Dick the Butcher’s Report Card

Jack Cade Would be Pleased

You will recall that we started with a review of “The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers”, a line from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part II, (Act IV), Scene 2.

The phrase is spoken by Dick the Butcher, a large, threatening murderer, and a villainous character, known for his brutal and destructive nature, and the henchman and right-hand-man of Jack Cade. Cade leads a rebellion against King Henry VI, seeking to overthrow the government and establish his own dictatorship and is presented as a demagogue who panders to the ignorant in his efforts to usurp the king.

Recall also, that Cade and Dick the Butcher are aggressively anti-intellectual; they kill anyone who can read and burn all the books and documents they encounter. They know that they’ll be able to take over an ignorant population with greater ease than one where everyone understands their rights.

My discussion of the Shakespeare quote was to highlight the importance of the legal system and the protection of individual rights and the rebellion's desire to eliminate lawyers was a step towards tyranny and the suppression of liberty.

Henry VI, Part 2, is set in England in the late 15^th century at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. The reality of the War of the Roses is that Henry VI was a weak and ineffectual king, and the nobles and great lords ruled the country. England was in turmoil, and charlatan Jack Cade lead an armed mob of angry tenant farmers and tradesmen in a march on London with the aim of overthrowing the ruling elites and all of England’s legal and governmental institutions.

Our reality is that Donald Trump and his MAGA followers aim to overthrow what they perceive to be the ruling elites and all of the United States legal and governmental institutions. Donald Trump is not Jack Cade. Donald Trump is Dick the Butcher, the tool and front for the real Jack Cade in the takeover and destruction of the United States and all that it stands for as the 80 year leader of the free world, leader of NATO, and leader of scientific advancement.

It is undeniable that Donald Trump, as the tool of the real Jack Cade, is having a great time and has put his own personal touches on the destruction of the United States. First and foremost, Donald Trump gets to play a lot of golf at $3M a ride and is making a lot of money by grifting the presidency.

And, Donald Trump is getting his retribution in small bites and large bites. The small bites are the retribution against the lawyers and law firms that he perceives crossed him, the individuals that he believes crossed him, the elite universities including the not so elite, the medical and research establishment that was “responsible” for his failures on Covid 19, or the just object du jour.

The large bite is retribution against the entire country that rejected his return to the presidency in 2020.

So, who is the real Jack Cade that is making Dick the Butcher, a/k/a Donald Trump an effective tool in the destruction of the United States.

Here are the possible Jack Cades or Wizards behind the Oz Curtain: i) the Tech Bros band of brothers made up principally of Peter Theil and his sidekick V.P J.D. Vance, Marc Andreesen, and Elon Musk and protégé, Big Balls; ii) Curtis Yarvin, anti-democracy blogger and crusader who exerts influence over the Tech Bros; iii) the Heritage Foundation and Russel Vought, author of its Project 2025; iv) Trump himself as Wizard: and v) Vladamir Putin, who may control some or all of the foregoing from Dick the Butcher to one or more segments or actors in the Jack Cade faction.

It has long been rumored and speculated that Donald Trump is a Russian Asset or more since his original Russian government invitation and all expense paid trip to Russia. In 1987, Trump and his Communist raised and Russian speaking first wife, Ivana Trump stayed in the Lenin Suite at Moscow’s National Hotel, then known as the Hotel KGB. The invitation and the trip are discussed in Trump’s first book, The Art of the Deal. There was plenty of fuel to the rumor and speculation that Donald Trump is a Russian Asset, during both Trump 1.0 and the election leading up to it, and now, by Donald Trump’s action’s in the first 100 days of Trump 2.0.

Donald Trump’s First 100 Days: A Study in Dysfunction

By nearly every meaningful and normal metric, President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office represent a historic failure — not just of policy, but of leadership, ethics, constitutional order, and non-stop controversy. Jack Cade or whoever the Wizard behind the curtain is would be pleased by the destruction and chaos, if the goal is to destroy the United States, as it has existed for the last 80 years.

A Legislative Nonstarter

Trump’s legislative record is anemic. He has signed only five bills into law — none of them significant — making his first 100 days, the worst performance of any president in over a century. Promises of positive change have collapsed into chaos or inertia.

Economic Turmoil

Economically, he has presided over a downturn. Growth has slowed, consumer and business confidence have cratered, and markets have plunged, eroding Americans’ wealth. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated bluntly that “growth has slowed in the first quarter of this year from last year’s solid pace” and warned that Trump’s tariffs will drive up inflation while slowing growth. Because of the uncertainty created by the tariff seesaw, businesses are unable to plan.

Foreign Policy in Free-Fall

Trump pledged to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Instead, Gaza has returned to open conflict after a ceasefire brokered by his predecessor fell apart, and Russia continues its brutal assault on Ukraine — undeterred by and mocking Trump’s naïve and empty overtures to Vladimir Putin.

Rather than standing with allies, Trump has antagonized them — launching trade wars with Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan; enraging Canada, Greenland, Denmark and Panama with annexation rhetoric and outright threats; and further fracturing the NATO alliance by repeating Russian talking points and supporting Russia in its war against neighboring Ukraine.

Adversaries, meanwhile, are emboldened: China has expanded its influence and escalated threats toward Taiwan in the vacuum left by Trump’s retreat. Further, China has punched back hard in the trade war and has called out Trump’s lies that China is engaged in talks with the United States over the tariffs.

Constitutional Contempt

Trump’s approach to executive authority has been openly defiant. His actions have been blocked by courts more than 80 times, including rulings by Republican-appointed judges. He has ignored a unanimous Supreme Court ruling against the Administration, with his Assistant Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, calling it a victory and not a defeat, and placed his own appointees in contempt proceedings for abusing the legal system.

Trump and his lawless Attorney General, Pam Bondi, have drawn stern rebuke from both Democrat and Republican appointed judges.

In Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia et. Al v. Kristi Noem et. al , Case No. 25-1404 (D.Md. 8:25-cv-00951-PX), the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Administration’s emergency appeal seeking to stop Judge Paula Xinis from probing into the Administration's efforts—or lack thereof—to facilitate the release of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia from CECOT, the gulag-like El Salvador prison that the United States mistakenly delivered him to.

The words of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals order that were thunderous. The author was Judge Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee and a conservative icon particularly known for deference to the Executive Branch. It’s an opinion that is by turns politic, blunt, reproachful, and horrified at the precipice that the Administration’s lawlessness and arrogance have brought us to. It ends with an extraordinary direct appeal to the Executive to “vindicate [the rule of law] and to summon the best that is within us while there is still time.” It aims to bring home the stakes of this historic showdown to everyone, not just lawyers. Early in the opinion, Judge Wilkinson writes:

“It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all. The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the assemblage of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody, there is nothing that can be done.

This should be shocking not only to judges but to the intruder sense of liberty that Americans far removed from the courthouse still hold dear.”

Public Discontent

The public isn’t buying into Trump’s actions in the first 100 days, and its disapproval is growing. A new Economist/YouGov poll shows Trump’s approval at just 42%, with 52% disapproving — a sharp 16-point drop since his inauguration. Most Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and slipping out of control.

A CNN poll finds Trump’s 41% approval rating is the lowest for any newly elected president at 100 days dating back at least to Dwight Eisenhower- including Trump’s own first term.

Illusory "Successes"

What Trump touts as achievements barely hold up to scrutiny. Border crossings, which were already low, have dipped, but deportation rates haven’t meaningfully increased. The much-hyped savings from the U.S. DOGE Service — originally pegged at $1 trillion — have been revised down to $150 billion, and even those numbers appear to be fabricated.

Historical Perspective

Historians note the unparalleled disruption of Trump's early presidency. “What we’re witnessing with Trump is just raw vengeance and belittling fellow Americans,” said historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University. “It’s not hyperbole to say this is the weirdest 100 days of any president in American history,” he added, calling it “pathological narcissism.”

David Greenberg of Rutgers University warned that Trump has access to “a vast and extensive executive apparatus” and appears intent on dismantling “the built-in safeguards” of American governance.

A New Kind of Chaos

But Trump, whose 100th day in office is April 30, has achieved one thing that is truly remarkable: He has introduced a level of chaos and destruction so high that historians are hard-pressed to find its equal in our history.

He has upended global structures that kept the peace for generations. He has aligned America with the world’s despots. He has gutted the civil service, undermined tax collection, impaired and damaged Social Security and medical and scientific research, and turned government power into a tool of vengeance — targeting law firms, universities, and the press with authoritarian flair.

He has shattered the guardrails that limit executive power, ignoring laws, eliminating inspectors general and other mechanisms for accountability and oversight. He has displayed gratuitous cruelty in the treatment of migrants and government workers alike. He has used the government to undertake breathtaking schemes of self-enrichment. And he has left a large number of his countrymen angry and frightened.

And yet, Trump has achieved one thing: an unprecedented level of chaos and institutional wreckage.

Not Just Dysfunction — Deliberate Destruction

Historians David Greenberg (Rutgers) and Douglas Brinkley (Rice) offer perspective: There have been power grabs before — Jackson, McKinley, FDR, Nixon — and periods of upheaval like 1798, 1860, 1929, and 1968. But Trump’s presidency is different.

Previous restructurings were strategic and bipartisan. “Trump isn’t a reformer — he’s a wrecking ball,” says Brinkley. “What we’re witnessing is raw vengeance… a tinderbox situation that feels like a neo–civil war.” Unlike past overreaches, Trump faces no resistance from his own party. That, Brinkley says, is what sets this moment apart.

Greenberg adds that never before has a president caused the ruin. “There wasn’t this sense that the White House was directing the destruction of 250-year-old American values,” he says. With expanded executive powers — a legacy of the New Deal and the Cold War — Trump’s potential for harm is unmatched. “It’s the combination of immense power and deliberate sabotage that’s new.”

Cruelty in Command

Executive orders have historically served noble aims — the Emancipation Proclamation, the Manhattan Project, and desegregation enforcement. Trump’s orders, by contrast, echo darker chapters like Japanese internment and Operation Wetback: driven by cruelty, and animated by personal vendettas. “This is the weirdest 100 days in any presidency,” says Brinkley, “because, at its root, it is pathological narcissism.”

Trump’s presidency will be remembered not for what it built, but for what it unraveled. Greenberg puts it plainly: “We remember great civilizations by their achievements. Trump is actively reversing them.”

A Recap of Recent Administration Actions

Every week of Trump’s tenure feels like a year — a deliberate strategy to keep opposition off-balance. Just this week:

• Trump defied a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling ordering the return of a deported migrant, instead praising El Salvador’s dictator and joking about imprisoning U.S. citizens there.

• Investigations revealed that most migrants deported to El Salvador and its prison had no criminal record yet are being held without due process in squalid conditions.

• At Trumps direction, the Federal Communications Commission’s chief, Brendan Carr, has threatened Comcast’s broadcasting licenses because Trump didn’t like what MSNBC was reporting about the Abrego Garcia El Salvador imprisonment case.

• In the latest invasion of personal privacy, after accessing personal Social Security data, IRS records and personal data at the U.S. Treasury, the administration pursued access to Medicare and Medicaid data to hunt undocumented immigrants and falsely claimed legal victories.

• Harvard resisted Trump’s unlawful and unconstitutional demands to cede academic control, prompting a $2.2 billion funding freeze that halted research on Lou Gehrig’s Disease/ALS and tuberculosis.

• Trump is planning another big blow to scientific and medical research with a plan to slash NIH funding by 40%. This follows the removal of 43 research board members — 38 of whom were women or minorities.

• Harvard now also faces a ban on foreign students and threats to its tax-exempt status, as Trump turns the IRS into a partisan bludgeon.

• The White House barred all wire services like Bloomberg and Reuters from press briefings after a judge ordered reinstatement of AP’s credentials. AP’s credentials were terminated by the White House because it continued to use “Gulf of Mexico” in its worldwide reporting instead of the new trumpified “Gulf of America.”

• Federal courts blocked more of Trump’s deportation tactics and labeled his targeting of law firms as a “shocking abuse of power.”

• In foreign affairs, Trump blamed Ukraine for its own victimization, claiming that Ukraine started the war with Russia, while his interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has provide commentary over 150 times on Russian government media propaganda outlets, often echoing Russian propaganda and failing to report this activity to Congress as required by his nomination.

• Tariff chaos beginning on January 20, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/economy/trump-tariff-timeline.html Tariff Timeline

• Tariff chaos deepened, with the Fed warning of economic damage and Trump threatening to fire Jerome Powell (illegally). China retaliated by halting rare earth exports.

• The White House mocked Canada with statehood taunts. And Trump ignored antisemitic arson against Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor.

• Meanwhile, JD Vance broke the NCAA football trophy, Elon Musk’s child count (sperm hitting target) grew mysterious, and Trump Media launched more Trump branded investment schemes. The president’s doctor credited his health to his “active lifestyle” — i.e., cheating at golf ( See, Rick Reilly.).

• The interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia has written letters to Georgetown Law School, Wikipedia (Letter to Wikipedia), the New England Journal of Medicine, and other medical and scientific publications threatening them with prosecution for “viewpoint” discrimination and spreading propaganda. This is government action is a violation of their First Amendment rights and an authoritarian attempt to chill Free Speech.

Lawlessness as Weakness

Trump’s lawlessness is terrifying — evidence of a government run by one man’s whim, not the rule of law. But it also reveals weakness. Lacking legitimate power to enact his agenda, he pursues it illegally.

Fortunately, resistance is mounting. Harvard’s defiance has encouraged others. Law firms are reconsidering capitulations. States, courts, universities, and the public are fighting back. California is suing over tariffs. Progressives like Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders are drawing massive crowds — even in red states.

Even some Republicans are showing unease. Constituents have confronted lawmakers like Chuck Grassley and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Some House Republicans now threaten to oppose Trump’s budget if it includes Medicaid cuts — despite voting for a framework requiring $800 billion in such reductions.

The Grift of Dick the Butcher

No presidential administration has ever been entirely free of ethical lapses — but Donald Trump has dragged the nation to a new low. By shattering every norm of good governance — and often enriching himself in the process — he has set a new standard of corruption unmatched in modern American history. Whether pardoning a felon who, along with his wife, donated $1.8 million to his campaign, promoting Teslas from the White House driveway, or hosting private dinners for speculators investing in his cryptocurrency, Trump’s transgressions tower above those of any recent president — even his own first term.

Remember the outrage when he refused to divest his financial holdings or turned his Washington hotel into an unofficial White House waiting room? Those offenses now seem almost quaint by comparison.

In his second term, Trump’s actions reveal several overlapping agendas: personal enrichment, unchecked expansion of executive power, and open favoritism toward wealthy donors. Imagine any previous president collecting a cut from a cryptocurrency bearing his own image. Trump has bulldozed through the rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest, dismantled protections meant to safeguard the public trust and installed loyalists in key positions — all while signaling that influence is for sale to the highest bidder.

Yet the corruption of Trump 2.0 has been largely overshadowed by the sheer torrent of scandals — tariff wars, attacks on scientific research, senior appointees communicating over encrypted apps.

But the self-dealing that defines this administration demands special attention. Trump has announced to the world that America’s leadership is no longer bound by its own laws or ethical expectations.

After Nixon, vital guardrails were established to prevent future abuses. The next president may attempt something similar. But the damage Trump has inflicted — pardoning donors, exploiting public office for private gain — may well prove permanent.

Here’s just a glimpse of what the past 100 days have wrought:

He Dismantled the Guardrails

• Trump exploited a federal employee designation to turn senior officials like Elon Musk into “special government employees,” exempting them from disclosing financial holdings or divesting from conflicts of interest.

• He ended bans that prevented executive branch officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists or negotiating lobbying jobs while still in office.

• He gutted enforcement of laws designed to combat foreign lobbying and bribery.

He Fired the Referees

• He ousted the head of the office that polices conflicts of interest.

• He removed the chief of the office tasked with protecting whistle-blowers and maintaining political neutrality in the federal workforce.

• He purged nearly 20 inspectors general — the watchdogs responsible for rooting out corruption.

He Rewarded His Richest Donors

Of course, rewarding political backers is nothing new — but Trump has taken it to a different level:

• Jared Isaacman, a billionaire tied to SpaceX and a $2 million donor to Trump’s inaugural committee, was nominated to lead NASA — SpaceX’s largest customer.

• Convicted felon Trevor Milton, former CEO of Nikola Corporation, after a $1.8 million donation, received a full pardon, shielding him from paying $700M restitution.

• Lobbyist Brian Ballard, who raised over $50 million for Trump’s campaign, saw two major victories for his clients: the Trump administration delayed a U.S. ban on TikTok and killed a ban on menthol cigarettes, a top priority for tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds.

The Musk Exception

Elon Musk, who poured $277 million into supporting Trump and other Republicans, deserves his own category:

• Though legally limited to 130 days of government service per year as a "special government employee," Musk’s "Department of Government Efficiency" has directly engaged with at least 10 agencies overseeing his businesses.

• A SpaceX engineer now sits at the FAA, reviewing the agency’s telecommunications system — with SpaceX reportedly poised to replace Verizon’s $2.4 billion infrastructure contract.

• SpaceX is a leading contender for Trump’s "Golden Dome" missile defense project — a venture that could deliver billions in revenue.

• Musk’s social media platform, X, has become an official channel for government communications, with at least a dozen agencies now running DOGE-themed accounts.

• As Tesla’s reputation soured, Trump lined up Teslas on the White House driveway and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared on Fox News urging viewers to buy Tesla stock.

• Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — investigating Tesla’s self-driving technology after a pedestrian death — saw its regulatory team slashed nearly in half.

Trump Went All-In on Cryptocurrency

Critics of crypto argue that it has demonstrated little value beyond enabling criminal activity. Crypto — a market famous for fraud and anonymous money flows — has become central to Trump’s operations:

• On the eve of his inauguration, Trump launched $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins. The very next day, the SEC announced it would not regulate memecoins.

• Trump offered top investors in $TRUMP private dinners and VIP tours at his golf clubs — initially advertised as White House events, until the wording was quietly changed.

• The SEC dismantled its crypto enforcement division, halting virtually every investigation, including actions against Justin Sun and Binance — both closely tied to Trump-aligned crypto ventures.

• World Liberty Financial, backed by Trump family connections, has sold $550 million worth of digital coins, with Trump-linked entities reportedly claiming 75% of the proceeds.

• The Trump family has partnered with Crypto.com to launch “Made in America” crypto investment funds.

He Is Always Closing Deals for Trump

• Trump is reportedly raising $500 million for political committees — despite being barred from running for re-election.

• New Trump Tower projects are underway in Saudi Arabia, with more planned through partnerships with companies closely tied to the Saudi regime.

• Trump’s team lobbied to bring the British Open to his Turnberry golf resort during a White House visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

• And of course, he frequently posts news-making announcements on Truth Social — a company in which his family holds a substantial stake.

All of it adds up to a grim and shameful portrait: a president who had already set records for ethical violations has somehow managed to sink even lower, with breathtaking regularity.

The Next 1,360 Days

Trump’s first 100 days have been disastrous — not just for what happened, but for what they signal is to come. If unchecked, the damage will deepen. But the backlash is building, and it must continue. The next 1,360 days depend on it.

Make Noise!!!!!

Today’s Headlines

New York Times:A Road Map of Trump’s Lawless Presidency, According to 35 Legal Scholars

April 28, 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/opinion/trump-constitution-rule-of-law.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DE8.SI_p.1OsUohwcq6PB&smid=url-share

A Road Map of Trum's Lawless Presidency, According to 35 Legal Scholars

Suggestions for Making Noise

1. Call your senators and representatives. The Capitol switchboard operator is at (202) 224-3121. An operator will connect you directly with the House and Senate offices you request.

2. Write your congressman! Write the Senators, both Republican and Democrat! Write them all regularly and often. Remind member of Congress that they will soon be irrelevant if they ignore Trump and Musk seizing the power of the purse and smacking down acts of Congress like those acts have no meaning and never had any meaning.

3. Try talking to your friends and family to educated them that Trump/Musk are destroying our country and every great thing that it has stood for in the last 80 years, such as NATO, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health.

4. Join a local pro-democracy group organizing to fight authoritarianism. If there aren’t any in your community, build one! Autocracy flourishes when people feel isolated and powerless. So we have to build power—and that begins at the local level: in libraries, churches, offices, and cafes.

   Find local pro-democracy activists, and join them. The Grassroots Directory is a great resource for finding organizations in your area, and RepresentUS has a great page to help you get started.

5. Register! Then know who is running and who is on your ballot, at every level, and vote. Many election ballots include multiple races, from the president to your school board. Authoritarians and election deniers take power at local levels—so it’s important to stay vigilant and engaged there.

6. Hit them where it hurts—their wallets: The way to undermine corporate capitulation to authoritarians is to make them lose money. These brands are associated with the worst actors. Organize and participate in mass boycotts. Explore ways you can exercise other rights in the market: Tesla has already lost more than 43% of its value since Musk joined the administration; due to public backlash.

7. Hold your lawmakers accountable: ​Engaging with legislators and officials is crucial in defending civil rights. Here’s a resource for emailing or calling your members of Congress in your district. Get them on the record. Show up to city council meetings, testify at legislative hearings and town halls. Join mass call-in or lobby days in support of bills like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (and oppose dangerous legislation like the SAVE Act (which weaponizes fear to restrict civil liberties.) Stay loud, vigilant, and relentless.

8. Educate yourself: understand the ways authoritarians try to take power and make policy that affects your community. Defending democracy and fighting tyranny starts with knowledge. Authoritarians thrive in low-information environments. They rely on people not knowing enough to recognize what they’re doing. Learn about your government and rights, whether in the workplace, during protests, or when interacting with law enforcement. Stay informed about how to register, key deadlines, vote-by-mail procedures, early voting options, ID requirements, and election security measures, using resources like nass.org/can-I-vote, and EAC.gov.

9. Take action with Hands Off or 50501 : Find an event and participate : Hands Off and 50501

Make Noise!

Kristin M.

Kristin’s Substack - Make Noise! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Kristin’s Substack - Make Noise! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.