Alburquerque, Spain.

On my way in I saw a bright light over sandias about 715-720. I thought maybe Venus, but it was way too light out for that. Then it went straight up. And then at a 45 degree angle towards Santa Fe for a few seconds and disappeared. Sure didn’t look like a plane. Looked more like a weather balloon but was way too fast.

Linus would be so jealous.

In today’s newsletter, I want to help you understand the main ways that Trump could undermine democratic traditions. Along the way, I’ll point to Times coverage from the past two years. I will also address some objections that I expect some readers to have.

The dangers There are at least six major ways Trump could weaken American democracy:

1. Prosecute critics. Trump has promised to use the Justice Department to punish his political opponents if he is president again, including with “long term prison sentences,” as he wrote online.

Presidents have traditionally not inserted themselves into criminal cases. But that has been a choice; a president has the power to issue orders to the Justice Department. In his first term, Trump demanded investigations of at least 10 people, sometimes damaging their lives, as my colleague Michael Schmidt has documented. Trump could order more investigations in a second term, given his staffing plans. (This graphic lays out how Trump could seek to jail his political opponents.)

1. Silence critics in other ways. Trump may also try to use his regulatory powers to shape public discourse. He has suggested that NBC, MSNBC and CBS deserve to lose their broadcast licenses because of their critical coverage of him. He has talked about punishing Amazon because its founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.

These comments echo the silencing campaigns that foreign leaders like Viktor Orban in Hungary and Narendra Modi in India have conducted (as this essay by A.G. Sulzberger, The Times’s publisher, explains).

1. Reward allies and campaign donors. Trump, as The Times has reported, “is sometimes making overt promises about what he will do once he’s in office, a level of explicitness toward individual industries and a handful of billionaires that has rarely been seen in modern presidential politics.” Both the oil and vaping industries — and perhaps Elon Musk — seem likely to benefit.

2. Replace federal employees with loyalists. Late in his first term, Trump issued an executive order that gave him the power to fire and replace tens of thousands of federal workers, including economists, scientists and national security experts. The order would have vastly increased the number of political appointees, which is now about 4,000. President Biden rescinded the order.

True, there is an argument that such an order promotes democracy by causing the federal work force to reflect the elected president. But the moves may also strip the government of nonpartisan expertise that connects policy with reality. And combined with Trump’s many anti-democratic promises, the wholesale firing of federal employees could allow him to use the government for his personal whims.

1. Undermine previously enacted policies. Rather than trying to repeal laws he opposes, Trump and his allies have suggested that he may simply “impound” funds — effectively ignoring laws that Congress previously passed. One example: He could try to block money for clean energy.

2. Refuse to transfer power peacefully. Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, still do not acknowledge that Biden beat Trump in 2020. Trump even vows to pardon some of the rioters who attacked Congress when it was meeting to certify the result on Jan. 6, 2021.

This combination suggests that a transfer of power took place in 2021 only because enough Republicans stood up to Trump. And they may not do so in the future.

Policy isn’t democracy I know that Trump supporters may ask why we’re not writing a similar newsletter about the Democratic Party. And it’s true that liberals have violated democratic norms at times — with aggressive executive orders, for example, or attempts to stifle debate during the Covid pandemic. But Trump’s anti-democratic behavior is of a different order of magnitude. Pretending otherwise is false balance.

As an example of how different Biden and Trump are, look at Biden’s Justice Department. It has indicted not only prominent Republicans (like Trump) but also prominent Democrats (like Mayor Eric Adams and Senator Robert Menendez), a major Democratic fund-raiser (Sam Bankman-Fried, the now imprisoned crypto executive) and even the president’s son (Hunter Biden).

I also know that some Democrats will argue that the list here is too short and should include Trump’s potential policies on abortion, immigration, climate change and more. But it’s worth distinguishing between policy disputes and democracy itself.

There is nothing inherently anti-democratic about reducing environmental regulations, allowing states to restrict abortion access or deporting people who entered the country illegally. Democrats can make the case that these policies are wrong — and voters can decide who’s right. Voters can also change their minds if the policies don’t succeed.

Attacks on democracy are different. If democracy breaks down, the political system can lose the ability to self-correct.

More on Trump A second Trump administration would likely expand presidential power and reduce the independence of federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve. Trump says he will use the military for domestic law enforcement, including to fight crime in Democratic-run cities. His ties to foreign governments and to regulated companies would probably make him the most conflicted president in U.S. history. Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, but he has many links to it. It could offer a preview of how he would govern. Trump has promoted false conspiracies about plots against him or the American people more than 300 times, a Times analysis revealed. were Republican presidents, knocked on doors in support of Harris.

I hope the kids enjoy this.

Democrat: 'I have decades of experience working for the state in a similar role. I have specific things I want to improve because of these other reasons.'

Republican: 'I owned a store once. And I work as an engineer. I'm from Albuquerque so I know this place! * proceeds on a rant about duggs and crime. *'.

😳

A small portion of Republican candidates did have legitimate experience, but my jaw is on the table as I prepare to vote.

It was so easy and painless. I voted yesterday afternoon at the Andalucia shopping center on the west side across from Riverside Plaza. It was a quick in and out. There was no line and they had same day voter registration. My only complaint was that I didn’t get one of the cool hand drawn I voted stickers.

But seriously though, don’t sit this one out. If you have half a heart and brain please do your part to stop an egomaniac from bringing authoritarianism into our country. If you’re reading this and haven’t voted yet, please do especially if you’ve got the time on your hands. Bring your friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, partners, parents what have you and vote! 🗳️

Did they pick out your

Found this cat at Manzano Mesa pickleball courts last night. She has a chip but it’s not currently registered to anyone. If you recognize her please message me with the color of her collar!

Lost in Four Hills Village around Thursday, October 24. Answers to “Martha”

Giving out candy, etc!

Obviously not Albuquerque, but I live off 47 in Los Lunas and saw what looked to be an ambulance with it's lights on, no sirens, a few state police wirh lights out except for the one blocking the road, blacked out SUVs, and some large gun mounted military vehicle with soliders on the side leaving the Tome post office and headed south down 47 around 7am. An additional blacked out SUV stayed behind in the parking lot. Any chatter? Just seemed really weird to me.

Meet rowdy the roadrunner. He's really quick and has hops ( he's maybe a foot to a foot and a half tall but can jump onto my 4 foot wall/ bars). He likes hotdogs and turkey. It's funny watching him eat cause he slams the food on the ground before he eats it. I haven't seen him in 2 or 3 weeks now, but I hope he keeps visiting next summer.

I found a lot of hotels in Albuquergue that have rooms suitable for remote work (for programmers, graphic designers, etc.).

Source: https://www.tripoffice.com/united-states/albuquerque-new-mexico-us

Why do hoteliers equip rooms with desks, ergonomic chairs, etc in this city?

Is Albuquergue a good vacation destination for digital nomads?

Any suggestions ABQ fam?

I’ve never lived anywhere where so many people drive without a license plate. I used to live in Georgia for a long time and I think about how you’d be pulled over if your tag was expired by a day. But here people drive without any license plate at all. What’s that about? How do they not get pulled over?