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birchbot.bsky.social
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@birchbot.bsky.social
2.1K followers 630 following 860 posts
she/her. Social Worker trying to make better policies for people. very bi very gay. Chicago I love you so much. Opinions are my own and not representative of my employer.
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birchbot.bsky.social
All the kitties I've hung out with lately ❤️
October 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - Aug 11- 24th

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Congress is in recess until September so there isn’t a lot happening in Federal policy this month. There will be a big budget fight when they return next month, get ready. Let’s take this opportunity to talk about some good news. Illinois creates first of its kind legal aid hotline for LGBTQIA+ people Announced just this week by Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind hotline specific for LGBTQIA+ people in need of information and assistance across a range of topics. The hotline will assist people with information and resources around healthcare, housing, safety concerns, legal documents, and government benefits like SNAP and/or Medicaid. Those who staff the hotline will also be prepared to help callers make sense of the many Executive Orders attacking queer and trans people, and to help them determine what steps to take in response, if any. Lest you think this is just a Chicago thing, during a trial period the hotline mainly received calls from people in downstate Illinois. LGBTQIA+ people are everywhere, after all! Perhaps this feels like a small win in a sea of terrible news, and the news has been TERRIBLE, but when you are being attacked left right and center by authoritarians and fascists you can’t merely play defense. You have to show there are other possible futures and you have to actively work to build them every single day. Regular people need to see that another, better world is possible and hopefully they will come join you in the work of building it. Governor Pritzker said as much when he announced this hotline, “For us to be able to go on offense, and not be on defense, is what I love about this state.” I hope other Democrats will start to realize the way forward is not by selling out Trans people or immigrants, but by vigorously defending them and “fighting cruelty with compassion,” as Governor Pritzker said. Illinois Pride Connect can be reached at 855-805-9200 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Call your Senators and Representatives Typically during the August recess, Congresspeople are back in their home districts meeting with constituents and hosting Town Halls. Call your Senators and Reps and tell them they need to start calling fascism what it is, and that we have to remove the Tyrant in the White House. https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member Protest through strategic non-cooperation Indivisible is training people across the country on what this looks like and how to build it into your fight against authoritarianism. The biggest impediment to the military occupation of DC right now is regular people showing up in the street to defend their city. Seriously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4496VWDjwS0 Learn about how real revolutions transform worldviews The weekly Ann Friedman newsletter discussed romanticism as in, ”marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized.” and part of that included this essay from David Graeber. https://davidgraeber.org/articles/a-practical-utopians-guide-to-the-coming-collapse/ Donate to the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid of DC MSMA began its work when Texas began bussing migrants to several Democratic run cities in 2022 and has evolved to not just offer mutual aid to immigrants but also providing bystander training, ICE watch and community defense, and policy advocacy. They are working every day to defend DC residents during the current occupation. https://www.dcmigrantmutualaid.org/donate
August 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
August 12, 2025 at 9:40 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - July 28 - Aug 10

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Remember, we are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Congress is in recess until September so there isn’t a lot happening in Federal policy this month. There will be a big budget fight when they return next month, get ready. Let’s take this opportunity to talk about some good news. Democrats starting to fight fire with fire on gerrymandering What is gerrymandering? Every 10 years, following the census, states redraw their congressional district maps to reflect population changes, known as “redistricting”. Gerrymandering is when the redistricting process is used to favor one political party over the other, rather than creating districts that are representative of the population as a whole. This can look like splitting a disfavored group into separate districts to water down their voting power. Or, it can look like packing all of the disfavored group into fewer districts--then they have overwhelming majorities in those districts but less power everywhere else. After Trump pressured Governor Abbott earlier this summer, the Texas legislature is trying to redraw (gerrymander) their congressional map so that when the 2026 midterms take place, there will be even more republican controlled districts than there are now. Redrawing districts in the middle of a decade is not typical. This is an intentional move by Republicans to seize even more power and further erode democracy. Texas Democrats know they are outnumbered in the State legislature and have few options to prevent this gerrymandering. So they took a radical step--they fled to Illinois, New York, and California so the State House and Senate wouldn’t be able to reach quorum. If there are not enough members present to reach quorum, the House and Senate can’t proceed with any business. This means no votes on redrawing the map. These governors are also threatening to redraw their own State congressional maps and create more Democratic districts for the midterm elections in 2026 if Texas or any other Republican led state moves forward with these power grabs. Call your Senators and Representatives Typically during the August recess, Congresspeople are back in their home districts meeting with constituents and hosting Town Halls. Call your Senators and Reps and ask when they plan to host a town hall this month. https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member Protest through strategic non-cooperation Indivisible is training people across the country on what this looks like and how to build it into your fight against authoritarianism. https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/803953/?utm_source=indivisible&utm_medium=homepage Learn more about gerrymandering Gerrymandering is dirty business and goes against the principles of Democracy. Learn more about it so you can fight for fair elections in your state. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/gerrymandering-explained Donate to the Brennan Center for Justice --or, your local voting rights organization. Many states have organizations focused on expanding voting rights and ensuring fair elections, and they often go unnoticed by regular folks. The Brennan Center works at the National level to advance Democracy by fighting gerrymandering, expanding voting rights, and fighting for fair elections. https://secure.brennancenter.org/secure/donate-brennan-center-justice
August 9, 2025 at 5:50 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - July 14-27

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Executive Order to Lock up People Experiencing Homelessness and People with Mental Illness On Thursday, Trump signed a new EO that aims to put people experiencing homelessness and/or people with mental illness in jail or institutions. It plans to do so through several ways: To provide assistance and funding to States who seek to relax laws on involuntary “civil commitment, institutional treatment, and step-down treatment standards” for people with serious mental illness who “pose a danger to others or are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves.” The definition of what poses a danger to others is completely subjective and will be left up to law enforcement to decide. To prioritize funding to states who “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting.” It will prioritize funding to municipalities which take steps to remove homeless people from public places and put them into institutions under the guise of “mental health and substance use treatment.” What this means is they mean to take funding from states which don't criminalize homelessness and shift funding to states who are willing to arrest people experiencing homelessness. Note the use of “urban” which is directly aimed at Democratic cities. Homelessness looks much different in rural areas. Eliminating the “Housing First” model. The Housing First model works by assuming that shelter or housing should be the first step for a person in need of services. Once the person is housed, then they can have the opportunity to engage in whatever other services they need to achieve long term housing stability. Would you be able to focus on your mental health or maintain a job if you were sleeping outside? No. Housing First is the model because IT WORKS. Instead of following this research backed model, the Trump Administration wants to tie funding to the requirement that someone enter treatment “as a condition” of participation in a housing program. Call your Senators and Representatives Tell them to sign on as a sponsor for the Housing, Not Handcuffs legislation introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Maxwell Frost https://housingnothandcuffs.org/hnhact/ Protest through strategic non-cooperation Indivisible is training people across the country on what this looks like and how to build it into your fight against authoritarianism. https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/803953/?utm_source=indivisible&utm_medium=homepage Learn more about the causes and solutions to homelessness The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has been disbanded by the Trump administration but they information is still available on their website. This council was established by Congress and yet, the Federal government is now going against its own recommendations and research with this new executive order. https://usich.gov/guidance-reports-data/data-trends Donate to your local homeless shelter Even in the best of times, homeless shelters are vastly underfunded. With the cuts to rental assistance and low income housing programs, the number of people experiencing homelessness is going to increase substantially. They need your help. https://www.hud.gov/findshelter
July 26, 2025 at 5:16 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - June 30 - July 13

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Changes to Medicaid Overall, anywhere from 17-29 million people are going to lose healthcare coverage over the next ten years thanks to this bill. Two big changes are detailed below. Work Requirements: enrollees who are childless adults between the ages of 19-64 (with exceptions for pregnant people, people with disabilities and their caregivers), and parents of children 14 years or older would be required to prove that they worked at least 80 hours during the previous month. They would have to do this reporting every single month. only 3% of Medicaid recipients are of working age, presumably able to work, but not actually working. Interviews show many of these people are caregiving, in school, or disabled but not on SSI. Kicking many immigrants with legal status off Medicaid. Republicans voted to immediately take away healthcare from whole groups of immigrants who reside here legally, including refugees and asylum seekers. Changes to SNAP (food stamps) Work Requirements: Republicans also changed the work requirements for the SNAP program to include even more people. They raised the maximum age from 55 to 65, they now include parents of children age 14 and up, and they are now also requiring people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and youth who aged out of foster care who are 18-24 years old. Just like with Medicaid, people will have to prove every single month that they worked at least 20 hours per week. Making States pay more of the cost: another major change is that States are going to have to contribute way more money to operate the program. States will have to pay between 5-15% of the benefit costs and 50% of the administrative costs. Many many states will not be able to afford to do this. Their choices will be to raise taxes, to make it harder to apply in order to cut down on the number of enrollees (to save money), or they may choose to not operate a SNAP program at all. Excluding immigrants from SNAP, too. Protest: mark you calendar for July 17 to make some Good Trouble In honor of the late civil rights leader, Congressman John Lewis, get out on the 17th to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. https://goodtroubleliveson.org/ Learn about the history of the US Government weaponizing citizenship. There is a long history of the government taking away citizenship from people who criticize its actions. Read a few examples here. https://shorturl.at/nz457 Donate to your local food bank. They will need all the help they can get as millions lose access to benefits.https://tinyurl.com/468293ck
July 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - June 16-22

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
ICE continues to terrorize the city of Los Angeles and greater California. Kidnapping and detaining housekeepers, farm workers, people riding their bikes down the street. Entire industries and neighborhoods have gone quiet in LA over the past two weeks, out of fear of being pulled off the street by the masked secret police. Trump threatened recently to continue this attack on the public in several other Democratic run cities. Despite the threats, nothing on the scale of what is happening to LA has come to my city. Probably because the federal government does not have the money or the manpower for truly widespread terror on the level that they would like-3,000 arrests per day. In fact, ICE is already roughly $1 Billion over their annual budget for the year, with several months left to go before their new budget year begins. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, has moved funds around to try and plug the budget hole, but the funds may only last into July. At that point, the agency is at risk of violating the Antideficiency Act. The budget bill that passed out of the House last month included enormous increases to DHS. The budget proposal includes $45 billion for additional detention facilities to be able to house over 100,000 people per day--double the number of people who are currently sitting in immigration detention facilities. $10 billion for staffing, to hire an additional 10,000 ICE officers over the next five years. Right now, ICE has about 20,000 staff in total, including regular administrative staff. This would be a huge increase. All of this matters because Congress still has not passed a budget for the next year. Republicans are having a very hard time agreeing on a final version (GOOD!). DHS can’t enact the full scale of their bloodthirsty plan without significantly more money for ICE. Especially since the people(™) continue making their jobs difficult, slowing them down, putting sand in the gears. GOOD NEWS - NO KINGS DAY Like many of you, I took part in the No Kings Day protests across the country last week--one of the largest single day protests in the history of this country. It was a day of joy, of solidarity, of intersectional community and resistance. It was a beautiful experience and I’m grateful to all of you that were able to join. Experts are estimating that between 4-6 million people protested across 820 different cities and towns in every single state and even some foreign countries! This means up to 1.8% of the entire US population showed up. The task now is how to get everyone who participated to get more deeply involved in this fight. We need many kinds of fighters right now, and we need to keep people engaged for the long term. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! This budget hasn’t passed yet. We have time. Learn about Immigration Court and DONATE to Unraveled Press Reporters at Unraveled Press in Chicago have begun attending immigration court every day to observe and report on ICE practices. Read this piece on what happened during a single day on the 15th floor, where Chicago immigration hearings take place. After that, donate so they can continue this work on the ground, in community. https://shorturl.at/hzfqx Something else. -don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU
June 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
The vibes in Chicago today were immaculate.
A crowd of protesters with one holding up a sign that says "no ICE in my malort"
June 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - June 2-15

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Budget Update In addition to massive cuts to food, housing, healthcare, education, and other critical services, the proposed Federal budget is going to be a massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. The MAGA Murder Budget continues to make its way through Senate committees, so there are no major changes to report on this week--but we haven’t talked taxes yet. Let’s look at the Yale Budget Lab’s analysis. The tax policy included in the budget, plus the ongoing tariffs, will leave any household earning less than $500k worse off. Those earning the least, will be hit the hardest. For example, those earning $39k or less will be losing $2,600 per year. Those earning around $76k per year will lose $1,650. Those earning $500k or more, are going to gain an extra $7,100 per year. A sample of ICE actions undertaken this week. Here are only a few actions taken by ICE this week. An ICE raid at an Omaha, NE food packing plant led to the arrest of more than 70 employees. Since the raid, family members and lawyers of the people detained have not been able to locate them or contact them. ICE has not disclosed the charges against the people they arrested. One lawyer said that this is unlike anything they have dealt with before. “It’s like he’s been kidnapped and disappeared off the face of the Earth.” ICE has begun a new, unprecedented practice across the country of arresting people when they arrive at court for their regular immigration hearings. These people are doing exactly what is being asked of them, and ICE is using their compliance against them by dismissing their cases and immediately detaining them. Typically, when a Judge dismisses an immigration case it is a positive step, allowing the person to pursue legal relief such as asylum, or because that person is not considered a threat in need of deportation. As the wife of one migrant at court put it, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It feels like none of us are safe." Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! This budget hasn’t passed yet. We have time. Protest ICE in your town. Consider their hotels. There are many ways to protest. As experts say, we need a variety of tactics to be effective. Consider one that has been successful so far in Los Angeles. Show up to hotels where ICE is staying. Hotels don’t like threats to their workers, they might force ICE to leave. Read the linked story about organizers in LA. https://shorturl.at/iHTRk Learn about Immigration Court and DONATE to Unraveled Press Reporters at Unraveled Press in Chicago have begun attending immigration court every day to observe and report on ICE practices. Read this piece on what happened during a single day on the 15th floor, where Chicago immigration hearings take place. After that, donate so they can continue this work on the ground, in community. https://shorturl.at/hzfqx Something else. -don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU
June 14, 2025 at 4:06 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
June 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - May 26 - June 1

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
HHS Cancels Flu Vaccine Secretary of HHS, RFK Jr., has been dismantling one of the most effective forms of public health in history - vaccines - by terminating a $776M contract designated to develop new mRNA vaccines to fight and prevent new influenza pandemics, such as the H5N1 bird flu. In addition to influenza, mRNA technology is what enabled the development of the COVID-19 vaccines in record time. No justification was given for the cancellation other than RFK’s expressed “skepticism” of mRNA vaccines. State Department Establishes “Office of Remigration” As part of their budget proposal, the State Department submitted a plan including cuts to a variety of diplomatic offices and programs. Additionally, it proposes the creation of a new Office of Remigration. This may not sound sinister, but the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism provides an important history lesson on the term “remigration". “Remigration is a series of policy proposals, drafted by Austrian Identitarian and former neo-Nazi Martin Sellner, to end the so-called ‘replacement’ by purging the continent of non-white people and eliminating all forms of multiculturalism. The goal is to make countries ‘European again.’” Samuel Samson, published a post on the State Department Substack claiming that there is, “an aggressive campaign against Western civilization itself” It is in their own words - Nazi and white supremacist ideologies are guiding the creation of this office. GOOD NEWS! San Diego Community Spontaneously Responds to ICE Friday, ICE officers raided a restaurant in San Diego. According to the restaurant manager, about 20-25 officers surrounded the building, stormed inside, handcuffing him and other staff. While this was happening, San Diego residents started to gather outside the restaurant and express that ICE was not welcome. When ICE attempted to remove the two employees, the resistance was so strong ICE chose to deploy flash bangs to get through the crowd. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! Protest: #MuskMustFall Global Day of Celebration Elon has started to pretend that he is stepping away from DOGE because Tesla is crashing. That means it is time to turn the screws on him. Mark your calendars for June 28 to show up to your local Tesla Takedown. Learn about protests and power. Awareness raising is important, but it is not the only form of protest. If we want to take power back, we have to be strategic. Listen to these long-term organizers to learn more. https://truthout.org/audio/awareness-protests-wont-threaten-the-richest-most-well-armed-people-on-earth/ Donate to Truthout to keep learning https://truthout.org/more-ways-to-give/ The above conversation is hosted by Truthout, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to independent reporting on a range of social justice issues. Quality reporting is critical right now and we should be supporting publications who are committed to their values.
June 1, 2025 at 6:25 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - May 19-25 - MAGA Murder Budget

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
MAGA Murder Budget Republicans in the House of Representatives passed their mega-budget bill in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday. They held the debate and vote starting at 1am because they didn’t want the public to see what was happening in real time. This budget is bad news for almost everyone, the exception being people who earn more than $1M per year *and* who are US Citizens. Work reporting requirements: enrollees who are between the ages of 19-64 would be required to upload proof every month that they worked at least 80 hours during the previous month. They would have to do this reporting every single month. Eliminate gender affirming care for Medicaid and ACA beneficiaries: the bill bans gender affirming care for all Medicaid recipients, including adults. It also prohibits “gender transition procedures” from being included as an “essential health benefit” for all insurance plans purchased in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Almost 1 in 4 trans people are medicaid beneficiaries. It is unclear how many trans people are enrolled in ACA plans. For the first time, parents with children over the age of 6 would be required to prove they are working at least 80 hours-per-month or face losing their SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. This would affect more than 4 million children. Reducing free school lunch eligibility: Right now, if at least 25% of students participate in programs like Medicaid or SNAP, then a school automatically qualifies for the free lunch program. This budget would increase that requirement from 25% to 60% of students. Work requirements do not make it easier to achieve gainful employment. They can’t change how many or what kind of employers are hiring. They don’t provide people with training or education to become gainfully employed. Work requirements don’t increase employment rates. Study of states that have added more stringent work requirements found no meaningful change in employment rates. Good news of the week: The Boss (a.k.a. Bruce Springsteen) has been using his tour to speak out against the Tyrant President. Boy oh boy did Trump get mad about it. From The Boss himself, “It's in the union of people around a common set of values, now that’s what stands between democracy and authoritarianism…There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now, in my country.” Now, we don’t all have the platform that Bruce Springsteen has, but let’s take inspiration from him and use our thousands of voices to speak bravely about what is happening. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! Protest: mark you calendar for June 14 https://shorturl.at/OY3wN Trump wants to have a dictator’s birthday celebration. Get ready to show him there are no kings and no dictators in this country. Learn about the origins of the Public Library https://tinyurl.com/pbslib Public libraries are one of the last, great public goods we have in the US. We must protect them. Donate: Local food banks https://tinyurl.com/468293ck They will need all the help they can get if this budget passes as-is. People will lose their SNAP benefits, and children will lose free school meals in many places. They will be turning to food banks for help.
May 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
Cover of Laura numeroff's if you give a mouse a cookie but the text has been changed to say if you give a fascist anything. Credit to @maggietokudahall.bsky.social
May 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - May 5-11 - SOME GOOD NEWS

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We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
Maine is fighting, and winning At the White House lunch for Governors in February, Trump called out Maine Governor, Janet Mills, for defying the Executive Order banning trans athletes from playing sports. Trump threatened to take funding from Maine if she didn’t comply. To which she said, “We’ll see you in court.” Trump retaliated against Maine by initiating an investigation focused on “depriving cisgender girls of their civil rights” by allowing trans girls to play sports and withheld funding for school lunches. Following through on her promise, the State of Maine sued the Federal government, and Maine won. Illinois is protecting autistic people’s health data Secretary of HHS RFK Jr., directed the agency to begin developing a tracking system of autistic people. In response, Governor Pritzker signed an EO that prohibits any State agency from collecting or disclosing personally identifiable autism related data that isn’t required for care or legal compliance. It also directs agencies to share the data anonymously. DC Community Fighting back against ICE raids Rumors of ICE raids in the DC area were confirmed Monday, and parents of a local elementary school sprang into action. According to Marisa Kabas at The Handbasket, “They quickly formed a Signal group to keep one another informed of potential ICE sightings at the bilingual charter school’s two campuses, and a sign-up sheet went around for parent volunteers to post up in front of the school buildings and keep watch. By Monday afternoon there were already several parents stationed, ready for whatever the coming days might bring.” They continued to station themselves outside the school on Tuesday, and organized groups to canvas the surrounding neighborhoods. ICE never showed up. In other areas of DC, residents hung posters around the city, “ICE WARNING” so those at risk could take steps to protect themselves. In all, ICE's operation was met with opposition and significantly hindered. Solidarity works! Call your your STATE Reps and Governor Tell them you want to see them stand up to Trump. State governments are one of the best tools we have for protecting vulnerable people right now. Do a little research into how your state is responding! Protest mark you calendar for June 14 Trump wants to have a dictator’s birthday celebration. Get ready to show him there are no kings and no dictators in this country. https://shorturl.at/OY3wN Learn about the history of Camp Jened and the ADA The Americans with Disabilities Act is a very recent piece of legislation—passed in 1990! It took sustained advocacy from people with disabilities to pass this landmark legislation. https://shorturl.at/Dw3Za Donate to the Austism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) ASAN is a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community. It will take incredible advocacy to fight back against RFK Jr.’s eugenicist crusade. https://shorturl.at/jUlSe Something else! Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
May 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - April 28 - May 4

Please share this flyer far and wide! Print and post them everywhere - hand them out at your next Tesla Takedown, at your church, at your grocery store!

We are all we’ve got! And everyone has something to give. 💜
States rely on Federal government funds to support everything from road maintenance to public schools, health care and housing, etc. Depending on where you live, 12% to 30% of your State budget comes from the Federal government. To make up for all the funds being cut in Trump’s proposed Federal budget, states may need to raise taxes; others will reduce or eliminate programs, services, and subsidies to residents altogether. No matter what part of the country you live in, this Federal budget will impact your everyday life. A few examples of proposed cuts: Eliminates the Community Development Block Grant worth $3.3B. CDBG is used by states and cities to fund housing development, infrastructure projects, and other homelessness programs. Cuts housing rental assistance programs by $26.7B, and consolidates several programs that address homelessness into one program, at the cost of $532M. Eliminates the Community Service Block Grant worth $770M. CBSG one of the best tools that states and cities have to address poverty. It funds things like community centers, workforce programs, youth programs, food banks, and more. Eliminates Harm Reduction programs for treating substance use disorders. Eliminating HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. Eliminating the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention. Eliminating the National Institute of Nursing Research. Cuts $4.5B of assistance for k-12 schools. Cuts over $15B for a variety of green energy programs that provide rebates to consumers, and fund the research and development of renewable energy sources. These cuts will likely be used to: Give giant tax breaks to the extremely rich. Increase the military budget to further surveil, arrest, detain, and otherwise harm immigrants and US citizens who speak out against the Trump administration. Add $43.8B to the Department of Homeland Security so they can, in their words, “fully implement the President’s mass removal campaign,” Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu Protest mark you calendar for June 14 Trump wants to have a dictator’s birthday celebration. Get ready to show him there are no kings and no dictators in this country. Learn about the history of May Day. May 1st is known as May Day, or international workers day. It followed the Haymarket Riots in Chicago in 1886 and is the reason we have an 8-hour workday. https://shorturl.at/MHuio Donate start or join a giving circle with Grapevine Those of us who have the means need to step up and fill the gaps the government is creating through these cuts. Giving circles are a great way to organize with others to fund things you care about. https://shorturl.at/fvRod Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
May 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - April 21-27

Please share this flyer far and wide! Print and post them everywhere - hand them out at your next Tesla Takedown, at your church, at your grocery store!

We are all we’ve got, and everyone has something to give.
DOGE “Kills” off 4 million Social Security Recipients The tech bros at DOGE took control of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) master client files and moved millions to what is called the Death Master File. DOGE did not verify whether the client files were people who had actually died. Unsurprisingly, reports are surfacing that SSA has inaccurately marked people as dead. In addition to revoking Social Security benefits, this impacts banking, payments, credit scores, etc. These people can be “resurrected” by going into their local SSA office with proof of life and have their file be reinstated. the process takes 30-45 days. The US secured an agreement back in March with the Rwandan government to send immigrants, who are unable to return to their home countries because of threats or risk to their safety, to Rwanda instead. The definition of human trafficking is a criminal activity in which people are recruited, harboured, transported, bought, or kidnapped to serve an exploitative purpose. the US pays Rwanda $100,000 per person. The first person was deported to Rwanda this week. Ameen, an Iraqi refugee, has been a lawful resident in the US with his wife and children since 2014. Now, Ameen has been separated from his family and deported to a country he has never been to. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has sent a message to judges across the country; if you don’t help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carry out its mass-deportation efforts, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will come for you. On Friday, Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on the courthouse grounds, accused of escorting a man ICE was seeking to arrest through a back door of the courtroom rather than the front entrance. The man was still apprehended by ICE. This is an attack on the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution; not only is the Executive Branch routinely ignoring court orders, they have now escalated to direct attacks on the Judicial Branch. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu Protest get involved in ICE Watch locally Read this Teen Vogue piece about what that looks like, and download their workbook. Decide what you are willing to do to protect your neighbors. https://shorturl.at/b7fjz Learn about the separation of powers Everyone should understand the basics of our Constitution. Let the National Constitution Center give you a short introduction. https://shorturl.at/9OUgC Donate to to The Resurrection Project They are leading weekly (virtual) Know Your Rights Trainings for immigrants, they provide legal aid, organize communities, and so much more. https://shorturl.at/7aALJ Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
April 26, 2025 at 11:41 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - April 14-20
Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government. Please share far and wide! Print and post them everywhere! Hand them out at protests!!

We are all we’ve got, and everyone has something to give.
The Trump Administration continues to escalate its authoritarian “immigration enforcement” (it actually has little to do with immigration) by illegally revoking visa statuses, detaining lawful residents at foreign prisons, and even detaining US Citizens that it claims are not citizens. You read that right—even US Citizens are not safe from ICE. The most important thing to understand with these actions is that the Trump Administration is not following the law. In the US someone is innocent until proven guilty—they are not giving any of these people their due process rights, they are defying court orders for their return, and they are changing the definition of “legal” daily to suit their agenda. President Trump will be releasing his proposed budget in May, but a copy of the proposal for HHS was leaked to the press this week. The budget includes an overall cut of $40 billion or 30% of the budget—in 2024 the budget was $121 billion and this proposal has a total of $80 million. It contains catastrophic cuts and major reorganizations that will harm thousands of people in the US, including: Eliminating the Head Start program. Head Start isn’t just an early education provider—they also ensure children receive medical, dental, hearing, vision, and behavioral screenings. Children receive breakfast, lunch and healthy snacks every day. They also go out of their way to support parents with referrals to community resources, education, and mental health support. Significant cuts to HIV/AIDS programs that provide support for prevention education, outreach, and treatment. These cuts will likely result in increased outbreaks and bad outcomes for those living with HIV/AIDS. Eliminating assistance to rural hospitals. HHS currently provides significant financial assistance to rural hospitals, they operate a program that places early career doctors at rural hospitals, and offer a range of trainings on best practices. Under this budget, that will all be gone. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! Tell them to protect Head Start! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu Protest get involved in ICE Watch locally Read this Teen Vogue piece about what that looks like, and download their workbook. Decide what you are willing to do to protect your neighbors. https://shorturl.at/b7fjz Learn how to be a dissident Trumps fascist policies are going to continue to escalate. We need to learn the history and strategy of successful movements to oust authoritarians. Start here. https://archive.ph/PU9BW Donate to Siembra NC They work to protect immigrants in North Carolina from exploitation and unlawful deportation. They also train others on how to do this work. https://shorturl.at/Fd1er don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
April 20, 2025 at 3:39 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - April 7-13

Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government. Please share far and wide! Print these flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood! Hand them out at protests!! SPREAD THE WORD!!
Trump Tax Update (Tariffs)De Minimus Exemption Get ready to pay $230 for your Shein purchase that used to cost $30 now that Trump has eliminated the de minimus exemption and instituted flat fees for all packages sent to US consumers from Chinese companies. Previously, shipments to the US worth less than $800 from foreign retailers enjoyed a “de minimis” exemption to import tariffs (i.e., taxes paid to the Federal government). This exemption was created to simplify and accelerate the process for consumers who purchase foreign goods, and to reduce the work on Customs officials who inspect imports. Fun fact: in 2023, packages from China accounted for 60% of all de minimis shipments. In addition to eliminating the exemption, from now until May 2 consumers will have to pay a flat $75 for every package worth less than $800 that is shipped from China. It will increase to $100 from May 2 until June 1, and again to $200 from June 2 onward. Trump says that these fees (import taxes) and tariffs are aimed at bringing manufacturing back to the US, but that won’t happen (for many reasons I don’t have space to explain here)! What will happen is that Americans will pay significantly more for - or no longer be able to afford - everyday items. The SAVE Act - taking voting rights away from millions Republicans in Congress are attempting to pass H.R. 22, calling it the SAVE Act. They claim this bill is about preventing voter fraud (which is less than 0.0001% of votes). The bill would require every person to provide proof of citizenship, in the form of a birth certificate or a US passport, and require that the name used on one’s voter registration match the name on those documents. What this will look like: Millions of married people, particularly women, will lose their right to vote. They will take away the rights of Trans people to vote. This will affect thousands (millions?) of college students, low-income people, and elders. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu Protest keep joining the TESLA TAKEOVER Some cabinet members are getting reeeally annoyed with Elon. Let's keep up the pressure and make him a liability. https://teslatakedown.com Learn the history of voting rights in the US People fought like hell to get the right to vote in this country, and many are STILL fighting like hell against disenfranchisement. https://shorturl.at/YNkSu Donate to the Fair Elections Center They are fighting to protect and expand voting rights for vulnerable populations across the country. https://shorturl.at/IYaAY don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
April 13, 2025 at 2:06 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK - MARCH 24-30

Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government. Please share far and wide! Print these flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood! Hand them out at protests!! SPREAD THE WORD!!
Executive Order Roundup Note from the writer: It is important to understand what Executive Orders (EO) can and can’t do. An EO can’t change existing law, it can’t create new laws. An EO is a way for the President to tell Federal Agencies how they want existing laws to be implemented, what priorities they should have, and what regulations they should implement within their area of expertise. Attack on organized labor On 3/27, Trump signed an EO that attempts to take away the collective bargaining rights of thousands of Federal employees, claiming that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gives him the authority to do so because of their role in safeguarding national security. He claims that dozens of agencies now fall under this law, many of which have long-running unions. For example, he claims that employees of the Food and Drug Administration are part of the National Security apparatus and therefore can’t collectively bargain. Re-writing history and restoring confederate monuments This EO seeks to do two things: Take away the independence of the Smithsonian museums to curate and present American history in a way that tells the full story, good and bad, by instructing VP Vance to take control of the Board of Regents. It specifically calls out the National Museum of African American History and Culture for having an exhibit that describes white American culture, and the American Women’s History Museum for having an exhibit that includes the accomplishments of transgender women. It also seeks to restore the many many (Confederate) Monuments that have been removed across the United States in recent years, at the desires of the people who live in these places. In total, this EO seeks to whitewash the history of the United States by removing any mention of racism, sexism, queer history, Black history, and any other elements of our history that make cis-, straight, white people uncomfortable. Mass Firing at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) On T… Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Check out https://5calls.org/ for scripts on what to say! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu Protest get ready for HANDS OFF National Day of Action on 4/5 Indivisible is organizing a nationwide mobilization on Saturday 4/5. Travel to DC or join an event in your home state, but please SHOW UP! https://handsoff2025.com Learn the history of unions in the US Unions are the reason we have minimum wage, a 40-hour work week, child labor laws, and so much more. We have a lot to learn from them about how to fight back right now. https://shorturl.at/snjB4 Donate to African American Heritage Preservation Foundation To amplify Black and African American history. The AAHPF is a resource center for the preservation of African American historical sites. https://shorturl.at/0rurK don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU Created by Jenelle. I’m a policy professional living in Chicago. I care a lot about my city, and about Democracy. These fascist fuckers are trying to take us down, but I’m not going down without a fight. Join me!
March 29, 2025 at 9:50 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK ⁉️ MARCH 17-23

Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government. Please share far and wide! Print these flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood! Hand them out at protests!! SPREAD THE WORD!!
The Immigration issue! Executive Orders Trump has signed a swath of executive orders aimed at reducing immigration, deporting immigrants with legal statuses, and generating fear among those within the US and/or considering coming to the US. One key EO (EO 14157) gave the President the authority to “designate cartels and other organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations”. Leveraging EO 14157, Trump designated​​Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan transnational organization, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The President then declared the US is being invaded by TdA. Invoking the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), he ordered the immediate apprehension and removal of Venezuelans who are 1) aged 14 or older, 2) members of TdA, and 3) not naturalized or lawful permanent residents. The AEA was last invoked during WW2 as justification for the internment of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans. The Presidential Proclamation doesn’t define who is considered a “member” of TdA; lawyers believe that should be determined in court.​ As it stands,people are being detained/deported first and asked questions later, violating their rights to due process. Venezuelans, primarily, are being flown to El Salvador and detained in a mega-prison run by the El Salvadoran government. Over 200 Venezuelans who came to the US seeking asylum were labeled members of TdA, without proof or evidence, and sent to El Salvador. Additionally, within the United States, immigrants with various legal statuses are being detained without cause. Including: A Canadian woman who was on a legal work visa and attempting to rectify a processing issue at the US Consulate. A woman and her husband - both pastors. They were stopped by an agent driving near San Diego and explained that they didn’t have their passports, expecting to be redirected. Instead, they were detained. A family of three, living in the US for 11 years with work authorizations. One more thing. On Saturday, March 15, Chief Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking removal of “all noncitizens in U.S. custody who are subject to [Trump’s order on TdA]” for the next 14 days or until a further order from the court. That day, the Trump Administration sent over 250 Venezuelan men on flights to El Salvador. This action continues to be challenged in court. Call your senators and representatives. Tell them to elect a new leader in the Senate. Tell them you support IMMIGRATION REFORM with a path to citizenship. Protest. get ready for HANDS OFF National Day of Action on 4/5. Indivisible is organizing a nationwide mobilization on Saturday 4/5. Travel to DC or join an event in your home state, but please SHOW UP! Learn about internment of Japanese Americans during WWII This is not new. The US has a history of unjust internment of immigrants. https://shorturl.at/ub8pN Donate to Immigrant Defenders Law Center The immigration process is EXTREMELY expensive. This organization is representing immigrants, including Venezuelans being wrongfully detained, in their immigration cases. https://shorturl.at/vasGY
March 22, 2025 at 9:02 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK ⁉️ MARCH 10-16

Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government. Please share far and wide! Print these flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood! Hand them out at protests!! SPREAD THE WORD!!
Congress passed a Continuing Resolution(CR), to keep the government funded through 9/30 and prevent a government shutdown. A CR continues the previous year’s budget, but some adjustments can be made to agency budgets. The CR passed on 3/14 included cuts to transportation, housing, and the VA, and an increase in defense spending. A CR also allows Trump to make decisions about which programs get funded within each agency for the remainder of the year. He can decide to cut off funding for any program he wants. For example, he can now redirect money allocated for clean energy toward coal and gas projects. This could have been prevented, but nine cowardly Senate Democrats backed down by joining Republicans to vote in favor of “cloture”. Cloture ends the debate period and prevents a filibuster from delaying the passage of a bill. Democratic Senators could have forced Republicans to come to the negotiating table by withholding their votes. Led by Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, they gave up their power because they were scared they might look bad if the government shut down. As a result, Trump and Musk’s administrative coup is allowed to continue. On 3/11, about 1,300 employees at the Department of Education (DOE) were fired. The overall staff is now half the size it was at the start of the Trump administration. Trump and Republicans are saying that this won’t affect students; they’re lying. Slashing resources for Head Start, pre-k, elementary, high school, trade schools, community colleges, universities, libraries, and museums will be catastrophic for students and the greater public. No staff will be left to investigate and address discrimination within educational settings. There may not be financial assistance or support for rural schools. The DOE sets aside between 15-25% of most grant funds to go towards rural schools. If there’s no one to process your Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), you can’t get financial aid. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Tell them to elect a new leader in the Senate. Tell them you will support a primary challenger if they don’t start fighting dirty. https://bit.ly/43dvUAu get ready for HANDS OFF National Day of Action on 4/5 Indivisible is organizing a nationwide mobilization on Saturday 4/5. Travel to DC or join an event in your home state, but please SHOW UP! https://handsoff2025.com Learn how school segregation is coming back A key goal of the right is to re-segregate public spaces. https://shorturl.at/7F4Od School segregation never really ended. Donate to Run for Something If we are going to get these geriatric Senators out, we have to have a strong bench to replace them. Run for Something recruits and trains people to run for local or State office. https://runforsomething.net/give/ -don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU
March 16, 2025 at 2:45 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
🗣️🗣️ WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS WEEK ⁉️

Here is your weekly flyer with key policy updates coming out of the federal government this week. Please share far and wide! Please print these flyers and post them everywhere in your neighborhood! Hand them out at protests!! SPREAD THE WORD!!
Budget Update it seems likely that the House will pass a Continuing Resolution (CR), to avoid a shut down on the 14th. A CR extends the current budget for a specific period of time - this one would extend the current budgets until 9/30. That means it all stays flat until the next deadline. To get this done by the 3/14 deadline, the CR needs to pass the rules committee and a full House vote by early this week! Republicans in the senate will need Democrats to vote for the CR if they want it passed. Why is this good news? It shows that Republicans don’t have the coordination nor the support for their budget policies to pass right now. They are hoping to build support for robbing the poor to pay the rich between now and September. Tariffs - Trump’s Tax on Working People 25% tariffs were instituted on Canadian and Mexican imports on Tuesday. As expected, stock markets freaked out. The tariffs on some Mexican goods were walked back on Thursday (but not your favorite avocados). An exemption for carmakers made on Wednesday What is a tariff? A tariff is a tax on imported products that get passed on to buyers in the form of higher prices. The tariff is charged to the maker, and then the maker increases the price to the consumer. Trump plans to leverage tariffs to coerce countries, businesses, etc. to do his bidding. It’s all a grift, folks. Senate Democrats block bill - GOOD NEWS! This bill was attempting to amend Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which protects sex discrimination in educational institutions, to ban any trans girls from participating in sports at the K-12 and collegiate level–by excluding trans people from this civil rights law. Most bills in the Senate need 60 votes to pass because you need 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. The Democrats banded together and not a single one voted in favor of this bill (though a few didn’t vote, looking at you Elisa Slotkin). This is what we like to see!!! TAKE ACTION Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Ask them when their next town hall is. Tell them to protect Social Security, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits! https://bit.ly/43dvUAu PROTEST - join the growing TESLA TAKEOVER Elon is the reason that the basic functions of the government are about to stop working. Hit Elon right where it matters, his money. https://teslatakedown.com LEARN about how the filibuster works in the Senate One of the key tools that Senate Democrats can use to obstruct! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-does-the-filibuster-work DONATE to the Trans Youth Emergency Project They help families navigate the process of accessing gender affirming care. https://shorturl.at/qhk8k Don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take! http://bit.ly/4gRDlQU
March 8, 2025 at 4:51 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
just say what you actually think and don't apologize for it
Meryl Streep yelling meme photo
March 7, 2025 at 12:41 AM
birchbot.bsky.social
WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?! Hi all - dropping my second weekly flyer about what happened in the federal gov this week. Please share!!!

Print your own copies here: shorturl.at/VYRDr
What happened in the federal government this week? News overwhelming? Unsure of what is real and what’s bullshit? Here are some big things that happened this week. Federal Budget Negotiations - Update House Republicans are one step closer to passing their budget. This budget would extend tax cuts for the rich (making more than $743k) passed during the previous Trump administration. In order to pay for the extended tax cuts, Republicans—who currently control the House—plan to make huge cuts to programs that help low-income people, including: $880 billion in Medicaid cuts. $230 billion cut to SNAP benefits. What passed this week is called a budget resolution bill, which tells committees how much they have to change their spending/revenue. Each committee will now work out their budget details before coming back to the full House of Representatives for a vote. The Senate also has to vote for this budget so there is still time to act! The Department of Defense released a memo that directs all branches of the military to discharge all current transgender service members and to no longer admit new service members if they are trans. The only “exception” is if a trans person remains in the closet and exhibits no symptoms of mental distress. So, there are no exceptions. If current service members do not voluntarily resign from their posts, they will be required to pay back their signing bonuses, which can be as high as $50,000. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): They give us weather forecasts and help us anticipate weather emergencies like hurricanes and tornadoes. They also protect our oceans and coastal communities. Up to 800 people were fired this week. This page contains a list of links to take action. Call your Senators and US Representative - find them here. Tell them to protect Medicaid and SNAP!! Ask them when their next town hall is. Protest - join the growing TESLA TAKEOVER Elon is the reason that the basic functions of the government are about to stop working. Hit Elon right where it matters, his money. Learn about more issues by attending a session of the Chicago Salon Club A fun and casual environment to learn from experts on so many topics! Donate to Team Red, White and Blue Veterans are being hit hard by the firings, and trans service members need more help than ever right now. Something else - don’t like these options? Here’s a very long list of so many actions you can take!
March 1, 2025 at 4:36 PM
birchbot.bsky.social
Our geriatric boy has begun climbing INTO THE SINK to lick butter off of the dishes. Maniac.
A black cat with white whiskers is crouching inside of a large skillet that is sitting in a stainless steel sink. He is looking very guilty, like he knows he is being naughty.
February 26, 2025 at 4:38 PM