Bruce Lesley
@brucelesley.bsky.social
Proud father of 4. Child advocate. President of First Focus on Children & First Focus Campaign for Children. Basketball fanatic. Kids Can't Wait on Substack. #InvestInKids #VoteKids
Pinned
Bruce Lesley
@brucelesley.bsky.social
· Oct 31
Money Matters: The Nation’s Retreat from Kids
Federal spending on children has dropped to historic lows, but the steepest cuts are ahead.
brucelesley.substack.com
Money Matters: The Nation’s Retreat from Kids brucelesley.substack.com/p/money-matt...
First Focus on Children released our annual report yesterday, Children's Budget 2025. The findings show a 30+% decline in the share of federal funding to children from 2021 to Trump's FY 2026 budget proposal.
First Focus on Children released our annual report yesterday, Children's Budget 2025. The findings show a 30+% decline in the share of federal funding to children from 2021 to Trump's FY 2026 budget proposal.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner brings the energy. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP85RpHVa/
#Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner promised he would prosecute any law enforcement officer, including ICE agents, who "commit crimes" in the city. "You will be arrested, you will stand tria...
TikTok video by CBS Philadelphia
www.tiktok.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner brings the energy. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP85RpHVa/
Babies and families need action, not rhetoric.
Vice President Vance, Babies Need Deeds and Not Words
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
Vice President Vance, Babies Need Deeds and Not Words
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
Vice President Vance, Babies Need Deeds and Not Words
“…one thing is certain: it’s deeds, not words, that count.”
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Babies and families need action, not rhetoric.
Vice President Vance, Babies Need Deeds and Not Words
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
Vice President Vance, Babies Need Deeds and Not Words
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
It Is Unconscionable That Our Government Is Choosing to Harm Children Like Liam
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
The story begins with Liam Ramos, but it is also about the harm, the trauma, and the fear that are impacting children all across the country.
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
The story begins with Liam Ramos, but it is also about the harm, the trauma, and the fear that are impacting children all across the country.
It Is Unconscionable That Our Government Is Choosing to Harm Children Like Liam
Our immigration enforcement is inflicting injury, trauma, and fear on children across the entire country
open.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:51 PM
It Is Unconscionable That Our Government Is Choosing to Harm Children Like Liam
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
The story begins with Liam Ramos, but it is also about the harm, the trauma, and the fear that are impacting children all across the country.
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
The story begins with Liam Ramos, but it is also about the harm, the trauma, and the fear that are impacting children all across the country.
Children as Collateral Damage
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
I read the Heritage Foundation's 164-page on family policy so you don't have to.
SPOILER: It is just about as bad as you probably imagine.
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
I read the Heritage Foundation's 164-page on family policy so you don't have to.
SPOILER: It is just about as bad as you probably imagine.
Children as Collateral Damage
A Child-Centered Response to the Heritage Foundation's 'Saving America by Saving the Family' Report
open.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:26 AM
Children as Collateral Damage
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
I read the Heritage Foundation's 164-page on family policy so you don't have to.
SPOILER: It is just about as bad as you probably imagine.
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
I read the Heritage Foundation's 164-page on family policy so you don't have to.
SPOILER: It is just about as bad as you probably imagine.
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
The Columbia Heights MN School District is facing a severe crisis after four children were abducted by ICE in a single day. Among them is a five-year-old who was used as bait to lure individuals out of their homes in the area.
January 22, 2026 at 3:41 AM
The Columbia Heights MN School District is facing a severe crisis after four children were abducted by ICE in a single day. Among them is a five-year-old who was used as bait to lure individuals out of their homes in the area.
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
Unconscionable. They terrorized a 5 year old child. It takes a special kind of evil to think that this is acceptable.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy arriving home, say school officials
Superintendent says Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway and sent to Texas
www.theguardian.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Unconscionable. They terrorized a 5 year old child. It takes a special kind of evil to think that this is acceptable.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 10:00 PM
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
Children should never, ever, ever be used as “bait” to entrap parents.
I am furious and heartbroken. If you are too, call your Rep right now: (202) 224-3121
A staffer will answer - be brief, say you want your Rep to vote NO on DHS funding bill. It’s ok if your voice shakes. 💔 Please make the call.
I am furious and heartbroken. If you are too, call your Rep right now: (202) 224-3121
A staffer will answer - be brief, say you want your Rep to vote NO on DHS funding bill. It’s ok if your voice shakes. 💔 Please make the call.
ICE has arrested four children in same Minnesota school district
School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district have recently been taken by officers wi...
www.cbsnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Children should never, ever, ever be used as “bait” to entrap parents.
I am furious and heartbroken. If you are too, call your Rep right now: (202) 224-3121
A staffer will answer - be brief, say you want your Rep to vote NO on DHS funding bill. It’s ok if your voice shakes. 💔 Please make the call.
I am furious and heartbroken. If you are too, call your Rep right now: (202) 224-3121
A staffer will answer - be brief, say you want your Rep to vote NO on DHS funding bill. It’s ok if your voice shakes. 💔 Please make the call.
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
We just saw this, and it’s a good idea for businesses to post. Private businesses are allowed to set dress and conduct rules. Requiring no full face coverings has long been standard for safety and loss prevention reasons, and it is within a business’s rights to refuse entry or service.
January 18, 2026 at 7:07 PM
We just saw this, and it’s a good idea for businesses to post. Private businesses are allowed to set dress and conduct rules. Requiring no full face coverings has long been standard for safety and loss prevention reasons, and it is within a business’s rights to refuse entry or service.
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children | janresseger janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/t...
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children
In an important column, the President of First Focus on Children, Bruce Lesley names what ought to be our nation’s social policy agenda, if justice and equity are the goals we seek: “de…
janresseger.wordpress.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children | janresseger janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/t...
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/t... by Jan Resseger
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children
In an important column, the President of First Focus on Children, Bruce Lesley names what ought to be our nation’s social policy agenda, if justice and equity are the goals we seek: “de…
janresseger.wordpress.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/t... by Jan Resseger
Sinclair Lewis - It Can’t Happen Here
He wrote this in 1935.
He wrote this in 1935.
January 17, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Sinclair Lewis - It Can’t Happen Here
He wrote this in 1935.
He wrote this in 1935.
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
New at Can We Still Govern?
"I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul...to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government."
Please read, share, help. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
"I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul...to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government."
Please read, share, help. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
Dispatch from the occupation
What life is like in Minneapolis now
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM
New at Can We Still Govern?
"I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul...to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government."
Please read, share, help. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
"I am writing as an ordinary citizen of Minneapolis/St Paul...to share with the outside world what is really going on ─ the terror being inflicted upon a U.S. city and state by our federal government."
Please read, share, help. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
Reposted by Bruce Lesley
Enjoy your MAHA-approved affordable dinner during the Golden Age. It’s your patriotic duty to ration and fight inflation for Dear Leader. The nation is counting on you.
January 16, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Enjoy your MAHA-approved affordable dinner during the Golden Age. It’s your patriotic duty to ration and fight inflation for Dear Leader. The nation is counting on you.
New Bipartisan Legislation Takes Steps to Stop Punishing Poor Kids
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
New Bipartisan Legislation Takes Steps to Stop Punishing Poor Kids
Recent bipartisan bills offer real progress, but Congress must make cutting child poverty a priority.
open.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:46 PM
New Bipartisan Legislation Takes Steps to Stop Punishing Poor Kids
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
Trump's cuts to mental health programs includes Cook County drug court, Illinois providers - Chicago Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com/nation-world...
Trump's cuts to mental health programs includes Cook County drug court, Illinois providers
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Tuesday night canceled some 2,000 grants representing nearly $2 billion in funding, according to an administration official with…
chicago.suntimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Trump's cuts to mental health programs includes Cook County drug court, Illinois providers - Chicago Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com/nation-world...
Children Charged as Adults Have Overwhelming Histories of Trauma, Researchers Find | The Imprint imprintnews.org/top-stories/...
Children Charged as Adults Have Overwhelming Histories of Trauma, Researchers Find | The Imprint
Research from the nonprofit Human Rights for Kids shows the correlation between childhood trauma and kids who end up in adult prisons.
imprintnews.org
January 14, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Children Charged as Adults Have Overwhelming Histories of Trauma, Researchers Find | The Imprint imprintnews.org/top-stories/...
A Children’s Bill of Rights - Yvonne Vissing - yvissing.medium.com/a-childrens-...
January 14, 2026 at 4:07 PM
A Children’s Bill of Rights - Yvonne Vissing - yvissing.medium.com/a-childrens-...
The Problem of Unregulated Homeschool - The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/family/2026/...
January 14, 2026 at 1:55 PM
The Problem of Unregulated Homeschool - The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/family/2026/...
Urging our followers to also follow @kidscantwaitusa.bsky.social as the newest member of the @firstfocus.bsky.social network.
#PleaseFollow
#PleaseFollow
January 14, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Urging our followers to also follow @kidscantwaitusa.bsky.social as the newest member of the @firstfocus.bsky.social network.
#PleaseFollow
#PleaseFollow
Watch: How the Trump Administration Is Remaking Public Education — ProPublica www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Vouchers, Patriotism and Prayer: The Trump Administration’s Plan to Remake Public Education
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is bringing about a new era in education — and perhaps the end of public schools as we know them.
www.propublica.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Watch: How the Trump Administration Is Remaking Public Education — ProPublica www.propublica.org/article/trum...