Historian Heather Cox Richardson is worth following as we observe soulless billionaires working to end democracy, elevate unelected radicals and criminals,and expand the American empire. The February 7 email from Ms. Richardson includes

New York Times reported today that the congressional phone system has been jammed with tens of millions of calls from outraged constituents contacting their representatives to demand that they stand against President Donald Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk as they unilaterally dismantle the United States government and gain access to Americans’ private information. The Senate phone system usually gets about 40 calls a minute; now it is up to 1,600.

Talking Points Memo reported that Senate Republicans were not especially concerned about Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team rampaging through the federal government, figuring that Musk won’t last long and that the courts will eventually stop him. Today, Musk posted on X: “CFPB RIP,” with a tombstone emoji. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recovered more than $17 billion for consumers from fraudulent or predatory practices since it began in 2011.

Trump seems willing to let Musk continue to run amok through the government while he becomes a figurehead. Today he posted on his social media site that he has fired the chair and members of the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center, saying they “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” He promised to announce a new board, “with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”

Trump and his allies have claimed—without evidence—that USAID is corrupt, but Steven Lee Myers and Stuart A. Thompson of the New York Times reported today that the disinformation making those claims on social media posts, for example, comes from Russia.

Senate was considering the confirmation of Christian Nationalist Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought, a key author of Project 2025, believes the powers of the president should be virtually unchecked.

[Independent Senator Angus King said the U.S. constitution’s framers] “were deep students of history and…human nature. And they had just won a lengthy and brutal war against the abuses inherent in concentrated governmental power,” King said. “The universal principle of human nature they understood was this: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The framers were so fearful of concentrated power that they designed a system that would be hard to operate. And the heart of it was the separation of power between various parts of the government. The whole idea, the whole idea was that no part of the government, no one person, no one institution had or could ever have a monopoly on power.”

“Project 2025 is nothing less than a blueprint for the shredding of the Constitution and the transition of our country to authoritarian rule. He’s the last person who should be put in the job at the heart of the operation of our government.”

“[W]e’re experiencing in real time exactly what the framers most feared. When you clear away the smoke, clear away the DOGE, the executive orders, foreign policy pronouncements, more fundamentally what’s happening is the shredding of the constitutional structure itself. And we have a profound responsibility…to stop it.”

I have observed and studied politics for more than sixty years. I have never been as worried about the fragility of democracy and I am convinced it is at risk in Canada in 2025.

Our school curricula should pay close attention to what would sustain government by the people. We should carefully consider:

• Public funding of election campaigns;
• Rewards for voting and penalties for not voting;
• Training for politicians that emphasizes their first duty is to the public, not the party;
• Implement term limits;
• Strict accountability for politicians and senior public servants;
• Limit the power of unelected bureaucrats and institutions;
• Reduce or end the influence of paid lobbyists and special interest groups;
• Increase transparency in all functions of government and government agencies;
• Address economic disparities to create a more equitable society;
• Protect marginalized groups and ensure their participation in democratic processes;
• Limit the influence of those who consciously spread disinformation;
• Take regular advice from citizen forums involving people selected at random.