David Moore

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Mayor Adams's DOT and the City Council Speaker Are Trying to Gut the Universal Daylighting Legislation With six weeks left before the end of the year, proponents of the original bill are fighting to pass something that doesn't just maintain the status quo.

Mayor Adams's DOT and the City Council Speaker Are Trying to Gut the Universal Daylighting Legislation

@erinmdurkin.bsky.social has the story

Jeffries Misleads on AIPAC PAC Money Though Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said that AIPAC PAC gives him only the per-cycle maximum, the group has flooded his campaign with more than a million dollars in earmarked donations.

On WNYC, Rep. Jeffries ( @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) said there are pro-Israel donors "in his community" who donate to him via AIPAC PAC.

I reviewed more than a dozen of his largest donors through AIPAC PAC this year. None are in his district, none are in Brooklyn. Most of them are out of state.

The Fabulous Fern Bar a fiery writer-owned cooperative

To top off a ridiculous week, I wrote for @flaminghydra.com about the concept of the "fern bar," which it turns out was not just a phrase my mom came up with as an insult. (although, that too) flaminghydra.com/the-fabulous...

Restoring the Senate: Key Facts as the Senate Considers Rules Reform History demonstrates that there is ample precedent to changing the rules around the filibuster to allow the chamber to function as the Founders intended.

The sweeping For the People Act was sure to be filibustered by Senate GOP. Schumer did not heed progressives who urged him to move quickly and change the filibuster rules for voting reform and ethics bills. (E.g., a "talking" filibuster.)

By 2022, Senate Dems' efforts failed, and the bill died.

New Report Exposes the Trump Family’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Crypto Empire, Fueled by Self-Dealing and Corrupt Foreign Interests Washington, D.C. (November 25, 2025)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a new staff report revealing how President Donald Trump and his family have transforme...

The @democrats-judiciary.house.gov put out a report on Trump companies accumulating billions of dollars in crypto wealth this year. In 2021, House Dems passed the For the People Act, which contained parts of the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act.

But Schumer didn't move to change filibuster...

Women Laughing Again On The Internet Sometime last year the online archives of The Awl—the influential blog that ran from 2009-2018, and former home of many a Flaming Hydra contributor—went out, like a light switching off. Meanwhile, the...

TODAY: Carrie Frye has some VERY good news about the archives of The Hairpin after a "horrifying zombie afterlife"!!!! flaminghydra.com/women-laughi...

screenshot of BGov headline: Business Groups Sidestep Unpopular PACs With New Giving Avenue Democracy Engine site provides workaround to fundraising bans Politicians increasingly refuse corporate PAC money June 16, 2023 5:31 AM By Kate Ackley - https://about.bgov.com/news/business-groups-sidestep-unpopular-pacs-with-new-giving-avenue/

AIPAC PAC has used the conduit Democracy Engine LLC PAC this year in donations to Jeffries, according to FEC records.

For the past few years, the conduit has been known for masking donations from unpopular PACs.

So the #NY08 rep @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social 's answer was pretty far from straight.

Jeffries Misleads on AIPAC PAC Money Though Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said that AIPAC PAC gives him only the per-cycle maximum, the group has flooded his campaign with more than a million dollars in earmarked donations.

On @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social , Rep. Jeffries said he receives only a small per-cycle amount from AIPAC's PAC.

FEC data shows: AIPAC PAC earmarked donations have quickly made it his top career donor. AIPAC is the top-contributing PAC to all of Congress.

Jeffries Misleads on AIPAC PAC Money Though Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said that AIPAC PAC gives him only the per-cycle maximum, the group has flooded his campaign with more than a million dollars in earmarked donations.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said on WNYC that he receives only $10,000 from AIPAC's PAC, but FEC records show the group has flooded his campaign with more than $1 million in earmarked donations.

A conduit used by AIPAC PAC, Democracy Engine, may be funneling more from the group.

Trump Media Raises $2.5 Billion to Buy Bitcoin as Admin Boosts Crypto Trump Media & Technology Group's crypto partners in the new venture are also lobbying Congress to pass major industry-friendly legislation now being advanced.

If you're concerned about pressure to bail out the gigantic AI industry, you can let DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand know. She's received more than $52k from executives of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the Trump-aligned VC firm.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, a prez hopeful, fundraises with Marc Andreessen.

AI Industry Picks up Crypto’s Big Money Playbook A new AI industry group, Leading the Future, has amassed $100 million from heavy hitters like Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI with aims to knock off candidates who favor stricter regulation.

Plenty of rumblings about "no bailouts" for the AI industry.

Big Tech is already loaded with $100M + for a super PAC network that aims to do for AI what the crypto industry did last cycle. Its staff even includes a crypto-industry-Fairshake spokesperson, former Schumer press secretary Josh Vlasto.

Freedom flowing Zito Madu reflects on a turbulent youth

TODAY: @zeets.bsky.social on coming to Tai Chi in a turbulent youth. “I could imagine the person that I wanted to be, and each practice was an opportunity to work towards that person. I would lose, come back and refine myself, and try again.” flaminghydra.com/r/d42f6c21?m...

AIPAC Gives Millions in PAC Donations to House Allies, Senators in 2026 Races The lobbying group’s PAC donated six-figure sums to dozens of lawmakers in the first half of this year, as it pushes for billions of dollars in military aid for Israel.

There is longtime consensus in the campaign-finance field that the conduit PACs of special interest groups like AIPAC get credit for earmarked donations.

Someone who can reach Leader Hakeem Jeffries ( @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social ) can tell him that his Brian Lehrer clip will be fact-checked.

screenshot of AIPAC PAC political portal reading: "credit goes to you and AIPAC" - "candidates will see that you personally contributed to them through this site, helping their campaign while strengthening AIPAC's ties to them as well." - https://candidates.aipacpac.org/page/featured/

On @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social, @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social claims that he only accepts $10k in AIPAC PAC donations. He doesn't explain earmarked PAC donations from AIPAC, which have given him $850k this cycle.

Even the public-facing AIPAC portal explains, candidates will see AIPAC's name.

'The Permanence Agenda': Paint and Plastic Won’t Deliver Real Street Safety - Streetsblog New York City Rather than continuing New York's quick-build approach to redesigning streets with temporary materials, Zohran Mamdani should aim for permanent.

The pace at which NYC has turned temporary measures for boosting livable streets into more permanent solutions has been incredibly slow. Mayor Adams didn't fully seize the opportunity to turn paint into protection — but Mayor Mamdani might.

On the shoreline S.I. Rosenbaum debuts a new graphic memoir of devastation and love

On the shoreline — by @sirosenbaum.bsky.social

Part 1 (Free, and subscribe!)

flaminghydra.com/issue-444/#t...

Groups urged the Senate to adjust the filibuster rules, whose cloture threshold was changed in 1975.

In 2021–22, the Fix Our Senate coalition included 60+ groups: Women's March, VotoLatino, Greenpeace, MoveOn, Stand Up America.

Dems could have moved quicker on rules changes for election reforms.

Restoring the Senate: Key Facts as the Senate Considers Rules Reform History demonstrates that there is ample precedent to changing the rules around the filibuster to allow the chamber to function as the Founders intended.

People are upset about Trump corruption!

In 2021, Dems introduced the sweeping For the People Act, which included parts of Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act, forcing the president to divest financial assets.

Options existed to vote on it, like a return to a "talking filibuster," but no dice.

Super PAC Backing ‘Middle-Class Joe’ Is Led by Lobbyists, Corporate Consultants, and Democratic Fundraisers Today, Unite the Country announced its top staffers, most of whom either work for major corporations or run groups funded by corporate interests.

Biden had hung on in the 2020 primary race with the backing of a super PAC led by consultants for the health insurance industry, fossil gas, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Biden's White House empowered corporate consultant Anita Dunn, then failed to pass the Build Back Better Act raising corporate taxes.

Corporate Lobbyists Control the Rules at the DNC Two-thirds of DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee members are corporate lobbyists or corporate consultants, including ten at-large DNC members appointed by DNC Chair Tom Perez.

Biden took the 2020 primary, after his win in South Carolina, in the days before Super Tuesday March 3, when Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Steyer et al endorsed him. Biden gained to win MA, MN, TN, TX, and VA.

Reformers had proposed a national primary day. But the DNC Rules Committee poses an obstacle.

Jack Smith said he could have convicted Trump. We looked at the report Special counsel Jack Smith said he would have won a criminal conviction of President-elect Donald Trump if not for his election to a second term.

Jack Smith charged Trump with four felony counts related to the 2020 election, each of which typically had imprisonment. Smith said Trump would have been convicted.

So the answer is that Joe Biden nominated an AG in Merrick Garland who squandered *nearly two years* before approving low-level cases.

Avoiding Merrick Garland’s Mistakes the Next Time Democrats Hold Power A new book offers five vital lessons for how Democrats should pursue accountability in the next post-Trump era.

People are noting Brazil managed to jail their former president for attempting a coup, while the U.S. has not.

Biden's AG Merrick Garland waited until Nov. 18, 2022 to appoint Jack Smith as special counsel, for two cases starting with low-level suspects.

Trump could have stood trial *before* 2024.

Meta’s AI Data Center Sparks a Divide Among the Faithful in the Bible Belt In rural Louisiana, white and Black churches see the company's plan to build America's biggest AI complex very differently.

In rural Louisiana, white and Black churches see the company's plan to build North America's biggest AI complex very differently. https://capitalbnews.org/meta-richland-parish-ai-data-center/

News is dizzying but still pales in comparison to the December 2006 dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys #kylesampson

More Perfect Union on Instagram: "Hundreds of Starbucks baristas and labor organizers blockaded Starbucks’ largest distribution center in York, Pennsylvania, halting distribution of syrups, beans, pap... A group of Starbucks workers have blocked the largest distribution center in the world, disrupting supply chain operations for the entire northeast. The blockade is part of an ongoing labor dispute ov...

did a little report on yesterday’s Starbucks strike action for @moreperfectunion.bsky.social!

www.instagram.com/reel/DRS8QTd...

Former representative Cheri Bustos (Illinois), who headed House Democrats' campaign arm during the 2020 cycle, said an individual's money - or the ability to raise it - is a big factor when parties seek candidates for office. "Part of what you look at when you recruit is the ability to raise money," Bustos said. "It's not just being a self-funder, it's more: Do you have access to people who could make big contributions? Do you have those kinds of connections?"

Buried in this must-read story about the rise of billionaire power is the ex-chair of the DCCC saying the quiet part out loud: access to $$ was a core factor in their candidate recruitment.

Needless to say: This is not how @runforsomething.net operates!

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Pity for Hakeem Jeffries. He has to knock every door at Brevoort Senior Center in #NY08 and explain that after his vote denouncing socialism, he'll be removing the socialist features from their Social Security and Medicare benefits. The #BedStuy safety net is about to get a lot less universal.

NJ leaders who hated on congestion pricing notably silent on PATH fare hikes The PATH fare is set to rise from $3 to $4 over the next four years.

“The contrasting responses serve as a reminder of car culture’s dominance in the Garden State. An estimated 92,000 drivers entered the congestion zone from New Jersey every day,... That’s less than half the daily ridership on the PATH train.” gothamist.com/news/nj-lead...

Bill of goods / Feline fame Felipe De La Hoz on immigrants’ regrets; Ace and Jack on Hollywood cats

TODAY: @felipedlh.bsky.social tracks a sad trend; “a deep-seated regret, among immigrants, for having come to the United States at all.” flaminghydra.com/r/fc898c29?m... r