What the Hell is This!!??

Don't Look Down.

Now that Trumpf has gotten his birthday present from a foreign potentate he may be the last flying enthusiast in America

.As the media follow the new head of the FAA’s contention that the collapse of air travel is due to old equipment, The NY Times suggests the mass firings of controllers may have had something to do with it.

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Our Summer illustration Zoom course starts June 3. Find it HERE.

ACTIONS abound. One per day is HUGE.

Here’s the latest from our friends Laura Conwesser and Jessica Craven:

Thank you to everyone who called their Senators about voting NO on cloture for the "Genius Act." Our efforts paid off. All the Democrats voted against cloture, along with 3 Republicans. However, this was just the first skirmish in a long battle. The manner in which the bill was presented was so lacking in any details that it gave everyone cover to vote against it. However, it will come back again, probably with enough concessions to make it palatable for some Democrats. Kristen Gillibrand is actually one of the sponsors of the actual bill. There are other Dems who will want to vote for it because election season is approaching and they want to curry favor with their crypto billionaire donors. That means we will need to do this again, maybe more than once. It seems like John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, is planning to call a second vote on Thursday, so this would be a good time to call your Senators again and remind them that the bill is completely unacceptable as it stands. There must be serious protections against corruption and fraud built into the bill. Until that happens, all the Democrats must vote no, both on cloture and on the bill itself. A sample script would say something like: " My name is ___ and I live in zip code____. I am calling to urge the Senator to vote NO on cloture for the Genius Act, as well as on the Act itself. There are not sufficient controls in the bill to protect against fraud and corruption." You can find your Senators' numbers here.

Republicans in the House are putting the finishing touches on their proposals for budget cuts. We need to make sure that there are no cuts to Planned Parenthood and Medicaid. These three members are instrumental in deciding what stays and what goes and are all in districts that could flip in 2026. They need to hear from us, even if we are not their direct constituents: Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) 202-225-5361; Gabe Evans (CO-08) 202-225-5625; Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01). A sample script: "Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m calling to urge [Representative's name] to oppose any attempt to defund Planned Parenthood or cut Medicaid. These programs are essential to millions of people, including those in your district. Please protect access to care and reject these harmful cuts. Thank you."

A related action, from Rashida Tlaib: "My Democratic colleagues and I are fighting back. This week, we introduced a Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP discharge petition, which, if passed, would prevent the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance ever. Right now, 101 of my colleagues and I have added our names to the discharge petition. We need 218 signers in order to force a vote in the House of Representatives." You can add your name as a grass roots supporter of this discharge petition here. You can also call your representative and urge them to add their names. here

Congress is working right now on a budget bill that would dramatically slash funding for Medicaid, food stamps, housing, and the environment but would give millionaires and billionaires a big tax cut, and dramatically increase ICE’s budget by 600%. Congress must not slash Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the ultra-rich and a mass deportation regime. By sending a message here, you can tell your representatives to exercise constitutionally mandated oversight.

Tim Kaine, Chris Van Hollen, Alex Padilla, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are bringing a response to Trump's illegal deportations. They have introduced S.Res.195, a privileged resolution that demands answers. It is not subject to presidential veto or filibuster, just a single up-or-down vote. Send a message to your Senators telling them to vote YES. here

In an investigation of the proposed Exxon-Pioneer merger, the FTC found evidence that Pioneer’s then-CEO and GOP mega-donor Scott Sheffield had engaged in price-fixing conversations with OPEC -- the oil cartel that includes Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Now, under the new Trump administration, the FTC is seeking to reverse its original decision, bowing to pressure from Sheffield, his well-paid lobbyists, and the oil industry. The FTC has opened up a public comment period. Copy this comment, I urge the Federal Trade Commission to reject Mr. Sheffield’s petition and instead maintain the ban on Mr. Sheffield serving on the board of Exxon Mobil. At the time of the FTC’s original ruling in January, the agency found clear evidence that Mr. Sheffield had illegally colluded with OPEC to keep oil prices high. U.S. oil producers are explicitly prohibited by federal law from price fixing and from taking actions that restrict competition. You can then paste it here. Remember that you can do this anonymously if you like.

A massive coalition of unions and non-profits just filed the largest and most significant legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s attempt to remake the government without Congressional approval. President Trump gave Elon Musk his blessing to root through the government, recklessly firing workers who process Social Security payments, ensure food safety, care for veterans, and more. You can sign on to a grass roots amicus brief here.

Trump is planning a big parade on June 14. This war parade cannot proceed without the support of Washington, DC officials. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council have the power to block permits, demand reimbursement for public services, and ensure protest rights are protected. Tell them to say no. here

A bipartisan coalition led by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) has introduced the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, which would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependents from trading individual stocks. This bill is even backed by Republicans like Josh Hawley and Cory Mills. Tell Congress to pass this bill now. here

MAGA Republicans are trying to give Donald Trump the power to appoint 22 new federal judges. Trump and his allies want to double down, filling the judiciary with even more handpicked loyalists who will serve the interests of oligarchs, not the people. This is not reform. It’s a hostile takeover of the judiciary by an authoritarian movement that wants to dismantle checks and balances. Tell your representatives to oppose the Judges Act. here

An executive order prohibits federal funding from reaching PBS and NPR, threatening the national services stations rely on, from emergency alert infrastructure to educational content for children. The Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget request to Congress goes even further, eliminating all federal funding for public media. You can email your representatives to oppose this with an easy tool here.

Trump is firing all of the immigration judges that were appointed during the Biden administration. This now goes through a process where the public has the ability to register their concerns. There are two days left for us to leave comments on the Federal Register. You can go to this link and say something like "I respectfully urge the Department of Justice to reconsider reducing the number of immigration judges from 28 to 15. At the end of the last fiscal year, there was a backlog of 3.6 million cases. We need more immigration judges, not fewer". You can just copy and paste this into the form. Pretty easy, just remove the quotation marks. If you do not want to share any personal information, you can submit your comment anonymously.

The ACLU is asking us to use their handy form to share our concerns with congress about DOGE having access to our private data here. They would also like us to contact our representatives about the trampling of our right to Due Process here.

There are vigils every Monday at 5:30 in Columbus Circle sponsored by a coalition of faith organizations. Also on Mondays, but at 6pm, Workers Circle holds a "candlelight" vigil in Foley Square. Cell phone or electric candles are suggested. There is also a vigil at 96th and Broadway on Thursday at 5pm.

Every Tuesday, there is a rally outside Fox News at 1211 Sixth Ave. @ 48th St. from 12-1pm to protest their lies on behalf of and enabling of the Trump regime. You can get more information, including suggestions for signs here.

This is yet another reminder to save the date of June 14 for Flag Day demonstrations. This needs to be the biggest one yet.

Thank you all,

Laura

Republican’s Medicaid cut proposals were released this morning. I’m still gathering information on them—I’ve been in meetings about them literally all morning—but the gist is clear: they’re terrible. True, we avoided some of the worst proposals—like per capita cuts— but there are still some really bad provisions in there.

Among other things, Republicans want to impose work requirements (which never, ever work); they declined to extend the ACA premium subsidies, they will impose a $1 million home equity limit for Medicaid long term care—this will be brutal on anyone living in high-cost states like mine. They also repeatedly go after undocumented childrens’ healthcare; they want to reduce the federal contributions for the Medicaid expansion population from 90% to 80% if they cover undocumented folks, for example. That may not sound like much, but it’s a devastating hit to state budgets.

In general it would be a massive blow to the American healthcare system. To quote Bobby Kogan, the Senior Director of Federal Budget Policy for the Center for American Progress:

The Republican plan would cut more than $700 billion from health coverage and kick more than 8 million people off their insurance. Around $600 billion of that comes from Medicaid. This would be the largest medicaid cuts ever, by many hundreds of billions of dollars.

If you count the ACA premium tax credits not being renewed, by the way, that 8M number goes up to 13.5M. Thirteen and a half MILLION people losing their healthcare so rich people can keep paying virtually no taxes. Yikes.

Kogan’s whole Bluesky thread about these cuts is great, by the way. He’s read the whole plan and breaks down all the main provisions in it.

If you don’t feel like reading a thread you can also hear his brilliant colleague from CAP, Andrea Ducas, talk about the Medicaid cuts with me tomorrow on a Substack Live! Andrea is VP of Health Policy at Center for American Progress so she’s an encyclopedia of knowledge about Medicaid and what these cuts will actually mean. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a time for it, but I’m assuming it will be sometime shortly after noon PT.

OK. I know there’s so much going on, my friends. We’re living in chaotic times. Let’s remember to breathe, to eat, and to take time out to be with friends and family. But let’s also remember to FIGHT. Because truly, when we fight we win.

And we have to win.

So let’s get to work one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) and Your House Rep (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m calling about a few things today because there’s a lot going on. Please bear with me as I get my whole comment out.

First, I’m outraged by what’s happening with ICE. They arrested Newark’s Mayor on Friday and they’re threatening to arrest members of Congress who had every right to be at—and inspect—an ICE facility. That alone is horrifying. But they’re also violently arresting teenagers, wearing masks so they can’t be identified, and sometimes refusing to show ID. It’s all outrageous, and much of it is likely illegal. We need investigations into these abuses; Tom Homan and Kristi Noem need to answer for them. And ICE needs to be reined in—NOW. Also, Stephen Miller’s threats to suspend Habeus Corpus are unacceptable and I expect the Senator/Congressmember to say so in no uncertain terms.

Second, under no circumstances can Donald Trump accept a 400 million dollar plane from Qatar. This is blatant corruption and a clear violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution. It’s disgusting. Congress needs to do its job and make sure it doesn’t happen. Thanks.

[If GOP add:]

Finally, Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts are unacceptable. Cutting over $700 billion in health coverage means at least 8 million people—and likely many more— will lose their health insurance. Some of these people will die because they can’t afford care. The fact that Republicans are willing to literally let Americans die so that rich people can get tax cuts is just nauseating. Vote no. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit

Wondering how to understand and keep up with Trump’s erratic and ever-changing tariff policies? The awesome Unrig Our Economy has you covered! They’re a campaign working to expose how powerful elites have rigged the rules to favor billionaires and giant corporations at the expense of everyday Americans. They also fight to hold politicians accountable for choices that make life harder for working families — like, ahem, supporting tariffs that raise prices on essentials while handing out tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.

They’ve created a new website that's part of that mission: to show how tariffs are another way the system has been tilted against ordinary people. They’ll keep it updated with Trump’s current tariff policies, AND there’s a place for you to share your story about how these tariffs are hurting you. They’ll then amplify those stories so that we can ratchet up pressure on Congress to push back.

Check it out here!

Get Smart!

On Friday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested in handcuffs after attempting to visit a recently re-opened ICE detention facility. ICE shoved members of the Congressional delegation which included Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. and Rep. LaMonica McIver who are currently under threat of arrest.

This is a shocking act of intimidation, even by Trump standards—one that is straight from the authoritarian playbook.

Join the Working Families Party, Representative Rob Menendez Jr., Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, Representative LaMonica Iver and Mayor Ras Baraka for an emergency call TODAY (5/12) from 5-6PM ET to push back against Trump's authoritarian power grab. And hear ways to take action.

RSVP here.

You can also just watch live on the Working Families Party's YouTube page.

Messaging! Messaging! Messaging!

Fair Share America just came out with a great messaging document for this phase of the reconciliation process. I recommend the whole thing, but the toplines are:

Topline Talking Points

• Gutting federal programs that help working families isn't a necessity, it’s a choice that Republican lawmakers are making in order to fund more tax breaks for billionaires.

• Any cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start or other vital programs could be avoided by allowing tax cuts for the rich to expire at the end of the year.

• These cuts have nothing to do with efficiency, they are cuts to benefits plain and simple.

  • At least 13 million Americans will lose their coverage due to cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

  • Health care costs will skyrocket for 20 million Americans – by an average of $700 per year – by failing to extend ACA tax credits.

  • While Ag text isn’t officially out at this moment, estimates show that1.2 million veterans, 4.8 million seniors, and 14.6 million childrencould go hungry due to cuts to food assistance / SNAP

• These cuts aren’t about fiscal responsibility, this budget would still increase the deficit.

  • Republicans are still looking to hand the very rich and corporations at least $4.5 trillion in tax giveaways.

All cuts could be avoided by simply asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share, just like everyday Americans do. It comes down to priorities.

Meet a Great Candidate!

May 13, 2025 at 7 pm ET – Sister District Fireside Chat: A Conversation with Mallory McMorrow

Join Sister District for a conversation with Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow about her new book Hate Won’t Win: Find Your Power and Leave this place Better Than you Found It.

In this urgent expansion of her viral speech, Michigan Senator Mallory McMorrow details her unlikely journey into politics with a front-row seat to democracy at its breaking point—then outlines the tangible, proven steps that anyone can take to build community, fight for what’s right, and create real, lasting change. Hate Won’t Win is a step-by-step guide for anyone who’s fed up with the divisiveness in American politics, and anyone who wants to make a real difference but has no idea where to start—a blueprint for creating the communities and country we want to see.

The conversation will be moderated by Sarah Curmi, Executive Director of Sister District. There will be ample time for audience Q&A.

RSVP here.

Give Thanks—and/or Money?

Newark Mayor Ras Bakara got arrested for essentially accompanying Democratic lawmakers to an inspection of a new ICE detention facility in his town. He’s been fighting the opening of this facility for months, doing the right thing at great personal risk. It would be nice to see him rewarded for it.

Please consider either making a donation to his gubernatorial campaign hereor sending him a note of thanks here. Or both! [H/T Rogan's List ]

Win Races!

Postcards to Voters has launched new quick-turnaround campaigns for elections happening in Pennsylvania: a Lehighton School Board slate and candidate Todd Pousley. The elections for both are on May 20th. You can request addresses using the instructions found here. Please help if you can!

Hit the Streets!

Remember to invite 5 friends to your local June 14 “No Kings” event! (www.NoKings.org )

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Coleman Rogers] [Text SIGN PMHAXV to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

Masked ICE agents breaking into a home without warrants. A Fulbright scholar kidnapped by ICE for writing an editorial. ICE snatching a mother from her breastfeeding infant. ICE slamming a 16 year old's face into the pavement while snatching the parent. And now: The MAYOR of Newark has been arrested "for trespassing" OUTSIDE the gates of a building in his City-- a building illegally housing people in a dangerous structure with no Certificate of Occupancy?

Suddenly every day we hear of ICE violating the law and committing acts of cruelty and violence that are most like the injustices that lead people to seek asylum here. When will this stop? Will you wait till the Trump regime sends ICE against a member of Congress?

It's time to STOP illegal kidnappings and detentions. Rein in ICE. Cut its funding. Speak out for due process. It's time to make this stop. You can do something. History will remember you in disgrace and ignominy if you do not.