Tootfinder

My new post for #HealOurCulture: “Trust and Democracy”
https://healourculture.org/2025/05/15/trust-and-democracy/
Also on Substack:

I’ll be at 3 No Kings events tomorrow — they’re all in Mointain View & Palo Alto, CA. The last one is a democracy fair. Joan Baez will be there & there will be songs. And cake.
https://bsky.app/profile/indivisiblepaplus.bsky.social/post/3lrjvqzruyc23

Indivisible Palo Alto Plus (@indivisiblepaplus.bsky.social)
REMINDER: Our TWO No Kings "We The People" events kick off tomorrow 2pm, with the Democracy Parade at the corner of Embarcadero and El Camino in Palo Alto. At the end of the parade, the "We the People" Democracy Fair begins in Rinconada Park. Register: indivisiblepaloaltoplus.org/no-kings-day

"Comment le boom des milliardaires alimente les inégalités et menace la démocratie."
"Avec une richesse qui se concentre au sommet, l'Europe doit agir maintenant pour défendre la démocratie et la stabilité économique pour tous."
#TaxTheRich #démocratie

Local news matters: hear editors from four thriving outlets share how they’re innovating coverage, building trust, and boosting civic engagement. 📰💡
Thu, Jul 17 @ 7 PM ET. Sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/mediademocracyproject/event/795861/

People in other countries see what America is becoming (Philip Bump/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/13/trump-noem-padilla-democracy-polling/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250614/p15#a250614p15

The Precarious Republic: Understanding the Fascist Threat to Modern Democracies
What if it doesn’t take years, or even months, for a democracy to collapse—but only a few short weeks? The idea that a stable republic could fall in ninety days may seem exaggerated, until you look at the historical record. Then it becomes a haunting possibility. Fascism doesn’t always arrive with fanfare or fire. Sometimes, it walks in through the front door…

Project 2025 isn’t a blueprint, it’s already 40% enacted or completed.
Surviving Trump: With Democracy On Life Support: EPISODE 29: Project 2025 Overview — Dismantling Democracy and Women’s Rights
Episode webpage: https://survivingtrump.buzzsprout.com
Listen

Surviving Trump: With Democracy On Life Support
Surviving Trump is your indispensable guide to navigating the challenges and contradictions of life under the second Trump administration. In the first 20–25 segments we’ll uncover what’s truly at stake: our democracy. You'll deep dive into the ke...

It has been 15 years since 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 began its reign of terror on our democracy.
𝟐𝐎𝐎%-𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 $𝟏𝟎 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 − https://demsdefend.org
In the past 36 hours, our donations for a campaign to pass Amy Klobuchar and Adam Schiff's Constitutional Amendment to ban Dark Money have …

Democrats Defending Democracy

🧵
Local outlets did *much* better than "Big Journalism" covering the #handsoff pro-democracy demonstrations.
Newsroom leaders need to defend democracy from autocracy.
See examples of good (and bad) coverage in our latest blog post.
https://mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/local-news-outlets-show-the-new-york
1/5

I already said it and I will say it again: If you stand with trans people or not, if you will support them without questions and without holding back or if you think of them as acceptable losses, might be the tipping point if we can preserve our democracy — or not.
Acceptance of trans people — or rather the lack of it — is the pond fascists dip their toes in to test the water if we are willing and open to being divided.
1/2

"Inspired by the political philosopher Albert Hirschman, figures including Goff, Thiel and the investor and writer Balaji Srinivasan have been championing what they call “exit” – the principle that those with means have the right to walk away from the obligations of citizenship, especially taxes and burdensome regulation. Retooling and rebranding the old ambitions and privileges of empires, they dream of splintering governments and carving up the world into hyper-capitalist, democracy-free havens under the sole control of the supremely wealthy, protected by private mercenaries, serviced by AI robots and financed by cryptocurrencies."
...
Our opponents know full well that we are entering an age of emergency, but have responded by embracing lethal yet self-serving delusions. Having bought into various apartheid fantasies of bunkered safety, they are choosing to let the Earth burn. Our task is to build a wide and deep movement, as spiritual as it is political, strong enough to stop these unhinged traitors. A movement rooted in a steadfast commitment to one another, across our many differences and divides, and to this miraculous, singular planet."
#OligarchApocalypse #Oligarchy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk

"Trump has to rig everything, from his birthday to political speeches at military bases. He’s a loser who has to fake support.
Go to a #NoKings protest. Show this Administration what democracy looks like and why we refuse to honor a king.
...Demand accountability."
⁠Original post from Katie Phang:

Delegations as Adaptive Representation Patterns: Rethinking Influence in Liquid Democracy
Davide Grossi, Andreas Nitsche
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.09789 h…

Delegations as Adaptive Representation Patterns: Rethinking Influence in Liquid Democracy
Liquid democracy is a mechanism for the division of labor in decision-making through the transitive delegation of influence. In essence, all individuals possess the autonomy to determine the issues with which they will engage directly, while for other matters, they may appoint a representative of their choosing. So far, the literature has studied the delegation structures emerging in liquid democracy as static. As a result, transitivity defined as the capacity to transfer acquired authority to …

🧵
Your support for local journalism supports democracy.
ACTION: use our 2,000 outlet, 50-state local journalism directory to find a good local news outlet. Subscribe and share good information!
http://tiny.cc/LocalDirectory
Support #LocalNews #Journalism
5/5

Santa Barbara's turnout was just one example of the historic nationwide mobilization.
The “No Kings” protest brought millions to the streets in over 2,100 cities and towns across the country.
Organizers stated this movement has exceeded expectations,
uniting citizens to reject authoritarian overreach, defend fundamental freedoms,
and protect vulnerable communities.

Thousands Show Up for 'No Kings' Protest in Santa Barbara
Over a thousand demonstrators lined Cabrillo Blvd Saturday to join the nationwide "No Kings" protest opposing the Trump administration and defending democracy.

Stop Looking for Red Lines. You no Longer Live in a Full Democracy (Ryan Enos/Social Notes)
https://ryandenos.substack.com/p/stop-looking-for-red-lines-you-no
http://www.memeorandum.com/250613/p136#a250613p136

DHS Said to Brief Cleta Mitchell's Group on Citizenship Checks for Voting - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/dhs-said-to-brief-cleta-mitchells-anti-voting-group-on-checking-citizenship-for-voters/

🧵 1 million people, 1,400 events… in support of civil society, decency and democracy.
@… give it a below-the-fold, wide-angle-photo of one event in NC, no headline, directs to single article on A18.
NYT Publisher is a sixth generation media oligarch. Will AG Sulzberger change course?
#Journalism
2/5

Here's a great short article on the unexpected relationship between #CincodeMayo and democracy in the US:
https://www.the74million.org/article/teach

Local outlets captured the event much more accurately and gave it priority coverage.
Covering the pro-democracy movement is not partisan.
Here is one example. See our blog post for many, many, more.
https://mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/local-news-outlets-show-the-new-york

4/

As early as 6 January 2021, Donald Darth #Trump demonstrated his intention to overthrow US democracy. Since being elected president for a second time, he has consistently and brutally pursued this goal at the expense of US citizens.
Darth Trump is a #freebooter.

At the moment I often have to think of Eley's book, that it was not the bourgeoisie that realized what is currently held up as abstract principles, but a left that had to organize itself against the impositions of capitalist society.
https://archive.org/details/forgingdem…

The Barents Observer gets reporting done inside #Russia, even now
https://www.thebarentsobserver.com/democra

🧵
Local outlets captured the protests much more accurately and gave it priority coverage.
Covering the pro-democracy movement is not partisan.
Here are is one example. There are many, many more in our blog post.
#LocalNews #Journalism
4/5

https://www.aclu.org/save

This https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22315 has been replaced.
initial toot: https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_csCY_…

Large Language Models Are Democracy Coders with Attitudes
Current political developments worldwide illustrate that research on democratic backsliding is as important as ever. A recent exchange in Political Science & Politics (2/2024) has highlighted again a fundamental challenge in this literature: the measurement of democracy. With many democracy indicators consisting of subjective assessments rather than factual observations, trends in democracy over time could be due to human biases in the coding of these indicators rather than empirical facts. In …

Editors at Jeff Bezos’s
@… were even more dismissive of the #handsoff pro-democracy movement on 4/6.
More than 1 million Americans expressing their concerns got a tiny box.
The next day, WaPo editors chose to devote half the #FrontPage to a personal achievement - a new hockey scoring leader.
A Putin-supporter who plays in the NHL.
#WaPo
3/5

What is the most important WWII memorial?
Americans: Normandy
The rest of the world: Auschwitz-Birkenau
This, likely, also explains the election of Donald Trump and the general shrug to his demolition of US democracy...
#wwii #ww2

Call your senators and thank them, or not, for their votes.
Contact your Representatives and urge them to reject Trump tariffs.
#Democracy

WEBCAST JUN 12 - Atlantic Council - Why the UN’s Internet Governance Forum still matters twenty years on
#IGF2025
https://isoc.live/19443

[OT] NYT: How will we know when we have lost our democracy? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/opinion/trump-authoritarianism-democracy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KE8.FGmV.1w9_LDeDoILI&am…

Opinion | How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?
And how exactly can we tell whether America has crossed the line?

Is Trump's Birthday Parade a Celebration of the Army or a Funeral Cortege for Democracy? (David Rothkopf/The Daily Beast)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-trumps-birthday-parade-a-celebration-of-the-army-or-a-funeral-cortege-for-democracy/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250610/p106#a250610p106

How will we know when we have lost our democracy?
#FederatedMemory

We are a country of immigrants of course we fly flags from all around the world here!
Multicultural democracy is fucking rad ✊

Everywhere EXCEPT Washington DC
#protest

What to know about counterprotests to Trump's June 14 parade
Dozens of pro-democracy advocacy groups are partnering to organize the No Kings events.

Journalism is under fire: will the press defend democracy?
www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/america-and-our-democracy-are-under-attack,255597?newsletter=255688
#Journalism #FreePress

Curtis Yarvin is Tucker Carlson but a software engineer.
#uspol #Yarvin #Carlson

I shared a video this morning: Courage in the Face of Violence: Standing Up for Democracy and Justice #NoKings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCBsk2DRV1s

Underlining this from @….
Do not let anyone get away with calling ICE “law enforcement.” That term is wrong. They are operating outside the law. They aren’t law •enforcement•; they’re law •circumvention•. Their purpose is to grant a would-be authoritarian military power against his own country, unconstrained by either law or democracy. https://med-mastodon.com/@gregggonsalves/114644138834261758

I’m calling it right now: after his fourth term, Trump will appoint Musk as his successor.
#usa #politics #Democracy

Elon Musk, JD Vance, and Peter Thiel are executing a long-planned agenda to take over the government.
Donald Trump is a dementia-addled old man along for the ride.
Hopefully, the chaos makes a little more sense now.
I told you you weren't gonna like it.

Democracy Is Done: The Rise of Corporate Monarchy
The Real Agenda Behind Elon's Coup & Trump's Chaotic First Weeks

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei saying the quiet part out loud in a CNN interview about impending job losses due to AI:
"There's an inherent social contract in democracy where ultimately the ordinary person has a certain amount of leverage because they're contributing to the economy.
"If that leverage goes away, then it's harder to make democracies work, and it's harder to prevent concentration of power."

Just quietly, I spent a lot of November- April mentally preparing myself for a Trump-alike in Australia.
That resoundingly didn't happen, I am so thankful!! Whatever faults Albanese has, he is not Dutton and doesn't have Dutton's track record of racism/anti-immigration.
But I am noticing myself being cautious and self-censoring when responding to posts about the US. Even when I'm simply liking pro-democracy, pro-rule-of-law content! I guess I'm not ready to let my guard down yet

Two Parasites and a Corpse: Trump, Musk, and the Maggot Feud Inside America's Rotting Democracy: https://blog.rmendes.net/2025/06/06/two-parasites-and-a-corpse.html

Judge Denies California’s Request for Immediate Block on Trump’s Use of Military in Los Angeles - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/newsom-emergency-block-court-trump-military-los-angeles/

No Kings Day next weekend!
Two events in Palo Alto -- We the People Parade at 2, Democracy Fair at 3.
indivisiblepaloaltoplus.org/no-kings-day
& https://bsky.app/profile/indivisiblepaplus.bsky.social

[OT] Saturday June 14: No Kings protests https://www.nokings.org Could be US citizen's last chance to save US democracy from oligarchy and a police state

No Kings
On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.

A democracy is – how Pratchett puts it in Small Gods – a system where everyone distrusts the government, so everyone is somehow (un-)happy about it. And this is how it is meant to be and where checks and balances comes in.
And now there is a Trump administration where a alarming number of people just trust everything done by them regardless of what it is.¹ If we needed another sign² of Trumpism being far from being democratic: here it is.
I really hope people in Germany continue …

Nieman Lab:
As Trump silences Voice of America, Russia and China seize the opportunity to reshape Africa’s news ecosystem
#Press

🗳️ A new virtual summit is in the works—uniting educators, activists, artists & citizens to resist authoritarianism defend democracy. 🛠️ Help shape the vision: take the planning survey − bit.ly/4jhX8tR
#Resist #Democracy

I donated to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
https://www.brennancenter.org/
"The Brennan Center for Justice is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and when necessary, defend our country’s systems of democracy a…

Trump is invoking emergency powers at a record rate. Here's what that means (Kat Lonsdorf/NPR)
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/09/nx-s1-5424666/trump-national-emergencies-democracy-supreme-court-constitution
http://www.memeorandum.com/250609/p19#a250609p19

It seems to me that it's not just Trump, but also – perhaps foremost – the #Repugnians in Congress that are destroying American democracy.

Harvard fights back:
https://pll.harvard.edu/course/we-people-civic-engagement-constitutional-democracy

FASCIST-O-METER: Classifier for Neo-fascist Discourse Online
Rudy Alexandro Garrido Veliz, Martin Semmann, Chris Biemann, Seid Muhie Yimam
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.10789

FASCIST-O-METER: Classifier for Neo-fascist Discourse Online
Neo-fascism is a political and societal ideology that has been having remarkable growth in the last decade in the United States of America (USA), as well as in other Western societies. It poses a grave danger to democracy and the minorities it targets, and it requires active actions against it to avoid escalation. This work presents the first-of-its-kind neo-fascist coding scheme for digital discourse in the USA societal context, overseen by political science researchers. Our work bridges the g…

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/03/china-address-tiananmen-massacre-36-years

China: Address Tiananmen Massacre 36 Years On
36 years after the killing of countless peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, the Chinese government still seeks to erase the memory of the June 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.

Two Parasites and a Corpse: #Trump, #Musk, and the Maggot Feud Inside America's Rotting Democracy
#Resist

The beginning of the end of democracy.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was forcibly removed from a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday and briefly detained after trying to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said to Noem, which prompted several men to physically push him out of the room. It was unclear who the men were as several were dressed in plainclothes.
NBC

#GiftLink
Newsom Says Trump Is Destroying U.S. Democracy in Speech on L.A. Protests - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/newsom-speech-trump-la-protests.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE8.NjQu.DDVE62i_gRXe&smid=url-share

I’m calling it right now: after his fourth term, Trump will appoint Musk as his successor.
#usa #politics #Democracy

Unprecedented wealth concentration
– and the unbridled power that comes with such wealth
– has distorted our democracy and is driving societal and economic tensions.
Musk, the world’s richest man, wields power no one person should have.
He has used this power to elect candidates that will enact policies to protect his interests and he even bought his way into government.
While at the helm of Doge, Musk dramatically reshaped the government in ways that benefit him…

California governor says 'democracy is under assault' by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests (Michael R. Blood/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-gavin-newsom-california-immigration-protests-a6467fcd3fa66c945ac7c15c40362972
http://www.memeorandum.com/250611/p18#a250611p18

“Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/red-state-ballot-initiatives-gop-republicans-florida-missouri
Today’s GOP only believes…

Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power to partisan legislatures.

"The Republican Party is a hollow, decrepit husk. It is not a political movement. It is not a governing apparatus. It is not even an ideology with any internal coherence. It is a decaying vessel for a set of impulses: authoritarianism, greed, cruelty, nostalgia, and fear. And now, with the party marching in lockstep behind a man openly exploring how to violate the Constitution to seize a third term in office, it is fair to say the Republican Party has collapsed into something far worse than irrelevance. It is a clear and present danger to democracy."
#USPolitics
https://www.theindex.media/the-gop-is-the-most-dangerous-organization-in-america/?ref=dispatches-newsletter

"The #Fascists, #Autocrats, and #Dictators Looking to #Ruin Our

Die Welt kehrt zu den Gesetzen des Dschungels zurück. Essay von Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer.
https://europa.blog/de/die-welt-kehrt-zu-den-gesetzen-des-dschungels-zurueck/

Die Welt kehrt zu den Gesetzen des Dschungels zurück - Europa Blog
148

Vance meets w/ the Murdochs.
#FoxNews is the communications arm of the administration and broadcasts weaponized propaganda into the minds of millions of Americans creating dangerous unreality.
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are complicit in the actions of the Trump regime.
#Fox #Vance #Murdoch #Press
#Press #Fox

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy
tweeted:
“Important to remember that Trump isn’t trying to heal or keep the peace.
He is looking to inflame and divide.
His movement doesn’t believe in democracy or protest
– and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it.
None of this is on the level.”

"Comment le boom des milliardaires alimente les inégalités et menace la démocratie."
"Avec une richesse qui se concentre au sommet, l'Europe doit agir maintenant pour défendre la démocratie et la stabilité économique pour tous."
#TaxTheRich #démocratie

Newsom Says Trump Is Destroying U.S. Democracy in Speech on L.A. Protests (Laurel Rosenhall/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/newsom-speech-trump-la-protests.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE8.29sT.vD5yj7eCwxFt&smid=re-share
http://www.memeorandum.com/250611/p4#a250611p4

TONIGHT: Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes discusses The Power of Editorial Cartoonists for Democracy!
Ann Telnaes resigned from WaPo when this cartoon was rejected.
She wrote, “...My job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job.”
Sign up here: #FreePress #Democracy #Media

Trump’s Stunning Streak of Losses in Lower Courts - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-lower-court-streak-legal-losses/

Divya and Shantini have vetted that yes, these are real people in real crisis who need help.
The two of them aren’t professional fundraisers or anything. They’re just doing their best with the tools they have, trying desperately to help a few people.
Yes, I wish that we had proper organizations — NGOs, international aid, a functioning democracy! — to help •all• the people in need all at once. We don’t. Elbow grease is all we’ve got.
https://chuffed.org/project/hope-giving-circle

Rather than embarrassing but infrequent call-outs in the Columbia Journalism Review, the #NYTimes needs regular review by a public editor.
#Journalism #Press

Today is #WorldPressFreedomDay
Listen to Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa on how important community support was for the survival of Rappler under attack from a dictator.
Lessons we should take to heart.
#FreePress #Journalism

Trump Calls Up the Marines. Democracy Is in Danger. (Sasha Abramsky/The Nation)
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-los-angeles-marines/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250609/p165#a250609p165

Hoarding syndrome is considered a psychiatric condition, not a crisis for democracy itself
-- with one giant exception:
When people with hoarding syndrome are born with or come into massive wealth
-- suddenly what was once a personal, psychiatric issue can become a crisis for all of society.
It happens every few generations.
It’s what drove the fascist oligarchs of the Confederacy to reach out and try to conquer the entire United States in the 1860s.
It …

The Billionaire Hoarders: How the Wealthy Became Our Biggest Threat
How a sick obsession is killing workers, democracy, and our planet.

Steven Levitsky: "Nous assistons actuellement Š l'effondrement de notre démocratie. Sous Donald Trump, les États-Unis glissent vers une forme d'autoritarisme. Cela ne sera sans doute pas irréversible. Mais le fait est lŠ : en ce moment même, les États-Unis cessent d'être une démocratie."
#USA

Why Democracy Matters (part 2 of 4)
Tonight on zoom at 7pm ET
https://letstalkdemocracy.org/

UNDERNEWS: Why Cultural Decline in the U.S. Is a Threat to Democracy
https://prorevnews.blogspot.com/2025/06/why-cultural-decline-in-us-is-threat-to.html

Divya and Shantini have vetted that yes, these are real people in real crisis who need help.
The two of them aren’t professional fundraisers or anything. They’re just doing their best with the tools they have, trying desperately to help a few people.
Yes, I wish that we had proper organizations — NGOs, international aid, a functioning democracy! — to help •all• the people in need all at once. We don’t. Elbow grease is all we’ve got.
https://chuffed.org/project/hope-giving-circle

Ann Telnaes resigned from the Washington Post after her cartoon was rejected by editors. She said, “I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, 'Democracy dies in darkness.'"
Join us May 29th at 8pm ET via Zoom for a conversation.
Sign up: #Cartoonist #Press #FreeSpeech

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Threatens Mobilization of Active-Duty Marines Against Protesters in Los Angeles

Such language is unprecedented in response to immigration protests.
The escalation comes just three days after the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre,
when Chinese troops crushed a pro-democracy movement with tanks and live ammunition
—a grim reminder of what can happen when a government turns its military on its own people.

Federal Judges Are Begging Us to Pay Attention (Adam Bonica/On Data and Democracy)
https://data4democracy.substack.com/p/federal-judges-are-begging-us-to
http://www.memeorandum.com/250608/p58#a250608p58

Sometimes a Parade Is Just a Parade -- Not everything the Trump administration does is a threat to democracy. (Kori Schake/The Atlantic)
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/trump-military-parade-ok/683050/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250608/p25#a250608p25

Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
won Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival
#PrivateEquity #Journalism #FreePress

Earlier this year, Elon Musk poured tens of millions of dollars into the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, after spending hundreds of millions to elect Donald Trump.
It looked like our democracy was truly over. 
But Blue Future's young organizers pounded the pavement.
We out-organized Musk.
And we defeated his MAGA candidate on a shoestring budget!
Now, Trump has lost confidence in Musk, who's slinking away from the White House!
What's next? …

I just gave to Blue Future!
Show your support with a contribution.

Top GOP Map-Drawer and Right-Wing Law Firm Team Up to Target Texas Minority Voters - Democracy Docket
https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/top-gop-map-drawer-and-right-wing-law-firm-team-up-to-target-minority-voters-in-texas/

Idaho passes a bill to protect journalists.
#PressFreedom is not a partisan issue. It is not the Democrats or the Republicans who want to silence the press, it is Autocrats.

Ann Telnaes resigned from WaPo when this cartoon was rejected.
She wrote, “...My job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job.”
Join us May 29th via Zoom for a conversation with her.
Sign up: tiny.cc/Telnaes

"The immigration detention system has become a testing ground for authoritarianism." - @silkys13.bsky.social
https://bsky.app/profile/democracynow.org/post/3lqpltpcg522i

From the Committee to Protect Journalists:
Pig’s head, rats sent to Indonesian news outlet as president attacks foreign-funded media
#FreePress #Journalism

Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on April 9, 2025, directing federal agencies to investigate #Miles #Taylor, a former Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland security, for his public criticisms of the president.
This appears to be the first time in U.S. history that a president has explicitly invoked his in…

End Presidential Revenge: Support Miles Taylor's Legal Defense
Join over 200 bipartisan leaders in defending democracy. Support the legal fund opposing presidential retaliation against whistleblowers like Miles Taylor. Stand up for constitutional rights today.

History shows that once a vanguard of rogues and lawless individuals gets a hold on government, it is difficult to eject them.
Rather, the changes in government applied with force by this vanguard become normalized.
And that is what is happening here.
https://

“The Whole Government is DOGE Now”: The Coup's Second Wave Begins
A lawless vanguard infiltrated the U.S. government; now they are being institutionalized and will work with Project 2025's own democracy destroyers

RNC Intervenes to Back Trump Anti-Voting Order, Claims Greater Voter Access Hurts Their Candidates (Yunior Rivas/Democracy Docket)
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/rnc-intervenes-to-back-trump-anti-voting-order-claims-greater-voter-access-hurts-their-candidates/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250603/p143#a250603p143

Margaret Sullivan in The Guardian
Yes, the media’s Biden coverage was flawed. But its reporting on Trump is far worse
#Journalism #Press

A single paragraph buried deep in a spending bill that passed the GOP-controlled House of Representatives earlier this month is causing growing concern among democracy watchdogs
-- who warn the provision will make it so only the well-to-do would be in a good position to launch legal challenges against a Trump administration that has shown over and over again its disdain and disregard for oversight or judicial restraint of any kind.
Coming just about half-way through what Presiden…

'This Is What Autocrats Do': Concern Grows Over Single Paragraph Buried Deep in GOP Bill | Common Dreams
The provision would force those challenging Trump "to pay up in the form of a posted bond—something many people can't afford to do. That means only the wealthy will be able to even attempt to challenge the most powerful man in the country."

DOJ's New Top Voting Lawyer Worked for Leading Anti-Voting Law Firm (Yunior Rivas/Democracy Docket)
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-top-voting-lawyer-worked-for-anti-voting-firm/
http://www.memeorandum.com/250531/p23#a250531p23

Across the country, Republican lawmakers have been working to undermine or altogether undo the will of the voters -- by making it harder to pass amendments and laws through citizen-led initiatives.
In #Missouri, the 2025 legislative session was dominated by Republican lawmakers trying to reverse two major measures that voters had put on the ballot and approved just months before;
one made

Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power to partisan legislatures.

"America, you gotta wake up!"
Maria Ressa warns of authoritarianism in the US: “This is a pivotal moment"
@…
#FreePress #Autocracy #Press #Journalism