Michael Sozan

Important analysis from my @americanprogress.bsky.social colleague…

Mike Sozan on the State of U.S. Democracy Podcast Episode · The Tent · 09/24/2025 · 38m

New Pod

@michaelsozan.bsky.social from @americanprogressaction.org joins the pod to discuss Trump’s authoritarian plan to consolidate power & go after perceived enemies

Mike & @colin-seeberger.bsky.social also discuss #JimmyKimmel, the potential government shutdown & how Democrats are pushing back

How the Supreme Court Is Dismantling the Separation of Church and State Chief Justice John Roberts’ court is actively eroding the separation of church and state, breaking with centuries of First Amendment jurisprudence.

SCOTUS has been hacking away at the separation of church and state. This is the legacy of the Roberts Court. More from @thedailyhayley.bsky.social and I on that for @americanprogress.bsky.social, here: www.americanprogress.org/article/how-...

How the Supreme Court Is Dismantling the Separation of Church and State Chief Justice John Roberts’ court is actively eroding the separation of church and state, breaking with centuries of First Amendment jurisprudence.

Today is the first day of the 2025-2026 Supreme Court term and we just released our major new report on religion at the Roberts Court: www.americanprogress.org/article/how-...

It’s really all we should be talking about today.

To be absolutely clear on what just happened here, Trump ousted this veteran career prosecutor *precisely because* he would *not* cook the facts to bring a corrupt prosecution against one of Trump's leading enemies.

To Trump, refusing to prosecute his foes for fake crimes is a firing offense.

Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash Mr. Homan came under scrutiny after he was said to be recorded last year taking $50,000 in cash from undercover F.B.I. agents.

Tom Homan, who was later named President Trump’s border chief, was recorded in September 2024 accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash in an undercover FBI investigation, according to people familiar with the case, which was later closed by Trump administration officials.

It’s incredible: Trump is unpopular — 40% approval rating. Yet, corporations and others are capitulating to him, like they did to Orbán in Hungary.
Civil society and the media need to push back in a strong, concerted effort. It can be scary but it must be done.

Ezra Levin: This is a movement that understands cowardice is contagious. When Disney and ABC capitulate 1,000 other institutions are looking at them...That cowardice, it endangers all of us, but it is not inevitable. This is a movement that also knows the courage is contagious. #NoKingsKickOff

Ro Khanna: "They're making comedy illegal. Brendan Carr pressured ABC to cancel Jimmy Kimmel, and Disney cancels Jimmy Kimmel. This canceling from an administration that lectured us about cancel culture. That's why today I'm introducing a motion to subpoena Brendan Carr."

Trump’s Crazed New Rants Make Jimmy Kimmel Mess Look Even More Corrupt As Trump’s ramblings reveal how corrupt his pressure on ABC to suspend Kimmel truly was, The Contrarian’s Jennifer Rubin explains what all this says about his consolidation of power—and how to fight i...

my conversation with @gregsargent.bsky.social about censorship, 1st A and cowardly legacy media: newrepublic.com/article/2006...

Delighted that USA Today published my opinion piece today on @americanprogress.bsky.social's plan to undo Citizens United through state corporation laws.

The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant By using their authority to define what corporations are—and what powers they hold—states can end the era of corporate and dark money in U.S. politics.

Some personal news: CAP published my report, "The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant," today, and I'm proud to share it with the world.

State by state, this approach can be used to rid our politics of corporate and dark money. It may be the most meaningful work I ever do.

The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant By using their authority to define what corporations are—and what powers they hold—states can end the era of corporate and dark money in U.S. politics.

Fifteen years after Citizens United opened the floodgates of corporate and dark political money, the Center for American Progress has figured out how to slam them back shut.

CAP published its groundbreaking how-to report today: "The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant."

The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant By using their authority to define what corporations are—and what powers they hold—states can end the era of corporate and dark money in U.S. politics.

Americans from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly oppose Citizens United and would like to rid the U.S. political system of corporate and dark money. Learn more from CAP's @thmoore.bsky.social:
www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

An important read…….

Massie: "I don't know if the Speaker misspoke when he said Donald Trump was an informant ... the Speaker needs to clarify that. And if it's a hoax, why was Donald Trump an informant to a hoax?"

A completely full Chicago on Michigan Avenue protesting Donald Trump.

Can’t express in words how big this rally in Chicago is. The president’s fascist goon squad is not welcome here.

TAPPER: Hepatitis A, whooping cough, & chickenpox cases are rising in Florida. Before you made this decision to lift vaccine mandates, did your dept do any analysis of how many new cases there will be?

LADAPO: Absolutely not

T: You didn't even do a projection?

L: It's an issue of right & wrong

Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics had a Twitter account with sexually degrading and bigoted attacks.

Sounds like he'll fit perfectly into Trump's current cast of characters.

GOP Senator Barrasso just pushed back against RFK Jr.'s attacks on vaccines.

What RFK Jr. has done at HHS is not "Make America Healthy Again."

It's "Making America go back back hundreds of years to a time before we believed in science."

RFK Jr.’s enemies list just got a lot longer First Bernie Sanders. Then CDC directors. Now, more than 1,000 current and former HHS staffers are demanding he step down.

First Bernie Sanders. Then the CDC directors.

Now, more than 1,000 current and former HHS staffers are demanding he step down.

Civil society and all pro-democracy patriots should follow the example set by @georgetownlaw.bsky.social. This is how to push back firmly against Trump administration overreach in ways that firmly embrace values, history, religion, and constitutional freedoms. (2/2)

At Jesuit universities, the government’s D.E.I. crackdown is an attack on religious freedom Now more than ever, it is urgent to stand up for our university’s autonomy to make curricular decisions based on its Jesuit mission.

Powerful article from 2 leaders at @georgetownlaw.bsky.social, incl. former Dean Treanor.
In the face of Trump admin. attacks, they make potent arguments about protecting educ. & religious institutions, freedom of speech/religion, & diverse democracy. (1/2)
www.americamagazine.org/faith-and-re...

Trump's military occupation is targeting Black and Brown residents, immigrants, youth, and unhoused neighbors in DC.

DC is our home, not a military zone.

On Sept 6, march with us to demand an end to Trump’s unprecedented takeover of DC.

Very important article from @timothynoah.bsky.social. And happy to have my work about the power of protests cited in here.

A group of uniformed troops walk along the National Mall, with the Washington Monument and the Capitol in the background. A headline reads: "Crime Festers in Republican States While Their Troops Patrol Washington." Photo by Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Republican governors have sent National Guard troops to Democratic-led Washington, D.C., even though cities in their states all have higher rates of violent crime than the nation’s capital. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/u...

note how Trump on a daily basis is trying to normalize the idea that he's a dictator

This is a good reminder from a REPUBLICAN president…

Chants of #FreeDC at the DC United game. And it hasn't even started yet.