Voting Rights Act
SCOTUS guts key voter protection
The Supreme Court announced their decision in Louisiana v Callais to deal a fatal blow to the Voting Rights Act. SCOTUS struck down the Louisiana congressional map which had designated a second majority-Black district. The map was drawn in accordance to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which addresses discriminatory maps. The SCOTUS decision referred to the new map as an unconstitutional gerrymander because Section 2, according to the majority opinion, should not have been invoked. The ruling makes it more difficult for minority communities to challenge new maps. It requires Section 2 to be invoked only when discrimination is intentional; an incredibly difficult standard to prove. Plausible deniability embedded into white supremacist tactics provides legal protection when an injured party has to prove intent rather than results.
Louisiana suspended their congressional primary election until July so they could draw a new map, but the election was already underway. Tens of thousands of people had already voted. Tennessee cracked its only majority-minority district in their state legislature, locking Black legislators out of the process and removing them from their committees for protesting. It’s likely that the effects of this decision will be felt more in 2028 than in the midterms since filing deadlines have passed for most states. But South Carolina and Alabama are moving to update their maps as well, in addition to the wave of mid-decade redistricting efforts across the country spurred by Trump.
Fighting Back
Protest:
The Voting Rights Act came after Bloody Sunday, when civil rights protestors in Alabama marched from Selma to Montgomery where they were met with extreme violence by police. The outrage sparked tens of thousands of people to travel to Alabama to complete the march. The VRA was signed into law shortly after.
If you can travel to protest in states moving to take advantage of the abysmal SCOTUS ruling, do so. Bring your friends. Show the locals they’re not alone—the nation should be standing with them.
If you can’t travel, grab some friends and protest outside your legislator’s offices to demand that they pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Election Work:
Do what you can to empower minority voters in your area. Even if the government is intent on disenfranchising them, we can still work to raise their voices. Participate in registration drives in majority-minority communities and support minority-led efforts around election work.
Become an election judge or poll watcher. Map drawing isn’t where the nefarious deeds are going to stop in coming elections. Election workers are the front-line workers in ensuring a free and fair election. It’s pretty simple to become one if you can get the day off work, but it may require some training so make sure to sign up as early as possible. Contact your county clerk or county party for details.
Iran
The War Continues
There’s a deal! There’s not a deal. Oh look, a deal again! Nope, not happening.
It seems like market manipulation to me every time the Trump Administration insists there’s a deal on the brink of ending the war. Iran rarely if ever confirms the existence of these deals and when they did this month, the US promptly blew the thing up. Shortly after, Trump said on social media that any deal should include a requirement for third-party nations like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan to sign onto the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.
“If you want me to stop shooting your house up, your neighbors better become friends with my brother (and forget that my brother has terrorized them, their friends, and helped destabilize the whole neighborhood).”
Iran’s demands are that the fighting cease on all fronts, including between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and while they may give up their uranium stockpiles, they want to be able to enrich uranium and maintain a nuclear program for non-military purposes, as well as maintain their missile program which Israel considers a significant threat. They also demand the sanctions and blockade on their ports be lifted.
The US demands that the Straight of Hormuz open without Iranian tolls, the end of the Iranian nuclear and missile programs, and allowance for Israel to engage with threats in Lebanon. There is no indication that Trump’s demand for third party nations has made it into any serious negotiations.
The two parties appear very far apart, though it does look like the “ceasefire” may be extended for another 60 days while negotiations continue. Israel is still killing people in Lebanon, and arial attacks have been exchanged between the US and Iran. I’m honestly not sure what constitutes a ceasefire if the parties can fire weapons and it still be called a ceasefire.
Fighting Back
Keep Pressuring Congress:
Congress has a responsibility to end this war. Don’t let your reps forget that we don’t like this war, and that we hold them personally accountable for every day that it continues.
Make sure they know that we’re aware of what the war has cost so far. Those are our tax dollars, and while Americans are struggling with still-rising inflation they’re allowing our taxpayer money to be wasted on a war of choice.
Support Congressional Challenges:
Reps that are refusing to wield their war powers and power of the purse should be voted out in November. Republicans are doing everything they can to rig the election in their direction with maps and propaganda. Don’t let them win.
Support opposing candidates by spreading awareness of their positions on these important issues. Volunteer or donate to their campaigns if you can.
IRS Settlement
Trump “Settles” With Himself, Creates Slush Fund
Trump sued the IRS for $10billion after his family’s personal and business tax returns were leaked by a former federal contractor. It was enough of a disgrace that Trump was on both sides of this lawsuit, plaintiff and defendant since he has control of the IRS under the Treasury Department. This month, Trump dropped the suit and at the same time Todd Blanche, acting Attorney General, announced that as part of a settlement agreement the US would never again be able to audit tax returns submitted by the Trump family. If that wasn’t corrupt enough, the DOJ announced a nearly $2billion fund as part of the settlement to compensate people who claim they’ve been victimized through lawfare by the federal government, specifically by Democrats. This “anti-weaponization” fund has no measure of transparency. Information about who gets how much money and why will not be public.
The settlement was never reviewed by a judge, because it wasn’t a technical settlement at all. Trump dropped the case and then the announcement came that as a result, he and his family would be immune from financial review and this slush fund would be doled out to people who felt they had been unfairly treated by the US government. January 6th insurrectionists have flocked to apply for the funds. It wasn’t enough to pardon them. What better way to say “you can do that again if you want” than to pay them for their trouble? But we won’t even know if they receive compensation, or if it instead gets doled out to Trump’s family and friends.
A judge reopened the suit, under the assertion that the settlement is a product of collusion. And Public Citizen has opened an investigation into the slush fund to force transparency via FOIA requests to the IRS, Treasury Department, and DOJ.
Fighting Back
Talk About It:
Don’t let people get away scot-free with rhetoric supporting this brazen corruption. Point out the conflict of interest with the initial lawsuit, the insanity of the Trump family NEVER being held to honor tax laws (even after Trump leaves office), and an untransparent slush fund to reward insurrectionists or whomever Trump sees fit. This is as in-your-face as corruption gets. Talk about that.
Make sure your friends and family know about the suit and the so-called settlement. Don’t let heads get buried in the sand without knowledge of this extremely harmful self-dealing.
Support Opposition Efforts:
If you can, donate to organizations fighting back through legal channels. Spread awareness that this isn’t something the American people are going to take sitting down. There are people fighting, and we’ll make sure they keep fighting until the corruption ends.
Encourage the forcing of transparency. Support those organizations in any way you can as well.
Call for Impeachment:
Yeah, yeah, I know—”call your rep, call your rep!!” It can feel absolutely pointless. But your calls, visits, letters, emails, conversations, etc. are all documented. Let history show that even if our reps wouldn’t listen, the American people had demands. Constituents must state their will, and the representatives should act accordingly, per our representative democracy. Let this be an example, if nothing else, of why we need fundamental change to the way our democracy functions.
Trump is the most corrupt president in recent history. This takes his corruption to a new level, and he had already soared beyond that of any president in my lifetime. He must be impeached. His self-dealing must be stopped.
We must draft and pass laws that prevent the president from wielding his power in such a corrupt manner. Not only must Trump be impeached, we have to make sure no president ever feels emboldened to this sort of behavior again.
Additional Notes
I know it’s hard to keep up. I know it’s disheartening to see everything that’s happening. Don’t give up hope. We will come out of this someday, and if we stick together we’ll come out of it better than before. Fascism isn’t new to the United States, but We The People can root it out. It’ll take time. Generations, maybe. Stay in it. Never forget what you’re fighting for.
Consider pledging to strike with GeneralStrikeUS when we reach the critical 3.5% threshold for revolution. There are many more pledges needed.
WeResistNow provides ideas and some resources for ways to resist in our every-day personal and professional lives.
Take care y’all,
Brandi MV