckle into the Republican agenda. I am walking on egg shells with family members and don't feel like I've influenced their thinking at all. Also feel out-gunned on money.
All that said, burying your head because it's all too much is a privilege many people who are being threatened don't have, so I will continue to do what I can.
My own family is affected in multiple ways - my daughter-in-law is a federal worker, my son-in-law is a Veteran who gets his health care through the VA, my daughter works for a nonprofit whose federal funding is on hold, etc. etc. etc. It's a nightmare.
My name is Gail Lelyveld. I am doing different things to resist. I am reading Substack and restocking. I wish I could still share to Facebook. Members of family and friends and classmates could see it. Oh well.
I go to as many rallies, classes, webinars, ad I can. This Saturday I attended the NIH rally at the Building and Medical Center in Bethesda, MD., the first rally I could go to since twisting my thigh muscle. I only left because my leg started to think about hurting.
I went to the Politics and Prose teach in by Utube. It was wonderful. I have gone to NIAC Meetings, J-Street Meetings, Palestinian meetings, Parents of Israeli and Palestian deceased children meetings, and more.
I am a member of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. I volunteer as a Communicator for the DC Advocacy Team. We lobby Congress on a different issue each year. This year it is the UNRWA EMERGENCY RESTORATION ACT 2025.
I am working on the Statehood Committee of the DC Democratic Party. I have a Statehood sign in my window of my apartment.
I work with Ward3Dems DC in the Blue Wave Committee. I am working as hard as I can on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election. I phonebank 2 days a week. I finishing postcards to send on the 14th. I'm giving $5/week to the candidate since the middle of January. I'm telling people about it.
Margaret, thank you for profiling the AP's courage in doing its job all over the globe. I missed the NYTimes article and the message from the Georgetown dean. I'll be sure to read those today. As for resistance, I'm posting articles and donating to causes. Tonight there's a resistance meeting in little old Lockport. And I'm starting to refer to our national issues as "the Troubles," in deference to my ancestors from Ireland.
Thank you for your article about AP, the First Amendment, and the thugs dismantling our government. I donate to several organizations (such as ACLU, Planned Parenthood, CREW), subscribe to The Guardian and the local newspaper, subscribe on Substack to Robert Reich, Anne Applebaum, and HC Richardson, and email my congresswoman and two senators. I am working on an action guide for introverts. I am starting to promote a slogan devised by a friend: TAKE BACK AMERICA. Thank you for your wonderful work at the Washington Post and for your courage.
“You get your freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom. Then you’ll get. It’s the only way you’ll get it. BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”
Another voice of courage: Ruth Marcus. I wonder if this will end up being a mass exodus of center left opinion writers such as Perry Bacon, Eugene Robinson and Dana Milbank, among others? Nonetheless, deep respect for Ms. Marcus.
I was deeply saddened to see that Marcus resigned. Of course she did--she has integrity. I also worry about the other writers you cite. If they all go too...so will I.
Decent media is still out there, but one has to be willing to look for it. I just cancelled WAPO and subscribed to The Guardian instead. Substack continues to be a good source. And for those who actually want to get involved and not just sit on the sidelines and read, Indivisible is a great resource for events/organizations at the local level.
Margaret: As a board member of the AP, I want to thank you for amplifying this important issue. Courage seems to be in short supply these days but we all need to step up and do our part. Thank you for your wisdom and clear-eyed perspective.
Thanks to you!
Thank you and the Associated Press!
In the past, as a PhD in Macroeconomics, I've submitted on occasion about stories, to include tips. I've never even received the courtesy of a reply, which is okay because I know that AP and Washington Post and NY Times and others save their space for writers to get more articles. That makes sense if you are a literary organization, but your writers don't present expert opinions as much as click bait.
I am not asking for AP to respond. I spend more of my time on Paul Krugman's Substack, or responding to less than scholarly articles on AEI, Brookings, RAND, Cato, Bruegel, etc.
I am telling you that is hypocritical to play the victim-rescuer-persecutor triangle.
I live in a state with two Republican senators and a Republican gerrymandered representative. I email them every day on a different issue; Trump provides plenty. When they respond, it’s with self-congratulatory form letters. But we aren’t standing still. Protests in my city and state are building. I’m ready to work for the candidate challenging our senator next year.
Margaret, thanks as always for fighting the good fight. I am a journalist in Paris - print and digital - and I am frequently asked to appear on French TV news shows as a commentator on politics. My contribution to the cause is to take pains to call out disinformation and both-sides-ism when I hear it. The other day, on a panel show, a French academic started repeating Trump talking points on Ukraine as an example of "the American point of view." I interrupted him: "Let's call that what it is - propaganda - and not the view of America, but of the Trump administration."
Thank you, Anne.
Thank you from Delaware.
Spot on!
I am on substack daily, commenting on various newsletters as my small attempt to speak up, speak out, express solidarity and resistance and encourage others to do the same. I use my real name and almost 2000 readers a week click 'like' after reading a comment. Small change, but I'm an old lady and private person not typically involved in public protests anymore. But here I am. I will say, however, and weirdly, that my FB account has now been hacked for the first time, and someone is posting messages I didn't write under my name. I also, for the first time, can't access my photo/image files in order to attach them to my often political posts. But regardless of what happens, I refuse to shut up. It's my right as an American Citizen to speak up, and I'll keep defending that right.
Bravo! I, too, have found Substack newsletters a lifesaver, and I am beginning to comment more often. I am a retired journalism professor and I am aghast at what is happening in the media world. I left Facebook and Instagram when I created my own Substack, Observations from The Wit. It isn’t just political, but writing it empowers me and strengthens my voice.
Thank you, Barb. I will subscribe to your newsletter in a few minutes. Like you, left Facebook (4 years ago), yet post my substack articles on Instagram, as well as Linked In and Blue Sky. I feel a sense of empowerment in my writing and frustration in the reality of the disaster that I cannot quash.
Can you cancel your FB account? That is what I would do if someone was posting comments in my name.
From the Georgetown University Dean's letter:
"As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding," Treanor wrote.
Now there's a sentence that would make the fascist felon's mouth go slack while his eyes glaze over.
He can neither read nor comprehend the English language at that level.
And that is a big problem for our country.
Take a look at Ed Martin’s DOJ bio page and you’ll see he’s some kind of schismatic Catholic reactionary, hence his special animus towards Catholic Georgetown University. Besides the general attack on free speech rights, there’s an element of religious discrimination.
And he’s not alone in that.
Another reason why I no longer belong to the Catholic church. They've lost their way. The Jesuits (and Sisters of Loretto) were always the "intellectual" branch of religious orders. I'm surprised they haven't been kicked out of today's reactionary, Christian Nationalist "Catholicism" that seeks to rule the political sphere.
To be fair, the Jesuits have been considered too liberal by many Catholics for a long time. I, too, am no longer a practicing Catholic. The hypocrisy is strong, particularly among the Christian Nationalist "Catholics". I miss the days when the Church supported Labor, and served those in great need instead of aligning with the wealthiest.
Here's what I'm doing to resist and protest the 4547 agenda. I've selected as my battle - to support the LGBTQ+ community as a priority. I've started a donation feed on social media to support the Trevor Project, an organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth and will volunteer for Garden State Equality. I post regularly on social media, pointing out a daily dose of DC drama. I will also start a Substack and share the link on social media. I've joined numerous online organizations and call my reps when I can. There are so many battles that individuals can wage, it's overwhelming. This is why we have to choose those battles carefully. In addition to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, I'm trying to call out attacks on the media, which your article outlines. I'm ever conscious of Christiana Amanpour's 2016 message to the Committee To Protect Journalists, a video which I played frequently for my journalism students. Here, she suggests that the goal of the authoritarians around the world is to silence the media. In 4547 1.0, we only saw a smattering of this with phrases like the Enemy of the People. In the 2.0 version. Without an informed and active media, democracy ceases to exist.
Thank you for posting this valuable reminder of the great (and grave) importance of free speech.
As a former AP domestic correspondent and current financial journalist, this column is the perfect ammunition to kick off the work week with purpose, focus and pride.
I have never worked under a blackish cloud of fear and censorship in my 45-year career.
Am not about to start now.
-30-
Love to hear it.
Thank you for writing this important essay regarding the First Amendment and the importance of a Free Press. I have been writing to Senators and calling Mike Johnson’s office (they haven’t picked up yet but I leave a message.) I’ve written to the entire Senate Republican leadership about the budget and my opposition to tax cuts for the wealthy. When the inhumane cuts to Ukraine occurred, I wrote to every Senator on the Foreign Relations committee. I’ve been writing to them all every day, and I will until we start supporting Ukraine again, and when Congressionally-appropriated funds are disbursed.
My Senators and my Representative in the House are all Democrats so I write to them to thank them when they speak out against the administration. My Representative, Rosa DeLauro, has been targeted by Musk on Twitter. I wonder why?
Great piece and thank you for everything you are doing to shine light on what is, indeed, an American Crisis.
As for me, I feel frustrated about by how little leadership there seems on fighting this attack on Democracy. I do live in a swing district with a Republican congressman. I've written him four times about different issues and called his office twice so far. No responses at all.
Also, for the first time, I am responding to family members who voted for Trump (in-laws, I must point out) and am challenging them where I once kept silent.
Also contributing money to organizations fighting to protect our rights.
But everyone around me feels despair and so do I. I know my congressman is threatened with a well-funded primary fight if he doesn't buckle into the Republican agenda. I am walking on egg shells with family members and don't feel like I've influenced their thinking at all. Also feel out-gunned on money.
All that said, burying your head because it's all too much is a privilege many people who are being threatened don't have, so I will continue to do what I can.
My own family is affected in multiple ways - my daughter-in-law is a federal worker, my son-in-law is a Veteran who gets his health care through the VA, my daughter works for a nonprofit whose federal funding is on hold, etc. etc. etc. It's a nightmare.
Any suggestions are very welcome.
You’re doing a lot.
Really appreciate what you are doing and I too appreciate you sharing. We need to keep up the fight and do what we can.
Thank you for sharing your experience and present activities. Like you, I feel despair as well as out-gunned on money (and platform).
This "man who'd be king" wants the ability to "override" the whole US Constitution, sans obstacles.
The First Amendment is merely domino number one. One of several.
Thanks a bunch to The AP's strength. For keeping domino #1 upright.
My name is Gail Lelyveld. I am doing different things to resist. I am reading Substack and restocking. I wish I could still share to Facebook. Members of family and friends and classmates could see it. Oh well.
I go to as many rallies, classes, webinars, ad I can. This Saturday I attended the NIH rally at the Building and Medical Center in Bethesda, MD., the first rally I could go to since twisting my thigh muscle. I only left because my leg started to think about hurting.
I went to the Politics and Prose teach in by Utube. It was wonderful. I have gone to NIAC Meetings, J-Street Meetings, Palestinian meetings, Parents of Israeli and Palestian deceased children meetings, and more.
I am a member of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. I volunteer as a Communicator for the DC Advocacy Team. We lobby Congress on a different issue each year. This year it is the UNRWA EMERGENCY RESTORATION ACT 2025.
I am working on the Statehood Committee of the DC Democratic Party. I have a Statehood sign in my window of my apartment.
I work with Ward3Dems DC in the Blue Wave Committee. I am working as hard as I can on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election. I phonebank 2 days a week. I finishing postcards to send on the 14th. I'm giving $5/week to the candidate since the middle of January. I'm telling people about it.
Margaret, thank you for profiling the AP's courage in doing its job all over the globe. I missed the NYTimes article and the message from the Georgetown dean. I'll be sure to read those today. As for resistance, I'm posting articles and donating to causes. Tonight there's a resistance meeting in little old Lockport. And I'm starting to refer to our national issues as "the Troubles," in deference to my ancestors from Ireland.
As they certainly are! Warmest and best to a model citizen.
Thank you for your article about AP, the First Amendment, and the thugs dismantling our government. I donate to several organizations (such as ACLU, Planned Parenthood, CREW), subscribe to The Guardian and the local newspaper, subscribe on Substack to Robert Reich, Anne Applebaum, and HC Richardson, and email my congresswoman and two senators. I am working on an action guide for introverts. I am starting to promote a slogan devised by a friend: TAKE BACK AMERICA. Thank you for your wonderful work at the Washington Post and for your courage.
Malcom X said it best:
“You get your freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom. Then you’ll get. It’s the only way you’ll get it. BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”
Another voice of courage: Ruth Marcus. I wonder if this will end up being a mass exodus of center left opinion writers such as Perry Bacon, Eugene Robinson and Dana Milbank, among others? Nonetheless, deep respect for Ms. Marcus.
I was deeply saddened to see that Marcus resigned. Of course she did--she has integrity. I also worry about the other writers you cite. If they all go too...so will I.
Decent media is still out there, but one has to be willing to look for it. I just cancelled WAPO and subscribed to The Guardian instead. Substack continues to be a good source. And for those who actually want to get involved and not just sit on the sidelines and read, Indivisible is a great resource for events/organizations at the local level.