Lisa Schiff

Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.

Following up on our last post, things are getting more crazy by the day. Using federal law enforcement to go after your political opponents isn’t democracy. It’s authoritarianism. Call it what it is fascism.

This is an absolute betrayal to people who faithfully served their country. There is not a single Republican on earth who gets to utter the lie that they “care about our troops” now

If you've heard of the term "vocational awe" from me and others, Fobazi is the one who brought it to the fore.

Please give If you can. If you can't give financially, please share (and if anything, wear a mask!)

[white text on a pinkish purple background] Research Tools for Organizers 2025. There are now more than 900 billionaires in the United States alone. Join us to research billionaire power in our age of accelerating inequality. We’ll dive into: tools for researching the wealth, influence, and networks of billionaires and other powerful individuals like corporate executives. we will also examine how the corporate power structure and billionaire class is organizing itself in our current political moment. Register: bit.ly/RTFO2025 [LittleSis logo]

See you at our last Research Tools for Organizers training Aug 14 at 7-8pm ET.
Register:
mapthepower.net/research-too...

We can't let the Trump admins their acts of #censorship! Thank you @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social for sharing this screenshot and standing firm! More #actions folks can take--sign the Declaration to #DefendResearch Against U.S. Gov Censorship! Make calls! Write letters! defendresearch.org #Academia

It's important to know that the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which was responsible for these reports, was also targeted and shut down by the Trump administration. So this is clearly a case of tampering with the research record.

Toolkits for Action Writing Letters to the Editor

Take #action! Call your senators about this and demand the reports be restored in their original state! www.defendresearch.org/take-action/...

Energy chief suggests Trump administration is altering previously published climate reports By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Energy Sec. Chris Wright said Tuesday night the Trump administration is updating the National Climate Assessments that

A new #censorship variant--changing past reports, this time the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment reports, which Trump & Co basically tanked. Now they are going to alter past reports because "you find stuff that's objectionable, you want to fix it." krdo.com/news/2025/08...

Please support your local library if you’re able to! Rally around them. They are one of the last third spaces we have and end up being the cornerstone of our communities due to all they give access to. 💙📚

You might “not need the library” but someone else more vulnerable does.

And here are some concrete actions anyone and everyone can take to support their local public library! Be a #LibraryDefender ! www.librariesforthepeople.org/resources#te...

I just submitted my comments and urge everyone to do the same! #DefendResearch #StandUpForScience #ProtectTheEnvironment

More evidence that go it alone is a bad strategy.

Agreed, this is more #censorship in the service of distorting history to advance a racist narrative. Take an easy #action-- write a letter to the editor denouncing this! Here's a toolkit to help! www.defendresearch.org/take-action/...

The official version of the constitution on Congress.gov has removed Article I, Section 9 and 10 from the website which includes the writ of habeus corpus.

web.archive.org/web/diff/202...

In addition to supporting the Sameer Project, here are a few other calls to action from our partners and friends we'd like to share, amid the ongoing created starvation, shooting and killing of Palestinians in Gaza:

There are viable cures for AIDS and maybe Cancer out there right now using mRNA which is in every cell in our body during cell division. Throwing that away is the most craven self own that millions will suffer for.

The funding is in place! WTF! @schumer.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social - What are you doing about this?

RFK Jr. Cancels $500 Million In Funding For Vaccine Development The mRNA vaccines are credited with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Link:

Fun fact! The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is NOT a part of the executive branch. It's an agency of Congress.

Will Congress protect its own agency? Defend it? Imagine a world where GAO was 10x or 50x larger and challenging Trump admin action at every turn. That would be nice.

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

The anti-science Trumpers may be planning to destroy two working satellites that provide vital measurements about carbon dioxide & climate (and data that forecasts crop yield, drought conditions, & more). They cost $750 million to make but only $15 million/yr to operate.
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...

NASA Planning for Unauthorized Shutdown of Carbon Monitoring Satellites - Eos Despite warnings that their actions are illegal, Duffy and other senior NASA officials have continued to secretly direct NASA employees to draw up plans to end at least two major satellites missions s...

NASA is making plans to shut down two Earth observing satellites that provide key data to climate scientists and farmers, despite lawmakers telling them it’s illegal to do it. Story by @astrokimcartier.bsky.social

eos.org/research-and...

Folks, George W Bush was an absolutely TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE President. PLEASE understand this.

Screen shot of a Just The News article saying: “National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, meanwhile, is fending off a mutiny by nearly 500 self-identified staff — some perhaps laid off in reduction-in-force plans — based in part on an alleged "list of banned words" in grants recommended for funding, especially those related to diversity, equity and inclusion. "This one is really frustrating," Bhattacharya told Just the News. He informed representatives of the "Bethesda Declaration," named after NIH's Maryland home base, at their July 21 meeting that "I ordered there be no banned list" to his staff months ago, but some program officers "took it upon themselves" to create ad hoc, unofficial lists. “

Wow! So Bhattacharya is now saying in right leaning rags that it’s been rogue program officers that created banned words lists at NIH. 🤣

What a sad, small person he is!

“Program officers ‘took it upon themselves’ to create ad hoc, unofficial lists…”

Don’t Wait for Permission to Write for the Public You don’t need a public engagement grant or media team to begin. Here’s how—and why—to share your expertise now.

Advice for academics on finding their public voice: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

NIH director Bhattacharya denies banned word list in meeting with staffers Bethesda Declaration signers insist that a list exists and further criticize new policies

Despite meeting with the Bethesda Declaration signers, Jay continues to repeat lies and disinformation.

These lies include:

NIH is not censoring grants based on keywords. cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

We need collective action that includes higher ed leadership, like what Arne Duncan has proposed: www.chronicle.com/article/an-o...

"We're here because we're fighting for our lives."

Once again, for anyone not yet involved in any organizing effort and looking for something to do, a pressure campaign on the NYT to do accurate reporting is sorely needed since unfortunately too many people are still turning to it for info.