Trump's Caravan Destroyed the Reflective Pool ; not vandals

 

President Donald Trump's motorcade drove directly across the drained floor of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on May 7, 2026. He made the unannounced visit to inspect a newly painted, bright "American flag blue" coating applied during a $16 million renovation project. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Defend the Constitution

 

Trump/MAGA Budget Cuts to Education

Unless we act now, critical programs that support our students could shut down.  The Trump administration is proposing to further politicize federal funding decisions by giving political appointees authority over decisions about which schools, colleges, and community organizations receive federal funding.  That means funding decisions will be made by political appointees with an agenda—not based on empirical data, student needs, program quality, and professional expertise. Decisions about research funding will be driven by politics rather than peer review and merit.  Here’s what you can do:  Write a public comment and urge the Office of Management and Budget to withdraw its proposal and to preserve a fair, transparent, and student-centered grant system.

Write a Public Comment  ➤

Any program supporting:  Women and girls,   Immigrant families,   LGBTQIA+ students,   Racial equity, Students with disabilities, or A fuller account of U.S. history...  ...could lose its funding under this administration if this proposal is finalized.   This would apply not just to federal K-12 and college and university programs, but to all discretionary funding received by those institutions and by nonprofits that serve our communities and receive federal grants.   To add insult to injury, it will also have a chilling effect on schools, districts, and colleges as they try to balance what they believe is best for students, with which programs could be targeted for being contrary to the current administration’s values.   We have already seen many institutions drop critically needed programs and instruction in response to similar threats to federal funding.  Before the rule takes effect, the administration must solicit and respond to comments from the public—that's you.  Please share how federal funding supports your students, school, campus, or community and why stable funding matters. You have until July 13 to act.  We give you a sample to adapt, but the more personalized your public comment is, the better.  Educators need stability so they can focus on teaching and supporting students, NOT navigating politically motivated requirements.   And, students deserve stable access to the programs and services that help them learn and thrive.  Federal funding should serve students, not politics.  In solidarity,  The NEA EdAction Team

Note: A new project of Teachers and Educators Defending democracy is in the works.  Information will be posted here when ready.  Without an educated populace, the common good cannot even be discerned. This is fundamental. When education is viewed as a private investment yielding private returns, there’s no reason why anyone other than the “investor” should pay for it. But when understood as a public good underlying our democracy, all of us have a responsibility to ensure that it is of high quality and available to all. Our central obligation as citizens is to preserve, fortify, and protect our democratic form of government — not inundate it with big money and buy off politicians. We must defend the right to vote and ensure that more citizens are heard, not fewer.

 

Trump /Maga Viewpoints

 I came across this Public Service Announcement produced by the U.S. government in 1945. It seems apt today, on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary, when bigotry and hate are being stoked by a neofascist president. Please take a look:

Actually, it was Robert Reich who came across this video.  On his substack.

This is a clip from the original, which runs 23 minutes. It was called “Don’t Be a Sucker.”

Change in direction of California Education

 State superintendent will no longer manage California schools under deal Newsom cuts with Legislature

 

Ed Source 

 

https://edsource.org/2026/california-education-governance-reform-3/761057

Trump Corruption Grows and Grows

 

Paul Krugman.  Corruption Grows and Grows.

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/a-verdict-on-the-slaughter

  

Support Free Speech on Campus

 

Anti Monopoly Bill in California

 

Anti-Monopoly Bill Hits Make-or-Break Moment in California A bill to update the antitrust laws in the nation’s most populous state faces a critical legislative hearing this week. At a time when California is among the states being relied upon as a substitute for proper antitrust enforcement, which is moribund at the federal level thanks to Trump administration corruption, advocates say the state must have a full suite of tools to succeed. The bill, known as the Compete Act (AB 1776), will get heard in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. It would fix a defect in the state’s antitrust law, the Cartwright Act: namely, that it does not cover single-firm conduct. Currently, the law can only be applied to coordinated conduct by multiple firms to monopolize an industry. But the new language affirms that “it is unlawful for one or more persons” to “unreasonably restrain trade” or “monopolize or monopsonize, attempt to monopolize or monopsonize, maintain a monopoly or monopsony, or combine or conspire with another person to monopolize or monopsonize any part of trade or commerce.” Given that the quintessential monopoly is a single firm, it’s a logical update. Restrictions on single-firm conduct would allow individual would-be monopolists to be sued under state law. That would include Silicon Valley–based tech firms like Google, Apple, and Meta, all of which have faced monopolization cases at the federal level; Google has been found guilty of monopolization twice. Real estate firms like algorithmic price coordinator RealPage, grocers with local footprints like Kroger and Albertsons (which tried to merge in 2024), home insurance companies colluding to deny fire coverage in the state, and Hollywood studios that could be scrutinized over tying together distribution and production would be at greater risk from a souped-up Cartwright Act. Continue reading this story

Immigrant Heritage

 

As Immigrant Heritage Month comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the people, stories, and sacrifices that have shaped our communities—and my own life.    My grandmother immigrated to San Antonio, Texas, as a young girl, carrying with her the same hopes that have inspired generations of immigrants: the opportunity to have a better life. Her courage, resilience, and determination helped create opportunities for future generations, including me and my twin brother. Her story is a reminder that behind every conversation about immigration are people, families, dreams, and contributions that help strengthen our communities and our country.  That lesson continues to guide me today.    It also helps explain why the Latino Community Foundation’s commitment to immigrant communities is so deeply personal.

Many members of our team carry immigration stories within our families and communities. We know firsthand the sacrifices that families make, the challenges they overcome, and the strength they bring to every corner of American life. Those experiences shape how we practice philanthropy. They shape how we advocate. And they shape how we lead.    Our commitment begins with love—love for our families, our neighbors, and the communities that have invested so much in this country.    That love has always informed our work, but it also demands action.    Since late 2024 and the latest wave of attacks against immigrant communities—including family separations, inhumane deportation practices, changes to work authorizations, and the weaponization of personal data—the Latino Community Foundation has invested $2.1M in immigrant rights, legal services, community protection efforts, and organizations serving immigrant families.    Earlier this year, we launched the Community Protection Fund, directly investing $600,000 to support organizations that are defending civil and constitutional rights, protecting families, building local response networks, and helping communities navigate an increasingly hostile environment.    We created this fund because it was authentic to who we are.    Because when communities we love are under attack, standing with them is not a strategic decision, but a moral one.    Our support extends beyond rapid response. Through our Power Accelerator programs, we are investing in the leadership, capacity, and long-term sustainability of immigrant-serving and immigrant-led organizations that are building both economic and civic power across Latino communities. These leaders are advancing opportunity, protecting rights, strengthening local institutions, and creating pathways for families to thrive.

Our commitment is also reflected in our policy agenda. In California and across the country, we advocate for policies that protect the rights and dignity of immigrant individuals and families, expand economic opportunity, strengthen democratic participation, and ensure Latinos are fairly represented in the decisions that shape our future.    This work is grounded in a simple truth: immigrants are not only part of America’s story—they are essential to its future.    As June comes to an end, our celebration of immigrant communities does not.  We remain committed to investing in their safety, their leadership, and their success. We remain committed to a future where every person is treated with dignity and humanity. And we remain committed to building a flourishing future where the power of immigrant communities is unleashed so our entire country can thrive.

DSA And Electoral Politics

 

The Socialist Future Is Being Written in New York Branko Marcetic June 24, 2026 Jacobin Tuesday's socialist sweep in New York was built on the organizing power of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has now established itself as the leading political power in the city.

Trump / Fascists to Cancel Voting Rights

 Panic within the Trump White House over their impending demise in the 2026 midterms has reached a fever pitch and they are now pulling out every stop to try to save themselves. 

Last week it was announced that President Trump ordered the US Postal Service to stop mail in voting for every state that does not provide the White House with the state’s list of registered voters. The ban is now moving forward.  However, the fact that they want these voter lists should scare you even more than the cancellation of mail in voting.  The White House is trying to compile these lists so that (1) they can challenge the ballots of every Democrat and ensure their votes don’t count. And (2) so that in the event of civil unrest and or the suspension of habeas corpus, the Department of Homeland Security will have a list of where all registered Democrats live.

The NAACP is challenging the order but unfortunately due to MAGA’s capture of the US Supreme Court, they have us dead to rights.  The US Supreme Court has become the harbinger of American fascism. They must be stopped before they transform our nation into an unrecognizable hellscape.   Though it may be too late to stop the Supreme Court from banning mail in voting, it is not too late to stop the rulings that await in the not so distant future: a national abortion ban, greenlights for mass detentions of Democratic activists and mass killings of undocumented migrants, and so much more.  Terrifyingly, this conservative majority on this court could last until 2065, more than enough time for the far-right to carry out their most depraved desires. That is unless Democrats take unprecedented action to seize the court.  The moment Democrats reclaim power in DC, Democrats can and must move to pack the court with liberal justices to reclaim a majority on the court. We did it under FDR and we can do it again.  Defend our Courts is preparing for exactly this moment. There will be some who claim we need to follow precedent and wait until 2065 to reclaim the majority. It’s on us to steamroll them and ensure everyone does their part to take back this court.  +++++++++++++ This case and others reveal why we will need to use aggressive aactions by States to defend our democracy.  States can act and can resist.  Trump plans to sabotage the midterms, so we're going to need a plan to stop him. As soon as he took office again, Trump started signaling that he intends to interfere with the midterms. There are too many examples to cover everything, so here are some of the lowlights from just the last year: March 2025: An executive order trying to unilaterally overhaul election administration. July 2025: Ordered Texas to gerrymander five new Republican House seats. August 2025: An executive order to "get rid of" mail-in ballots ahead of the midterms. January 2026: Told the House GOP "they should cancel the election.”He regretted not seizing the voting machines after 2020, and then later that month he sent goons to raid Fulton County's election hub. February 2026: Said Republicans should "nationalize" elections. The next day Steve Bannon said, "You're damn right we're gonna have ICE surround the polls come November," and urged Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. March 2026: Issues an executive order to create state-by-state citizen lists and orders USPS to deliver mail ballots only to federally approved names. Installed election denier Dan Bishop to run DOJ's "election-integrity" efforts. April 2026: Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for racial gerrymanders in former Confederate states. Trump team threatens to force blue states to redraw their own maps.  June 2026: Raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a voter-registration nonprofit. Even as he meets resistance from the courts and some blue states, he's clearly not backing down. So what's our plan? We need to get into election protection formation -- let’s talk about how. For the last 75 weeks or so, Leah and I have hosted What's the Plan, our live Q&A with the Indivisible movement. It’s a unique space: thousands of people from across the country and the world, together every week, working through the strategy and tactics of organizing against fascism. When we’re at our best, we’re cutting through the noise, demystifying some process or institution, and focusing on what we all can actually do. If Indivisibles are going to plan together for how we organize in defense of the midterms, the place to have that conversation is What’s the Plan. We don’t want to shortchange the big topic, so this week we’re trying something a bit different.

Trump/Authoritarian Regime Attacks Education

 

Unless we act, the first national voucher program will go into effect on January 1, 2027, pouring tens of millions of dollars into unaccountable private and religious schools.   Email your elected officials in Congress right now and tell them to keep public funds in public schools. Tell them to repeal the national voucher program.

Email Congress  ➤

The private school voucher program was championed by Project 2025 and Besty DeVos and designed to funnel public funds into unaccountable K-12 private and religious schools.  Estimates of the program’s total annual cost are as high as $50 billion. The program also requires taxpayers in rural areas to foot the bill for a program that is largely inaccessible to them, as rural areas have little, if any, access to private schools.  Instead of supporting unaccountable private schools, we could use the funds to support our public schools—where 90% of students go—lowering class sizes, feeding hungry students, and offering more after-school programs.   Tell your representatives in Congress to repeal the national voucher program.  Our public schools welcome everyone and help all students learn and achieve their dreams, no matter their race, background, or ability.   We need to strengthen our public schools, not undermine them with voucher programs that take funding away.  In solidarity, The NEA EdAction Team Also Read. Why Fascist Hate Teachers; Public Education and the Future of Democracy.  Why Do Fascists Fear Teachers? https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2026/weingarten_wolfson