This is what oligarchy looks like:

Trump gave corporate America a $920 billion tax break.

Now, corporations like Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google & Lockheed Martin are returning the favor by giving Trump $300 million for a fancy ballroom.

That’s a pretty good return on investment.

For the Military, a Shutdown Is About a Lot More Than Just Pay It also affects many other people, institutions, and services necessary for readiness.

The next time a politician says, “We’ve protected military pay,” remember that pay isn’t readiness. A paycheck may keep a soldier solvent. But only trust, stability, and leadership will keep our nation strong. www.thebulwark.com/p/for-the-mi...

Why Future Federal Election Security Reports May Be Unreliable By promoting an activist with a history of false election claims, the Department of Homeland Security is damaging its credibility.

The Department of Homeland Security created a new job — “deputy assistant secretary for elections integrity” — then gave it to a known election denier. We debunk her false claims:

We can’t let this happen.

And any Republican who refuses to renew health care subsidies for hardworking American families, saying we can’t afford it, needs to explain how they found $1 trillion in tax cuts to give away to the wealthiest people in America.

Trump's DOJ is sending election monitors to California with voting on Prop. 50 underway The U.S. Justice Department is sending election monitors to California voting sites for Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal to redraw congressional maps.

The Trump admin's Department of Justice will deploy election monitors to five CA counties on Election Day, the department announced Friday, in what it describes as an effort to “ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.” bit.ly/3JqZP0i

📝 @mayacmiller.bsky.social

We have just over two weeks to pass Prop 50. And when we do, it will send a message of hope across the country, that change is possible if we do the work.

So, let’s get to it. linktr.ee/cadem

RIGHT ON 👊🏽

I voted YES on 50 (a temporary measure to level the playing field) and my ballot was already counted.

Join me— remember to vote, and tell your friends and neighbors to do the same. #VoteYesOnProp50

We’ve been warning people about Bannon’s “3rd term” chatter for a while. Goes without saying that his “will of the American people” is bullshit. They cheat.

We warned people about their Project 2025 playbook.
P25 is now in full effect.

Believe what they say AND what they do.

Vote #YesOnProp50 🗳️

James Talarico: I don’t see politics as left versus right. Billionaires are using their wealth to rig our political system. They own the media and they own politicians in both political parties. They’re using that wealth to divide us, and I think people are tired of being pitted against each other

What to know about Proposition 16 on citizenship and voting The proposed constitutional amendment would affirm that voters must be citizens, a requirement that’s already in state law.

What Texans need to know about Prop 16, the constitutional amendment on citizenship and voting

This is the ad Donald Trump woke up furious about.

Would be a shame if it went viral.

NEWS --> Reps Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia formally demand all internal WH-DOJ communications on Trump's corrupt DOJ shakedown, calling it a "blatantly illegal and unconstitutional effort to steal $230 million from the American people."

We reported first that this was coming (see below). Letter:

Ojai agrees to memorandum with Space Launch Delta 30 for sonic‑boom monitoring The council authorized an MOA with Space Launch Delta 30 to install sonic‑boom monitoring stations in Ojai; staff will seek access to data and may add monitoring sites, and Vandenberg partners will share results with federal and scientific agencies.

Ojai City Council has taken a bold step by partnering with Space Launch Delta 30 to install sonic-boom monitoring stations, aiming to protect both residents and wildlife from the impacts of rocket launches.

Learn more here!

#OjaiCityVenturaCounty #CA #CitizenPortal #PublicSafety

Mockler: We saw this Nazi group chat which I’m sure you condemn right?

Kolvet: We can talk about it

Mockler: Do you condemn it?

Kolvet: I want to talk about it

Mockler: So, you’re like JD Vance? You won’t condemn this?

LA Times now confirming our earlier reporting: www.latimes.com/california/s...

REMINDER: It's now 268 days since Trump was sworn in but he has still NOT released the complete Jeffrey Epstein file. What is Trump hiding?

Map: Governors Public Health Alliance * Guam is also a member of the alliance Updated October 15, 2025 Map: @luckytran • Created with Datawrapper

15 US states and territories have formed a new Public Health Alliance, which will counter the absence of federal leadership by tracking outbreaks, issuing guidance, buying vaccines and more.

Members of the new alliance include CA, CO, CT, DE, GU, HI, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OR, RI, WA.

Emerging from the darkness of this era will require us to acknowledge that the previous status quo, including many institutions that may have served us well in another era, have been failing for my entire lifetime.

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act at the Supreme Court The Supreme Court is considering whether a key provision of the Voting Rights Act remains constitutional.

The Supreme Court is considering whether the Voting Rights Act still allows people of color to challenge racially discriminatory district maps. The outcome will have major implications for fair representation.

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

I want to highlight this excellent piece by @noupside.bsky.social and @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social on the rapidly shifting information & media landscape. Domain experts and the institutions that support them must rapidly change tactics to meet the moment.

Congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates an Unaccountable Slush Fund for the Trump Administration’s Deportation Force The OBBBA pumps $75 billion into ICE with no guardrails, supercharging the Trump administration’s massive, indiscriminate deportation agenda that is operating without accountability and threatening lo...

Congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates an Unaccountable Slush Fund for the Trump Administration’s Deportation Force www.americanprogress.org/article/cong...

Portland has elevated protesting to an art form.

Californians should ignore the federal government's false claims about our elections Californians can count on their elections. That hasn't changed. What has changed is the volume of false claims from the federal government.

“Election officials take great care to ensure that, at every step, voters are safe and ballots are secure,” @gowriramachandran.bsky.social writes in @calmatters.org ahead of California’s special election this fall.

Previous generations fought fascism in nearly every corner of the earth. Today it’s on our streets, silencing opposition and attempting to control the airwaves.

The GOP has declared all out war on free speech. It’s up to us to fight for it.

Further evidence that flipping #TX15 might be a thing.

Right after Democrats scored a prized recruit in Bobby Pulido, Dem-aligned groups have launched an ad campaign critical of GOP Rep. Monica de la Cruz, specifically targeting Latino voters.

www.axios.com/2025/09/18/d...

This is a massive, history making abuse of your power. It will define your legacy and one day you will come to regret punishing free speech and trying to destroy democracy.

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.

This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.

All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

What the survivors of the Holocaust I've spent a lot of time with have taught me is to ask yourself what your values are.

In the face of uncertainty, we should all be speaking up and standing together to help preserve our democracy.

Democrats Call for Congressional Probe Into Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Thiel Thiel was one of many whose financial ties to the dead financier should be probed, a prominent senator believes.

Democrats Call for Congressional Probe Into Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Thiel