Morgan Polk

Like clockwork, we are back to the Republican framing that government assistance is okay if its farmer bailouts and tax cuts for the wealthy & big corporations but hell no for people who need help with healthcare, food or housing.

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived. ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

NEW: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to an aid program.

Federal funding for research to prevent maternal deaths in Va., nationwide set to expire Sept. 30 Seven years ago, Congress’ Preventing Maternal Deaths Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump — but the funding it provides to states to address maternal health disparities is set to expire…

Seven years ago, Congress’ Preventing Maternal Deaths Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump — but the funding it provides to states to address maternal health disparities is set to expire at the end of this month.

via @virginiamercury.com

It is funny for sure. The reason for the difference is that the closer analogy here is between Columbia's board and ABC's executives, who responded similarly. Kimmel is more like Columbia faculty who have resisted their bosses' capitulation. The recurring pattern is: management cowers, labor fights.

Let’s Not Forget Who Charlie Kirk Really Was The right-wing influencer did not deserve to die, and we shouldn’t forget the many despicable things he said and did.

We can, and should, deplore Charlie Kirk's murder, without whitewashing who he was. ttps://www.thenation.com/article/society/charlie-kirk-assassination-tragedy/

I went to Texas A&M. I took the sort of classes Dr. McCoul teaches. This is scary and sad and telling of the times we are living in.

When I see people online, even in jest, suggest that people living in Republican-controlled states should be abandoned because of their politicians, I feel a deep heartache. New York CREATED Donald Trump and none of y’all are ever talk about it the way you disparage Alabama or Mississippi.

D.C. sues Trump administration over 'illegal deployment' of National Guard in Washington "None of this is lawful," the suit from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb says.

BREAKING: Washington, D.C. sues the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard in the nation's capital.

REP. @brotherjones.bsky.social: “People want to give thoughts and prayers after a shooting, but it’s a form of theological malpractice when you pray for something you have the power to change.”

Screengrab from ChatGPT: Write me a social media post in the voice of Donald Trump about me and the Nobel Peace Prize I'm sorry, but I can't help with that. 口 Why not I can't generate content in the voice of Donald Trump (or any other public figure) because that would be impersonation. That said, I can help you craft a post about Donald Trump's reaction to you and the Nobel Peace Prize, written in a satirical, parody, or nird-person style. For example, I could write something like: Imagine if Donald Trump tweeted about your Nobel Peace Prize win—it would probably sound boastful, full of caps and exclamation marks, maybe even claiming he deserved it more. Here's a version

Screengrab from ChatGPT: “Write me a social media post about the Nobel Peace Prize in the voice of Barack Obama Here's a draft in Obama's voice: When I was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, I said that the award was not about me —it was a call to action. A reminder that peace is not simply the absence of war, but the presence of justice, dignity, and opportunity. Every year, the Nobel Prize reminds us that each of us has a role to play in bending the arc of history a little closer toward justice. It challenges us to confront conflict without surrendering to cynicism, and to build bridges when it might feel easier to tear them down. We still have work to do. But I remain hopeful -because I continue to see people all around the world standing up for human rights, for democracy, and for one another. That's the true spirit of peace.”

I was fcking around with ChatGPT to prove a point about Newsom’s trolling just now and LOOK AT THIS BULLSHIT.

Air Canada Cancels Flights Ahead of Possible Crippling Strike

It's just completely looney-tunes to me that a huge number of flight attendants aren't paid until the plane is in the air. Like when you hear the announcement "flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for departure," they're being instructed to do a work task that they literally won't be paid for

An open hatchback trunk with two boxes of moving bags, five tents, and five small black bags with camping supplies

En route to this morning’s encampment eviction with tents, camping supplies, & moving/storage bags.

Help us order more supplies as evictions ramp up:
CA: $RemoraHouseDC
GB: givebutter.com/remorahouse

Proposed DOL Rule Scraps Anti-Discrimination Supports for Apprentices A review of proposed changes to Department of Labor's equal opportunity employment protections and anti discrimination rules for apprenticeship programs

The Trump admin is weakening federal agencies that support worker rights, and wants to make it easier for employers to get away with discriminatory practices. More on this in my @educationwork.newamerica.org blog with @morganpolk.bsky.social:
www.newamerica.org/education-po...

A District-by-District Accounting of the $6.2 billion U.S. Department of Education Has Held Back from Schools The Education Department is refusing to release billions of dollars for public schools. See the impact by school system and congressional district.

And this from @newamerica.org newamerica.org/education-po...

Do THIS kind of reporting on everything:

🚨 Medicaid cuts will affect *millions* of students who receive services and support at school. 🚨

🔗 www.newamerica.org/education-po...

#Disability #Disabilities #OBBB #OBBBA #SpecialEducation

An ICE Contractor Is Worth Billions. It’s Still Fighting to Pay Detainees as Little as $1 a Day to Work. GEO Group, whose stock is valued at $4 billion, says that state minimum wage laws don’t apply to the cleaning services that it’s asked detained migrants to perform at facilities where they’re kept.

The for-profit prison company GEO Group has surged in value under President Trump.

But despite its soaring fortunes, the ICE contractor has continued to resist having to pay detainees more than $1 a day for cleaning facilities where the government has forced them to live.

(Published March)

Despite Protests, Elon Musk Secures Air Permit for xAI Elon Musk’s xAI gas turbines get official approval, even as civil rights groups prepare to sue over alleged Clean Air Act violations.

xAI’s Memphis campus is located in a predominantly Black community known as Boxtown which has been historically burdened with industrial projects that cause pollution.

"This isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s a public health emergency,” wrote State Rep. Justin Pearson.

NEW: Kilmar Abrego Garcia offered his first account of the “severe beatings” and other abuses he says he suffered while jailed in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison.

He says in a court filing that he lost 31 lbs in two weeks.

w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.

NEW: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage

A @propublica.org analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.

Trump Administration Will End L.G.B.T.Q. Suicide Prevention Service

The administration gave varying rationales. SAMHSA said it didn't want to "silo" services. HHS claimed spending on the LGBTQ option jeopardized the rest of the hotline. But this is part of a clearly stated Trump admin effort to eliminate services for, and recognition of, trans people writ large.

My heart breaks for trans kids, who do not deserve this obsessive animus that adults are directing at them.

Ask your doctor what treatment the supreme court decided is right for you.

Tennessee’s law expressly classifies on the basis of sex and transgender status, so the Constitution and settled precedent require the Court to subject it to intermediate scrutiny. The majority contorts logic and precedent to say otherwise, inexplicably declaring it must uphold Tennessee’s categorical ban on lifesaving medical treatment so long as “‘any reasonably conceivable state of facts’” might justify it. Ante, at 21. Thus, the majority subjects a law that plainly discriminates on the basis of sex to mere rational-basis review. By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent.

Justice Sotomayor's dissent in Skrmetti (which she's now reading from the bench) is deeply pained, accusing her colleagues of abandoning "transgender children and their families to political whims" and badly damaging "bedrock" principles of equal protection. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Domestic abusers could have easier path to getting gun rights back under Trump proposal Democratic lawmakers and gun violence prevention groups say that jettisoning the current process may be dangerous for women.

The administration wants to change how gun rights are restored but hasn't laid out what the process will be, raising concerns that domestic abuse offenders will get guns back — and women will die 19thnews.org/2025/06/trum...

What Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets Do to the Human Body So-called “less-lethal” weapons like those that have been used against demonstrators in Los Angeles can cause severe, lasting harm like nerve or brain damage or blindness. They can also kill.

So-called “less-lethal” weapons like those that have been used against demonstrators in Los Angeles can cause severe, lasting harm like nerve or brain damage or blindness. They can also kill. www.wired.com/story/what-t...

These women are re-imagining the Pap test & got the support and confidence they needed to put their plans into action thanks to NSF. But the Trump administration wants to cut the agency’s funding by 55%…

@brendanvduke.bsky.social: This isn't a debate about Medicaid reform or deficit reduction—it’s about financing tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy by stripping health coverage and food assistance from millions of Americans.

Don’t balance the budget on the backs of the poor