Debbie Berkowitz

From 2000? Sure. Debbie.berkowitz@gmail.com

The Week Ahead November 9, 2025

Sunday overnight is the new top of the news-cycle, with the 1st circuit refusing Trump the stay he thought from having to make SNAP payments & now, Justice Jackson ordering briefs in SCOTUS. Get up to speed on what it all means here: joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...

Red versus blue. Versus yellow. Versus gray. Chapter 1 It's (almost) all about TV There was an election this week, I assume you heard, one in which the people who were unhappy last year became happy and vice versa. If you're one of the current ...

The newsletter is out! A look at the history of TV election-coverage colors, a new record set by the president and a look at how great prediction markets are at prediction (not great)!

Free to read, as always.
www.howtoreadthisch.art/r/682c3344?m...

How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy

My latest: How the Trump Administration is giving even more tax breaks to wealthy and giant corporations: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/b...

Seasonal retail jobs are set to drop to lowest level in 15 years Workers looking to pick up extra cash working retail jobs this winter may be out of luck as stores pull back on hiring.

Seasonal retail jobs are set to drop to lowest level in 15 years.

Today on the Senate floor:

Democrats made an offer to Republicans to re-open the government and extend the ACA tax credits for one year.

We’re calling their bluff.

The ball is in their court.

Thune and Senate Republicans will be 100% responsible for both the shutdown and soaring health insurance costs if they refuse Schumer's very reasonable compromise offer.

2 0 2 5 Updates Key Races N.Y.C. Mayor Va. Gov. County Margin Shift from 2024 pres. T Votes Loudoun Spanberger +29 * 12 pts. 164,366 Prince William Spanberger +34 × 16 pts. 161,419 Portsmouth Spanberger +47 * 8.1 pts. 29,956 Washington Earle-Sears +49 * 4.5 pts. 20,927 Louisa Earle-Sears +20 * 6.5 pts. 18,719 Orange Earle-Sears +15 * 9.3 pts. 17,127 Powhatan Earle-Sears +40 * 4.4 pts. 16,957 Pulaski Earle-Sears +38 * 7.1 pts. 12,466 Dinwiddie Earle-Sears +17 ~ 6.3 pts. 11,974 Harrisonburg Spanberger +41 × 15 pts. 11,753 Manassas Spanberger +30 * 16 pts. 11,514 Carroll Earle-Sears +57 ~ 6.1 pts. 11,277 Wise Earle-Sears +59 ~ 4.6 pts. 10,962 Fairfax City Spanberger +45 * 11 pts. 10,232 Fredericksburg Spanberger +43 * 11 pts. 10,191 Salem Earle-Sears +12 6.9 pts. 9,374 King William Earle-Sears +34 * 7.1 pts. 8,999 Russell Earle-Sears +63 * 4.9 pts. 8,860

Every single county in Virginia shifted Blue.

PPP polled 816 Virginia voters on Sunday to assess the impact of the government shutdown on the election for governor. Every indicator is that the shutdown is creating a backlash against Trump and Republicans and has increased support for Abigail Spanberger.

Here are the key findings:

In addition to the top line finding in the new Fox News poll that Mikie Sherrill now leads Jack Ciattarelli by 52% to 45% among likely voters in New Jersey, here are a few other key results to note:

Student clings to Job Corps as Trump administration attempts to shutter program Skarllet Brisco, a Job Corps student in Milwaukee, is pursuing a medical administrative assistant certification.

James Benton, Director of the Race and Economic Empowerment Project here at KI, defends Job Corps Centers as a life-changing program for young people: "[Job Corps is] something that is crucial for the economy to perform, and for people to have meaningful work."

Read more here: bit.ly/47wwuK1

AG Tish James Secures Settlement for Hundreds Denied Workers Comp Alba Services Inc. cut insurance costs by telling workers to lie to doctors about job injuries, the attorney general’s probe concluded — and offered cash rewards to turn in workers who did try to file...

Workers' Compensation Fraud is a significant problem. Employers often discourage injured workers from filing compensation claims, so the worker gets no compensation if their condition worsens or recurs. And the taxpayer often covers the medical costs, subsidizing the high-hazard low-road employer.

Fired Justice Department lawyer blows the whistle on what he describes as abuses of power at the DOJ Former Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni is speaking out about a pattern of troubling behavior he says he witnessed inside the DOJ that undermined the rule of law.

A fired Justice Department lawyer is blowing the whistle on what he describes as abuses of power at the DOJ.

Way to go, all of us. 💙

#NoKings Hershey PA! Lots of support from all that drove by for the hundreds of patriots standing up for America and justice and democracy and science and health care and more …

Trump to Coal Miners: Drop Dead The administration keeps delaying a life-saving safety rule—while claiming to love coal miners.

Appalachian coal workers suffer from black lung, an incurable respiratory disease killing its victims slowly & painfully.

@kimkelly.bsky.social reports on how the Trump administration is delaying a life-saving safety rule, while claiming to stand with miners.

Trump got a Covid vaccine today.

Kennedy’s Ties to Ally Leading Vaccine Lawsuits Raise Ethical Concerns

NEW: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s close ally has raised ethical concerns by leading legal efforts on vaccines, fluoride and Tylenol.

His vaccine efforts are largely funded by a nonprofit led by a man who said in July that polio "is like having a cold."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/h...

“Legal ethics experts said Mr Siri’s efforts were troubling because of potential effect on public policy in ways that might benefit his clients.” Just thinking:seems part of the pattern- change rules to win lawsuits, make us all much less healthy in the process,to enrich those changing the rules.

One consideration for discussions of gun violence in Chicago. www.pbump.net/o/the-red-st...

The red-state invasion that worsened Chicago gun violence President Trump's eager deployment of federal and federalized troops is ostensibly rooted in fighting crime. Maybe he actually believes that; he did apparently see some footage from 2020 on the TV and...

A Dem legislator raised a good point in a CNN interview today: if you want to combat gun violence in Chicago, why not look at where the guns are coming from? www.pbump.net/o/the-red-st...

My Six Favorite Untruths About the Biden-Harris Economy

btw, here's my short story on how the mainstream media lied about the economy to push the "people are hurting" story cepr.net/publications...

Stop the Lying, Trump and Republicans Own This Government Shutdown Recent US government shutdowns stem from a common root cause: the extremism of the modern MAGA Republican Party.

Very good, as always, from John Harwood.

open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...

CNBC: "Very disappointing. It's a weak number. This is private sector jobs for September. The total comes in -32,000. And that was a surprise because economists were looking for an increase of 51,000. Also, the revision was not good. August now showing -3,000 compared to the initial read of 54,000"

DOL Child Labor Work Strained as Violations Rose, Report Says Federal enforcement of child labor laws faced a shortage of resources as violations spiked nationwide in 2023, the Labor Department’s internal auditor said in a new report.

Shocker: inadequately funding DOL while child labor violations spiked made it harder for DOL to stamp out child labor.

DOL Child Labor Work Strained as Violations Rose, Report Says news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-ben...

This, plus Trump will be blamed both for a shutdown and raising the cost of healthcare

Screenshot of Trump tweeting a racist/fake video of the Democratic leadership

Democrats are fighting to save millions of Americans' healthcare while Donald Trump is posting insane racist disinfo slop

Donald Trump says that a shutdown is a tremendously negative mark on the president.

But he’d rather shut the government down than protect your health care.

High Heat, Higher Responsibility (2025): The Sunshine State Must Enact Policies to Protect Working Floridians An estimated 611,100 Floridians work outdoor jobs.

The latest FPI report, which found that there are 611,000+ outdoor workers in Florida, recommends establishing and enforcing statewide heat-illness prevention standards.

Read the latest from Alexis Tsoukalas, PhD 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/high-h...

These guys are so drunk with power and extremist that they don't know that this is a terrible story for them with everyday Americans.