Farbod Faraji Nagra

Column | Texas redistricting crisis has foreign echoes — and foreign solutions Many countries with nominally healthy democracies have something the United States does not: A strong, independent election authority at the national level.

The times, they are a-changin'.

Remarkable wave of op-eds on proportional representation this week *alone*:
-WaPo / @ishaantharoor.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
-Kansas Reflector / @rpund.bsky.social kansasreflector.com/2025/08/02/i...

Cont./

How to end the forever redistricting wars Gerrymandering is made possible by this one choice

How can we END the gerrymandering wars? My @protectdemocracy.org colleagues explain how the answer lies in one design choice: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-to-end...

Nonprofit Toolkit: Resources for organizations facing government investigations

Nonprofits are increasingly under threat from gov officials seeking to score political points and silence checks on their power. This toolkit offers best practices for responding to politicized gov investigations so that orgs can keep doing lawful, mission-based work. protdem.org/NonprofitInv...

Nonprofit Toolkit: Resources for organizations facing government investigations On this page, you’ll find short topic-specific primers that build on our full-length guide, Protecting Civic Space.

🚨Civil society is under threat. Our new Nonprofit Investigations Toolkit gives organizations tools to navigate the current environment. Equip your organization to stand strong against political intimidation.

Explore the resources → protdem.org/NonprofitInv...

How famine and starvation can affect Gazans for generations to come Research on WWII's Dutch “Hunger Winter” has terrifying implications for the region's children—and for their children.

The babies who were conceived during the famine and whose mothers were undernourished while their brains were being built—those brains were smaller. When those people were adults, their brains were wired in a different way.

Something is rotten in the FCC Paramount gave in to Trump. What they get in exchange might not be what they expect

Jesus. Paramount's FCC petition to transfer broadcast licenses to Skydance has been pending for months. Tuesday, Paramount and Trump filed papers to dismiss his suit after Paramount paid up. Today, FCC approved the transfer. 48 hours. If that's not a bribe.. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/something-...

Protect Democracy - Jobs Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to prevent authoritarianism. We are hiring for several open positions - join us!

The Protect Democracy is growing! We're hiring for multiple positions. Visit our website for more details about these and other open positions. protectdemocracy.org/jobs
⭐ Legislative & Policy Specialist
⭐ State Campaign Strategist
⭐ Major Gifts Officer
⭐ NC State Policy Advocate

Can Proportional Representation Create Better Governance? Policy outcomes, accountability, and stability under different electoral systems

This is great! You should also check out the great work that @protectdemocracy.org is doing on proportional representation.

protectdemocracy.org/work/can-pro...

YouTube video by MSNBC ‘Obscene and depraved’: New reporting on Palestinians killed while waiting for food

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh2b...

“Nobody knows what I’m going to do,” said the president on whether the United States will go to war with Iran. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Read more here: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/congress-s...

Trump wants you to believe that this is about Iran signing a nuclear deal - one he tore up in 2018! - but Israel just killed Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator who was telling US television just two weeks ago that Iran was open to a deal.

USDA Sued for Illegally Demanding Data of Millions Influenced by DOGE, demands for SNAP data could threaten privacy of all Americans

We just sued USDA w/ @studentdefense.bsky.social & @nclej.bsky.social‬ on behalf of @Epic.org & @mazonusa.bsky.social. The USDA’s illegal demands for the personal info of millions of SNAP recipients could set a dangerous precedent impacting all Americans and won't be tolerated. protdem.org/4k2nIZe

🚨 DREAM JOB ALERT 🚨

What Britain’s election shake-up means for American democracy Party systems are less stable than they seem

In a rigid two-party system, populist takeovers don’t break the system—they become it. What Britain’s recent elections say about America’s future: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/what-brita...

Breaking Federal Court Rules NC Supreme Court Race Must Be Certified Justice is done for military and overseas voters, upholding the sanctity of election results

BREAKING: Overdue justice has been done. U.S. District Judge Richard Myers ruled that the votes of military and overseas voters must be counted and the race for NC Supreme Court certified for its lawful winner, Justice Allison Riggs. Ruling: protdem.org/42WM9jy

Opinion | Congress needs an expansion. A ‘high line’ could make it possible. An elevated pathway linking Capitol Hill’s offices would ease staff movement and attract visitors.

“To improve accountability, strengthen the link between representatives and constituents and reduce the influence of large special interests, Congress should reinvest in its own capacity,” NEW from Drew Penrose and @normornstein.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

FTC Commissioners Sue for Attempted Illegal Firings The Trump administration defies 90 years of precedent, trying to fire without cause, before end of Senate-confirmed terms

We sued the Trump admin for illegally attempting to fire FTC Commissioners @bedoyaftc.bsky.social & Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. This power grab defies 90 yrs of SCOTUS precedent. If unchecked, could let any future POTUS politicize the FTC, Fed and other agencies. protectdemocracy.org/work/fightin...

Exclusive | Columbia Yields to Trump in Battle Over Federal Funding Columbia’s agreement is a significant moment in the intensifying battle between Trump and elite universities.

A sad day for Columbia and for our democracy. "Additionally the school believed there was considerable overlap between needed campus changes and Trump’s demands" has got to be one of the most depressing sentences ever written.

www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Trapped in a Two-Party System Under proportional representation, minority-preferred candidates tend to win even more seats than under single-member districts.

"No other major democracy has such complete dominance by only two parties. When polled, voters say they want more choices." @sltaylor.bsky.social protectdemocracy.org/work/trapped...

Strategic Fusion and the GOP Whether it's foreign-policy hawks on the right, cultural conservatives on the left, or fiscal conservatives anywhere, the reductive binary of today's electoral options can be deeply frustrating for…

History holds lessons for today’s political disruptions. The 19th century anti-slavery movement built power by strategically fusing w/major parties. What if disaffected conservative voters could do the same today? Read @jrdresden.bsky.social & Beau Tremitiere:

NEW PAPER: The two party system is not giving Americans what they want or what our democracy needs. @sltaylor.bsky.social argues this can be traced to systems like our winner-take-all and primary elections, and he offers a practical alternative. @newamerica.org protectdemocracy.org/trapped-in-a...

Read the report: The Myth of the Presidential Impoundment Power

NEW: Our report dives deep into the history of the president’s role in spending taxpayer dollars. Bottom line: Trump’s OMB Director Russ Vought is wrong on the law, wrong on history.

Read it here: protectdemocracy.org/impoundment-myth

New government hires complete probationary periods to assess their performance before they accrue civil service protections but that doesn’t mean these probationary employees lack protections. Find our guide for probationary employees and more here: buff.ly/EVmoU21

Knight Institute Condemns Trump Administration’s Effort to “Subjugate Universities to Official Power”

Here's our (@knightcolumbia.org) statement condemning the Trump administration's effort to subjugate universities to official power.

knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

The White House goes all-out against the First Amendment. A 10-part assault on free speech.

The Trump Admin's actions against Mahmoud Khalil are textbook, unabashed retaliation & viewpoint discrimination. But, this isn’t just about Khalil. @rachelegoodman.bsky.social and @shalinigoelagarwal.bsky.social breakdown the WH’s attacks on the 1st Amendment. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-white-...

Arresting and threatening to deport students because of their participation in political protest is the kind of action one ordinarily associates with the world’s most repressive regimes. It’s genuinely shocking that this appears to be what’s going on right here. 1/

re the previous repost: if they can disappear permanent residents they can disappear citizens

Your guide to the lawsuits affecting federal employees Five bullet points — *for* you, not from you

NEW in our briefing for civil servants, we spotlight:
✅ Useful trackers
✅ @fednews.bsky.social for news stories that affect civil servants
✅ A way for you to contribute to an oral history of your experience as a fed worker during this period.

If there is a recession, it will not have been caused by complex fluctuations in the economy.

It will have been caused by Trump’s intentionally reckless chaos.

Presidents rarely have this direct responsibility for economic cycles but this would be an exception.

What federal workers can do to protect themselves - Protect Democracy A list of resources for civil servants navigating attacks on the federal workforce, including actions to take ASAP, knowing your rights, and where to find legal or other support.

We created a hub for federal workers about what they need to know and do to protect themselves amid attacks on their livelihoods from the Trump Administration.

Bookmark and share widely:
🔗 protdem.org/federal-work...