Britt Belwine (she/her)

Must read. The attack on disabled children is a feature, not a bug. It is gross, diminishes our humanity as a society and impoverishes our economy.

Calling my reps especially annoyed today because they're making me take time away from bar exam prep to beg them to protect basic human rights.

Arguing with them over the phone is not enough, i need to argue with them in court.
#CallYourReps

The OBBBA would also reduce tax credits for households earning less than $500,000 annually - propping up the 1% while taxing the working class. It's not too late to stop it. You made your voice heard at rallies, now make sure your Senators hear your voice by calling today!

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act aims to give tax breaks to the ultra-rich at the expense of the lives of everyday people. It proposes reducing Medicaid funding by half, adding new work requirements for Medicaid & SNAP, and reducing the Child Tax Credit. Over 16M Americans would lose access to care.

Call Scripts Call Your Reps!

Take two minutes to tell your senators: #Don'tCutCare! Vote NO on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act! i've written up full call/email scripts here - including instructions and links to relevant statistics for each state!
callurreps.carrd.co#section06

Brad Lander, NYC comptroller and mayoral candidate, is arrested outside immigration court New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander has been arrested at a federal building in Manhattan as he was trying to accompany a person out of an immigration courtroom.

what is it called when people who aren't cops and don't have a warrant drag you away, because I don't think "arrest" is the word

Lander has been released and says he’s fine, minus a missing button

He says he’ll get due process, but the man he was trying to protect will not

“He’s not gonna sleep in his bed tonight,” he said. “So far as I know, he has no lawyer. He has been stripped of his due process rights”

if you care to think of yourself as an ally to marginalized people, as a comrade of mine, but you are not wearing a respirator at a protest? you’re not wearing one on transit you took to and from? why?

who are your actions in alignment with?

How the Trump Administration Is Leaving Disabled College Students Behind Disabled students already have to fight just to get basic accommodations.

My first @teenvogue.com piece is out. Transition services are essential for disabled students and they remain in limbo as the current administration tries to shut down the Department of Education. www.teenvogue.com/story/colleg...

Please tell me someone has a clip of the woman on the NBC Vatican livestream being asked what she wants the world to know and saying "Free Palestine!" An icon!

People rarely think before they say that. Because if they did, they'd realize that extra time on exams doesn't make up for thousands in medical debt, incurable chronic pain, countless hospital admissions and surgeries, life-threatening complications, and the loss of mobility and independence.

When peers say they wish they had my accommodations on exams, i reply "i'll trade you - but you have to take my conditions too, and we never trade back."

The mood changes real fast.

My ACLU colleagues who have been working 24 hours a day were definitely not sleeping and I am just so grateful for them!

In summary - there are some things on the new page that have roots in truths and half-truths, but it's framed in a very dangerous way that is clearly designed to appeal to COVID deniers, anti-vaxxers, and conspiracy theorists rather than addressing any actual public health issues.

4) They claim "alternative treatments" were "demonized" without mentioning that these alternative treatments were pushed by quack doctors with little to no scientific evidence. See @itsbabs.bsky.social incredible work on hydroxychloroquine and misinformation.

One of the biggest errors in COVID response, imo, was telling people early on not to mask. This was apparently motivated by a desire to save PPE for healthcare workers, but was the wrong strategy. People locked onto that statement and struggled to change their minds later.

3) The claim that masks didn't effectively protect from COVID is false. We know that proper masking reduces the spread of contagions, including COVID. But it IS true that the flip-flopping on policy did lead to a lot of distrust and misunderstandings when it came to public health!

2) The page decries social distancing as arbitrary and not based on science, implying they were unnecessary. The 6 ft rule came from science about droplet-based contagions, but when we learned COVID was airborne we actually should have expanded those guidelines. 6 ft was insufficient, not overreach.

Accidents happen, and sometimes those accidents are catastrophic. (See Charles B. Hare, a medical student who caught Bubonic Plague in Michigan in 1901 after smoking a cigarette he'd accidentally contaminated with lab samples.)

1) The "Lab Leak" theory is framed as some sort of political move by China with an organized coverup. To be fair, a lab leak is plausible as the source of COVID, but not as some intentional biowarfare - just an unfortunate failure of lab personnel and safety precautions.

The White House's "Lab Leak" page has a lot of misinformation and disinformation and it seems to be designed to promote outrage for folks who don't know a lot about public health, pandemics, or disease transmission. Here's a few things i think are worth pointing out:

There are few things nigh all US politicians agree on—regardless of party—but one major area of lockstep is pandemic denial. You must understand that if you choose to go maskless in essential public indoor spaces at the very least, YOU are contributing to the environment that allowed this to happen.

So much disinformation and questionable graphic design choices all in one place!

Tariffs are about to hit lifesaving medical equipment "It's really the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable...who need technologies to live."

For @motherjones.com, I wrote about how tariffs may soon hit medical devices and how it may affect disabled people on Medicaid. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

We are witnessing our government institutions — whose independence is vital for the fair functioning of our legal system — being compromised and their integrity undercut in real time. This is how tyrants undermine democracy.

Photo of Cory Booker in a black suit and tie

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cory Booker breaks the record for longest Senate speech, previously held by segregationist Strom Thurmond.

ALIEN ENEMIES ACT: ALIEN ENEMY VALIDATION GUIDE In the case of: ________________________________ A-File No:__________________ 1. The person named above is fourteen years or older: 2. The person named above is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States: 3. The person named above is a citizen of Venezuela: If any of these three requirements are not satisfied, the person named above shall not be ordered removed under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). In such a case, you should consult your supervisor and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and, where applicable, initiate removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 4. The person named above is validated as a member of Tren de Aragua (TDA), as determined by reference to the following evaluation form: Instructions: Complete the following validation evaluation form for each suspected alien targeted for removal under the AEA, or, following apprehension, for each alien potentially subject to an AEA removal. After accounting for the two comments below, aliens scoring 8 points and higher are validated as members of TDA; you should proceed with issuing Form AEA-21B, titled, “Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal under the Alien Enemies Act.” Aliens scoring 6 or 7 points may be validated as members of TDA; you should consult with a supervisor and OPLA, reviewing the totality of the facts, before making that determination; if you determine an alien should not be validated at this time as a member of TDA, when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA. Alien scoring 5 points or less should not be validated at this time as member of TDA; when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA.

The following alt-text is excerpted of a larger checklist, as the whole page doesn't fit within alt-text character limits. Comment 2: For purposes of validating an alien as a member of TDA, at least one scoring category must involve conduct occurring, or information received, within the past five years. Valuation Explanation Category Definition Explanation Points Judicial Outcomes and Official Documents a. Subject has been convicted of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 521 or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil penalties for activity related to TDA 10 b. Court records (e.g., indictments, criminal complaints, sentencing memorandums) identifying the subject as a member of TDA, describing specific activity of TDA 5 Self-Admission a. Subject self-identifies as a member or associate of TDA verbally or in writing to law enforcement officer, even if that self identification to a law enforcement officer is unwitting, e.g., through lawful interception of communications. 10 Criminal Conduct and Information a. Subject participates in criminal activity (e.g., narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, etc.) with other members of TDA, including preparatory meetings and significant incidents directly attributed to TDA 6 b. Law enforcement or intelligence reporting identifying subject as a member of TDA, to include Bureau of Prisons validations and reliable foreign partner information. 4 c. Credible testimonies/statements from victims, community members, or informants that affirm the subject’s membership in or allegiance to TDA. 3 d. Detailed open-source media (e.g., newspapers, investigative journalism reports) that describe arrest, prosecution, or operations of a subject as a member of TDA 2 e. Subject conducts and/or facilitates business with TDA (e.g., money laundering, mule, service provider) 2 Documents and Communications

Final page: Association a. Surveillance documentation that a subject is frequently observed closely associating with known leaders and members of TDA 2 b. Subject part of group photos with two or more known members of TDA 2 c. Subject presently resides with known members of TDA 2 Total Points VALIDATION DETERMINATION Note: If any of the four requirements are not satisfied, do not complete this validation determination. Based on the validation guide and instructions above, including Comments 1 and 2, I find that the person named above, _______________________________________________: 1. Is fourteen years or older; 2. Is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States; 3. Is a citizen of Venezuela; and 4. Is a member of Tren de Aragua. Accordingly, the above-named person is validated as an Alien Enemy. _____________________ _________________________ __________________ Name of Agent/officer Signature of agent/officer Date completing the form completing the form ______________________ _________________________ ____________________ Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor Date

NEW: @aclu.org obtained ICE's "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide," confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is being Venezuelan and 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a "gang tattoo" and 2) displaying "logos," "symbols" or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs.

condemning them to death, most likely

DHS said she was a terrorist sympathizer and “involved in activities supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization." Revoked visa, but offered no evidence.

Social media was pro-Gaza, but she said she did not attend any protest. Offered no due process.