Showing posts with label CENSORSHIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CENSORSHIP. Show all posts

Friday, April 3, 2026

Brandon Carr, Project 2025, and the age of censorship

                                                      

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Last November, Donald fulfilled a critical element of Project 2025 by elevating Brandon Carr as chair of the FCC.


And under his rule, Carr, the architect of the FCC section of Project 2025, is eviscerating our media landscape — and our access to the truth.


As chair, he’s investigated Disney, ABC, CBS, NBC News for being mean to his boss — which is to say reporting facts about Donald.


Of course, Fox and other legacy conservative outlets have been left untouched because they’re an asset to the regime.


But friend, their message to journalists couldn’t be clearer: Speak out, and you’ll be placed under federal investigation at best


Brandon Carr, Donald, and all his sycophants are rushing us headlong into the age of censorship. As the Trump regime increasingly attacks, investigates, and arrests journalists, the need to support independent voices is essential.


Mary Trump Media is committed to fighting this censorship on the frontlines to bring truth to the American people. Amplify our work and support our independent reporting today.


Project 2025 is being implemented like clockwork — and suppressing our dissent by burying the truth is one of their chief tactics.


But friend, we refuse to be intimidated into silence. And that’s a promise.


— Mary Trump Media


Sunday, February 1, 2026

Can you think of a friend who would like More Perfect Union?

        

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Earlier this week, billionaire David Ellison took ownership of TikTok with the blessing of the White House.

Ellison is a budding mogul whose company, Skydance, also just took over CBS News, where he installed pro-Trump figures in leadership positions. These leaders killed a 60 Minutes story that outlined detainee abuses in a deportation facility.

Since Ellison took over TikTok, progressives have reported that certain words -- including “Epstein” -- appear to be blocked, and that view counts have plunged for pro-Palestinian or anti-ICE voices.

At the same time, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced a tidal wave of layoffs at the Washington Post on the heels of Amazon spending $75 million to release a fluffy documentary about Melania Trump.

TikTok claimed that its outage was due to a data center going offline during this weekend’s snowstorm. I don’t know if that’s true.

Here’s what we do know: More Perfect Union has 1.2 million TikTok followers. But we aren’t wed to any particular platform. We’ve earned millions of followers across YouTubeTwitter/XFacebookInstagramSubstackThreadsBluesky and LinkedIn… we were even posting on Rumble for a while.

The thing is, every single one of these platforms relies to some degree on an algorithm that connects us to our audience. And if billionaires like David Ellison or Mark Zuckerberg tweak an algorithm against us, it can become a barrier between us and our audience.

That’s why it was so important to More Perfect Union to build an audience on email when we started. Email is part of the older, pre-algorithm internet. So we can make sure our videos always reach you.

But we need your help. If there’s someone in your life who you know likes our videos (or who would like our videos), forward them this message and ask them to sign up to get our reports in their email inboxes.

If someone forwarded this to you, click here to sign up to get More Perfect Union’s reporting in your inbox.

SIGN UP HERE!

In solidarity,

-Faiz

Faiz Shakir, Co-Founder
More Perfect Union

P.S. Billionaires like David Ellison have endless budgets to sell their side of the story. To make sure working people are seen and heard, we count on donations from people like you. If you can, we’d be honored by your donation.


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Saturday, December 27, 2025

Important Friday Night Update

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Important Friday Night Update


Good evening everyone. What a week it has been, and what an unsettling moment we find ourselves living through. Over the past several days I have been reflecting deeply on something that I believe is not only happening right now, but accelerating. It is something many Americans feel instinctively but may not yet have fully named or understood. The constant chaos of the news cycle is no accident. It is a strategy. When information is overwhelming, when headlines are relentless, when outrage replaces understanding, people become confused. They scramble to figure out what is real, what matters, and what deserves their attention.

This tactic is often described as flooding the zone. When everything is urgent, nothing is. When every story screams for attention, the most important truths quietly slip away. I do not believe this has ever been clearer than it has been this week, especially as we now have major media companies self-censoring themselves to please the White House. Simply put: it terrifies me.

And this is where I want to pause for a moment, because it directly connects to why this conversation matters. I will never self censor my reporting, and I will never cave to pressure from the The White House or any administration. If a story is true and in the public interest, I will report it, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes people in power. That kind of journalism only survives when readers choose to support it, which is why subscribing and staying engaged truly matters. Independence is not a slogan. It is a choice that has to be backed every single day. Subscribe today if you can.

Just days ago, a deeply troubling revelation surfaced and then almost immediately began to vanish from mainstream discussion. CBS News made the decision to censor its own reporting. Let that sink in. A major American news organization chose to withhold information from the American public, not because it was unverified, not because it was inaccurate, but because it was uncomfortable.

The story involved conditions at CECOT, a massive detention facility that has become a symbol of extreme incarceration practices. The public was supposed to see a documentary that examined what is happening there. Instead, Americans were shielded from it. The documentary was completed. It existed. It simply was not shown to the audience it was meant for.

The only reason we even know about this act of self censorship is because the documentary aired outside of the United States, specifically in Canada. That fact alone should stop every journalist, every editor, and every citizen in their tracks. This is not how a free press operates. This is not how a healthy democracy functions.

Self censorship of this nature is something we associate with authoritarian regimes. It is what happens when power fears accountability and when institutions decide that the public cannot be trusted with the truth. It is not supposed to happen here. The idea that it did happen here should alarm every American, regardless of political affiliation.

And yet, instead of sustained coverage, instead of national outrage, the story is already fading. It is being replaced by the next breaking headline, the next manufactured controversy, the next distraction designed to keep us moving and never looking back.

At the same time, another story of enormous consequence is quietly being pushed aside. The Epstein files, which implicate systems of power and raise urgent questions about accountability, are increasingly being treated as old news. Coverage is being softened. Updates are becoming less frequent. Language is being diluted. As the holiday season approaches, many major media companies appear content to let the story slowly disappear.

This is not accidental either.

Modern media thrives on immediacy. It thrives on clicks, on urgency, on the constant promise of something new. Long term investigations are expensive. Sustained outrage is inconvenient. Justice takes time, and time does not trend well in a 24 hour news cycle. So stories like these are allowed to wither, not because they are resolved, but because they are no longer profitable.

As a journalist, this terrifies me.

It terrifies me because the consequences are real. When a major network can suppress its own reporting without national backlash, it sets a precedent. When stories about abuse, corruption, and exploitation are allowed to fade before accountability is achieved, it sends a clear message to those in power. Wait it out. The public will move on.

I refuse to move on.

When it comes to the Epstein files and the survivors whose lives were shattered, this is not just another headline. It is not seasonal content. It is not something to be conveniently forgotten once decorations go up and attention shifts elsewhere. My coverage is for the survivors. It is for those who were silenced, dismissed, or ignored for years. It is for those who were told that the truth was too uncomfortable to confront.

I will not stop covering this story. I will not stop asking questions. I will not stop demanding accountability. Justice does not expire, and it does not take holidays.

We are at a moment when Americans must decide what kind of country we want to be. One where truth is filtered and rationed, or one where it is confronted honestly, even when it is disturbing. One where media organizations act as gatekeepers for power, or one where they serve the public without fear.

This week has shown us how fragile that line has become. And if we are not paying attention now, we may wake up one day and realize it is gone.



Saturday, December 6, 2025

Important End of Week Message

 

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Important End of Week Message

Censorship and attacks from those in power are ramping up, and it's reaching a boiling point one year into the Trump Administration.

Good evening, everyone, and Happy Friday. This week has brought a whirlwind of events, but beneath all the chaos, two developments in particular deserve our attention: the White House’s launch of a media bias tracker—and a public submission tool encouraging people to report journalists directly to the administration—and a noticeable escalation in content suppression on platforms like TikTok. In just the past week, several of my videos have been censored, including one today about Jeffrey Epstein. These actions, happening simultaneously across government and major tech platforms, signal a troubling shift for independent reporting.

Before I continue, if you can, please consider subscribing. If you value independent journalism and want to help ensure my reporting continues despite increasing censorship, this is the best way to do so, especially as we launch major projects heading into the new year. Your support allows me to keep covering stories that powerful institutions would often prefer remain unseen—and it helps protect this platform from being quietly throttled or silenced.

In the past week, the White House unveiled its new media bias tracker on the official government website. Alongside it, the administration launched a tool encouraging the public to submit journalists for review—effectively creating an official channel for naming and targeting members of the press. This marks a significant and unprecedented shift in how the executive branch positions itself toward journalists.

Meanwhile, social media platforms have been tightening control over content, especially material deemed politically sensitive or controversial. As I’ve experienced firsthand, posts can disappear without warning, be restricted in reach, or be flagged for vague policy violations. It’s happening fast, and it’s happening more often.

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the oldest press association in the country, responded forcefully. This week, the organization sent a letter to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt demanding the immediate removal of the media bias page.

“This practice raises serious press-freedom concerns, heightens the risk of harassment or harm to reporters and mirrors tactics used by authoritarian governments abroad,” SPJ stated. “It also undermines the respectful, accountable relationship that should exist between the nation’s highest office and the free press.”

While journalists should be held to high standards, the SPJ warned that government-run pages labeling reporters’ work as “lies,” “left-wing lunacy,” or “malpractice” cross a critical line.

“By publishing reporters’ names, outlets and specific stories, the White House is naming and shaming members of the press in a highly charged political and social environment,” the letter continues. Such actions, they argue, create a chilling effect and expose reporters to harassment, threats, and even potential violence.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a leading global advocate for press freedom, also condemned the administration’s move, calling it an intentional effort to undermine independent reporting in the United States.

“This latest move from the Trump administration should be a wakeup call to Americans that their tax dollars are being used to suppress, rather than encourage, freedom of speech,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator. “This type of behavior is more in line with an authoritarian regime and has no place in a democracy.”

We are at a pivotal moment. Misinformation and polarization already strain our information ecosystem, and when both government and tech platforms begin restricting or discrediting journalism, the consequences reach far beyond any single reporter or outlet. A free press is not just a democratic ideal—it is a safeguard for truth, transparency, and accountability.

The warning signs are here. The question now is whether we will recognize and respond to them before these pressures on the press become the new normal.

You’re currently a free subscriber to the Parnas Perspective. For the full experience, more content, and to support Aaron, upgrade your subscription.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

WaPo Censored This Ad Urging Trump to Fire Musk—See It Here

 

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This week, news broke that The Washington Post backed out of a signed agreement to run a $115,000 ad calling on Trump to fire Elon Musk.

The ad, funded by Common Cause and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, was set to wrap around the front and back pages of the Tuesday edition—distributed to Congress, the Pentagon, and the White House.

The newspaper had even provided the groups with sample artwork to guide their design. And what was the sample? A recently published pro-Trump ad praising Trump’s promise to roll back electric vehicle mandates.

Yet, just days before publication, the Post abruptly pulled the ad without explanation.

See the ad The Washington Post refused to run—then chip in $25 so COURIER can expand its fearless, independent journalism.

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Let’s be clear: this isn’t about advertising standards. The Post had no problem running a front-page wrap praising Trump for his electric vehicle rollback.

The difference? That ad didn’t run the risk of offending Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

At a moment in American history when we desperately need The Washington Post to be the fearless, truth-telling institution it once was—the paper that boldly declared "Democracy Dies in Darkness"—it’s bending over backward to curry favor with the Trump administration—and to protect Jeff Bezos’ bottom line:

  • The Post killed its presidential endorsement for the first time in 40 years.
  • Jeff Bezos sat front-row at Trump’s inauguration alongside Musk and others.
  • A Washington Post cartoonist resigned after the paper killed a sketch that satirized tech moguls like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos for bowing to Trump.
  • Now, his paper is protecting Elon Musk—pulling a signed $115,000 ad calling for Trump to fire him just days before publication.

This is what a captured press looks like.

The Washington Post’s decision isn’t just about one ad. It’s about who controls what Americans see, hear, and understand. When the press is afraid to hold power accountable, democracy dies.

COURIER exists to fight back, reaching the millions of Americans legacy media have left behind.

But as more billionaires and corporations fold to Trump and Musk, we need your help to grow.

If you believe in fearless journalism that refuses to back down, please chip in $25 now.

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In solidarity,
The COURIER Team


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Saturday, January 25, 2025

Week in Review | 'A Coronation of Our Country's Descent Into Oligarchy'

 

Saturday, January 25, 2025

■ The Week in Review


'Unthinkable': Trump FTC Chair Shuts Down Public Comments on Corporate Pricing Tactics

"Chairman Ferguson could have done any number of things to actually lower the cost of living and create opportunities for American businesses and workers," said one Democratic FTC commissioner. "He did none of them."

By Jake Johnson • Jan 24, 2025



Trump USDA Pick Backs Mass Deportations and 'Ready to Bow to Corporate Interests'

"As usual, President Trump appears more concerned with buoying business interests than reforming our broken system to deliver safe, affordable food," one advocate said.

By Olivia Rosane • Jan 23, 2025


In her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate on Thursday, President Donald Trump's agriculture secretary nominee Brooke Rollins expressed support for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, work requirements for federal food aid, and a law that would prohibit states from passing independent regulations of agricultural products.

Her testimony sparked concern from food justice and sustainable agriculture advocates, who said her lack of agricultural experience and pro-corporate worldview would harm farmworkers, animals, public health, and families in need.

"Rollins, as secretary of agriculture, will be a serious setback for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities already burdened by extreme weather events; livestock disease outbreaks; challenges in accessing land, capital, and new markets; food insecure families who rely on federal assistance to reach their nutritional needs; and for small and family farms being squeezed out by powerful food and agriculture corporations," Nichelle Harriott, policy director at Health, Environment, Agriculture, Labor (HEAL) Food Alliance, said in a statement.

"Her history demonstrates a disregard for and lack of commitment to supporting Black, Indigenous, and other farmers and ranchers of color, as well as small and family farmers, farmworkers, and the working people who sustain our food system."

Rollins, who testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry at 10:00 am Eastern Time on Thursday, was a surprise choice to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for many agricultural groups as well as other members of the Trump team. While she grew up on a farm in Texas, participated in the 4-H and Future Farmers of America, and earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural development from Texas A&M University in 1994, her career diverged from the agricultural world once she graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. She worked for then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry, served under the first Trump administration in the White House Office of American Innovation and then as acting director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council, and co-founded the right-wing America First Policy Institute think tank after 2020.

"Essentially, in more than three decades, Rollins has never had a job solely focused on food and agriculture policy," Karen Perry Stillerman, director in the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), wrote in a blog post ahead of Rollins' hearing.

One statement that particularly concerned food and agriculture justice campaigners was Rollins' support for the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act. This act would repeal California's Proposition 12, which bans the sale in the state of pork, veal, or eggs from animals "confined in a cruel manner." It would also prevent other states from passing similar laws and is backed by agribusiness lobby firms like the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, and the Farm Bureau.

"Brooke Rollins is a well established Trump loyalist, ready to bow to corporate interests on Day One. Her endorsement of the EATS Act signals the dangerous pro-corporate agenda she appears ready to bring USDA, if confirmed to lead the key agency," Food & Water Watch senior food policy analyst Rebecca Wolf said in a statement.

"The USDA has massive leverage in shaping our food system, but, as usual, President Trump appears more concerned with buoying business interests than reforming our broken system to deliver safe, affordable food," Wolf continued. "Congress must stand up to Trump's corporate cronies and their dangerous legislation. That means stopping the EATS Act, which threatens to exacerbate consolidation in the agriculture sector and drive an archaic race to the bottom in which consumers, animals, and our environment lose out to enormous profit-grubbing corporations."

During the hearing, senators questioned Rollins on how her USDA would handle key aspects of Trump's agenda that are likely to impact farmers. His planned 25% tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada could lead to retaliation from those countries that would block U.S. access to their markets, as happened with China in 2018.

Rollins said that the administration was prepared to give aid to farmers as it did during Trump's first term.

"What we've heard from our farmers and ranchers over and over again is they want to be able to do the work. They want to be able to export. They don't want to solve this problem by getting aid," Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) responded.

Rollins answered that she would also work to expand access to agricultural markets.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), meanwhile, raised the question of how Trump's USDA would respond to his plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, given that around 40% of U.S. farmworkers are undocumented.

"The president's vision of a secure border and a mass deportation at a scale that matters is something I support," Rollins answered. "My commitment is to help President Trump deploy his agenda in an effective way, while at the same time defending, if confirmed secretary of agriculture, our farmers and ranchers across this country... And so having both of those, which you may argue is in conflict, but having both of those is key priorities."

Another major policy area that Rollins would oversee as agriculture secretary is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly referred to as food stamps. SNAP makes up the bulk of federal spending in the Farm Bill, which has been delayed as Congress debates both nutrition and work requirements for the program, according to The Texas Tribune. While most SNAP recipients are already required to work unless they have child- or eldercare responsibilities, lawmakers are debating stricter requirements.

Rollins told senators that she thought work requirements were "important."

In her pre-hearing article, UCS's Stillerman also expressed concerns about Rollins' history of climate denial and marriage to the president of an oil exploration company.

"In 2018, then-White House aide Rollins told participants at a right-wing energy conference that 'we know the research of CO2 being a pollutant is just not valid'—a perspective that is extreme even in the Trump era," she wrote.

Further, Stillerman noted Rollins' history of repeating "hateful and dangerous conspiracy theories," in particular about Democrats, left-wing organizations, and movements for women's and Black rights.

"Given her apparent antipathy for social justice movements, I have to wonder what Rollins thinks about the 66 recommendations made in early 2024 by the USDA Equity Commission to address a long history of racial discrimination and level the playing field for farmers of all kinds," Stillerman wrote.

After the hearing, Harriott of HEAL Food Alliance said: "Our food and farming communities deserve leadership that champions the needs of everyone, regardless of where we live or what we look like. The next secretary of agriculture must ensure that all farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, and food system workers have the resources they need to thrive."

"Unfortunately, despite her testimony today, Brooke Rollins lacks the agricultural expertise required to effectively lead the USDA. Her history demonstrates a disregard for and lack of commitment to supporting Black, Indigenous, and other farmers and ranchers of color, as well as small and family farmers, farmworkers, and the working people who sustain our food system," Harriott continued.

In the case that Rollins is confirmed, Harriott called on her to "prioritize disaster relief for farmers facing climate-related disruptions; invest in small farms and those practicing traditional, cultural, and ecological farming methods; ensure protections for food and farmworkers; and safeguard vital nutrition programs like SNAP to reduce hunger nationwide."



Warren Tells DOGE Chair Musk How to Cut $2 Trillion in a Decade

The Massachusetts Democrat has proposals on healthcare programs, Pentagon contracts, tax reform, and more.

By Jessica Corbett • Jan 23, 2025

While U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has faced intense criticism and even multiple lawsuits, some progressive groups and lawmakers are also engaging, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday.

When Trump announced DOGE in November, he said the presidential advisory commission would work to "slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." Warren (D-Mass.) on Thursday detailed 30 proposals that would cut at least $2 trillion of government spending over the next decade.

In a lengthy letter to the chair of DOGE, billionaire Elon Musk, that was first reported by Time, Warren highlighted that "you have publicly called for sizable cuts in funding—from $500 billion in annual spending to 'at least' $2 trillion in cuts to federal spending—although recently, you said you may not actually be able to meet that goal."

"I have very serious concerns about both the DOGE process and the policies that you have publicly discussed to date," she wrote. "With regard to process, as I raised in a still-unanswered letter to President-elect Trump regarding Mr. Musk sent on December 16, 2024, it is not clear that you and other DOGE leaders are able to identify and mitigate your conflicts of interest and adhere to commonsense ethics standards. As a result, the committee appears to be a venue for corruption, allowing well-connected billionaires to put government policies in place that enrich them while hurting ordinary Americans."

"I am disturbed by the dangerous proposals you have discussed and released to date: proposals from you and your allies to cut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans' benefits, and other programs."

"With regard to policy, I am disturbed by the dangerous proposals you have discussed and released to date: proposals from you and your allies to cut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans' benefits, and other programs that tens of millions of Americans count on and rely on are unrealistic and cruel. It would be outrageous to cut these programs in the name of government thriftiness while handing out trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations," she continued. "But, your broad point—that the federal government spends trillions of dollars on wasteful spending is correct. And if you are serious about working together in good faith to cut government spending—in a way that does not harm the middle class—I have proposals for your consideration."

The letter features several recommendations to cut spending at the U.S. Department of Defense, which has never passed an audit. Specifically, it says: negotiate better contracts, recreate a renegotiation board to challenge excess profits, stop using the military to perform civilian jobs, end corporate welfare for Pentagon contractors and foreign governments, instruct the agency to stop gaming the budget process, boost energy efficiency and industry competition, tackle repair restrictions on military equipment, and "avert wasteful government spending on plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site."

Warren also has suggestions for federal healthcare programs, such as curbing taxpayer abuse by Medicare Advantage insurers, engaging in more Medicare negotiations to lower prescription drug costs, supporting efforts to crack down on pharmacy benefit managers, quashing patent abuses by the pharmaceutical industry, exercising march-in rights to reduce medication prices, breaking up conglomerates, and keeping private equity out of the industry.

To save on education, the senator called for eliminating or reducing funding for the federal Charter Schools Program and making for-profit colleges ineligible for federal grant aid. On the taxation front, she advised fully funding the Internal Revenue Service as well as clawing back tax expenditures and closing loopholes for the wealthy.

Her letter further suggests keeping the federal government's cloud and other information technology markets competitive, reducing waste in unnecessary federal arrests and detention programs, and working with the Government Accountability Office, inspector general offices, and other watchdogs "to detect and combat fraud, waste, and abuse."

"DOGE's agenda has focused on limiting the size of the federal government to increase efficiency and save taxpayer dollars. As the list above indicates, there are many opportunities for identifying savings that would not hurt the middle class, and that would eliminate wasteful special interest spending," Warren wrote. "But focusing solely on cutting federal budgets is myopic and counterproductive, and misses key ways in which the government can cut costs for ordinary Americans, saving them billions of dollars."

"For example, the federal government should continue its efforts to target abusive surprise fees charged by businesses across the economy," she noted, pointing to rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) targeting "junk fees."

Empowering the U.S. Department of Justice and the FTC "to break up monopolies and ensure competition would have extraordinary benefits for families," the senator wrote. She also argued that "DOGE should ensure that federal agency contracts do not create monopolies that can hike prices for small businesses and consumers indefinitely."

"By making the tax code fairer, DOGE recommendations could provide a roadmap for additional government revenues that could be used for important investments or to cut the deficit," she added, spotlighting the anticipated benefits of ending tax breaks and loopholes for offshoring jobs and profits, raising the corporate tax rate and the corporate alternative minimum tax rate, and enacting her "Ultra-Millionaire Tax."

"In the interest of taking aggressive, bipartisan action to ensure sustainable spending, protect taxpayer dollars, curb abusive practices by giant corporations, and improve middle-class Americans' quality of life," Warren concluded, "I would be happy to work with you on these matters."

Warren's letter followed an MSNB Cop-ed that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote in December, offering Musk some recommendations, and a report that the watchdog Public Citizen released earlier this month identifying "what an efficiency agenda based on evidence, not ideology, would include," in the words of the group's co-president, Robert Weissman, who has formally requested to join DOGE to serve as a voice "for the interests of consumers and the public."

While some of Warren, Khanna, and Public Citizen's proposals could win bipartisan support, many would likely be met with strong resistance from the Trump White House and Republican-controlled Congress. As Time put it, "Her missive might do more to make a point than spur an improbable collaboration."



Senate Dems Block 'Deliberately Misleading' GOP Bill Attacking Reproductive Care

"This bill is the very definition of pernicious: It attacks women's healthcare using false narratives and outright fearmongering," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

By Jessica Corbett • Jan 22, 2025

U.S. Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked from a final vote a Republican bill that, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, made clear that under newly sworn-in President Donald Trump, "it will be a golden age, but for the extreme, anti-choice movement."

"This bill is the very definition of pernicious: It attacks women's healthcare using false narratives and outright fearmongering, and adds more legal risk for doctors on something that is already illegal," Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the chamber's floor before senators voted 52-47 along party lines, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the so-called Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 6) to a final vote.

Introduced by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), S. 6 would "prohibit a healthcare practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion," under the threat of fines and up to five years in prison. Healthcare professionals and rights advocates have condemned the legislation as deeply misleading.

"So much of the hard-right's anti-choice agenda is pushed, frankly, by people who have little to no understanding of what women go through when they are pregnant," said Schumer. "The scenario targeted by this bill is one of the most heartbreaking moments that a woman could ever encounter, the agonizing choice of having to end care when serious and rare complications arise in pregnancy. And at that moment of agony, this bill cruelly substitutes the judgment of qualified medical professionals, and the wishes of millions of families, and allows ultraright ideology to dictate what they do."

After honoring Cecile Richards, a longtime Planned Parenthood leader who died earlier this week, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Wednesday that "of all the bills that we could be voting on—lowering the cost of healthcare, expanding childcare, helping our families—it's an absolute disgrace that Republicans are spending their first week in power attacking women, criminalizing doctors, and lying about abortion."

"This isn't how abortion works; Republicans know it," stressed Murray, a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. "All babies are already protected under the law, regardless of the circumstance of their birth. Doctors already have a legal obligation to provide appropriate medical care. And we already know this sham bill from Republicans is not going anywhere."

"Last time we voted down this bill, I actually spoke about something Republicans refuse to acknowledge in this debate: the struggles, the struggles of a pregnant woman, who has received tragic news that her baby had a fatal medical condition and would not be able to survive, and who were able to make the choice that was right for their family," she noted. "But now, here we are, already hearing stories of women who were denied that choice by extreme Republican abortion bans."

Wednesday's vote fell on the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affirmed abortion rights nationwide—until it was reversed by right-wing justices in 2022, with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which provoked a fresh wave of state-level restrictions on reproductive freedom.

"It's no accident that congressional Republicans used the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a watershed case for liberty, equality, and bodily autonomy, to vote on a bill that perpetuates myths about abortion care, shames the people who seek that care, and vilifies those who provide it," said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center, in a statement.

"A majority of the electorate continues to support abortion rights and access," she noted. "Americans have seen the results of the Supreme Court's unjust and callous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade—from abortion bans forcing people to travel across state lines to access the care they need to pregnant people being denied care and even dying to an exodus of doctors that is exacerbating the existing maternal health crisis we face—and they reject restrictive abortion policies. That's why anti-abortion advocates must rely on disinformation like this bill to further their extreme agenda."

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, also highlighted the country's sweeping healthcare crisis in her Wednesday statement about Republicans' failed bill.

"This bill is deliberately misleading and offensive to pregnant people, and the doctors and nurses who provide their care," she said. "At a time when we are facing a national abortion access crisis, lawmakers should be focused on how to bring more care to the communities they serve, not spending their time spreading misinformation, criminalizing doctors, and inserting themselves further into medical decisions made by healthcare professionals."

"This bill is not based in any reality of how medical care works," she added, "and it's wrong, irresponsible, and dangerous to suggest otherwise."

As the GOP works to restrict reproductive rights, advocacy groups are determined to fight back. All* Above All marked the Roe anniversary by releasing an Abortion Justice Playbook that the organization's president, Nourbese Flint, said "is our blueprint for a future where abortion access is equitable, universal, and free from discrimination."



Trump Orders Federal Health Agencies to Suspend Advisories, Scientific Reports

"Officials in sane and scientific states must band together to report data on their own," said one journalist.

By Julia Conley • Jan 22, 2025


"The censorship begins," said one public health expert as the Trump administration directed federal health agencies to suspend all external communications, like those that have updated people across the U.S. in recent weeks amid outbreaks of Covid-19, influenza, and norovirus.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening that administration officials delivered the directive to staff members at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The agencies operate under the Health and Human Services Department (HHS), which President Donald Trump has nominated vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead. Kennedy has signaled that if confirmed he would purge the ranks of the FDA and change federal vaccine guidelines, including potentially limiting or eliminating the CDC's program that provides free immunizations to uninsured and underinsured children.

The pause on external communications will be in place for an indeterminate amount of time, according to the Post, and applies to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) compiled by the CDC. The epidemiological record includes "timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations" for healthcare professionals and the public.

During the last year of Trump's first term, as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country, HHS officials denounced the MMWR as "hit pieces on the administration" and pushed to delay and prevent the CDC from releasing new information about the pandemic that didn't align with the White House's views.

While changes to the operations and communications of federal health agencies after a new administration enters the White House are "not unprecedented," said epidemiologist Ali Khan, the MMWR "should never go dark."

The health agencies were instructed to halt communications about public health as the news media reported on a so-called "quad-demic" of four viruses that have been circulating for several weeks across the country.

CDC data shows that the spread of influenza A, Covid-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is "high" or "very high," and norovirus cases have been rising in recent weeks.

The country is also facing an "ongoing multi-state outbreak" of the H5N1 avian flu among dairy cattle, with 67 total human cases also reported during the current outbreak.

The CDC had been scheduled to publish three MMWR updates this week on H5N1 when the new directive was announced.

The Post reported that it was unclear whether the ban on external communications would apply to reports of new avian flu cases or foodborne illness outbreaks.

Journalist Jeff Jarvis said Trump's new policy will give way to "forced ignorance on health data" and called on officials "in sane and scientific states" to continue reporting public health information on their own.

The suspension of external communications will apply to website updates and social media posts, advisories that the CDC sends to clinicians about public health incidents, and data releases from the National Center for Health Statistics, according to the Post.

"Asking health agencies to pause all external communications is NOT typical protocol for administration changes," said Lucky Tran, director of science communication at Columbia University. "Generally website updates, disease case counts, and other typical day-to-day work continues."

Tran noted that during his first term, Trump officials halted external communications for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department.

"In their second term," he said, "they appear to be targeting health agencies too."



'Incredibly Brave' Bishop Asks Trump to Halt Attacks on Immigrants, Trans People

"I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away," said the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde.

By Julia Conley • Jan 21, 2025



Trump Rescinds Biden Order Aimed at Lowering Prescription Drug Prices

"Trump is again proving that he lied to the American people and doesn't care about lowering costs—only what's best for himself and his ultra-rich friends."

By Jake Johnson • Jan 21, 2025

As part of a flurry of executive actions on the first day of his second White House term, President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded an order signed by his predecessor that aimed to develop programs to lower prescription drug prices in the United States—where residents pay far more for medications than people in peer countries.

News of Trump's rollback of Executive Order 14087—titled Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans—was buried amid dozens of other rescissions the president ordered shortly following his inauguration.

The decision to scrap Executive Order 14087 brings to a halt several pilot programs undertaken by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, including an experiment that involved offering generic medications for a $2 copay to Medicare Part D recipients.

"This act is a good indication of how Trump will approach lower drug prices," Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, wrote in response to Trump's rescission of President Joe Biden's executive order.

Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, added that "the big question, which Trump hasn't addressed yet, is what he’ll do with government negotiation of drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act."

Just days before Trump took office, the Biden administration announced a fresh slate of 15 medications set to be subject to direct price negotiations between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies, many of which have sued over the negotiation program—thus far unsuccessfully.

Reuters reported last week that the powerful pharmaceutical lobby has been pushing Trump's team to back changes to the Inflation Reduction Act that would weaken the price-negotiation provisions.

"Donald Trump is already following through on his dangerous plans to jack up the costs of drugs to appease his billionaire backers after the Biden-Haris administration took on Big Pharma and won," Alex Floyd, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. "Trump is again proving that he lied to the American people and doesn't care about lowering costs—only what's best for himself and his ultra-rich friends."

Responding more broadly to the president's day-one wave of unilateral actions—which included attacks on immigrants and the climate—Working Families Party national director Maurice Mitchell said Tuesday that "Trump's flood of executive orders is just a cheap spectacle meant to distract us while his administration moves to gut our healthcare and SNAP benefits."

"Immigrant families aren't the reason we can't afford eggs or prescription drugs; billionaire CEOs are," Mitchell added.



Lemkin Institute Issues 'Red Flag Alert for Genocide' After Musk's Nazi Salutes

"Trans people, refugees, and migrants are not the threats," the group said. "The billionaires with close ties to our new president who flash the Nazi salute and seek to replace the old elites with a new caste—that is the real threat to America."

By Jake Johnson • Jan 21, 2025

A group named after the Polish-born lawyer of Jewish descent who coined the term genocide issued a "red flag alert" for the United States on Monday after billionaire Elon Musk—a top ally of President Donald Trump—twice flashed what was widely seen as a Nazi salute during a post-inauguration event.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Studies and Prevention said that "Musk's act is a frightening signal of things to come" and rejected the notion that the billionaire's gestures were unintentional.

"In light of Musk's important influence on the new administration," the group said in a statement, "the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is issuing a Red Flag Alert for genocide in the United States."

The Lemkin Institute urged Americans to "respond with critical thinking" to any suggestion that Musk's salutes were merely awkward or odd-looking—but ultimately benign—expressions of enthusiasm.

"Is it possible that any person—especially in South Africa (where support for Nazism was very strong) or the USA (where the History Channel has introduced almost all but the youngest generations to the Nazi salute)—is unaware of this salute or what it means?" the group asked. "It is almost impossible that this was an unfortunate mistake. Finally, can we really believe that someone who is so often in the public eye would risk an arm gesture—twice—that looks almost exactly like the Nazi salute while he is supposedly celebrating Donald Trump's election to president? We strongly believe that Elon Musk's gesture was intentional. We will be happy to be proven wrong."

"Musk's Hitler salute cannot and must not be swept under the rug. The U.S. press, cowed as it has been under President Biden, cannot be trusted to cover the new president's administration with any backbone or honesty. It is up to the American people to defend the Constitution and this country's core values against all threats," the organization continued. "Trans people, refugees, and migrants are not the threats. The billionaires with close ties to our new president who flash the Nazi salute and seek to replace the old elites with a new caste—that is the real threat to America."

Musk's salutes drew widespread alarm, including from public officials in Europe—where Musk has attempted to boost far-right parties.

"Such a gesture, given his already known proximity to right-wing populists in the fascist tradition, must worry every democrat," German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wrote in response.

Far-right extremists, for their part, celebrated Musk's gestures, which they appear to have had no trouble interpreting.

As Rolling Stone reported, "The Proud Boys Ohio chapter posted a clip of the Musk video to its Telegram channel with the text, 'Hail Trump!'"



'WTF?' World Reacts to Trump's Vow of US Expansionism

One former Swedish prime minister called the Republican president's pledge to grow U.S. territory "a recipe for global instability."

By Brett Wilkins • Jan 20, 2025





'He Is Who We Think He Is': Elon Musk Appears to Do Fascist Salutes at Post-Inauguration Celebration

"Tomorrow we'll get an explanation that it wasn't a Sieg Heil, he was just pantomiming his 'heart going out to the people.' Legacy media will basically accept this explanation. But you know what you saw and you know what he is," wrote one observer.

By Eloise Goldsmith • Jan 20, 2025



Trump Inauguration Dubbed 'A Coronation of Our Country's Descent Into Oligarchy'

"Today marks the beginning of an administration dominated by billionaires and corporate interests."

By Jake Johnson • Jan 20, 2025



Progressives Say "Billionaires' Row" at Inauguration Ceremony Shows True Winners of Trump Agenda

"Trump's White House is government by the billionaires, for the billionaires," said the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

By Jake Johnson • Jan 20, 2025


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■ Opinion


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