Democratic Party of Jeff Davis County
News & Views
Focus
Our Spotlight: We will periodically draw our readers’ attention to news, views, or new book releases that merit more consideration from democrats of all stripes.
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In the spotlight this month is a remarkable new work by Barbara McQuade, Attack from Within, a New York Times bestseller. Legal scholar and analyst McQuade shows us how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society and how we can fight against it. In her words: “Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response, in order to push us toward more extreme views. Lies are becoming increasingly normalized, and our democracy is in peril. The conversation I propose is not a debate about Democratic and Republican politics. It is about the essential need for truth in self-governance.”
A closely related new effort is The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis, by Bob Bauer, with a foreword by Jon Meacham. Available from the New-York Historical Society, this book has been described as "part memoir, part rumination on the declining moral compass of the American political class," and "the first book to place restoring political ethics at the center of the renewal of American democracy." Essential reading for anyone interested in American politics of the last 50 years--and the next.
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The last new book in the spotlight, adapted from the Peabody Award–winning podcast Southlake, is Mike Hixenbaugh's They Came for the Schools: One Town’s Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America’s Classrooms. Hixenbaugh recaps how the recent conservative war on the teaching of material concerning race, sexuality, and gender kicked off in Southlake, Texas. Acrimony surrounding the school district’s proposed diversity plan faced opposition from conservative parents and local activists, who eventually funded a takeover of the school board. The new board scrapped the diversity plan, relaxed the anti-bullying disciplinary code, banned books, and sanctioned teachers. Southlake became a national model for the right.
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Formerly in the Spotlight
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This month we are spotlighting two new works focused on saving our democracy from impending threats. Robert Kagan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and columnist for the Washington Post, brings us a “chilling and clear-eyed warning about the threats to our democracy posed by the increasing radicalization of the Republican Party.” The book, published by Penguin Random House, is Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again. Kagan argues that the 2024 election could be the last free election held in a unified America, whether Trump wins or loses and contests the election.
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Unite America’s executive director, Nick Troiano, sets out to rescue our democracy from party primaries and partisan gerrymandering. His book, published by Simon & Schuster, is The Primary Solution: Rescuing our democracy from the fringes. Troiano argues that, in our divided America, party primaries fuel political extremism and dysfunction because of their exclusionary rules and low turnout. The result, in his estimation, is a Congress dependent on fringe elements in both parties. The solution: nonpartisan primaries that permit voters to vote for any candidate in every election, regardless of party.
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Remaining in the spotlight for one more month is this compelling work by Rachel Bitecofer, political scientist, well-known pollster, and forecaster: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game – Rachel Bitecofer, with Aaron Murphy, Penguin Random House.
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Michael Steele, former RNC chair, describes her new book as a radical, urgent plan for how the Democratic Party and its supporters can win elections at one of the most pivotal moments in the history of our nation’s democracy. “Bitecofer hits hard against the GOP tactics of fear and anger and the Democrats’ status quo narratives around political engagement and winning elections.”
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This political treatise seeks to answer the question of why Democrats often fail to win voters to their side, and what can they do to develop new winning political strategies—especially as the very fate of democracy hangs in the balance in 2024? Too often the carefully constructed, rational arguments of the Left meet a grisly fate at the polls, where voters are instead swayed by Republican candidates hawking anger, fear, and resentment. Only when Democrats are handed an overwhelming motivational issue—like the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade—have they found a way to counter this effect.
Liz Cheney's new book is out December 5, 2023. It is being described as a gripping first-hand account of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection from inside the halls of Congress, from origins to aftermath, as Donald Trump and his enablers betrayed the American people and the Constitution—by the House Republican leader who dared to stand up to it. The book, Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning, can be preordered from Hachette Book Group.
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Trump's growing threat to our democracy receives more attention this month, and deservedly so. In CNN's 5 Things, Trump lays out radical agenda for possible second term.
Marianne LeVine writes in the Washington Post: Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini. On Veterans Day, the former president vowed to “root out” his liberal opponents, drawing backlash from historians who say his rhetoric is reminiscent of authoritarians.
In the New York Times, Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman, and Jonathan Swan focus on Trump's expressed plans: Sweeping Raids, Giant Camps and Mass Deportations: Inside Trump’s 2025 Immigration Plans. If he regains power, Donald Trump wants to revive some of the immigration policies criticized as draconian during his presidency, and expand and toughen them. Trump wants to reimpose a Covid 19-era policy of refusing asylum claims — this time basing that refusal on assertions that migrants carry other infectious diseases like tuberculosis.
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Most importantly, Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett previously argued in The Washington Post: Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term. Advisers have also discussed deploying the military to quell potential unrest on Inauguration Day. Critics have called the ideas under consideration dangerous and unconstitutional.
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Just out now is Jonathan Karl's Tired of Winning, published by Random House. Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party explores how Donald Trump remade the Republican Party in his own image—and the wreckage he’s left in his wake. The book tracks Trump’s improbable journey from disgraced and defeated former president to the dominant force in the Republican Party. From his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His legal troubles are mounting. Yet he’s re-emerged as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
In the world we live in now, we can't focus only on climate change threats. It's time for all of us to get serious about the growing threats to our democracy. A good start would be to read Jeffrey Goldberg's article in The Atlantic: The Patriot: How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump. An excerpt from the article: Twenty men have served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs since the position was created after World War II. Until Milley, none had been forced to confront the possibility that a president would try to foment or provoke a coup in order to illegally remain in office. A plain reading of the record shows that in the chaotic period before and after the 2020 election, Milley did as much, or more, than any other American to defend the constitutional order, to prevent the military from being deployed against the American people, and to forestall the eruption of wars with America’s nuclear-armed adversaries.
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General Milley also left lasting words for history in his farewell speech:
Outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Mark Milley Speaks at Farewell Ceremony – Mark Milley, C-SPAN
“We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” General Mark Milley, the outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a farewell speech in Arlington, Virginia. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”
In The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum also weighs in on threats to democracy. In The American Face of Authoritarian Propaganda, Anne Applebaum explores Tucker Carlson’s role in spreading authoritarian views: For Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin, Tucker Carlson fulfills a need. When Carlson speaks on behalf of Viktor Orbán or Vladimir Putin, his words are repeated in Hungary and Russia, where they do have resonance. His words also circulate in the far-right American echo chamber, where they are sometimes repeated by Republican presidential candidates.
Cassidy Hutchinson’s desk was mere steps from the most controversial president in recent American history. In Enough, she provides a riveting account of her extraordinary experiences as an idealistic young woman thrust into the middle of a national crisis, where she risked everything to tell the truth about some of the most powerful people in Washington. The book, published by Simon & Shuster, is due out September 26th.
Two articles from the Opinion page of The New York Times document in an emotional and impactful way the effect of climate change on our world, and plead with us to pay attention and do something about it. First published in December 2021, Postcards from a World on Fire, by The New York Times Editorial Board, is an astounding interactive tour of climate change around the world -- 193 stories from individual countries graphically displaying how climate change is reshaping reality everywhere. This tour well deserves a re-view.
In some ways even more graphic is The Turtle Mothers Have Come Ashore to Ask About an Unpaid Debt, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, published September 22, 2023. Dr. Kimmerer is director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Her story is about refugee turtles seeking higher ground as water levels rose. Her words are haunting:
I think the turtles headed for high ground with a kind of desperation to ask us to pay attention, to see that we teeter on the brink of climate catastrophe with our plant and animal relatives disappearing in waves of extinction. Science, armed with models to predict the coming changes, is a powerful tool for addressing these crises. But it is not the only one. As a scientist, I hear the indisputable data, and also a message, simultaneously material and spiritual, carried by snapping turtles: The Earth asks more of us than gratitude.
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In The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future, Franklin Foer tells the definitive insider story of the first two years of the Biden presidency, with exclusive access to Biden’s longtime team of advisers, and presents a gripping portrait of a president during this momentous time in our nation’s history. "You might love Biden or you might hate Biden, but either way, if you want to understand him, you will want to buy this book." — Politico
In Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America's Extremist Heart, a former Department of Homeland Security analyst takes a long view on the domestic terrorism threat from radicalized individuals and hate groups of various ideologies. America is a land in which extremism no longer belongs to the country's shadowy fringes, but comfortably exists in the national mainstream. That is the alarming conclusion by intelligence analyst Daryl Johnson, an expert on domestic extremism with more than twenty-five years of experience tracking radicalized groups for the US government. In this book, Johnson dissects the rapidly expanding forms of American hatred and radicalization, including white nationalists, antigovernment militias, antifascists (Antifa), militant black nationalists, and extremist Islamic groups.
A little sardonic humor to end the Spotlight: District Attorney Fani Willis' letter to Congressman Jim Jordan.
Miles Taylor served as chief of staff at the US Department of Homeland Security under Donald Trump and published an “Anonymous” essay in The New York Times on presidential misconduct. He later published the bestseller, A Warning, and helped organize a campaign of ex-officials to oppose Trump’s reelection. His latest effort is a shocker – an urgent alarm about the nation’s future: Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump.
Tahir Hamut Izgil is the author of the forthcoming book Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide, from which this essay is adapted: Let the Tragedy in My Homeland Be a Lesson -- Tahir Hamut Izgil, The New York Times. His book urges us: "Do not ignore the signs of creeping authoritarianism. Do not make the mistake of thinking that something like what has happened to my people couldn’t happen elsewhere, that it couldn’t happen in your country. It can."
In July, our focus is on the 4th of July and its lessons, a re-commitment to democracy, and the meaning of patriotism. These three thought-provoking articles approach the meaning of the 4th in very different ways:
David M. Satterfield, Director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, in the Houston Chronicle: On July 4, let's re-commit to democracy.
Dan Rather and Elliott Kirschner, in Steady: Lessons of the Fourth: The power to change.
Robert Reich, in Substack: True patriotism is the opposite of Trump’s White Christian Nationalism: Thoughts on July 4th.
At long last, Donald Trump's guilt or innocence will be decided how it should be -- in courts of law by juries of his peers. The indictment, a breezy read, should be required reading by all Americans: Here it is!
The Editorial Board of the Houston Chronicle makes a good case why you should read the Trump indictment yourself: For love of country, read the federal Trump indictment yourself.
Tom Nichols, in The Atlantic Daily, warns of risks to national security: Trump’s Indictment Reveals a National Security Nightmare.
In The Guardian, Jonathan Freedland focuses on Trump's threat to Ukraine if he were to be re-elected: After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, another threat lies on Ukraine’s horizon: Donald Trump.
It Was All a Lie, by a former Republican insider, Stuart Stevens, is a crushing portrayal of the current Republican Party. Stuart Stevens spent decades electing Republicans at every level, from presidents to senators to local officials. He knows the GOP as intimately as anyone in America, and in this new book he offers a devastating portrait of a party that has lost its moral and political compass.
This is not a book about how Donald Trump hijacked the Republican Party. Stevens shows how Trump is the natural outcome of five decades of hypocrisy and self-delusion, dating all the way back to the civil rights struggles of the early 1960s. Stevens shows how racism has always lurked in the modern GOP’s DNA. He gives an insider’s account of the rank hypocrisy of the party’s claims to embody “family values,” and shows how the party’s vaunted commitment to fiscal responsibility has been a charade since the 1980s. When a party stands for nothing, he argues, it is only natural that it will be taken over by the loudest and angriest voices in the room.
Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Passion and Fear to Save America, was just released in paperback. From John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Harvard Institute of Politics, Fight is an exploration of Gen Z, the issues that matter most to them, and how they will shape the future...
Since they were born, Generation Z ― those born from the late 1990s to early 2000s ― have been faced with turmoil, destruction and instability unprecedented in modern history. They are more stressed, anxious, and depressed than previous generations. But they have organized around issues such as gun safety, a woman's right to choose, environmental justice and voting rights, and become more politically engaged than their elders, with a unique willingness to disrupt the status quo.
Raise Your Hand Texas is leading an effort to Tell the Texas Senate that Texans Oppose Vouchers. You can join this effort here.
Life in America has become fractured, and the intensity of disagreement between Americans threatens the nation's well-being. Written by Ed Goeas, a Republican, and Celinda Lake, a Democrat, A Question of Respect: Bringing Us Together in a Deeply Divided Nation makes the case that the only way for America to claw its way out of the political divide is through mutual respect.
In the spotlight now is Richard Haass’ new book published by Random House, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens. The Kindle price at Amazon is $13.74, and the hardcover book is $28.00. Check out this much-needed effort to reenvision citizenship.
Also of special interest is Governor Phil Murphy’s and New Jersey’s bipartisan pioneering effort to bring media literacy to K-12 students as a mechanism to combat misinformation. This effort could become a model for other states – including Texas (we hope). The goal is to equip our future leaders with the tools necessary to distinguish fact from fiction.
Texas
The proposed curriculum overhaul was released a week after the Texas GOP proposed requiring the Bible to be taught in public schools. School districts that opt to use them will get more funding.
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Elementary school curriculum proposed this week would infuse new state reading and language arts lessons with teachings on the Bible, marking the latest push by Texas Republicans to put more Christianity in public schools.
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Greg Abbott has campaigned against members of his own party who do not support voucher programs. This fall, he may finally get the votes needed to pass a bill — a win for the Christian conservative donors who have spent decades lobbying for it.
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A Small-Town Texas Librarian’s Big Stand Against Book Bans – Lise Olsen, The Texas Observer
In Llano County, a local librarian fought back against censorship, prompting a federal court fight and national recognition but losing the job of her dreams.
Suzette Baker, from unincorporated Kingsland, was feted recently by the Authors Guild in New York City as a “Champion of Writers”—the first-ever recipient of a national award established to honor librarians who fight book bans.
In 2022, ​​she was fired from her job as a Llano County librarian after resisting orders to ban books and protesting against censorship. In response to Baker’s story, a local mom named Leila Leah Green and other library patrons filed a federal lawsuit, supported by the Author’s Guild. In 2023, they won a court order that forced county officials to restore eight of the 17 titles that had been removed from library shelves.
Election Disinformation Resource Library
With technology increasing the speed of information sharing and the number of disinformation case studies piling up, how do we keep our communities and ourselves safe? The purpose of this resource library is to empower individuals to learn, understand, and detect disinformation. The information is organized into easily digestible learning tracks, complemented with fun, interactive quizzes for enhanced comprehension.
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Disinformation is Global. So Are We: Global Disinformation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. The Global DisInformation Lab (GDIL) was established at The University of Texas at Austin to encourage collaborative interdisciplinary academic research on the global circulation of misinformation, and disinformation.
Austin school district trustee David Kauffman had just one piece of advice for the nearly 700 graduates of Bowie High School’s Class of 2024, all clad in their black caps and gowns. Vote. “For the rest of your lives, whatever you do and wherever you live, I urge you to make a difference by voting in every election,” Kauffman told the grads. He noted the sacrifices of others who secured our voting rights. He even invoked Texas' late U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan: “The stakes are too high for government to be a spectator sport.”
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Consider some of the ideas the Republican Party of Texas embraced a few days earlier, 80 miles away, at its annual convention in San Antonio. The party adopted a new rule that would knock any candidate off the Republican primary ballot if they’ve been censured by the party within the past two years. Meaning, before voters could even cast their ballot, a few dozen state executive committee members could take key officials out of the running.
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In addition, the Texas Republican Party platform now calls for a state constitutional amendment to create another requirement for winning statewide office: In addition to winning the most votes statewide, a candidate would have to win a majority of the votes in a majority of Texas’ 254 counties. It would be like implementing the Electoral College in Texas, with one vote for each county. One vote for Harris County, population 4.8 million. One vote for Loving County, population 43. It would ensure the vast rural areas of Texas would always outnumber its urban centers, because land would count more than people.
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True Texas Project has for years worked with Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. Ted Cruz and other prominent Republicans.
An influential grassroots group with close ties to Texas Republican lawmakers is hosting a conference next month that encourages its attendees to embrace Christian nationalism and resist a Democratic campaign “to rid the earth of the white race.”
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Speakers include GOP donor and former state Sen. Don Huffines, retired U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, two prominent Christian nationalist authors, and Paul Gottfried, a far-right writer who has for years collaborated with white supremacists and mentored neo-Nazis such as Richard Spencer.
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Meet the Out-of-State Political Donors Messing With Texas – Alexandra Samuels, Texas Monthly
Republicans regularly attack Democratic donor George Soros as interfering in the politics of the Lone Star State. But the two biggest political donors in Texas favor Republicans and hail from Nevada and Pennsylvania.
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Anti-immigrant laws like Senate Bill 4 are part of a much larger, unconstitutional effort by Texas politicians to enforce discriminatory immigration policies through the state’s controversial program known as Operation Lone Star (OLS).
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Gov. Greg Abbott launched OLS in March 2021. Since then, Texas has spent more than $11.2 billion on the program. OLS claims to stop migrants from allegedly bringing drugs and crime into Texas — even though the state’s own data proves that’s not the case.
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Our latest report reveals that OLS spends billions of dollars to racially profile and arrest people who pose no threat to public safety, then forces them into a separate and unequal legal system run by the state.
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As the November presidential election approaches, the border crisis narrative has taken center stage in U.S. politics. In response, a group of fronterizo filmmakers are confidently challenging the alarmist narratives through innovative and artistic cinematic representations.
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Many are Mexican American women from Texas who have premiered films in the past year. Their work contrasts with the sensationalist headlines of border chaos and disruption, offering nuanced and sensitive portraits of the region’s people, their resilience, and the complexities of the bicultural and binational communities along the Rio Grande (or Río Bravo, as it’s known south of the border).
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Twenty-five prospective legislators have signed a pledge to block Democrats—who now hold 43 percent of the seats—from all influence in the lower chamber and neuter the next Speaker.
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Colin Allred on Abortion – Texas Democratic Party (video)
Politicians have no place in your OB/GYN exam room. Colin Allred knows that, and he'll never stop fighting to defend your personal freedoms.
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Joe Biden Touts Huge $40 Billion Texas Win – Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek
President Joe Biden has touted a deal with Samsung to build new semiconductor chip plants in Texas. The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding to the South Korean tech giant to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster.
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The funding comes from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law with the aim of boosting domestic production of advanced computer chips. In a statement on Monday, Biden said he had signed the law "to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and ensure America's consumers, businesses, and military maintain access to the chips that underpin our modern technology," but had been working to address supply chain vulnerabilities well before it was passed.
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Justice Dept. finalizes rules to close ‘gun show loophole’ – Perry Stein, The Washington Post
In a move that officials touted as the most significant increase in American gun regulation in decades, the Justice Department has finalized rules to close a loophole that allowed people to sell firearms online, at gun shows and at other informal venues without conducting background checks on those who purchase them.
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Vice President Harris and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland celebrated the rules and said they would keep firearms out of the hands of potentially violent people who are not legally allowed to own guns. “Every person in our nation has a right to live free from the horror of gun violence,” Harris said on a call with reporters. “We know how to prevent these tragedies, and it is a false choice to say you are either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.”
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Americans are paying for our broken asylum system – Regina Lankenau, The Houston Chronicle
To find solutions, first we need to take control of the narrative. That’s what Biden tried to do last month. He put the blame for our border crisis squarely on the shoulders of his predecessor. If Donald Trump hadn’t used his influence to torpedo a bipartisan border bill in February, Biden argued, the United States would have 1,500 more border security agents, 100 more immigration judges and 4,300 more asylum officers to tackle the asylum case backlog.
But Trump isn’t the only one to blame. In the past 20 years, the U.S. has shelled out over $200 billion for immigration enforcement and less than $9 billion for immigration courts. They’ve let the system charged with processing humanitarian cases, such as asylum and refugee applications, buckle under a caseload weight it wasn’t designed to handle.
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Politico reports that three years after Cancúngate, Cruz has proposed a legislation that “would offer lawmakers a dedicated security escort at airports, along with expedited screening outside of public view.” As the outlet notes, such measure “could make it much less likely that the politicians’ comings and goings would become fodder for embarrassing news reports and late-night comedy mockery.” The special treatment would also extend to Cabinet members, federal judges, and a small number of family and staff. Cruz is trying to include the legislation as an amendment to S. 1939, an aviation policy bill.
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[Presidio] County candidates weigh in on their priorities and experience – Big Bend Sentinel
Early voting begins on Tuesday, February 20, and ends Friday, March 1, for the March 5 Primary Election. All candidates are in races for the Democratic Party. No Republicans filed as candidates, which means the winners of the primaries will be unopposed to win the General Election in November.
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Up for vote are seats for sheriff, county attorney, county tax assessor-collector, county commissioners (precincts 1 and 3) and county constables (precincts 1 and 2). This issue will include candidates for county attorney and county tax assessor-collector. Next week, we’ll include responses from county commissioner and constable candidates.
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The Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Dallas woman access to an emergency abortion is motivating a new political group to try and oust three of the court’s Republican justices. The Find Out PAC, led by former Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, is targeting Justices Jimmy Blacklock, Jane Bland and John Devine, who are all up for reelection this year. The group released its first ad online last week.
“Reproductive freedom is on the ballot in Texas this November,” Jones said in an interview last week. “We have an opportunity to move in the right direction, and that starts with holding these justices accountable.”
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, readily concedes he was one of the Republicans who last year demanded that additional aid to Ukraine be paired with measures to stem the record-setting surge of migrants crossing the southern border. But Cruz also is touting his role in killing the resulting bipartisan compromise that packaged border provisions with aid for Ukraine.
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Democrats say Republican criticism of the deal before its details were even revealed showed they were more interested in mining the border situation for political gain than solving the problem. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is the frontrunner in the Democratic primary to face Cruz in November and had endorsed the failed compromise.
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“While there is more to do, including finally securing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, this bipartisan agreement is a much-needed step,” Allred said in a statement. “It will secure our border, reform our asylum and visa systems and surge resources to the border where they are needed to address this crisis.”
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Who’s in God’s Army? – Bekah McNeel, Texas Monthly
At “Take Our Border Back” rallies across Texas, the convoy’s Christian nationalist rhetoric was on wide display. But not all soldiers are equally devout.
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The small border town once again finds itself at the center of a performance that’s less about immigration control than political posturing.
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The goal is to amplify U.S. political divisions, according to a magazine report and a Texas expert on propaganda.
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LWV Texas Statement on Immigration -- Diane Taisin of LWV Dallas and Nancy Kral of LWV Houston
We encourage Governor Abbott to immediately end Operation Lone Star and work to support US immigration policies, procedures, and laws. All citizens, residents, migrants, and asylum seekers must be treated equally in the eyes of the law and be treated with dignity and respect.
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Advocates stress the urgency for enhanced fact-checking in Spanish media.
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Randy Abreu, Policy Director of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a non-profit organization advocating for Latino representation and fair portrayals in media, highlighted a viral false claim during the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting that the COVID-19 vaccine contained government tracking microchips. This instance highlights the surge in misinformation during the pandemic, extending beyond health-related topics to encompass broader issues like immigration, climate change, and abortion.
“Another reason this is so important right now is because there are so many elections happening (in 2024), not just in the United States, but also in Latin America, so we are monitoring and anticipating a high influx of Spanish language disinformation,” said Abreu.
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Pennsylvania's richest man pushes Texas further to the right with megadonation.
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A Pennsylvania billionaire gave Gov. Greg Abbott $6 million last month in the single largest donation in Texas political history, money the governor promises to employ in his reprisals against reasonable Republicans. Texans must take their government back from the oligarchs who are showering our leaders with millions, and there’s a manual on how to do it.
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Abbott’s new donor is Jeff Yass, a former professional gambler and co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, an investment firm specializing in options trading, another form of gambling. He is the 52nd wealthiest man in the world, worth $28.9 billion, according to Forbes, and he’s obsessed with destroying public schools.
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The deadline to register to vote is Feb. 5. The last day to apply to vote by mail is Feb. 23. Early voting runs from Feb. 20 to March 1.
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Jan. 1 is the first day Texans can request an absentee ballot. Election Day for the primaries is set to take place on March 5.
By the start of 2024, Texans will be able to apply for a ballot by mail to begin the process of casting their vote in the primary election for local, state and national offices. With the election nearly three months away, here’s what to know on whether you’re eligible and how to submit an application.
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Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions.
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More than 90% of Texas’ 32 border counties don’t have enough primary care services, sites or providers to meet local medical needs, according to federal data.
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Texas tops list as worst state to seek mental health care -- Hana Ikramuddin, Houston Chronicle
Texas has less than one mental health facility for every 100,000 people, according to an analysis of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data. That lack of facilities resulted in Texas being ranked as the worst state to seek mental health support, according to a new list by MentalHealthRehabs.com, a national directory of mental health providers. The state has 62 percent fewer facilities than the national average, according to a news release from the director. A vast majority of the state's counties are facing a shortage of professional mental healthcare workers, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
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Tax cuts were a major legislative priority for Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor cannot certify the election results until the challenges are resolved.
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Inflation, stagnant federal funding for food programs and high housing costs mean that demand at food banks still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.
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School Voucher Scams -- Texas Democrats
The push for deeply unpopular private school vouchers continues.
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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Two-Year Anniversary – Texas Democratic Party
Two years in, and @POTUS's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering big for Texans! From investing in clean water to bolstering transportation, we're building a stronger, more connected Texas. Here's how these investments are driving progress across the Lone Star State.
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“The Government of Mexico reiterates its rejection of any measure that contemplates the involuntary return of migrants without respect for due process,” says Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations. Mexico has agreements in place with the U.S. government, and it would be unprecedented for Mexico to create a diplomatic relationship with a U.S. state over immigration matters. Many immigrants entering the U.S. are not from Mexico. In Texas, a majority of Democratic lawmakers, at least one Republican senator and civil rights organizations say that SB 4 is unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled immigration laws can only be enforced by the federal government.
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Will Hurd didn't leave the Republican Party: It left him – Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Express-News
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Texas theocrats are a home-grown threat to American democracy – The Editorial Board, Houston Chronicle
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The 2023 Texas Teacher Poll: Listening to the Educator Experience – The Charles Butt Foundation
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House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment, August 2023: Initial Interim Report to the 88th Texas Legislature
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School voucher bill gets initial approval in the Texas Senate, heads over to a more skeptical House – Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune
The Senate also approved Senate Bill 2, which would infuse $5.2 billion to school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add those items to the special session’s agenda once lawmakers approve a voucher program.
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Texas Senate unveils its priority school voucher bill – Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune
The proposal would give families who exit the state’s public education system access to $8,000 of taxpayer money each year to pay for their children’s private schooling.
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Education savings accounts and illegal immigration will be part of third special legislative session’s focus – Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the items lawmakers can consider when they return Monday. His agenda also includes COVID vaccine mandates and the Colony Ridge development outside Houston.
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League of Women Voters of Texas Nonpartisan 2023 Voter Guide -- English
A thorough, pros and cons analysis of 14 constitutional amendments to be voted on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
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League of Women Voters of Texas Nonpartisan 2023 Voter Guide -- Spanish
A thorough, pros and cons analysis of 14 constitutional amendments to be voted on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
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2023 Texas Statewide Ballot Guide – Progress Texas
Convenient, easy-to-follow recommendations by Progress Texas for the November 2023 Constitutional Amendment elections.
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Texas lawmaker offers ‘out of box’ plan – State Representative Eddie Morales, in article by Sandra Sanchez, Border Report
To stop the surge of migrants at the border, Morales is proposing the Texas Secure Our Border Migrant Processing Plan.
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Vouchers are a Clear Violation of the American Ideal of Separation of Church and State
Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 constitutional amendments election -- María Méndez, Yuriko Schumacher, Texas Tribune Staff, The Texas Tribune
Texans will decide the fate of 14 constitutional amendments approved for the ballot by state lawmakers. Here’s a breakdown of each constitutional amendment and requirements to vote.
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The governor promised political consequences if lawmakers cannot pass legislation allowing for publicly subsidized school vouchers before March primaries.
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Thousands of migrants have crossed the border into Eagle Pass and El Paso in recent days, the highest number since the emergency health order known as Title 42 expired in May.
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The GOP-backed Senate Bill 1 added voting restrictions that plaintiffs claim unfairly impacts voters of color.
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Time to Take Away Fox’s Broadcast Licenses – Steve Macek & Mitchell Szczepanczyk, Project Censored
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Texas was state with most book bans in 2022, report shows – Erum Salam, Guardian
Number of book challenges nationwide doubled from 2021 as book ban movement gathers speed in Republican-led states.
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Analysis of Texas Constitutional Amendments on the November 2023 Ballot – Bexar Democrats
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After legislators passed laws banning diversity initiatives and targeting tenure at state universities, more than a quarter of the 1,900 Texas professors surveyed by faculty associations said they plan to look for positions out of state.
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A report by the federal environmental agency’s internal watchdog found that EPA is failing to enforce its own pollution limits for the known carcinogen at many refineries — including some in Texas.
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Eagle Pass wants border security not Abbott's boondoggle – The Editorial Board, Houston Chronicle
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After initially supporting the governor’s efforts to stem illegal immigration, many residents say Operation Lone Star has gone too far.
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Legislation passed this month would raise the state’s homestead exemption to $100,000, lower schools’ tax rates and put an appraisal cap on residential and commercial properties, among other measures. But voters must approve a constitutional amendment first.
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Representative Eddie Morales August Newsletter
Good discussion of property tax relief for Texans, current conditions at the border and his Texas Secure Our Border Migrant Processing Plan, and school vouchers.
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Righting the Rule of Law – Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune
Over the past quarter century, a war machine was constructed inside the Texas Office of Attorney General, designed to push conservative legal doctrine through the courts. The progeny of that movement now fill the federal bench in Texas, and the future of the rule of law is in their hands. This series examines how Texas got here — and what it means for the country's future.
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The Tri-County Voter Promoters Begin Voter Registration Again in June -- Tri-County Voter Promoters
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Inside Texas’s book ban wars -- Charlotte Lytton, The Telegraph
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The Urgent Need for Commonsense, Lifesaving Gun Safety Legislation – Texas Democratic Party
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Helping Migrants Seeking Asylum -- Beto O'Rourke, Powered By People
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Who Is Colin Allred, the U.S. Planning to Take on Ted Cruz? -- Texas Monthly
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Does a “Family Values” Agenda Include Keeping New Moms Healthy? -- Texas Monthly
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Preemption of Local Authority is Out of Control -- Texas League of Women Voters
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H.B. 2744 (Raises the Minimum Age to Buy an Assault Rifle) – Texas Democratic Party
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How a far-right, Christian cellphone company ‘took over’ four Texas school boards -- NBC News
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About Texas House Bill 20 -- Beto O'Rourke
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Expand Medicaid Now! -- Texas Democratic Party
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Invest in Texas Children -- Texas House Democratic Caucus
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Response to Governor Abbott's State of the State Address -- Texas Democratic Party
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Vouchers Policy Brief -- Raise Your Hand Texas
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The Campaign to Sabotage Texas Schools -- Texas Monthly
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Texas House Democratic Caucus Calls for $15,000 Teacher Pay Raise
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The 2023 Texas Education Poll: Strong Support, Clear Challenges -- Charles Butt Foundation
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Building the Future of Texas, Together: 2023 Legislative Priorities -- Raise Your Hand Texas
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Public Education First -- Texas American Federation of Teachers
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School Voucher Program & Raise Teacher Pay -- Texas Democratic Party
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New Americans in Texas -- American Immigration Council
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How to Survive the Texas Legislature -- Texas Monthly
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Women's Access to Safe, Legal Abortions -- Texas League of Women Voters
Minority Rule: How 3 Percent of Texans Call the Shots for the Rest of Us – Texas Monthly
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Why So Many Texans Don’t Vote – Texas Monthly
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Texas Held an Election. Most Voters Didn’t Come. – Texas Monthly
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The Year We Banned Books – Texas Monthly
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The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas – American Immigration Council
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Where We Stand – Policy priorities for the future of Texas public Schools – Raise Your Hand Texas
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Analysis: A health care problem too big for the Texas Legislature -- The Texas Tribune
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Texas Broadband Plan 2022 – Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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The Future of Geothermal in Texas -- The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute
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Rural Texas is the state’s foundation. And it’s in jeopardy. – The Texas Tribune
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Seven ways climate change is already hitting Texas – The Texas Tribune
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News & Views
National
The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States would have been wrong and dangerous at any time. It’s uncommonly so with Trump poised to retake power.
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The United States has gone for two-and-a-half centuries without a constitutional rule concerning presidential immunity, and it has been able to do so for a very simple reason: Most presidents aren’t criminals and don’t use their official functions to commit crimes.
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The court majority may flatter itself that it’s staying out of politics. In fact, they are handing a powerful immunity to an adjudged felon who may be about to assume “the executive power” of the United States, and they are doing it by corroding—and perhaps rendering impossible—accountability for his past crimes.
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The Radical Roberts Court – Kevin M. Kruse, Campaign Trails, Substack
The current Supreme Court of the United States has just cemented its place in history as the most radical Supreme Court ever.
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Members of the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority made promises under oath to respect and preserve the precedents already established by earlier iterations of the Court. But in recent years, and especially in recent weeks, these self-described respecters of precedent have run roughshod over tradition and upended landmark rulings that have been the law of the land for most of my adult life.
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In 2022, they overturned the 49-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade, which provided a constitutional basis for the right to abortion. No more.
In 2023, they overturned the 46-year-old precedent of Bakke, which asserted that race-conscious admissions in higher education were constitutional. No more.
Last week, they overturned the 40-year-old precent of Chevron, which provided a key foundation for the modern regulatory state. No more.
And today, in their most brazen decision yet, they overturned a basic principle of American constitutional law from the founding — the idea that no one, not even a former president, is above the law.
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A Supreme Gift to Donald Trump – Dan Rather and Team Steady, Substack
Effectively, the American president is now a monarch.
The American ideal that no person is above the law died today. The Supreme Court killed it. And the belief in an independent judiciary took a big hit too. Ruling along party lines, the Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 decision that says that Donald Trump (or any U.S. president) is immune from prosecution for official acts taken while in office. The court made a distinction between official and private conduct.
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The right-wing justices did what they were hired to do: protect Donald Trump by delaying prosecution while dismantling democracy. How does this court ever regain the trust of the nation? It can’t.
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President Biden Remarks on Supreme Court Immunity Ruling
President Biden delivered remarks on the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling, saying, "Today's decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do."
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Biden had a horrible night Thursday. But the debate about the debate is misplaced. The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump.
President Joe Biden’s debate performance was a disaster. His disjointed responses and dazed look sparked calls for him to drop out of the presidential race. But lost in the hand wringing was Donald Trump’s usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering. His performance demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office.
The liberal justice, dissenting from the majority’s ruling on Trump’s immunity case, quoted the court’s Dobbs decision back to them.
The Supreme Court’s striking 6–3 ruling in Donald Trump’s immunity case on Monday means that it will be that much more difficult to use the criminal courts to hold a former president accountable, giving the president more power to act with impunity. The same justices who ruled to jail people who are homeless and sleeping outdoors even if there is no shelter, whose ruling in Dobbs turned millions of people’s abortions into a crime, now say that applying the same criminal justice system to the president as to the voters that elected him threatens the rule of law.
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“Whenever the President wields the enormous power of his office, the majority says, the criminal law (at least presumptively) cannot touch him,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “This official-acts immunity has ‘no firm grounding in constitutional text, history, or precedent,’” she added, pointedly citing an argument this same majority-coalition of justices made when ruling in the Dobbs case to overturn Roe v. Wade. After detailing the historic case against absolute presidential immunity, she concluded, again with a citation to Dobbs, “It seems history matters to this Court only when it is convenient.”
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Five SCOTUS Justices’ Comments on Prez Immunity Come Back to Haunt Them – Owen Lavine, Daily Beast
Five of the six justices who ruled that Trump has absolute immunity for “core” presidential duties sung a different tune at their confirmation hearings.
Collective amnesia seems to have struck the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, especially around the question: Is the president above the law? Five of the six conservative justices who ruled to give the president absolute immunity for “core” presidential duties seem to have made contradictory statements during their Senate confirmation hearings.
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Letters from an American 7-1-2024 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
Today the United States Supreme Court overthrew the central premise of American democracy: that no one is above the law.
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It decided that the president of the United States, possibly the most powerful person on earth, has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as part of the official acts at the core of presidential powers.
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This is a profound change to our fundamental law—an amendment to the Constitution, as historian David Blight noted. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president needs such immunity to make sure the president is willing to take “bold and unhesitating action” and make unpopular decisions, although no previous president has ever asserted that he is above the law or that he needed such immunity to fulfill his role. Roberts’s decision didn’t focus at all on the interest of the American people in guaranteeing that presidents carry out their duties within the guardrails of the law.
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With Trump’s threats to jail Liz Cheney and other political foes going nuclear, a former prosecutor explains what a second-term crackdown on his enemies would really look like.
This week, Donald Trump shared some deranged images on social media that called for the jailing of Liz Cheney. One image even called for her to face a military tribunal. New reports suggest Trump is preparing an unexpectedly vicious wave of persecution if he wins. So what can Trump actually do to his political opponents? Kristy Parker, former federal prosecutor and counsel at Protect Democracy, explained why Trump’s coming crackdown on his enemies could be more disturbing than we expect—and how to fight back against it.
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Whether Biden stays or goes, we face the threat of a SCOTUS-backed dictator.
Today’s short Media Misses video discusses the New York Times calling on Joe Biden to drop out after his awful debate performance but failing to demand the same for Donald Trump.
Media Misses pairs Mark Jacob with Steven Beschloss, author of the outstanding America, America newsletter.
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Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory 2024
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This Advisory describes the public health crisis of firearm violence in America and describes strategies for firearm injury and violence prevention, with a focus on the health and well-being of children, families, and communities.
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Rates of firearm-related death in the U.S. are significantly higher than rates in other high-income countries. The discrepancy between the U.S. and peer nations is even more stark when it comes to firearm-related mortality among children and adolescents.
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FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families Together – The White House
Today, President Biden is announcing that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together. This new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country.
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These actions will promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together.
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The Monthly’s Presidential Accomplishment Index – The Editors, Washington Monthly
A comprehensive list of what Donald Trump and Joe Biden achieved in office.
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This November’s race is shaping up to be a contest between two presidents who served consecutively and faced similar partisan advantages in Congress. These historically rare circumstances allow for a one-to-one comparison of their achievements in office.
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Our editors spent months digging into the records of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden to create our Presidential Accomplishment Index (below). How do the two administrations stack up? Read the list, which tracks 149 major accomplishments across 21 categories, and decide for yourself.
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We also asked 10 journalists to investigate both presidents’ records in a specific realm and report on who got more of their respective agendas done and how. Read those essays here, and the introduction to the package here.
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Just when you think the audacity meter has reached its zenith, along comes the Republican-dominated Louisiana state legislature. This week it passed — and the state’s far-right governor signed — a law requiring all public classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
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Governor Jeff Landry argued that the Commandments are not simply religious treatise but “foundational documents of our state and national government,” perhaps trying to circumvent the inevitable hue and cry from just about everyone.
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Arizona was the first state in the country to enact a universal “education savings account” program – a form of voucher that allows any family to take tax dollars that would have gone to their child’s public education and spend the money instead on private schooling.
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A CNN investigation found that the program has cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than anticipated, disproportionately benefited richer areas, and funneled taxpayer funds to unregulated private schools that don’t face the same educational standards and antidiscrimination protections that public schools do.
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Debunking Myth #4: “Corporate Political Donations Are Free Speech.” Bunk! – Robert Reich, Substack
In 1971, Lewis Powell urged the leaders of American corporations to devote a portion of their profits to politics.
Since then, America has witnessed the largest and most entrenched system of legalized bribery in its history. Big corporations and the super-wealthy have rigged the “free market” for their own benefit. The Supreme Court opened the floodgates to all this by deciding that money is speech and corporations are people. There is nothing in the history of the First Amendment to the Constitution supporting these decisions.
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Throughout the 1980s, corporate PAC spending on congressional races increased nearly fivefold. Labor union PAC spending rose only about half as fast. By the 2016 campaign cycle, corporations and Wall Street contributed $34 for every $1 donated by labor unions and all public interest organizations combined. In 1980, the richest one-hundredth of 1 percent of Americans provided 10 percent of all donations to federal elections. By 2012, they provided 40 percent.
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The Flimsiness of Trumponomics -- Charles Sykes, The Atlantic
Trump’s latest reported idea would result in massive tax cuts for the ultrarich—at the expense of other Americans.
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Fabulist Math: Economists are warning that Trump’s reported idea to eliminate the income tax and replace it with massive tariffs on imports would cripple the economy, explode the cost of living, and likely set off a trade war. And because the math doesn’t come close to working, it would also tremendously increase the national debt.
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In other words, Trump’s latest notion is both economically and fiscally illiterate. “If a 20yo interviewing for a House internship suggested replacing the income tax with a massive tariff, they’d be laughed out of the interview,” Brian Riedl, a conservative budget expert, wrote on X.
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Abortion bans are changing what it means to be young in America – Julie Maslowsky, The Conversation
But the experience of growing up in the post-Roe v. Wade era looks very different from that before the 50-year precedent was overturned in 2022.
Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision, more than half of U.S. adolescents, ages 13-19, now live in a state with severely restricted or no legal abortion access. As a result, today’s young people are coming of age in what one expert in health law and bioethics has termed an “era of rights retractions.” Abortion bans are not only affecting those who need an abortion – they are shaping an entire generation.
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Court Accountability & United for Democracy Release Sign-On Letter Calling On Senate to Take Urgent Action Amidst Judicial Crisis
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Trump’s Unhinged Press Conference Remarks ‘As Prepared For Delivery’ -- The Lincoln Project
May 31, 2024 – Convicted felon Donald Trump gave an unhinged, rambling, stammering, unintelligible press statement in Manhattan this morning. Since Trump is the bestest speaker, we thought you might want to reread them. Here are his remarks as ‘prepared for delivery’:
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Let's Not Elect a President Who Hates America – Mary L. Trump, Substack
That would be a spectacularly bad idea.
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Undergraduate Commencement Address -- Ken Burns, Brandeis University
There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment, or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. When, as Mercy Otis Warren would say, "The checks of conscience are thrown aside and a deformed picture of the soul is revealed." The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems.
When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction, "a bigger delusion", James Baldwin would say, the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies. Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.
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Remember what Louis Brandeis said, "The most important political office is that of the private citizen." Vote. You indelibly... [audience applauding] Please, vote. You indelibly underscore your citizenship, and most important, our kinship with each other when you do. Good luck and godspeed.
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Letters from an American 5-30-2024 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
12 Ordinary Americans
After slightly less than ten hours of deliberation, a jury today found former president Donald J. Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to unlawfully influence the 2016 election. For the first time in our history, a former president of the United States is a convicted felon. For the first time in our history, a former president of the United States has been convicted of committing crimes to steal an election.
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Republican senators could have convicted Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors in 2019. In that year, the House impeached Trump after he tried to rig the 2020 presidential election by withholding congressionally appropriated funds to support Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s 2014 invasion. He withheld the funds to try to force Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelensky to manufacture dirt on Democrat Joe Biden. Republican senators could have convicted Trump, but they acquitted him.
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Republican senators could have convicted Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors in 2021. In that year, the House impeached him after he tried to seize the presidency by instigating an attack on the U.S. Capitol and trying to rig the count of the electoral vote after Americans had elected Democrat Joe Biden. Republican senators could have convicted Trump, but they acquitted him.
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Today, twelve ordinary Americans did what Republican senators refused to do. They protected the rule of law and held Trump accountable for his attempt to rig an election. Trump has managed to escape accountability from the political system, but in a court of law, where prosecutors brought facts, witnesses were under oath, and jurors did not need him to keep them in positions of power, he lost.
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The Party of Huge Nothingburgers – Robert Reich, Substack
At a time when America faces existential crises, Trump Republicans are busily manufacturing non-crises.
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As we slump toward the 2024 election, America faces harrowing existential crises — climate change, the potential loss of our democracy to neofascism, the attack on women’s control over their own bodies, corruption of our politics with big money, widening inequalities of income and wealth, structural racism, and the growing risk of nuclear war. All require the public’s knowledge and clear-headed attention. All necessitate the best leadership the nation can muster.
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But Trump Republicans are busy denying or worsening all of these. With just five months to go before the 2024 election, they’re diverting the public’s attention to manufactured crises. They’re intent on whipping Americans into a fury about giant nothingburgers, such as: voting by "illegals."
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Convicted felon Trump has made a big deal about voting by “illegals.” Elon Musk is helping stoke this on his X platform. House lawmakers have just passed a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote nationwide. But there’s no evidence that noncitizens are influencing election results. Even the conservative Cato Institute has found that noncitizens are not voting in detectable numbers. It’s a nothingburger.
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Project 2025 is a threat to democracy – Steve Corbin, The Fulcrum
If you’ve not heard of Project 2025, it’s very worthy of your independent investigation. Project 2025 is a playbook specifically created for Donald Trump and his minions to use in the first 180 days of Trump’s second presidential administration. The far-right Heritage Foundation proudly takes credit for facilitating the creation of the 887-page document, which if implemented would turn our democracy into an authoritarian country.
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Project 2025’s two editors had assistance from 34 authors, 277 contributors, a 54-member advisory board and a coalition of over 100 conservative organizations (including ALEC, The Heartland Institute, Liberty University, Middle East Forum, Moms for Liberty, the NRA, Pro-Life America and the Tea Party Patriots).
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Statement from President Joe Biden on Confirming 200 Federal Judges – The White House
Today, we reached another milestone in the effort to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Americans: the confirmation of the 200th federal judge since I took office.
These judges are exceptionally well-qualified. They come from every walk of life, and collectively, they form the most diverse group of judicial appointees ever put forward by a President – 64% are women and 62% are people of color. Before their appointment to the bench, they worked in every field of law—from labor lawyers fighting for working people to civil rights lawyers fighting to protect the right to vote. And despite differences in background and experience, they are all committed to principles that are at the core of our democracy: independence, freedom, and liberty.
Judges matter. These men and women have the power to uphold basic rights or to roll them back. They hear cases that decide whether women have the freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions; whether Americans have the freedom to cast their ballots; whether workers have the freedom to unionize and make a living wage for their families; and whether children have the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
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Nearly three in five Americans wrongly believe the US is in an economic recession, and the majority blame the Biden administration, according to a Harris poll conducted exclusively for the Guardian. The survey found persistent pessimism about the economy as election day draws closer.
The poll highlighted many misconceptions people have about the economy, including:
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55% believe the economy is shrinking, and 56% think the US is experiencing a recession, though the broadest measure of the economy, gross domestic product (GDP), has been growing.
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49% believe the S&P 500 stock market index is down for the year, though the index went up about 24% in 2023 and is up more than 12% this year.
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49% believe that unemployment is at a 50-year high, though the unemployment rate has been under 4%, a near 50-year low.
The vast majority of respondents, 72%, indicated they think inflation is increasing. In reality, the rate of inflation has fallen sharply from its post-Covid peak of 9.1% and has been fluctuating between 3% and 4% a year. In April, the inflation rate went down from 3.5% to 3.4% – far from inflation’s 40-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 – triggering a stock market rally that pushed the Dow Jones index to a record high.
The Shamans and the Chieftain – Timothy Snyder, Substack
Modern revenge culture, explained by Mrs. and Mr. Alito.
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We have the rule of law so as not to have a culture of revenge. For much of human history, it was an eye for an eye, as we read in the Bible. In a revenge culture, a chieftain decides who is to blame, and the shamans explain how the blood and chaos is just and necessary.
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The rule of law is a solution: if we are all equal subjects of law, then we plead our case before a court, rather than seek after blood. A constitution, like ours, gives flesh to this conception. No one can be above the law, and no one can be the judge in their own case. A constitutional order will depend upon judges who understand these fundamental ideas.
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Some of the people in black robes, Supreme Court justices, like being shamans. Our shamans are allowed to take bribes from those who support the chieftain, and also allowed to claim that as magicians, people unlike others, they are unaffected by them. If there is any doubt, our shamans tell us, they can be trusted to be judges in their own case.​
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Trump Verdict Highlights Supreme Court’s Obstruction -- Michael Waldman, Brennan Center for Justice
New York ran a fair and efficient trial while SCOTUS stalls.
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Watching the verdict on television, I was moved by how normal it felt. What a radically democratic thing a jury is — extraordinary power placed in the hands of 12 randomly chosen citizens. By all accounts the jurors worked diligently and well. Judge Juan Merchan, too, did an admirable job under exceedingly difficult circumstances. In a criminal justice system too often marred by injustice and unfairness, the rule of law prevailed. All of which stands in stark contrast to the Supreme Court in its “marble palace” on First Street in the capital.
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Trump’s bid to stop the peaceful transfer of power was one of the biggest and worst acts in American history. He faces the most significant trial in our country’s history, too. It was last summer when a grand jury indicted Trump....
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And it was last year when Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to confirm that the case could continue. The justices refused to act. They waited first for an appeals court to hear the case . . . then consider it . . . then draft an opinion. Then, instead of quickly affirming that unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal after all — and to schedule the argument for the last hour of the term. By delaying as they did, the justices gave Donald Trump the time that he so badly desires. They ensured that Trump will likely not face a federal jury before the election.
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The New Propaganda War – Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.
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Here is a difficult truth: A part of the American political spectrum is not merely a passive recipient of the combined authoritarian narratives that come from Russia, China, and their ilk, but an active participant in creating and spreading them. Like the leaders of those countries, the American MAGA right also wants Americans to believe that their democracy is degenerate, their elections illegitimate, their civilization dying. The MAGA movement’s leaders also have an interest in pumping nihilism and cynicism into the brains of their fellow citizens, and in convincing them that nothing they see is true.
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Autocracies Are Winning the Information War – Tom Nichols, The Atlantic
And the American craving for drama is helping them.
Today, the immune system of once-healthy democratic societies is compromised. Be it the idea that the moon landings were faked or the attacks on the legitimacy of elections, wild theories have become surprisingly easy for Americans to believe, a sign of a national gullibility that makes the United States an obvious target for outlandish propaganda.
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Governments alone cannot solve this problem. Individual citizens have to take the initiative—as exhausting as it might be—to confront one another over bad information.
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In Wilmington, Joe Biden’s reelection team is tackling stubborn polls, Gaza protests, and third-party threats as it assembles a sophisticated machine to defeat Donald Trump. And the stakes couldn’t be higher: “We could lose the thing that matters most to me,” says campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, “which is a future for my kids.”
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How to Survive the Forever Election – Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair
The only way to keep democracy going is to participate in it.
I don’t know about you, but it feels to me like it’s been the 2024 election forever—or at least since 2022. The past year and a half has been such an exhausting series of emotional ups and downs for those of us who worry about the fate of democracy, so it’s understandable why anyone would want to ignore the news cycle entirely. The cold reality, however, is that the Great Tune-Out is precisely the opposite of what we need in order for democracy to survive. Because if there is one way of sinking Donald Trump’s political prospects, it’s by getting more Americans to appreciate the fact that this year’s forever election could be its last.
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How to Create a Society That Prizes Decency – David Brooks, The New York Times
In 2020 Joe Biden ran on the theme of saving the soul of America. Once he was president, he used the power of his office to help direct hundreds of billions of dollars through the infrastructure law and the CHIPS Act to the people and places that had been left behind. At the time, I hoped that these programs would not only create jobs and give people a sense of financial security but also be seen as a sign of respect, a sign to the unseen and the alienated that America had their back.
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These policies were successful in economic terms, sparking a torrent of additional investment and lifting real wages, but economic progress has not produced social or spiritual progress — less alienation, higher social trust. American society, at every economic level, is still plagued by enmity, distrust, isolation, willful misunderstanding, ungraciousness and just plain meanness. The pain in America resides in places deeper than economic policies can reach. So how can we create a society in which it is easier to be decent to one another?
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President Biden Expands Two National Monuments in California – Lindsey Botts, Sierra Club Magazine
Riding a wave of recent environmental decisions, President Biden on Thursday dramatically expanded two national monuments in California: San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Using powers granted to the presidency by the Antiquities Act, Biden increased the size of the two monuments at opposite ends of the Golden State. The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is part of the famed mountain range that frequently serves as the snowcapped backdrop for the city of Los Angeles. Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California is known for its wildflower blooms and oak woodlands.
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Last Week in the Republican Party – The Lincoln Project (video)
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Kennedy Family Endorses Joe Biden (video reel)
More than a dozen members of the Kennedy family endorsed President Joe Biden for a second term Thursday, passing over family member Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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"We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years," Kerry Kennedy said in remarks announcing the endorsement at a campaign event in Philadelphia.
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Two centuries of U.S. constitutional history make clear that Donald Trump is liable to criminal prosecution.
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Many of the justices seemed uninterested in addressing the facts of Trump’s case. Over the course of the nearly three-hour argument, multiple justices speculated on possible scenarios involving future presidents and the hypothetical prosecutions they could encounter. Mostly absent from their comments were the actual allegations against former President Trump and the very real federal prosecution he currently faces. All this future-tripping made an easy question unnecessarily hard. We know from over two hundred years of history that, under any reasonable reading of the Constitution, Trump can’t be immune from criminal prosecution for trying to deny the democratic vote and upend the peaceful transfer of power.
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Donald Trump has pledged to scrap President Biden’s policies on electric vehicles and wind energy, as well as other initiatives opposed by the fossil fuel industry.
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As Donald Trump sat with some of the country’s top oil executives at his Mar-a-Lago Club last month, one executive complained about how they continued to face burdensome environmental regulations despite spending $400 million to lobby the Biden administration in the last year.
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Trump’s response stunned several of the executives in the room overlooking the ocean: You all are wealthy enough, he said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House. At the dinner, he vowed to immediately reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted, according to people with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.
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Giving $1 billion would be a “deal,” Trump said, because of the taxation and regulation they would avoid thanks to him, according to the people.
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In The Guardian, Edward Helmore directs our attention to a Saturday rally speech by Trump: Trump praises fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter during rally speech. Ex-president calls Hopkins’s cannibalistic Lecter ‘late, great’ while condemning ‘people who are being released into our country.’ Donald Trump on Saturday praised the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter “as a wonderful man” before segueing into comments disparaging people who have immigrated into the US without permission.
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Letters from an American 5-9-2024 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
Three high-level Republicans this week told media they would not vote for Trump, helping to pave an off-ramp for other Republicans. Former House speaker Paul Ryan told Yahoo Finance that he would write in another Republican rather than vote for Trump. “Character is too important to me,” he said.
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Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, also cited character when she said she would not vote for Trump. “I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I would absolutely consider voting for Joe Biden this upcoming November because he will not seek to destroy our nation [or] our Constitution, and he has the statesman character that we need in an elected official.”
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Georgia’s former lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan went further on Monday night, endorsing Biden, whom he had called in an op-ed a “decent person I disagree with on policy,” over Trump, whom he described as “a criminal defendant without a moral compass.” “Sometimes the best way to learn your lesson is to get beat, and Donald Trump needs to get beat. We need to move on as a party. We need to move on as a country,” he said.
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If Trump Wins – Eric Cortellessa, Time
Donald Trump thinks he’s identified a crucial mistake of his first term: He was too nice. What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world.
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To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans.
He would, at his discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He would gut the U.S. civil service, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.
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Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This – Charles Homans, New York Times
No major American presidential candidate has talked like he now does at his rallies — not Richard Nixon, not George Wallace, not even Donald Trump himself. In Claremont, N.H., in November, he said:
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2024 is our final battle. With you at my side — we will demolish the deep state. We will drive out the globalists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake-news media. We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that will do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American dream. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within.
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Letters from an American 5-1-2024 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
Today, Florida’s ban on abortions after six weeks—earlier than most women know they’re pregnant—went into effect. The new Florida law is possible because two years ago, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the modern court decided that the right to determine abortion rights must be returned “to the people’s elected representatives” at the state level.
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Immediately, Republican-dominated states began to restrict abortion rights. Now, one out of three American women of childbearing age lives in one of the more than 20 states with abortion bans. This means, as Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood, put it in The Daily Beast today, “child rape victims forced to give birth, miscarrying patients turned away from emergency rooms and told to return when they’re in sepsis.” It means recognizing that the state has claimed the right to make a person’s most personal health decisions.
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How It’s Done – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse 5-5-2024, Substack
For whatever reason, it has always been difficult for people to call out Trump’s lies. In the early days of his presidency, it was, perhaps, understandable because we were so unprepared for an American leader who lied repeatedly, shamelessly, and obviously. The Washington Post’s Fact Checker estimated Trump made 30,573 “false or misleading claims,” as they termed it, while he was in office. And the rate accelerated over time. Almost half of Trump’s lies came in the final year of his term in office.
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Trump, unchecked, has been free to repeat those lies over and over again, even when the falsehood has been thoroughly exposed and his claims debunked. So it was refreshing to read that Judge Merchan was having none of that in court in Manhattan Friday morning. On Thursday, Trump lied, telling a gathering of reporters outside of the courtroom that he would not be able to take the stand and testify in his own defense, because of the gag order imposed by Judge Merchan. Of course, that’s a lie.
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Judge Merchan got right to the point Friday morning in court. He told Trump the gag order “does not prohibit you from taking the stand. As the name of the order indicates, it only applies to extrajudicial statements.” In other words, Trump is free to testify in court; the choice is his.
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Letters from an American 2-7-2024 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
Amidst the Republican meltdown in Washington, a disturbing pattern is emerging. Under pressure from former president Donald Trump, Republican senators today killed the $118 billion Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act that provided funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and humanitarian assistance for Gaza and also included protections for the border that Republicans themselves had demanded.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), one of the team of senators who had negotiated the bill, called out the Republicans who had staged photo ops at the border and insisted that Congress must address the rise in migration across the border… until Trump told them the opposite: “After all those trips to the desert, after all those press conferences, it turns out this crisis isn’t much of a crisis after all. Sunday morning, it’s a real crisis,” she said. “Monday morning it magically disappeared.”
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Biden’s Unlikely Republican Surrogates – Zachary Basu, Axios
The Biden campaign is strategically harnessing sound bites from top Republicans in Congress to bolster its arguments about the collapse of the Senate's border bill. President Biden vowed Tuesday to remind voters "every day" that former President Trump's political gamesmanship is the "only reason the border is not secure."
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the lead GOP negotiator, criticized Republicans on the Senate floor Wednesday for allowing presidential politics to influence their vote. "I had a popular commentator ... that told me flat out, 'If you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this presidential year, I will do whatever I can to destroy you,'" Lankford revealed.
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In one of Congress' most dysfunctional weeks in recent memory, the Biden campaign repeatedly has struck viral gold by seizing on moments of candor and frustration aired by Republicans. "If we have a bill that, on net, significantly decreases illegal immigration, and we sabotage that — that is inconsistent with what we told our voters we will do," the campaign clipped Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) telling CNN.
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Every so often there is a piece of legislation on Capitol Hill that defines America and its values — that shows what kind of country we want to be. I would argue that when it comes to the $118.3 billion bipartisan compromise bill in the Senate to repair our broken immigration system and supply vital aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, its passage or failure won’t define just America but also the world that we’re going to inhabit.
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Friends, Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection as the number of threats against her has soared, a campaign spokeswoman confirmed yesterday. The threats come as Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on Haley, escalating vicious assaults on her character, her career, her origins, and her beliefs. Many of his assertions are lies.
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In addition to offering summer meal programs at schools, 35 states will now offer low-income families an extra $120 per school-aged child to buy food during the summer months. Louisiana and Idaho are not currently participating but have both said they hope to offer the benefits in the summer if funding is available. Texas is one of 13 states that chose not to participate.
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What 17 of Trump’s “Best People” Said About Him – Sarah Longwell, The New York Times
Ms. Longwell is the publisher of The Bulwark, a conservative news outlet, and the founder
of the Republican Accountability Project.
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The Responsibility of Republican Voters -- The New York Times Editorial Board
Iowa Republicans who will gather on Monday to cast the first votes of the 2024 presidential campaign season, and voters in New Hampshire and the states that will follow, have one essential responsibility: to nominate a candidate who is fit to serve as president, one who will “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
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Donald Trump, who has proved himself unwilling to do so, is manifestly unworthy. He is facing criminal trials for his conduct as a candidate in 2016, as president and as a former president. In this, his third presidential bid, he has intensified his multiyear campaign to undermine the rule of law and the democratic process.
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Republican Accountability Project – Sarah Longwell, Executive Director
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by radical Trump supporters who were attempting to overturn a fair election. The attackers were directly incited by Trump and the overwhelming majority of Republicans in Congress who had been falsely claiming, for months—and in the immediate moments before the attack—that the election had been stolen from Trump.
This was the lie that motivated the attack on the Capitol. We cannot allow it to persist. It erodes Americans’ faith in the integrity of our electoral system. It creates more opportunity for violence from radical actors who have been told by elected officials that the election was stolen from them. And it threatens the very democracy we all cherish.
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The 5 biggest Trump-Republican lies about illegal immigration – Robert Reich, Substack
Trump and his GOP lackeys are fueling dangerous nativism.
Some of you ask why I spend so much time and effort writing to you, the “converted,” rather than aim at people who disagree with us. My answer is that we are engaged in the fight of our lifetimes to uphold the fundamental ideals upon which this nation is based. Many of you can make use of data and arguments to reaffirm those ideals and help convince others who are wavering or still reachable.
Take immigration, which is being demagogued by Trump and his Republican sycophants.
Here are Trump Republicans’ five biggest lies about immigration, and the truth.
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Despite all the talk of American dysfunction and decay, the reality is quite different, especially when compared with other rich countries.
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Letters from an American 12-23-2023 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack​
In 1817, given the choice of subjects to paint for the Rotunda in the U.S. Capitol, being rebuilt after the British had burned it during the War of 1812, fine artist John Trumbull picked the moment of Washington’s resignation. As they discussed the project, he told President James Madison: “I have thought that one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world, was that presented by the conduct of the commander-in-chief, in resigning his power and commission as he did, when the army, perhaps, would have been unanimously with him, and few of the people disposed to resist his retaining the power which he had used with such happy success, and such irreproachable moderation.”
Madison agreed, and the painting of a man voluntarily giving up power rather than becoming a dictator hangs today in the U.S. Capitol, in the Rotunda. It hung there over the January 6 rioters as they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and put in place their candidate, who insisted he should remain in power despite the will of the American people.
And it hangs there today, representing 240 years of the American republic, as that same man promises that if he is reelected, he will be a dictator only “on day one.”
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Busting Myths about Immigration: As New York City welcomes over 100,000 new arrivals seeking asylum, it is critical to ground conversations on immigration in facts, not fear. This fact sheet seeks to provide accurate information on key questions.
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Washington, D.C. (January 4, 2024)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, released a new staff report and new documents produced by Donald Trump’s former accounting firm, Mazars USA LLC, establishing that while former President Trump was in office, he received at least $7.8 million from 20 governments, including the governments of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through his businesses. This staggering figure reflects payments to just four of the more than 500 entities Trump owned while he was in office: Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, and Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza in New York.
Immediately after taking over as Oversight Committee Chairman in January 2023, Rep. James Comer allowed former President Trump’s attorneys to speak on behalf of the Committee and bury evidence by stopping the production of additional responsive records. As a result, the $7.8 million detailed in this report, based on records for just two years of his presidency, involving four of his more than 500 businesses, is likely just a small fraction of the payments former President Trump received from foreign governments while in office, in violation of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.
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The value Americans place on democracy is the “most urgent question of our time,” President Joe Biden said during a speech kicking off his 2024 campaign in Pennsylvania on the eve of the third anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol - launching an impassioned political attack on his likely opponent Donald Trump that painted a sharp distinction between how the nation’s first and 45th presidents ended their terms.
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“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America. Not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power,” Biden said.
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The cries that the 2020 election was lost or stolen due to voter fraud continue with no sign of stopping. But if voter fraud had impacted the 2020 election, it would already have been proven. Can a steady diet of lies and innuendo overcome the truth?
In November 2020, former President Donald Trump asserted that voter fraud had altered the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The day after the election, his campaign hired an expert in voter data to attempt to prove Trump’s allegations and put him back in the White House. I am the expert who was hired by the Trump campaign.
The findings of my company’s in-depth analysis are detailed in the depositions taken by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The transcripts show that the campaign found no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to change the outcome of any election. That message was communicated directly to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
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How America Got Mean – David Brooks, Illustrations by Ricardo Tomás, The Atlantic
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.
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Fight for Our Allies, Don’t Attack Immigrants -- VoteVets
WASHINGTON, DC – The largest progressive group of Veterans in America, VoteVets, is today launching a $100,000 national and DC cable buy for one week that warns America that Vladimir Putin is just waiting for Ukraine funding to fail, so he can conquer all of Ukraine and put NATO nations at risk. Further, the ad argues, Republicans in Congress are handing him what he needs, by holding up aid unless it also includes Donald Trump’s wish list of punitive actions against refugees and other immigrants.
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ABA Task Force for American Democracy – American Bar Association
ABA President Mary L. Smith has announced the creation of the Task Force for American Democracy, co-chaired by former Federal Judge J. Michael Luttig and former Secretary of Homeland Secretary Jeh Charles Johnson, to examine ways to ensure an enduring American democracy.
The Task Force will carry out its work in an inclusive and transparent manner, and will, on a nonpartisan basis, solicit the views of a wide array of state election officials, present and former elected officials, academics, think tanks, public interest and other stakeholder organizations, and everyday voters.
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The Democratic Strategist Who’s Bullish About Biden -- Brian Stelter, Vanity Fair
Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg explains why he’s so optimistic about President Biden’s chances in 2024 despite all the bed-wetting among pundits and the media.
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Letters from an American 12-13-2023 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
In a day that was chock full of political stories in which Republicans were launching attacks on Democrats, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) made a key point. “We have not passed an emergency supplemental, a Farm Bill, or regular Appropriations,” he said. “The story is not what they are doing. The story is what they are not doing.”
Schatz was referring to specific, vital measures that are not getting through Congress: the outstanding funding bill for aid to Ukraine and Israel, border security, and humanitarian aid for Gaza; the Farm Bill, which governs the nation’s agricultural and food assistance programs and needs to be renewed every five years; and the regular appropriations bills that Congress must pass and that House extremists tossed out former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over because they wanted deep cuts that he had agreed with President Joe Biden not to make.
But there is a larger point behind Schatz’s observation. Republicans, especially the extremist wing, have garnered power by promising to stop the government from acting.
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Wednesday Round Up – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, 12-14-2023
Wednesday got off to a normal start, if by normal, you mean Trump acting crazy on social media. Every time he posts on Truth Social it’s another wake-up call about what a disaster it will be if he gets a second term. That’s not normal, even for a politician. But then neither is the fact that Trump is now auctioning off pieces of the suit he wore when he turned himself into the Fulton County, Georgia, Sheriff and had his mug shot taken. Meanwhile, Republicans are being forced to confront the reality of record low unemployment as the Dow hit an all-time high today. Perhaps that’s what set Trump off.
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Letters from an American 12-14-2023 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
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Donald Trump – The Atlantic, January-February 2024 Issue
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As part of his Bidenomics agenda to lower costs for American families, President Biden is announcing nearly 30 new actions to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security. These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems, and support good-paying, union jobs here at home.
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A review by CBS News of court proceedings in Jan. 6th criminal cases, including the federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump, reveals a growing series of alarms being issued about the prospects of violence, conspiracy theories and election denialism during the 2024 campaign cycle.
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Biden Administration -- Results for the American People, The White House
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What are the odds that moderates prevail in the House – Joseph Kopser, UsTomorrow
"Leaving vote splitting third rail politics out of the equation for now, are you seeing any productive work to develop the middle majority? Locally, are political and business communities working together, in parallel, or in opposite directions? Are they natural allies or is it a functional checks and balances situation?"
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Common Ground of the American People – Voice of the People
Policy Positions Supported By Both Democrats & Republicans
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Remarks by President Biden on the Terrorist Attacks in Israel – The White House
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Israel Has Never Needed to Be Smarter Than in This Moment – Thomas Friedman, The New York Times
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Merrick Garland on 60 Minutes on TikTok
Two of Merrick Garland’s relatives were murdered in the Holocaust. Garland says his family’s history is the reason he devoted his life to upholding the rule of law.
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Remarks by President Biden Honoring the Legacy of Senator John McCain and the Work We Must Do Together to Strengthen Our Democracy – The White House
Ukraine is winning. Now let’s finish the job – Ben Wallace, former UK Secretary of State for Defense, The Telegraph
As the counteroffensive breaks down the Russian lines, Britain must make sure the West stands firm.
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In this book, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann will arm readers with the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis, while emboldening them—and others–to act before it truly does become too late.
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The Democrats' Lost September: You guys awake? – Brian Beutler, OffMessage
If Democrats lose in 2024, I think we might look back on September 2023 as a squandered opportunity to set the election on a better course and save the country.
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HOW AMERICA GOT MEAN – David Brooks, The Atlantic
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world. After decades without much in the way of moral formation, America became a place where 74 million people looked at Donald Trump’s morality and saw presidential timber.
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How Democracies Die – Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Penguin Random House
Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms.
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Book banners target public libraries – Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, Substack
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Anti-Science Views Are Literally Killing Us, Peter Hotez Warns – Will Bostwick, Texas Monthly
In his new book, the Houston infectious disease expert raises the alarm about those who tout debunked claims about vaccines.
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Special Counsel Seeking Limited Gag Order on Trump in Election Case – Alan Feuer, The New York Times
Prosecutors have asked Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to curb statements from the former president that could intimidate witnesses, influence potential jurors or lead to harassment of others in the case.
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What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate – McKay Coppins, The Atlantic
In an exclusive excerpt from my forthcoming biography of the senator, Romney: A Reckoning, he reveals what drove him to retire.
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Farewell to Mitt Romney, Republican with a Spine – Tim Miller, The Bulwark
As the Utah senator announces he won’t be running for re-election, a look back at his unique (and sometimes lonely) role in the last decade and a half of national politics.
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Strengthening our democracy: PRESIDENTIAL CENTERS AFFIRM THAT "DEMOCRACY HOLDS US TOGETHER"
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How American Democracy Fell So Far Behind – Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, The Atlantic
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Can Joe Biden Ride “Boring” to Reelection -- Molly Jong-Fast, Vanity Fair
His administration is getting a lot done for the American people, yet its accomplishments don’t get the same media attention as Trumpian chaos.
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The only question is whether American citizens today can uphold that commitment.
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Everything You Need to Know About the Trump Indictments (And What Happens Next) -- Indivisible
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The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.
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Letters from an American, August 18, 2023 – Heather Cox Richardson, Substack
A discussion of Friday’s summit at Camp David, a new U. S., Japan, South Korea partnership, and the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
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Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy -- National Governors Association
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PragerU: Coming to a Public School Near You? – Caleb Ecarma, Vanity Fair
Not an accredited teaching institution, PragerU just saw its right-wing curriculum approved for use in Florida. Two other states are considering the same, which one historian sees as a way “to replace American history with propaganda and indoctrination.”
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Biden and America’s Big Green Push – Paul Krugman, The New York Times
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Something good is actually happening in Congress – Bradford Fitch, Fulcrum
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The ‘Good’ Kind of Propaganda: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-woke crusade, fossil fuel industry billionaires, and a conservative firebrand’s take on American history are coming to the classroom.
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The Outrage of the Day – Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse
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Alberto Gonzales: DOJ is not biased against Republicans – Lauren Sforza, The Hill
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United States v. Donald J. Trump, Defendant -- Jack Smith, Special Counsel, US Department of Justice
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Addressing Mexico's role in the US fentanyl epidemic – Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings Institution
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Building a Community for the Exhausted Majority – Tim Ryan, We The People
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America Is Doing Just Fine -- Joe Scarborough, The Atlantic
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Only Biden Can Save Israel Now – Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times
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Justice Jackson Dissent to Affirmative Action Decision
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President Joe Biden: Investing in America -- The White House
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Delivering Results from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – The White House
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The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan – The White House
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Get Internet: Claim Your Affordable Connectivity Program Benefit – The White House
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Clean Energy Programs Through the Inflation Reduction Act – The White House
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Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American -- David Pepper
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Social Media and Youth Mental Health -- The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
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The DeSantis Project -- Molly Ball, Time
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The Fight for the Soul of a School Board -- Sue Halpern, The New Yorker
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Remarks by President Biden at the Howard University Class of 2023 Commencement Address
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7 Things Business Leaders Keep Telling Us About Avoiding Default – Business Forward
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1 big thing: GOP's post-Roe slump persists -- Axios Sneak Peak
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The 15 most banned books in America this school year -- Patrick J. Kiger, Los Angeles Times
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There’s no mystery about why the U.S. has so many gun deaths -- Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post
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We're Applying the Lowest Standard to Our Highest Office -- Charles Sykes, The Atlantic
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The Constitution Explained -- Center for Civic Education
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Doing Whatever It Takes on Debt -- Paul Krugman, New York Times
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House Democrats maneuver to force a debt-ceiling vote amid default fears - The Washington Post
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The Polite Disdain of John Roberts Finds a Target – Jamelle Bouie, New York Times
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The Death Knell for Higher Education in Florida -- The New York Times
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Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories -- National Women's History Alliance
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State of the Union -- Letters from an American -- Heather Cox Richardson
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2022 End of Year Report -- American Immigration Council
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Two Years of the Biden-Harris Administration -- Texas Democratic Party
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The New G.O.P. Takes the Country Hostage with the Debt Ceiling -- The New Yorker
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Santos, the "Crypto Bro," and a Broken Campaign Financing System -- Brennan Center for Justice
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Another Supreme Court Ethics Scandal -- Demand Progress
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The Original Sin Is We Classify Too Much -- Brennan Center for Justice
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To defeat election denialism, we need partisans out of election management – Fulcrum
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We need to break the cycle of lying about election results – Fulcrum
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Three bills showcase democracy at work and what is needed in the next two years – Fulcrum
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Democratic women who made history in 2018 are stepping into leadership in 2022 – The 19th
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The Meaning of African American Studies -- The New Yorker
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Why Petulant Oligarchs Rule Our World – Paul Krugman, New York Times
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Zelensky Recalled Us to Ourselves – David Frum, The Atlantic