ADA Issue Priorities
Climate Action
Strengthening Social Security
Education Costs
Fair Trade
Promoting Peace
For the past several years, we have provided you with weekly action alerts focused on elections. We will continue to focus on elections, when warranted but, in this off year, we want/need to take action and be forceful in staving off the worst of the new Administration’s excesses. We will NOT respond to everything the President or his cronies do because it’s too much and it diverts our attention — in other words, we will not be distracted by the shiny objects. We will, however, be strategic in our approach as we call on you to take specific action because we believe that the best way to preserve our democracy is by being engaged and active participants in it.
Time and again, this Administration has shown its absolute, total disdain for the rule of law, for the Constitution, and for the separation of church and state. Because the outrages pile so quickly upon one another, one blatant example of the latter became something of a flash in the pan. It is insidious, dangerous and truly open to abuse and must not be ignored.
In a memo titled “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace,” OPM Director Scott Kupor truly opened Pandora’s box when he, in essence, urged Federal employees to discuss religion at work. In his memo titled “Protecting Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace,” Kupor said, that Federal employees “may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature.”He went on to say, “Employees may also encourage their co-workers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer…” The memo went on to say that OPM would not seek to restrict federal employees’ expressions of faith in interactions with the public, such as a national park ranger leading a tour group in prayer, or a doctor with the Department of Veterans Affairs praying over a patient for their recovery.
The dangers are obvious and “not harassing in nature” is open to broad interpretation. One can well imagine an employee feeling threatened or coerced in such a situation if he or she is of a different faith from the supervisor. And, if one disagrees with the other, could that ultimately lead to a poor performance review? We do wonder why all the strict Constitutionalists out there aren’t crying foul.
Even if we are fervently praying that the nightmare of this Administration draws to a quick conclusion, we do believe that this kind of proselytizing has absolutely no place in the Federal work force no matter what one’s religion.
Please take a moment at every opportunity to raise this issue with your Member of Congress and Senators. If they are strict Constitutionalists, please ask them to stand up for their purported beliefs and speak out against this violation of the premise of the separation of church and state.
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“I invite you to see your big beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor because you are really the transformational president of the American worker.”
Transformational is one way to put it.
It should come as no surprise that the master of the bait and switch tactic who campaigned on “behalf” of our Nation’s workers began dismantling anything and everything that protected those he tried to dupe. On day one, the President began firing thousands of workers and dismantling the protections each and every worker in this country thought were an underpinning of our society.
We cannot and will not stand silently by while the very fiber of our democracy is being attacked. Workers’s rights are central to ADA’s mission. It is no accident that Walter Reuther, Victor Reuther, David Dubinsky and Joe Rauh (look them up if you don’t know who they are), lions of the union movement, were among the founders of Americans for Democratic Action. Their vision was central to our founding and remains true to this day.
So, let’s take a look at what the transformational president of the American worker has foisted upon our nation:
🛑 On day one of this Administration, he turned his video game playing children loose to wreak havoc on the federal government and, since then, between 154,000 and 300,000 (numbers vary) have been forced out of their jobs. The result has been devastating to them, their families, their communities and the programs they served which affect each and every one of us.
🛑 Union contracts which had been negotiated in good faith are falling prey to the bait and switch tactics and are being terminated or severely undercut. In this the Courts need to take full blame as well. Just within the last week thousands of public health employees at the Department of Health and Human Services have lost union representation through their collective bargaining agreements.
🛑 As a result, union membership and worker protections are being severely undercut.
🛑 Almost 10,000 employees at the Agency for International Development were fired and most of the programs shut down. Rather than honor prior commitments, the government decided to let essential food and medicine be destroyed.
🛑 The Veterans’ Administration terminated union contracts citing “national security concerns.” The result: 100s of thousands of union workers have lost union protections. The unions impacted include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), the National Federation of Federal Employees, National Nurses United and the Service Employees International Union.
🛑 Thousands of Environmental Protection Agency employees saw their rights and protection disappear on August 8 when the Administration cancelled their union contracts.
🛑 Their attacks on workers are not limited to the Federal work force. The Department of Labor also decided to stop enforcement of minimum wage and overtime rights for home care workers. That’s right, they’re going after those charged with caring for our most vulnerable.
As we said at the outset, it is no accident that we are mobilizing to the best of our ability to counter this onslaught on America’s workers. It is also no accident that, among others, we will be honoring former acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley and featuring former Labor Secretary Robert Reich at our annual gala in Washington on October 8. We sincerely hope you will join us preferably in person or via Zoom and contribute to this event. The proceeds will be put to immediate action in support of workers’ rights through lobbying and organizing. We will do all we can but your help is absolutely essential to this effort. Please click here to sign up and/or contribute.
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There’s Nothing Like Good,
Old-Fashioned Racism
And they’re not even subtle about it. The racism of this Administration and their Congressional enablers is on full display on a daily basis. Sometimes, it’s cloaked in the guise of crime control but we are neither fooled nor amused. The danger to the very fiber of our nation cannot be overstated.
Once again, because there is so much, we confine ourselves to just a few examples:
💀 Immigration targets, jailings, and deportations are aimed disproportionately people of “color” whether or not they are in the country legally, U.S. citizens and without criminal records; and, of course, without due process.
💀 The Administration is trying to ignore the U.S Constitution and demand that the census exclude those who are here illegally.
💀 The President has ordered the Education Department to begin collecting data on the race and gender of college applicants.
💀 A former DOGE staffer was brutally attacked in Washington, D.C. The result is that the Administration is increasing Federal law enforcement in our nation’s majority minority Capitol and mobilizing the National Guard. We find it odd that they didn’t feel the same need when a predominately white group of thugs rioted on January 6 and people died or were the subject of life-time injuries.
💀 Much-needed affirmative action programs are deemed “woke.”
💀 Colleges and universities are being subjected to scam attacks for minority admissions.
💀 Gerrymandering to garner more Republican Congressional seats – particularly in Texas but possibly in other states – will disenfranchise minority voters.
💀 Confederate statues which had been removed from Washington, D.C. and Arlington National Cemetery are being refurbished and are slated to be prominently displayed.
This is a vital issue for us as it has been since the days of our founding. It is no accident that the iconic photo taken when Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech, he is surrounded by ADA founders and former presidents including John Lewis who put his life on the line to combat racism.
We assure you we will not stand idly by while our citizens are under attack. We will do everything in our power to combat the virus attacking our nation. But, we need your concerted help if we are to be successful. So, once again, we are calling on each and every one of you to confront your Members of Congress and, where appropriate, your state law makers. Despite their best efforts and 61 years after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, the racists at the head of our government cannot be allowed to take us back to Jim Crow.
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The Administration’s total disdain for facts of any kind but, especially, for scientific facts, is constantly on full display. During this President’s first term, tens of thousands died because he refused to acknowledge the depth and breadth of the COVID crisis and the need for science-based solutions.
The results of their ill-conceived pseudo-science are already obvious with cases of measles and whooping cough on the rise. Now comes word that Health and Human Services Secretary RFK, Jr. has removed $500 million in funding for vaccine development even with widespread predictions that the next pandemic could well be on our doorsteps. Research on COVID, flu vaccines and others are among the targets.
This is all part and parcel of an extremely dangerous pattern. Much research at NIH has been stopped. All 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were replaced by RFK cronies many of whom lack relevant experience. A 40-year-old Korean researcher and green card holder who has lived in the United States since he was 5 and who is doing research on a potential Lyme disease vaccine was detained “pending removal proceedings” when he returned from attending his brother’s wedding in Korea.
The results are, sadly, predictable. Scientists who in the past might have been eager to come to the United States for the research opportunities are more than likely to look elsewhere. There could well be a brain drain on U.S. born scientists to other countries. We will be totally unprepared for another potential pandemic. People will die from preventable illnesses.
Short-sighted doesn’t begin to describe this threat. Take the opportunity now to reach out to friends and acquaintances in the medical profession and ask that they attend town halls in their areas to bring this threat to the forefront. Write letters to the editors whenever possible. If you are a medical professional yourself, use your own professional and personal experiences to paint the picture in the boldest possible terms. Above all: organize, organize, organize.
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Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
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It was 90 degrees at the top of the Alps this Summer.
Wild fires rage and the resulting air pollution is a danger which lingers.
“100-year storms” and destructive floods occur regularly.
Glaciers are melting. Cities are flooding. Oceans are rising.
Tornados are being seen where they have never before been.
None of this is hyperbole. It is the stark reality of climate change in our current world. The Administration’s response has now become unbelievably typical: shoot the messenger and ignore the science. Worse yet, the Administration is being aided and abetted by the very Members of Congress who have been elected to take care of the health and welfare of our nation and the individuals they represent.
Here is just a sample of what the head in the sand, flat earth people in charge of “Environmental Protection” have done or are doing:
♻️ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency will no longer consider the climate and health impacts of greenhouse gases.
♻️ The Department of State has fired employees who worked on climate change.
♻️ The United States has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
♻️ Administration cuts to NOAA gut critical climate research and delay severe weather warnings.
♻️ The Administration has taken steps to weaken or eliminate methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
♻️ They plan to review and possibly rescind regulations on new power plant emissions including coal-fired plants.
♻️ They want to deregulate the energy sector and promote fossil fuels.
♻️ The EPA has argued that there is no basis for regulating climate pollution.
♻️ The President signed an Executive Order to eliminate subsidies for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
♻️ The EPA is considering weakening rules on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water.
That’s right. Their thinking apparently is if you don’t drown, burn up or get smothered by pollution, we’ll find another way to get you. Science be damned!!! And, if that’s not enough, now acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has directed the agency to fast-track plans to put a nuclear reactor on the moon. What could possibly go wrong?
On this as on so many other fronts, the time for action is now. The results, if we are complacent, are disastrous not only for the United States but for the planet as a whole. Al Gore tried to warn us and, sadly, everything he said is happening now.
Please take a few moments to get in touch with both your Members of Congress and your state and local officials to demand immediate action. Find groups in your area that are working to combat this disaster and join in their efforts. If you can’t find one, form your own and get in touch with ADA’s organizer Rebecca Griffin to form an ADA chapter in your area. Remember our last name is Action and we would more than welcome your help in working to save our planet.
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Shoot The Messenger?
The numbers don’t add up. At all. Friday’s jobs report definitively put to the lie what this Administration has been peddling: that the economy is doing splendidly. It isn’t and the numbers underscore that fact. Mass deportations and high tariffs imposed on friend and foe alike are not providing a booming economy, but rather, one that is in a state of collapse even without adjusting for seasonal employment.
In brief, for July, only 73,000 jobs were added. Even worse are the figures for the previous two months with the May numbers revised down to a mere 19,000 jobs created, and in June only 14,000. The unemployment rate has edged up to 4.2 percent with the numbers far higher for minorities and youth. We guess those mass deportations aren’t working quite as advertised and neither is trickled-upon economics. This is the absolute worst showing since before the pandemic with no immediate signs for improvement. As former ADA economist Woody Ginsburg used to say, we need 250,000 new jobs for a healthy economy. That clearly isn’t happening. And, employers, skittish about the effects of the Administration’s ill-advised and erratic tariffs, are reluctant to hire. The President’s solution: fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sorry, Mr. President, that’s not economic policy.
The House of Representatives is already on its so-called August recess having left town to avoid facing the growing Epstein scandal. The Senate will head out shortly, possibly as soon as this week. It is imperative that each and every one of us seizes the moment and accosts Members of Congress while they are home. If they are holding town halls, go to them and demand answers; if not, demand that they hold them. If they refuse, make sure the press knows and demand that they make their cowardice public. Please remember the small, local papers as well; they can have a large impact. As President Truman said, if they can’t stand the heat, they should stay out of the kitchen. And don’t forget to thank those who are trying to stem the tide as the economy is tanking. They, too, need to know that you are paying attention and appreciate their efforts.
Above all, please help in any way you can to support ADA’s work to get organizing boots on the ground as we fight to regain control of the agenda. It will take quite a while to undo the damage but, by working together, we can do this.
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Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
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Anti-choice…yes.
Pro-life not so much.
The hypocrites currently in charge of our government continually work hard to prove former ADA president, former Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) correct when he famously said that conservatives believe, “life begins at conception and ends at birth.”
They have worked diligently in the first six months of this Congress and this Administration to prove Congressman Frank right.
A quick look at some of their misbegotten actions:
😱 As a direct result of their actions, premiums on Obamacare could rise as much as 50 percent.
😱 They have withdrawn us from the World Health Organization.
😱 According to the non-partisan Congressional Budge Office, at least 12 million people will lose health care coverage because of cuts to Medicaid about 37 percent of whom are children.
😱 Rather than distribute it, they have burned 500 tons of food which had been destined to feed the most desperate in need.
😱 The cut off food aid has resulted in the unprecedented deaths of Afghan women and children.
😱 Cuts to the SNAP program will result in the loss of food for desperately needed American families. The same cuts will result in the loss of school nutrition programs to feed needy students.
😱 Draconian anti-abortion laws have resulted in maternal deaths.
😱 Funding for research to prevent and cure HIV/AIDS has been slashed.
😱 A critical independent panel to review and make recommendations about vaccines has been replaced by hacks who share the anti-vax Secretary of Health and Human Service’s views.
😱 Programs for maternal and infant care have been slashed.
😱 Immigrant farm workers are being targeted by ICE and afraid to go to work (yes, we know there are others but that’s not our focus here.) The result is crops languishing in the fields instead of going to feed our hungry. And this comes at a time when ill-advised tariffs are likely to raise the price of food to unsustainable levels for many.
😱 Rural hospitals and health care facilities are already closing in anticipation of funding cuts.
😱 Hundreds, many of them children, died in recent floods because warnings did not go out in a timely fashion and FEMA could not respond quickly thanks to red tape mandated by Secretary Noem. And, denying what is before their eyes, the Environmental so-called Protection Agency is eliminating its scientific research staff.
We know there are more but 13 seems like a good number to stop at. He wants to talk about renaming football and baseball teams. We want to talk about saving people’s lives! The balls we are keeping our eyes on are this year’s special and off-year elections and next year’s mid-terms. We are not exaggerating when we say lives are at stake. Please join with us as we fight to regain sanity in government.
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We promised you we wouldn’t go after every shiny object the President throws our way, and we won’t. So this week’s Spotlight will NOT be about Rosie O’Donnell.
Instead, we will focus on the Administration’s relentless assault on programs designed to promote world peace, health care and education.
It started with the shutting down of the Agency for International Development. The short-term result was that food and medical supplies designed to go to the world’s neediest languished and spoiled while people died. In the long run, many more will continue to die. Impoverished countries and desperate families were counting on promised help; instead, they were the subject of more of this President’s bait and switch tactics. And, the good will engendered by AID programs will disappear.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Institute of Peace – created by Congress and signed into effect by Ronald Reagan 40 years ago – was invaded by DOGE and essentially shut down. Staff bravely called D.C. police and reported a break in. The Institute worked to advance U.S. values in conflict resolution, end wars, and promote good governance. An appeals court ruling in May briefly restored the Institute. It was closed again by DOGE and almost all staff fired in a weekend email after an appeals court overturned the May ruling that had briefly restored the Institute. Apparently, the promotion of peace is not a part of this Administration’s agenda even when carried out by an organization that was designed to be independent.
Then, because all that wasn’t enough, Secretary of State Rubio fired all staff at the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. Once again, the rule appears to be head counts not the viability or essential nature of the work to which many have dedicated their lives.
Rosie O’Donnell may be high on this Administration’s agenda, but we will not be distracted when peace, justice, health and safety are being attacked. This requires immediate action to reverse these short-sighted actions.
Please contact immediately Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and demand that they move expeditiously to reverse these actions. Then, do the same for the Senate International Relations Committee. Time is of the essence. Lives and our nation’s credibility are at stake.
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Last week, we focused on part of the outrage in the budget bill passed by Congress. This week, we turn our attention to another horrific aspect of the bill: the massive explosion in funding for ICE. That’s right, the ICE budget is slated to increase from $3.5 billion to $48.5 billion. That’s more money than that of many nations’ military budgets for an unfettered group of bullies which has been turned loose on America.
If that doesn’t give you pause, this quote from the President should, “We have a lot of bad people…many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too.” He’s not talking about so-called illegal immigrants. He’s talking about American citizens presumably predominantly non-white and those with whom he disagrees.
Let us be clear: we are not opposed to legitimate law enforcement. But, as we have stated before, masked, unidentified thugs with no warrants grabbing people off the streets, at their places of work, in courtrooms, and immigration facilities are, quite simply, terrifying. Due process has already been thrown out the window. Innocent people, sick children, long time legal residents, essential workers and others are being detained with many sent to horrific detention centers here and abroad. Life threatening mistakes are being made and the Administration brags about it. Chilling doesn’t begin to describe it and it is now likely to become even worse.
This has got to stop and each and every one of us has a responsibility to step up in outrage and determination. Here’s a beginning:
‼️ Call your Senators at 202-224-3121and demand immediate action!
‼️ Ditto your Representative 202-225-3121!
‼️ Find their district/state contact information and let them know you are a constituent and you are outraged!
‼️ Organize to oust those who applaud and support Gestapo-like tactics!
EACH AND EVERY one of us needs to do something small or large to turn the tide on this chilling, despicable action. Lives are, quite literally, at stake.
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
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Congratulations Jeff Bezos!
Last week, the President and Congress gave Jeff Bezos a huge wedding gift and helped to pay for his extravagant wedding.
The gift?
THE BIG, TERRIBLE, NIGHTMARE BILL, H.R. 1.
On July 4th, the President signed legislation that further enriches American billionaires at the expense of the rest of those dependent on funding for basic human needs. The U.S. House passed the Big, Terrible, Nightmare Bill including a huge tax handout for the wealthiest among us, an unhinged immigration policy and more toys for the boys at the Pentagon. The rest of the country be damned. This is the same House of Representatives that Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said after her indefensible vote to approve in the Senate, “My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” Newsflash Senator Murkowski: They didn’t.
As a direct result of Members of Congress’ unwillingness to stand up to the President and for the citizens they represent, people will die, go hungry and be unhoused. Veterans will suffer, needed infrastructure won’t happen and Federal assistance for disaster relief will disappear. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
At the end of his remarks after the bill passed, Speaker Johnson said, “This is without a doubt the most important vote of this Congress and I think the most important vote that many of us take in our entire lifetimes and everybody better remember it however you voted today.”
Rest Assured, Speaker Johnson, We Will Remember
The vote in the Senate was a razor thin 51-50 with the Vice President casting the tie breaking vote. In the House, it was 218-214. A clearer picture of why elections matter simply could not be drawn. As Speaker Johnson said, we will remember and we pledge to you to take immediate action. The 2026 elections are already under way but even before then, there are at least 5 special elections in the House of Representatives in 2025 and we intend to be laser focused on ensuring that as many liberals as possible win those seats. At the same time, we will be building the grassroots network needed to reclaim the House and the Senate for the American people. We will be calling on you often to support those efforts both through your actions and, yes, because it is necessary, through your contributions. We look forward to working with you on these critical races. MAKE YOUR DONATION TODAY!
In the meantime, if you live in a state or a district where your Senator(s) or Representative voted in support of this big monstrosity of a bill, make sure you let them know just how furious you are. Tell them that, for once, you agree with Mr. Johnson: you will remember and you will organize and vote accordingly. CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TODAY!
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“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel
Just when we thought it couldn’t get much worse, as always, “they” surprise us. SCOTUS has now handed the Administration a BIG win. On Friday, the court’s conservative majority decided to curb the power of federal judges, limiting their ability to stop Trump’s agenda, especially his campaign to destroy the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Here’s a brief recap of (some) of the atrocities we have already covered, a few of which were stopped by federal judges. We promise we will continue to cover these and other atrocities as we move into the 2025-2026 election cycle. In summary:
🏹 Thousands of people have been detained or sent to overseas, notorious prisons without being given the right to defend themselves.
🏹 People speaking out about the horrors of the war in Gaza have been taken into custody for simply exercising their First Amendment rights.
🏹 Approximately 9,000 Afghan refugees who supported the United States during the war there, fled after the Taliban takeover and faced an almost certain death sentence had they remained. They were granted Temporary Protected Status which the current Administration is threatening to revoke even while telling them to “self-deport.”
🏹 Temporary Protected Status for some 350,000 Venezuelans fleeing violence in their homeland has been ended by the current Administration.
🏹 Children suffering from and receiving treatment for severe medical issues have been deported with their parents – again often without due process. For the children, the abrupt cessation of their treatment could mean death. In some instances, the child involved has a US citizen parent living in this country who was not afforded the opportunity to protect their child.
🏹 People brought to this country as young children and who have known no other home are being seized and detained for no apparent cause other than their parents brought them here.
🏹 Unaccompanied children, some as young as 4, are having to make court appearances without the presence of an attorney or an advocate.
🏹 The Administration has threatened the deportation of US citizens and has said it is in negotiations with Libya to receive deportees.
And, now, as if all of that isn’t bad enough, word comes that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – who likes to play tough dress up — has been working with the producer of “Duck Dynasty” to pitch a reality TV show—titled “The American”—where immigrants will compete in a string of challenges across the country “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship.” DHS says it is in the beginning stages of the vetting process for the show and nothing is finalized. WOW!!! Hunger Games? What next? Justify and try to replicate the horrors of Abu Ghraib?
Enough is much more than enough! THESE ARE NOT GAMES!
Please, please, please speak up at town halls. Communicate with your Members of Congress, mobilize your community but, whatever you do, do NOT remain silent. People’s lives are at stake as is the very soul of our nation.
Once again, we quote Elie Wiesel, “In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see. In the face of injustice, one may not look the other way.”
Please contact your Members of Congress today and demand they stand up for the rule of law today.
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
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Shortly after Inauguration Day, we promised you both that we would continue to focus on issues and elections critical to liberals and the nation. We also promised that we would not go after every shiny object these people throw at us. We hope we have held to that promise, but it hasn’t been easy because one thing this Administration is good at is putting forth diversionary tactics day in and day out. For example:
📛 Pardon the January 6 rioters. People get outraged. Take over the Kennedy Center.
📛 Call for renaming the Gulf of Mexico. People don’t take it seriously. Let’s make Canada the 51st state or, better yet, take over Greenland.
📛 Shame President Zelinsky in the Oval Office. Outrage. Turn to Russia as the savior. How did that work out?
📛 Send innocent people to a notorious prison in El Salvador “by mistake.” Refuse to bring them back. Then, when forced to, trump (no pun intended) up excuses as to why they should have been there anyway.
📛 Decry election monitoring, then decimate the Federal Election Commission.
📛 Kill the Voice of America. Hue and cry. Turn your attention to Public Broadcasting.
📛 Promise a key Senator to adhere to protocols on vaccinations at the Centers for Disease Control. Disband the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
📛 Push for passage of the erroneously named Big Beautiful Bill in the Senate. Encounter serious opposition both to the economics and to the threats to democracy. Again, hue and cry. Send in the troops to LA.
You see the problem we and the nation are facing. We are being bombarded, and they are masterful at creating continuous distractions. We, however, and with your support, will continue to keep up the pressure on both the legislative and electoral fronts.
For today, we remind you that there are critical off-year elections in both Virginia and New Jersey. In addition, there are several House vacancies remaining to be filled. They include Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Sylvester Turner (D-TX), and Mark Green (R-TN). We beg of you, search out the election information for these races and get involved. The need couldn’t be more critical.
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
“We’re going to have troops everywhere.”
The President of the United States
June 8, 2025
That’s correct: the quote is from the President of our supposedly democratic nation not the leader of a right-wing dictatorship. It was uttered in response to a reporter’s question after the President deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles totally against the wishes of California Governor Newsom.
This is a game out of a playbook that is as old as time: Manufacture a crisis; send in the troops and declare the need for martial law and the suspension of democratic norms. We have arrived in very dangerous territory and need to counter it with every peaceful means at our disposal.
Just to underscore the point he is making; the President has now mobilized an additional 2,000 members of the National Guard and 700 Marines. This is all in response to what has widely reported to have been largely peaceful demonstrations. They could and should remain so. Instead, the Administration is escalating an already bad situation and could be said to be inciting to riot. This is not, repeat not an acceptable response to a situation they created when masked ICE agents conducted raids at court houses, job centers and even an elementary school graduation. When people legitimately protested, the response was to arrest a union leader, deploy troops and shoot reporters (and others) with rubber bullets. Not surprisingly, outrage ensued and continues but it remains mostly peaceful despite what appears to be a deliberate effort to provoke a more violent response.
Both Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called for calm and decried the unwarranted presence of a massive military force in the city. Governor Newsom has responded to the latest escalation by saying: “U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes. They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President.” We couldn’t agree more.
What to do:
✅ No matter where you live, let Governor Newsom you agree with him:
Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
✅ Contact each and every one of your Senators and Representatives. Tell them to develop a spine or praise them if they are already speaking out. Remind them of their duty as a Member of one of the three equal branches of government. EVEN BETTER, ATTEND A NO KINGS RALLY THIS WEEKEND. CLICK HERE TO FIND A RALLY IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
✅ It has been widely reported that National Guard troops are being housed and fed in deplorable conditions because of lack of planning. Feed a trooper and encourage them to remember that their duty is to the United States not a despicable man.
✅ Tell members of the National Guard or active military that they do not have to defy the U.S. Constitution. They can refuse. For them to get more information and support, they should call the GI Rights Hotline at 1-877-447-4487. Tell them that you know this is difficult for them and let them know they have your support.
✅ For those in the Los Angeles area, if you see ICE in your neighborhood, call the LA Rapid Response Network Hotline at 1-888-524-4752.
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A Misnomer If Ever There Was One
Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) last name translates from the German to the English as “serious.” Seriously?
As has been widely reported, when confronted at a town hall event by an angry constituent furious that the proposed budget bill contains major cuts that threaten the lives of millions, Senator Ernst replied, “Well, we’re all going to die.” Called out on her flippant remark to a constituent – who in all probability – is also a voter, Ernst doubled down issuing a video in which she said in part, “I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.” And, then, went on to say that the only way to find eternal life is through belief in Jesus Christ. In part, this nonsense is being driven by the GOP trope that the Medicaid cuts would target undocumented immigrants.
We won’t delve into the theology here, but we think it’s time to remind Senator Ernst of some basic facts:
In other words, millions could be homeless, hungry and sick. And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Another fact: Senator Ernst is up for re-election in 2026. Everyone, but particularly those of our readers who live in Iowa, need to tell Senator Ernst that this is neither a time for flippancy nor for the cavalier dismissal of the basic needs of millions of Americans. Time to get serious, Joni!
So please contact her today:
✏️ 111 Seventh Avenue, SE, Suite 480, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52401, 319-365-4504
✏️ 2146 27th Avenue, Suite 500, Council Bluffs, IA, 51501, 712-352-1167
✏️ 210 West Second Street, Suite 806, Davenport, IA, 52801, 563-322-0677
✏️ 733 Federal Building, 201 Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-284-4574
✏️ 194 Federal Building, 320 Sixth Street, Sioux City, IA, 51101, 712-252-1550
A hand-written letter is the best way to communicate but a call will do. Or, even better, if you’re in the neighborhood, pay her and/or her staff avisit and let them know your thoughts. And, obviously, each and every town hall – if she continues to hold them – should have full and vocal attendance.
The Administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is neither big nor beautiful. It is, instead, a horror show and Senator Ernst is one of the ring masters. Again: time for Senator Ernst to get serious.
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Last week we promised you even more detail on the Administration’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” as it moves to the Senate. At more than 1,000 pages, it is certainly big but, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Herewith, some of the details:
According to Penn Wharton, in 2026, the lowest income households will lose $820 while the richest 0.1% will get an approximate $390,000 tax break.
Using those numbers, the total in tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy would be $546,000,000,000, an astonishing number by any measure but from so-called “fiscal conservatives?”
Part of the funding for the tax breaks for the wealthiest would come from approximately 14 million losing their health care coverage.
Disclaimer: We know that number isn’t truly real but we thought we would play it out just to see what would happen.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the average family earning less than $50,000 would get under $300 in tax cuts in 2027, less than $1 a day, while the average tax filer earning $1 million or more a year would receive about $90,000 in tax breaks. Others come up with different estimates and this is still a work in progress.
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCP), the cost would be $3.7 trillion over the next decade.
Taking a closer look at what that could pay for are just a few examples. We use both figures cited calculated using the JCP amount in red.
💲 The average school lunch costs $3. In other words, that tax break could fund 182 trillion school lunches. The JCP number 1.233 trillion lunches.
💲 Families on SNAP receive an average of $250/month. The tax break could fund approximately 2.184 trillion months of benefits for needy families. JCP 14.8 billion months.
💲 The most expensive estimate for funding a new school library is about $200,000. This includes furniture, shelving, technology, and initial book collections. In other words, these tax breaks could help establish 2.73 billion new school libraries presumably without banned books. Needless to say, even more existing school libraries could be maintained. JCP 18,500.
💲 The average annual salary for an elementary school teacher is $60,000. That means the tax break could fund 9.1 billion elementary school teachers. JCP: 61,666.67. Teachers are required to complete a four-year college degree in order to teach. According to a May 2024 Education Initiative report, an in-state bachelor’s degree for one year costs $27,146 per year and $108,584 spread out over four years. Thus, the tax break could cover the four year costs for 5,043,000 teachers. JCP: 34,100.
💲 The annual budget for CHIP in 2023 was $5.9 billion. That means the tax break could cover the CHIP budget for about 92,305 years. JCP: 629 years. Using either number, it seems like a sound investment in a healthy future even though we doubt any of us will live that long.
💲 In 2023, the annual budget for Medicaid was approximately $600 billion or 910 years in tax breaks. JCP: 6 years.
We recognize that the numbers we have given you are astounding but they are meant to astonish because we truly believe they illustrate just how outrageous the misplaced priorities in the current bill are. Further, the numbers cited as JCP are not from them but calculated using their base number and basic division.
Now is the time to bring an end to this dangerous nonsense. Please, please, please take a moment now to contact your Senators and tell them to bring our budget priorities back in line with the needs of our country. If you have a chance, also attend a town hall and bring the same message to your Senator, the public and the media. We need every voice to be heard.
Please contact your Senators today!
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Years ago, former Americans for Democratic Action president, former Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) famously said of anti-choice Members of Congress, “From their perspective, life begins at conception and ends at birth.” While we think Barney is almost always correct, we never dreamed that this quote would still be so very relevant today with House passage of this Administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” which defies any pretext of guaranteeing “life after birth.”
That is this Administration’s constant refrain. It is bad enough that they think that deporting children undergoing potentially life-saving cancer treatment is acceptable. They did that one better by targeting those remaining in need here with passage of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” To us, it is definitely more of a nightmare than beautiful. There are many horrors in it – some hidden, some blatant. Here, we will focus only on two and will save the rest for later discussion as the bill moves to the Senate.
Specifically:
The sad but clear fact is that this is for the benefit of those with incomes above $500,000/year who will gain approximately $1.1 trillion in tax cuts. This is all being done by so-called fiscal conservatives who, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, will add approximately $2.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years.
If the Administration and the Congressional GOP don’t understand Barney Frank, maybe they will listen to Mr. Rogers: “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then, there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
Fortunately, the bill now goes to the Senate where we have such unlikely allies as Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (R). He may not be motivated by altruism but he clearly understands the politics of enlightened self-interest. There is, thus, some minimal hope that the worst aspects of this bill can be defeated but we will need your help to do so. Take a moment NOW to contact each and every Senator, no matter how likely or unlikely, and demand that they reverse the actions of the House when they take up the “ugly” bill that the House has sent to them. Remind them that being pro-life means continuing their concern post birth and beyond.
Please contact your Senators today!
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On January 20, the President swore an oath: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserved, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
On May 4, in response to a question from Meet the Press moderator, Kristen Welker about whether he believes that he needs to uphold the Constitution during his presidency, he responded, “I don’t know.”
A quick look at his record during this term, makes us believe he really meant to say, “No.” He has, after all and time after time, totally ignored the Constitution when it suited his desires.
Due Process
What the Constitution says (5th Amendment): “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” Yet, this Administration has denied due process rights to hundreds of immigrants who are now languishing either in detention centers or in overseas prisons. They are threatening to do the same for U.S. citizens and apparently negotiating with Libya to house detainees. And, this is being done even as the Administration defies a Supreme Court order to bring at least one detainee home.
Freedom of Speech
The First Amendment to the Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Yet, in one of the most chilling aspects of this Administration’s disdain for the Constitution many of those kidnapped by ICE and incarcerated for months without specific charges are clearly being held simply because they have voiced their support for the Palestinian people. Fortunately, a wee bit of sanity has prevailed and at least three have now been released after weeks of uncertainty and in clear violation of their rights to free speech. Damage has been done and the ripple effects are threatening.
Birthright Citizenship
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution: “…persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” On the first day of his second term, the President signed an executive order which would upend the understanding of the 14th Amendment. And, even as we write this Spotlight, the Administration is arguing to the Supreme Court that his executive order should be upheld despite multiple rulings to the contrary. At clear jeopardy are the lives of many who think they are citizens.
Habeas Corpus
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public safety may require it.”
Thomas Jefferson on the same subject: “Habeas Corpus secures every man here, alien or citizen, against everything which is not law, whatever shape it might assume.
Despite both the Constitution and Jefferson, the President’s top advisor has said that the Administration is “actively looking at” suspending it using the spurious argument that we are under invasion. Even though he’s dead, we will rely on Jefferson before we rely on Miller.
Emoluments
Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States; And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or Foreign State.”
Seems clear to us but not to the President or his Attorney General who argue that accepting the gift of a $400 million plane from Qatar is perfectly fine. It is outrageous on its face but there are also security risks and the appearance of bribery all to support the President’s ego because he thinks “their” planes look better than Air Force One.
This may be the least of our Constitutional worries but it may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back since even GOP Senators like Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have expressed skepticism.
*****
In brief, we are in the midst of a full-blown Constitutional crisis. It is time for GOP members of the House and Senate to develop a spine and remember they swore an oath to the Constitution not to an ego driven, bigot of a President.
Please contact your Members of Congress today and demand they stand up for the rule of law.
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Trump’s Tariff’s Redux, May 12th, 2025
“I’m just saying they don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.” – the President or Marie Antoinette redux or, once again, he just doesn’t get it.
You have probably heard even basically right-minded television “talking heads” asking whether the Trump tariffs will cause too much pain before the nation reaps their benefits. Why do the talking heads give so much ground? There will be no benefits. None. Nada.
Donald Trump is like an arrogant high school sophomore who flunked his elementary economics class – but is dead certain that he deserved an “A,” and that he is smarter than his instructor and all the experts on the reading list (that the sophomore never read). You can see that ignorant arrogance in Trump’s own public statements.
Trump has said that his tariffs will earn so much revenue that the income tax can be eliminated (cue the wealthiest). He also has said that his tariffs will force manufacturers to build US factories and make their products here. Any logical citizen knows that the nation will collect tariff revenues only if we continue to import. If we build new factories and all manufacturing is done here, tariff revenues will fall to zero. Trump can’t have it both ways. But, he obviously has no logic, and no idea what he is talking about; he has swallowed every pro-tariff slogan hook, line and sinker. And his White House staff, some of whom should know better, are clearly all cowed into silence, and value getting their “I worked in the White House” tickets punched above the well-being of the American people.
Trump promised tariffs that would be targeted to foreign abusers of the world trading system, or suppliers of fentanyl to the US drug trade; but what Trump imposed is a blanket tariff on all countries, all suppliers of basic metals, and all sellers of automobiles and parts. On another occasion, Trump said that tariffs would be “reciprocal,” and that we would charge each nation the tariff rate that it charges us. Instead, the “reciprocal” tariff rates that Trump displayed in the Rose Garden were an illogical hash of amounts that, if baselessly counted as exports and if imports did not change, would make US trade with each nation magically “balance” at net zero. Those tariff rates were far, far in excess of the tariff rates charged on US exports by other countries. Again, Trump, the arrogant high school sophomore, has absolutely no idea what he is talking about.
Trump’s tariff-first, ask-questions-later policy is far worse than just a sales tax on imports that will choke the poor but the rich can ignore. It will stall the economy by crashing not just imports but also all of the value-added on sales of imported goods by US shippers and retailers. It will raise the prices of even domestic manufacturers – half of all imports are either parts, tools or raw materials used in US production, some of which ironically is exported. And, by making imports either unavailable or more expensive, it will raise the competitive ceiling on prices of US goods, increasing inflation.
But, probably worst of all, Trump’s tariff tantrum has shaken the trust of every US ally and trading partner. Imagine if your own prospective spouse or work colleague suddenly and irrationally went off the emotional rails, disrupting your relationship for weeks. When could you ever trust that person again, even if the tantrum seemed to subside? Today’s tariff tantrum will upset not just US commercial relationships, but also our national security, for years.
The nation must reestablish its position as a standard-setter for international behavior. To do so, the Congress must reestablish its ultimate Constitutional authority over tariffs – telling our allies that policy will no longer be at the whim of one ignorant and impulsive man. The House and the Senate have both failed to advance a Joint Resolution to reject Trump’s emergency declaration for the current tariff increases. More promising now and more fundamental is the Trade Review Act, which would explicitly empower the Congress to review any President’s tariff impositions under existing delegations of authority, and to reject them if they are not warranted by the facts. (If the Congress gives the President the power to impose a tariff in an emergency, the courts would be loath to question the President’s designation of such an emergency.)
Tell Members of Congress – of both parties – to stand up for their Constitutional power and responsibility to make the ultimate decision as to whether tariffs are warranted – and thereby to reassure the world that the United States is a trustworthy partner again.
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The current Administration has spent its first 100 days showing its total disdain for the rule of law and/or the U.S. Constitution. Thus, we feel the need to publish the First Amendment here with emphasis on two particular parts.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
It reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” While we readily admit that it doesn’t say the President or his Administration shouldn’t ignore the sentiments voiced in this amendment, it is widely understood that these are Constitutionally protected rights to be guarded to preserve the very basis of our democracy.
The combined threat of the incarceration and potential deportation of student activists, the rescinding of much-needed funds at highly regarded colleges and universities and the outright assault on academic freedom in admission policies and courses of study pose an unprecedented attack on the very basis of free discourse.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the mass revocation of international student visas (the Administration has been forced to walk this back somewhat) and the arrest, frequently without warrant, of student activists. We are certain that we will leave out some and, for that, we apologize but below is a brief list of those we know who have already been detained:
🤐 Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national studying and teaching at Georgetown University who has never participated in any political activity but whose wife if of Palestinian heritage and once worked for Al Jazeera.
🤐 Yonsoo Chung, a permanent resident since she was 7 years old. She is an exemplary student at Columbia University who participated in a sit-in at Barnard protesting the expulsion of students who had participated in pro-Palestinian activism.
🤐 Alireza Droudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying at the University of Alabama. No reason has been given for his detention.
🤐 Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and perhaps one of the best known of the detainees. Khalil is a grad student at Columbia University who spoke out at demonstrations denouncing the war in Gaza. It has been reported that his wife, who is a US citizen and was 8 months pregnant at the time of his arrest, was also threatened with arrest. There was no warrant.
🤐 Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts who was seized outside her apartment by masked agents in what appeared to be a kidnapping. People, thinking it was a kidnapping, videotaped the horror and posted it on social media. She is accused, without apparent evidence, of supporting Hamas.
🤐 Dogukan Gunaydon, who is a Turkish citizen and a University of Minnesota graduate student. No charging document has been issued but it has been said that this is the result of a drunken driving conviction for which he served minimal time and paid a fine.
🤐 Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school who was deported to Lebanon despite a court order to keep her in the country. The reason: she attended the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah.
🤐 Ranjant Srinivasan, a Fulbright recipient, doctoral candidate at Columbia University and adjunct professor at NYU. She signed an open letter related to the Gaza war.
🤐 Momodou Taal, a graduate student at Cornell self-deported after he was threatened with detention.
🤐 Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student living legally as a permanent resident of the United States for 10 years after growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp. He co-founded Columbia’s Palestinian Student Union and was president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association. He went to what he thought was going to be his citizenship interview and pledged to defend the US Constitution. He thought this was going to be his final step to becoming a U.S. citizen. Instead, he was taken into custody for advocating Palestinian human rights. He has since been released following a judge’s order.
Fortunately, some are fighting back. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) have visited detainees in Louisiana. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) have expressed concern particularly about Gunaydon. We are certain others will be stepping forth in the days ahead. Each and every one of them deserves our thanks.
Harvard led the way in filing suit against the Federal government’s decision to halt promised funding. Others are starting to do so as well as the chilling effects often on critical medical research are being felt. In addition, more than 300 colleges and universities have signed a letter protesting “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.” Follow the hyperlink to read the letter and see the list of initial signers. If your university has signed on, please send them a thank you. If not, encourage them to do so.
All of this is good, but the pressure needs to continue even more forcefully. Please reach out to your Members of Congress, your newspapers and, yes, the institutions of higher learning you have contact with. Tell them, in no uncertain terms, that terror and coercion aimed at stifling the rights to speech and assembly must not continue.
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A nation founded and shaped by immigrants needs to remember and honor that part of our history. Sadly, the current hate mongering, racism and xenophobia put a huge blemish on that legacy.
Amid all this horror, our President had the hubris to travel to Rome ostensibly to honor Pope Francis whose every example flies in the face of this Administration’s actions. It is both remarkable and wonderful that one of the Pope’s final actions was to meet with Vice President Vance and advocate for the humane treatment of migrants. While we can’t know precisely what the pontiff said, we do know what he has said in the past: “That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women….”and “It’s hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help…If I say I am a Christian, but do these things, I’m a hypocrite…”
If the altruism of the Pope doesn’t move us, the enlightened self-interest voiced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) who went to El Salvador should, “My whole point here is if you deprive one man of his Constitutional Rights, you threaten the Constitutional Rights of everybody…If you threaten the rule of law for one person, you threaten it for everybody in America.”
While there are many, many, many examples of the horrific excesses of this Administration, none is more egregious than the mass deportation of individuals without any recourse to the Constitutionally guaranteed right to due process. Not only are such mass deportations reminiscent of what went on in Nazi Germany and, more recently, with the so-called disappeared in Argentina during the period known as the “Dirty War” from 1976 to 1983.
We cannot let these kinds of outrages continue to happen here!
For many, the face of these horrors is Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was shipped to a notoriously horrible prison in El Salvador despite having been granted a “withholding of removal status.” As is well known, the Administration now claims his removal was the result of an “administrative error” but now claims it has no ability to return him despite multiple judicial orders to do so. Such blatant disregard for the rule of law and our nation’s system of checks and balances should send chills up every one of our spines.
What distinguishes Abrego Garcia from possibly hundreds of other deportees similarly sent away without due process and, quite possibly equally innocent, is that he has vocal advocates and excellent legal counsel – including past ADA honoree Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg. For the others, each and every one of us needs to become their advocate. If they are innocent, they need to be freed and allowed to continue their lives unimpeded. If they are guilty of some crime, that is for a court of law to decided, not some random ICE agent or – even more terrifying, someone deputized to act as one.
There are steps which we, as citizens, can take:
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We strive, in these Spotlights, to shine a bright light on the horrors visited upon our nation by the current Administration AND to give you some of the tools with which to fight them. We hope you find them useful and act upon them.
It must be noted, however, that the Administration and its right-wing allies are truly good at one thing: They bombard us with so many outrages that it is hard to focus. They are very strategic in their actions because they know it diffuses the opposition. They also know that they must truly dismantle the Constitutional system of checks and balances and they must do it before the 2026 Congressional elections when they fear that their sycophants will no longer be in control of the legislative agenda.
Part of that strategy is to ensure that thousands upon thousands of voters are disenfranchised. It is our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.
A centerpiece of the Right-Wing disenfranchising campaign is the so-called SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) which passed the House on April 10. You may have read about it but it’s worse than you thought. Under provisions of the act, driver’s licenses, military IDs and tribal identification documents would need to be accompanied by a birth certificate or record of naturalization that matches the name on them to be valid. The bill could end voter registration drives, severely limit or eliminate online voter registration, limit or end automatic voter registration and eliminate the ability to send in a voter registration application by mail. The latter provision could severely impact people living in rural areas who might have to drive many miles in order to register to vote. Also required is that the name on your valid passport or photo ID match the name on your birth certificate or naturalization card. However, it does not include proof of name change or a marriage certificate as acceptable documents to prove identity. That means that roughly 69 million Americanwomen who take their partner’s last name after marriage would not have a birth certificate that reflects their current, legal name.
Of further concern is that about half of U.S. citizens, or 146 million Americans, do not have a valid passport. The current cost for a new passport is $130. If forced into getting a passport, people trying to register to vote would, in essence, be subjected to a new form of a poll tax.
In addition, military service members overseas will no longer be able to use their military IDs to register. And the impact is likely to frustrate many young voters ages 18-24, who tend to have frequent address changes.
Oregon Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (D) tried to mitigate the damage by offering amendments to the bill which were intended to protect married women, military service members, people of color, native communities, survivors of domestic violence, seniors, people with disabilities, and rural residents. Republicans in Congress blocked her amendments. And, ultimately, the bill passed the House 220 to 208, with four Democrats voting for the bill and zero Republicans opposing it. Democrats who voted for the bill were Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Henry Cuellar (Texas) and Ed Case (Hawaii).
The bill next moves to the Senate where it has not yet been scheduled for a vote but the danger is real that it could pass.
Take immediate action:
✅ Contact your Senators via phone, e-mail or mail and register your strong opposition to the SAVE act.
✅ Attend town halls in your area to raise your concerns.
✅ Contact Congresswoman Dexter and thank her for her efforts:
911 NE 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97232, 503-231-2300
Reach out to those Democratic Members of Congress who voted for this horror, let them know you are paying attention and that you are furious at their vote to disenfranchise American voters.
❌ Jared Golden, 6 State Street, Suite 101, Bangor, ME 04401 (207) 249-7400
❌ Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, 1053 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661 (360) 695-6292
❌ Henry Cuellar, 1145 E. Commerce St., Suite 205, San Antonio, TX 78205 (210) 271-2851
❌ Ed Case, 1003 Bishop Street, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 650-6688
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Out of Touch Much?
Obviously!
Even as the Administration dug its heels in on tariffs and the resulting chaos, it proved, without the shadow of a doubt, that it is totally out of touch with reality, and they don’t even care what “the simple folk do.”
Now that the President has “paused” most tariffs for 90 days, he has proven that he is playing a dangerous game of chicken with the sole goal of satisfying his overblown ego. People who are not among the 1 percent are left swinging in the wind with little to no control over their finances and their futures.
Just to make clear that we understand their lack of understanding:
“But likewise, an old-fashioned term that we use, groceries — I used it on the campaign. It’s such an old-fashioned term but a beautiful term, groceries. It sort of says a bag with different things in it.” – the President.
“Foreign goods may become a little more expensive, but domestic goods do not. So if you’re looking at Poland Springs water versus let’s say Fiji Water, the Poland Springs is not gonna be more expensive.” Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick.
Newsflash folks: This is not just about a bag with things in it. Nor is it about fancy bottled water.
It is about the necessities of life: groceries, medications, cars, building materials, clothing, retirement savings, education savings accounts and even paper towels and toilet paper (and there’s no Sears’ catalogue to help). Meanwhile, noted economists are sounding the alarm about a recession and the Fed chair is concerned about increasing inflation and the possible need to increase interest rates.
Our noble leader’s response is to begin making plans for a four-mile-long military parade to celebrate his own birthday. Such an undertaking will necessitate massive coordination between groups decimated by DOGE cuts and come at an enormous expense to both Federal and local governments. Will someone please find a fiddle to give him for his birthday so he can fiddle while his version of Rome burns.?
Fortunately, some political leaders are beginning to find a spine and try to craft a solution. Washington’s Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell has introduced legislation to reaffirm Congress’ role in setting trade policy. The legislation would require the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing or increasing a tariff. That notification must include and explanation for imposing the tariff and an analysis of its impact on American businesses and consumers. Under the legislation, within 60 days, Congress must pass a joint resolution of approval on the new tariff, otherwise all new tariffs on imports expire after that deadline. In addition, Congress would the ability to end tariffs at any time by passing a resolution of disapproval.
Joining Cantwell as initial co-sponsors are Democratic Senators Michael Bennet (CO), Amy Klobochar (MN), Peter Welch (VT), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Chris Coons (DE) and Mark Warner (VA) and Republicans Chuck Grassley (IA), Jerry Moran (KS), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Thom Tillis (NC), Todd Young (IN), Susan Collins (ME) and Mitch McConnell (KY). A similar bill has been introduced in the House, you can find the co=-sponsor list here.
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
THANK YOU
Your Activism Is Working
This week’s Spotlight begins with a heartfelt thank you to those of you who supported ADA’s work in Wisconsin. We couldn’t match Musk’s millions, but we were much more strategic and it paid off with Susan Crawford’s double digit win. Know, please, both that you helped make that victory possible and that we are enormously grateful.
Last week was not a good week for the GOP, the Administration and Elon Musk. The Republican victories in Florida – while disappointing – pointed out real weaknesses within the Party and dissatisfaction with the way our country is headed as previous overwhelming victory margins were sunk dramatically. Then, came Musk’s decisive defeat in Wisconsin. In the Senate, we were treated with Senator Cory Booker’s tour de force, epic speech. (Please do send him a thank you.) And, on the House side, House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced by a bi-partisan coalition forced him to cancel votes for the rest of the week after a band of GOP lawmakers staged a rebellion on the floor, bringing legislative action to a screeching halt. The announcement came minutes after nine Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing a procedural rule that would have killed a bipartisan effort to allow proxy voting for new parents. No, Speaker Johnson, women will not quietly return to the 1950s and relinquish hard won gains. The stock market tanked. And, millions took to the streets in protest across the country and around the world. To paraphrase the Viorst’s, for the GOP it was a terrible, awful, horrible, no good, very bad week.
Americans for Democratic Action and you, our members, have taken up the challenge and are letting Members of Congress and others know, in no uncertain terms, that what is happening with this Administration is neither normal nor acceptable. We need to redouble our efforts and keep up the momentum. DONATE HERE
Your activism is having an impact. GOP members of the House and Senate are beginning to get restive – even those who signed on totally to this Administration’s wild and dangerous antics. They are canceling town halls and running from angry constituents like children covering their ears so they won’t hear what they don’t want to hear. Many are toeing the line because they fear retribution from the Administration and its minions. We need to continue to apply pressure in equal or greater measure from the grassroots. With your help, we will confront them in this year’s off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey and continue our forceful activism for the 2026 election cycle. DONATE HERE
At this point, 2026 seems a long way off but – in political terms – it truly isn’t. Please, therefore, remind Members of Congress that, as constituents, you are their employers and you can and will fire them just as heartlessly as they are firing thousands upon thousands of critical government employees. Take a moment NOW to let them hear from you and, then, keep up the pressure.
Click here to see a select list of vulneralbe Republican Members that need to hear from you. This list includes district office contact information because that is often the easiest and best way to reach Members quickly. In many instances, Members have more than one office. We have selected only one but there may be another closer to you.
If none of the Members listed above is yours, adopt one; write them and say you are not a constituent but are a concerned citizen and are paying attention. Then, contact your own member identifying yourself as a constituent and insert the appropriate praise or condemnation as the case may be. All need to know that concerned citizens are paying attention and are determined to wrest control back from the misbegotten people who have taken over our democracy.
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
Action Alert
Democracy is a Participatory Spor
This Spotlight is somewhat different from our normal ones because we won’t be focused on one specific issue.
What we want to underscore today is that our nation is in real danger and it is up to each and every one of us to do whatever is in our power to save our democracy. Here are some possible options:
✅ Write to your elected representatives. Don’t limit yourselves to your Representative and your Senators. Share your concerns with your state and local officials as well. When doing so, identify yourself as a constituent; i.e. their employer.
✅ If you live in Washington, D.C. and don’t have a voting Representative or Senators, adopt ones from another state. Tell them you are not a constituent and explain why you are writing to them.
✅ Even if you have Senators and a Representative, write to others. Say you are not a constituent but a concerned citizen who pays attention and, then, thank them or condemn them as the case may be. Whenever possible make it personal and relevant to their home turf: “I am not a constituent but I visit your state often…” You get the idea.
✅ Send a biography of Neville Chamberlain to the White House. Ok, he doesn’t read but the message will be received.
✅ Attend town halls. Check out accounts and websites run by the elected officials and their staff including: Facebook, Bluesky, official government websites – specifically check out the pages on press releases, events, and media alerts, official government newsletters – their sign up page is typically found on their websites.
✅ If your Members of Congress are refusing to hold a Town Hall, schedule your own and place an empty chair by the podium. Invite as many as possible to participate and make sure the local media know.
✅ Send a copy of The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire to the White House. See above about reading.
✅ Attend non-violent protest demonstrations whenever possible.
✅ Support the immigrants who make our nation strong.
✅ Write letters to the editor of newspapers small and large.
✅ Repost relevant information on social media. Begin creating an echo chamber. Follow ADA’s Facebook page here. Follow ADA’s Bluesky page here.
✅ Send a copy of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to Steven Miller or Elon Musk or both.
✅ When they make a laughing stock of themselves, spread the information widely; i.e. removing mention of the Enola Gay because their misbegotten AI found the work “gay” in the reference. They hate being laughed at.
✅ Oppose vigorously the rampant bigotry being displayed at all levels of this Administration.
✅ Shop judiciously. Support those who defy the Administration. Try to boycott those who don’t.
✅ Let your alma mater know that you don’t support their caving in to bullying.
We know there are many more creative ideas out there. Please share them with us at adaction.org. We welcome them. And, then…
Contribute to Americans for Democratic Action so we can get more organizers in the field to educate voters and get out the vote in special elections and in preparation for 2026 and 2028.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
BE AFRAID
BE VERY AFRAID
Our beloved nation which is supposed to be governed by a system of checks and balances is in danger of becoming – if it hasn’t already become – seriously out of balance.
The President, who once famously said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters,” has continuously shown his absolute disdain for the judicial system. Despite being convicted of 34 felonies in his hush money trial; being convicted of sexual assault and defamation of character in the E. Jean Carroll case; and being indicted in the Georgia election fraud case, the President has yet to see a day in jail and has had his hubris bolstered by the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.
To add insult to injury, but not surprisingly, he has hired scofflaws who mirror his image and their actions are truly terrifying. Examples abound but here are a few:
⛔ DOGE employees broke into the headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) last Monday. This despite the fact that it is an independent agency and not part of the executive branch. To their credit, USIP called the DC Metropolitan police and reported a break in. We’ll see what happens.
⛔ The Administration has ignored or bent multiple judicial orders reflecting the unconstitutionality of its actions. They have been ordered to rehire those fired without reason, to restore international aid deliveries and explain their actions on many other items. In each case, if they have complied, they have complied in such a way as to make the ruling virtually meaningless.
⛔ Even more chilling, however, is their absolute total disdain for the rule of law where it applies to immigrants and, in some cases, American citizens. Many have been turned away, deported under inhumane conditions, or held far from their families and under threat of deportation simply for exercising their First Amendment rights. In at least two incidents — the deportation of a noted researcher from Brown University even though she had a valid visa, and the plane loads of deportees headed to El Salvador – separate judges ordered that they either be returned to the States or held here for further review. In neither case was due process involved.
There are many more outrages, too many to enumerate here, but you get the idea. Even more chilling is the pronouncement by the President’s Border Czar, Tom Horman, “We are going to make this country safe again … I’m proud to be a part of this administration. We are not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the Left thinks. We’re coming.” It would be hard to come up with a more horrifying quote.
Thus, the need for continuing, decisive action is URGENT. Please take a moment now to get in touch with your Senators and Representatives and tell them, in no uncertain terms, that the rule of law must prevail, and they MUST take immediate action to preserve our democracy. Lives are truly at stake.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
Former ADA president Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) inimitable, incisive quote master who gets it right almost all the time: about anti-choice people, for them, “…life begins at conception and ends at birth.” Never has that been more true and these Congressional hypocrites seem hell bent on proving him right.
The current Administration and their cohorts in Congress and across the country seem determined that America’s children are sick, uneducated and hungry and they are wasting no time in achieving their goal.
🚸 Many states and other jurisdictions have sought to erase history by banning in school and public libraries subjects which might make someone uncomfortable. These include history about slavery, the Holocaust and those with gay and lesbian themes.
🚸 The Administration has installed as the head of Health and Human Services an anti-vaxxer who thinks vitamins can either cure or prevent measles. Children whose parents have bought into this hoax have died.
🚸 Musk, the unelected head of government, in shutting down the Agency for International Development, has helped to ensure that countless children around the world will die of malnutrition or disease.
🚸 The threatened cuts to Medicaid will severely either diminish or prevent health care for almost half of our nation’s children.
🚸 SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the largest federal nutrition assistance program providing benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families is being threatened.
🚸 With the firing of half of the staff at the Department of Education, a full-fledged attack on public education is taking place.
🚸 At the same time, a crippled Department of Education is putting free and reduced lunches for 20 million school children on the chopping block.
🚸 The Agriculture Department has axed two programs that gave schools and food banks money to buy food from local farms and ranchers, halting more than $1 billion in federal spending..
🚸 The Continuing Resolution, as passed by the House, will decimate the budget of Washington, D.C. resulting in devastating cuts to – among other things – the education system in our nation’s capitol. This is bad enough but the money they are prohibiting from being spent is locally raised not Federal dollars. Irresponsible doesn’t begin to describe this outrage.
As with our other spotlights, this is only the tip of the iceberg, but we truly feel the very devastating picture needs to be laid out. Our children’s futures and, thus, the very future of our nation is at stake and billionaires, who can buy the very best for their own children, have absolutely no idea how the rest of the world lives. Worse, they don’t care.
Whatever you are doing as you read this, please take a moment and contact your Members of Congress and tell them that protecting our kids is more important than pleasing billionaires.
Write, e-mail, call or visit your Members of Congress with either praise or dismay as warranted. Remind them that you are a constituent and, ultimately, their employer.
Then, do the same for others who speak up even if they don’t represent you. They need to know you are a concerned citizen and are paying attention.
If available, attend town halls in your Congressional District and make your voice heard.
And, finally, but importantly, make or increase your contribution to Americans for Democratic Action so that we can help amplify your call for an America in which we can, once again, take pride.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
Once again, this Administration has upended our plans for our weekly Spotlight. This week’s outrage, while not the worst thing they are doing is something we take personally.
Elon Musk has ordered the General Services Administration to sell off the historic Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. This is another of their blatant attempts to white wash – and we do mean white – American history. In and of itself, this is outrageous. For those of us in Americans for Democratic Action who were privileged to work with our former president, Congressman John Lewis and those who helped conceive the Freedom Rides – particularly Marvin Rich, James Farmer and Hilda and Charles Mason – this is not only an abomination; it is personal and it cannot be allowed to stand.
Alabama Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell is taking the leadership to try to stop the latest attempt at Musk’s blatant bigotry. She deserves our full support. Please take a moment to thank her:
101 South Lawrence St.
Courthouse Annex 3
Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: (334) 262-1919
And, then write to your Members of Congress asking that they support her and sign on to any relevant legislation.
Write, e-mail, call or visit your Members of Congress with either praise or dismay as warranted. Remind them that you are a constituent and, ultimately, their employer.
Then, do the same for others who speak up even if they don’t represent you. They need to know you are a concerned citizen and are paying attention.
If available, attend town halls in your Congressional District and make your voice heard.
And, finally, but importantly, make or increase your contribution to Americans for Democratic Action so that we can help amplify your call for an America in which we can, once again, take pride.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
We had planned and written a different Spotlight for this week but this past Friday’s disgraceful, vile display in the Oval Office has dictated otherwise. Much to our horror, we witnessed the President of the United States channeling both Neville Chamberlain and Quisling all at once. That’s quite a feat even for a vile, seasoned bully with no moral scruples. Since we’re told he doesn’t read and we’re certain he doesn’t understand history, we’e posting this photo to remind him exactly what’s at stake. There is a reason there are so many graves at the American cemetery in Normandy. Each of these graves honors someone who gave his life so that his descendants and the citizens of Europe could live in freedom. Now, our reckless Putin lover is both dishonoring their memory and putting each and every one of us in danger.
It is said that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Sadly, history appears to be being repeated at the expense of Ukraine, a nation standing bravely for democracy at very great sacrifice. The shameful behavior of our President is a dishonor to our country, a disservice to an ally, a threat to our European allies and a danger to the world. It couldn’t get much worse than that.
Many of us grew up hearing “Where were the good Germans?” The answer is that many were too frightened to speak out or act publicly in the face of clear and present danger. There were a some who dared to stand up and speak out. One notable example is the noted anti-Nazi theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” He paid the ultimate price for his bravery.
We cannot let this go that far. We, in Americans for Democratic Action, will not remain silent. The time for action is now. By bringing our collective voices together and protesting at town halls or in the streets of our nation, we must, must, must say enough is too much. We need to join our voices with those of our dismayed allies and bring an end to this shameful madness. Like Bonhoeffer, we need to speak and act.
So please:
Write, e-mail, call or visit your Members of Congress with either praise or dismay as warranted. Remind them that you are a constituent and, ultimately, their employer.
Then, do the same for others who speak up even if they don’t represent you. They need to know you are a concerned citizen and are paying attention.
If available, attend town halls in your Congressional District and make your voice heard.
And, finally, but importantly, make or increase your contribution to Americans for Democratic Action so that we can help amplify your call for an America in which we can, once again, take pride.
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
When Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake,” it sparked a revolution. When King George III imposed a tax on tea to benefit his friends in the British East India Company to gain a monopoly on the tea trade with the colonies, it sparked a revolution. Sadly, now we are being governed by an Administration with the empathy of Marie Antoinette and the economic savvy of George III. To be clear, we are not advocating violence but it is well past time for everyday Americans to take a stance. Fortunately, many are and Americans for Democratic Action definitely is.
This Administration, aided and abetted by their cronies in Congress, is taking direct aim at any but the very rich at the dire expense of all of the rest of us – both here and abroad.
Let’s take a brief look at what we know is only a partial list:
‼️ Their draconian actions with the Agency for International Development have left many thousands of the world’s poorest starving and without essential medications while supplies languish and spoil.
‼️ In the name of cost cutting, the Administration is firing thousands upon thousands of Federal employees who both serve the American public and rely on their jobs to support themselves and their families.
‼️ House Republican are poised to support a budget favored by the White House which would result in massive cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP; Head Start programs being shut down; community health clinics being shut down and reduced staff for veterans’ hospitals and clinics.
‼️ It also clear that they are gunning for Social Security which has kept untold numbers of seniors out of poverty. Worse, this is our money they are looting to benefit the wealthiest one percent.
‼️ The Administration’s tariffs will hit the American consumers who can least afford it directly in their pocketbooks just as inflation is certain to increase and the economy begins to tank. We know that’s the case because the previous incarnation of this gang that can’t shoot straight has provided ample history.
‼️ The VA has been forced to cut providers whose principal task is to support those who have served our country at often great danger and great personal sacrifice. So much, for supporting our military.
‼️ And, then they cut funding for the World Trade Center Health Center which provides critical care for 9/11 survivors and first responders.
The House is scheduled to take up the budget resolution this week. Urgent action is needed NOW. Please, please, please heed our pleas and take just two minutes of your time to call your Representative and weigh in on the need to oppose this disastrous budget resolution.
The Capitol phone # is 202-224-3121 and follow the prompts. Or you can contact their local office whose phone number is available on individual Member’s websites. It doesn’t matter if you think they agree with you or not. They need to hear from you either with praise or condemnation!
Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
The protection of basic civil rights has always been a centerpiece of ADA’s founding principles. An iconic photo taken during Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech shows him surrounded by former Americans for Democratic Action founders and presidents including Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., Walter Reuther and former Congressman John Lewis. Our former president Congesswoman Patsy T. Mink (D-HI) was the mother of Title IX. ADA activists Marvin Rich, Hilda and Charles Mason, James Farmer and others were critical components of the civil rights movement and the Freedom Rides. Other ADAers including former ADA president Allard Lowenstein, at great danger to themselves, spearheaded voter registration drives in the south. In other words, this battle is embedded in our very DNA.
Through their efforts to which we owe so much, much was accomplished even as much more needed to be done. Now, however, the battle must be joined once again. This Administration’s attack on those hard-won gains threatens to turn back the clock at foreign and domestic levels using so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as their boogey man while ignoring the good that has been done. The entire package is an open invitation to blatant discrimination across all avenues.
Perhaps none of this is surprising given the Trump/Musk’s history of discrimination. Remember papa Trump got rich by building apartment buildings which excluded Black tenants. Our President himself was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging he and his family engaged in racial discrimination at their properties. And, Elon Musk’s personal history was forged in apartheid South Africa. Thus, just as our fight for equality and inclusion is in the very marrow of our being, so is a history of blatant discrimination in theirs. What they didn’t count on is that we will fight back.
Let’s take a look at a sample of what’s going on:
🆘 On his first day in office, the President signed an executive order for the sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs.
🆘 Under the President’s direction, ICE is largely targeting Hispanic (or Hispanic looking people) for arrest and deportation. Included in this broad sweep have been Native Americans and people arrested for speaking Spanish.
🆘 The President signed an executive order banning trans-women from participating in women’s sports.
🆘 The LGBTQ+ community has become the target of his wrath with the hope of upending the Supreme Court’s decision to allow gay marriage.
🆘 The President banned from entering the U.S. at least 1,600 vetted Muslims who had helped in the fight against the Taliban but extended an offer to white Afrikaner South Africans to come here as refugees.
🆘 The Department of Justice sent a memo to employees saying the Department will criminally prosecute private entities that implement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEI/DEIA) policies. Please note this is aimed at private businesses.
🆘 The President announced that he will replace the board at the Kennedy Center and install himself as chair because the Center hosted drag shows.
🆘 The President has forced the Federal Office on Violence Against Women to remove grant opportunities from their website.
🆘 The President’s unconstitutional attempt to ban birthright citizenship would hit minority communities disproportionately badly.
These are the classic divide and conquer tactics used by dictators. They make enemies of the people they are supposed to serve and invariably do irreparable harm. Americans for Democratic Action is determined to fight to stop this gross injustice but we will need your help if we are to continue reaching out to and educating voters in key states as we prepare for both off year elections and 2026.
If we are to be effective, we need to put organizers on the ground now. Every contribution helps and is deeply appreciated but – as an added incentive – a contributor has promised that every contribution of $100 or more will be thanked with a Patsy Mink quarter in an envelope with a John Lewis stamp. We can’t think of a better talisman than these memorials to two ADA giants. Donate here: https://adaction.org/donate/
When your house is on fire, you don’t wait until next week to hose it down. The time for action is NOW. Although our government is built on a system of checks and balances, there is no balance if there are no checks. Today, we are in the midst of a Constitutional crisis which needs to be confronted on all fronts and in every way possible. We are pleased to support and congratulate Members of Congress who are standing up to the horror we are living but the sad truth is that a Congress, ruled by MAGA extremists, is hamstrung at best and, quite simply can’t be relied upon.
Now, through the efforts of the co-Presidents, our personal and economic security are at risk. Musk’s gang of juvenile video game players are hacking into computers containing the personal and financial information of millions of people. Gaining access to everything the taxpayer database holds is unbelievably irresponsible. And, now there’s word that their next targets are Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. If people hacking into our banking information is frightening, we haven’t seen anything yet. Just imagine the damage that can be done. In addition, demands are being made which threaten people whose very lives are in danger. FBI agents – whose names have been turned over to a vengeful Department of Justice – could easily become the targets of the MAGA gang which stormed the Capitol. CIA personnel could well become the targets of violent extremists and outside agents.
This willful disregard for personal and financial security is worse than alarming. It is downright dangerous. ADA fully supports creative action taken by some Members of Congress to slow the dizzying pace. We will also, where appropriate, support legal action taken to thwart the clearly lawless activity of this Administration. And, we will look for electoral and legislative opportunities at the national, state and local levels to help curb this disaster.
In the meantime, we need you to take action as well. Please, please, please, continue putting pressure on Members of Congressto seek creative ways to block what is going on. It truly does work ~ as evidenced by this article in the Portland Press Herald. When constituents remind elected officials that we are their employers, they do listen. Also, please, seek out opportunities at the state and local level to support people and legislation working to counter the evil that is happening in Washington. Together, we can, will and must make a difference.
This week’s focus is on health care and the unprecedented, dangerous threats this Administration poses.
For decades, Americans for Democratic Action has been at the forefront advocating for a single payer (Medicare for All) health care system. Major success was achieved when so-called Obama-care was enacted and millions of people were able to get much needed health care. It wasn’t enough and we were working hard to expand and improve its coverage.
Now, we are faced with an Administration which seems hell bent on destroying our entire health care system. In the brief time it has been in power it has:
❌ nominated anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to become Secretary of Health and Human Services;
❌ removed the caps on costs for prescription drugs;
❌ withdrawn from the World Health Organization and ordered those at the CDC who work with WHO to immediately stop working with their counterparts there;
❌ halted NIH research on a host of health care issues;
❌ ordered government health care groups to cease providing information to the American public;
❌ vowed to overturn Obama-care;
❌ said it intends to remove vaccine mandates from our schools;
❌ reversed Biden Administration policies aimed at preparing the public for future infectious disease outbreaks’
❌ issued a blanket “pause” in all Federal grants and loans resulting in the shutting down of Medicaid payment portals;
❌ suspended the supply of HIV and malaria drugs to poor countries;
We’re sure we’ve left something out but you get the idea. It is absolutely imperative that we stop this onslaught in its tracks. Therefore, please start by contacting Members of the Senate Finance Committee and urge them, in the strongest possible terms, both to reject the Kennedy nomination and reverse the Administration’s dangerous assault on all aspects of our nation’s health care system.
Click here to find the Senate Finance Committee Members. They can be reached through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. If one of these Senators represents you, please be in contact with him/her directly and identify yourself as a constituent.
With a Republican trifecta at the national level and a Supreme Court that will continue to roll back national standards, many of the most significant legislative battles will play out in the states, putting state governments in the spotlight.
Chamber control in the presidential battleground states was hard-fought. The Michigan House flipped from D to R, breaking a Democratic trifecta. The Minnesota House (formerly held by Democrats) is now tied, breaking Minnesota’s DFL trifecta. Democrats held onto the Minnesota Senate. Democrats hold both Nevada chambers and the Pennsylvania House. The Maine House is poised for coalition leadership and bipartisan majorities will control both the Alaska House and Senate following the election. Look at the legislative control map here: https://www.ncsl.org/resources/ncsl-state-elections-2024
So, what can progressives get done in the states?
Regardless of party control, developing budgets will continue to be a top priority for many states as the COVID-era infusion of billions of dollars of federal funds has now run out and nearly every state has enacted some kind of tax cut in the last few years. Progressives should gear up for a fight for funding new and existing programs, particularly Medicaid as Medicaid is one of the largest budget items for states. At the same time, there are 1.7 open jobs for every person looking for a position and the states are still weathering the storm of workforce shortages just as the private sector. This could force real movement on workforce issues such as employee benefit programs, paid leave, retirement wages, workplace flexibility and career advancement. A strong workforce impacts education, transit, childcare workers, the construction workforce—which also impacts the housing crisis. The housing and childcare crisis will be a hot topic in states in the coming session. The price of rental and owner-occupied housing stresses many household budgets, and the same is true for childcare, if it can be found. Education continues to be a perennial issue for states, this year lawmakers will consider systemic educational changes while reducing pandemic learning loss and helping older students afford higher education.
