#U.S. Politics

[todaysbird]

I don’t think people understand how bad Trump cutting research funding is. People keep assuming there will be no research at all continuing on…false! This will almost certainly lead to an uptick of biased, privately funded studies (think: leading dog food brand funds study that finds their dog food to be the most nutritionally complete)…it’s going to be a mess trying to determine what’s real, accurate scientific information.

[fostertheory]

At least when it comes to NPR, federal support represents only a very small fraction of the budget for the national offices (something like 1%). But it's a greater fraction of the budget for member stations, especially those in rural areas.

To peel off Trump supporters, they need to hear a second point of view. Support for these stations could be a strategic move in that regard.

Also, they and PBS make good material.

Yoooooooo

So the government just defunded PBS and NPR which is fucked. That being said, the public can cover the damage if we orginize and donate.

Only about $1.60 of tax dollars per US citizen per year are spent on the public broadcasting budget. NPR and PBS offer beong able to make small monthly donations, some being 7$ per month or lower if you want.

If you want to donate 1.60$ per month to your local station, you can multiply how much funding they get from you by 12. If you do their monthly donation of $7 per month, your donation can equal the tax dollars of 54 people spent on public broadcasting per year.

If you want to donate to your local station, look them up by your town here to make sure your local stations get helped specifically:

[lakecountylibrary]

🔥 The beacons are lit; the library calls for aid

UPDATES FROM APRIL 1 AND MAY 5: https://www.tumblr.com/lakecountylibrary/782730356592967680/federal-court-halts-dismantling-of-imls-in-ala

UPDATE FROM JUNE 16: Government Accountability Office finds withholding IMLS funds is illegal (Library Journal) It is still important to call Congress and ask them to fund libraries in the 2026 budget.

The Trump administration has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services - the ONLY federal agency for America's libraries.

Using just 0.003% of the federal budget, the IMLS funds services at libraries across the country; services like Braille and talking books for the visually impaired, high-speed internet access, and early literacy programs.

Libraries are known for doing more with less, but even we can't work with nothing.

How You Can Help:

🔥 Call your congressperson!

Use the app of your choice or look 'em up here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Pro tip: If your phone anxiety is high, call at night and leave a voicemail. You can even write yourself a script in advance and read it off. Heck, read them this post if you want to.

Phones a total no-go? The American Library Association has a form for you: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=23577

🔥Tell your friends!

Tell strangers, for that matter. People in line at the check out, your elderly neighbor, the mail carrier - no one is safe from your library advocacy. Libraries are for everyone and we need all the help we can get.

...Wait, why do we need this IMLS thing again?

The ALA says it best in their official statement and lists some ways libraries across the country use IMLS funding:

But if you want a really specific answer, here at LCPL we use IMLS funding to provide our amazing interlibrary loan service. If we can't purchase an item you request (out of print books, for example) this service lets us borrow it from another library and check it out to you.

IMLS also funds the statewide Indiana Digital Library and Evergreen Indiana, which gives patrons of smaller Indiana libraries access to collections just as large and varied as the big libraries' collections.

As usual, cutting this funding will hurt rural communities the most - but every library user will feel it one way or another. Let's let Congress know that's unacceptable.

[nourasbasha]

My name is Laian, I’m 11 years old.

My dad rented us a home after we lived in a tent, and he sent me and my siblings to good schools so we can learn and dream.

Because of the war, everything is so expensive. That’s why my dad started this campaign — to help us keep going.

I made this drawing from my heart. Maybe it can help us hold on to hope 💛

You can donate directly through our campaign on GoFundMe, our campaign is verified @/gazavetters number #644 , I hope this post reaches people who don't know our story as well. This post tells our story and the challenges and difficulties we face as the war continues for the second year in the Gaza Strip.

Updated June 22, 2025

Tonight, Iran's nuclear reactors were bombed by America, the United States of America. This is not good. The war in Gaza will not end. It seems that we will remain like this until we die. The war is extending. Also, Israel has not stopped its genocidal massacres in Gaza, nor has the stifling siege, the lie about aid, and the trap of American-Israeli aid distribution points... they are death traps.

[the-girl-from-another-time]

It’s crazy how it takes 20 years to make a Wicked movie and once they do, it comes out just after Trump’s reelection. The stripping of minority rights, rollback of progress, and intentional demonization of activists are such central themes in that story, and here we are, watching queer people/immigrants/women/people of color/etc being slowly stripped of their rights under conservative regimes. Personally, watching Dr. Dillamond’s firing seemed analogous to deportation of immigrants or firing/silencing of queer teachers. And then the fact that another core theme is the way the government constructs propaganda to make a mediocre con man look like a god!! And all this is shown to be horrifyingly and objectively wrong!! Absolutely insane timing.

[archaeologysucks]

I saw this on Twitter, and do not know the source, but I think it belongs here.

[phantomrose96]

Hello. I mean this really imploringly, and really genuinely. If you're a U.S. citizen still on the fence about what to do for the election, please vote Harris. There's this idea circulating that the person you vote for should be someone you like, love, idolize and that is so very not true. You're voting for the opponent you'll face for the next four years when you have issues to protest and matters to vocalize. You're voting for the person most likely to give an inch when you protest the things that matter. You're voting for the person most likely to not strip away your existing rights and scatter your focus across the things we already won, and which can be taken away. We lost Roe v Wade under the Trump-appointed judges. The current trans-panic is so disgustingly on fire, and it's absolutely the Republicans eager to rip away what little protection there is. Both candidates are also, disgustingly, pro-Israel. But Trump will never ever give a fuck to any protest on that matter.

You don't want to be complicit in genocide. I get it. But if you're a U.S. citizen, you're already benefiting from the U.S.'s foreign policy, and that's already complacency. Refusing to vote or voting third party isn't absolving you of that. It's just letting Trump walk in the door. And letting Trump in is complacency. And your ability to organize, and to make change, will go so less far against a Trump cabinet than a Harris one. The material harm under Trump is real.

Does voting for Harris make you feel guilty? I'm sorry, but you have to bear it. Your guilt isn't what's important. A white person's guilt isn't important. A citizen of a global terror's guilt isn't important. Actions that pacify your guilt aren't important. Focusing on absolving your guilt is in fact harmful, as opposed to actions that can actually materially reduce harm.

Please protest. Please donate to good causes. Please support Palestine. Please be vocal. Please fight for BIPOC and LGBTQA+ rights. Please view Harris as the opponent whose ears these things fall on. Your ability to organize safely, largely, loudly, and effectively will go so much further under a Harris presidency. Please.

[griseldagimpel]

If you're a Californian, now is the time to contact Governor Newsom and object to him abandoning trans rights. He needs to get serious backlash.

Newsom is probably gearing up for a presidential run in 2028, and we do NOT want Throwing Trans People Under the Bus to become part of the Democratic Party platform.

And even if Newsom doesn't win the primaries - please do not let this man win the primaries - there is a section of the Democratic Party that is in the process of convincing itself that throwing trans people under the bus is the key to winning elections. It's not, but any Democratic who flirts with that needs to catch heat in order to cow the rest into not doing that.

[vshamru]

Reminder to folks in the wake of the election to be extremely scam aware.

If you get an unsolicited email or call or text or any other contact from a federal or local agency saying you need to do something NOW RIGHT NOW to make sure your ballot is counted, stop. Do not do the thing they are telling you you must do.

Take a moment to figure out what agency they claim to be contacting you from, and then hang up, close the email, whatever. Go to a search engine, and find the OFFICIAL WEBSITE of whatever department. Call the number you find there. When you get through to a person, say “[Name] contacted me claiming to be from [department] about [issue], and I wanted to verify that this is not a scam.” The person on the other end of the line will either say “that’s a scam” or “no that could be a real issue, let me transfer you to someone who can help.”

You will never get a phone call about a warrant for basically anything. You will get a letter.

You do NOT need to pay to cure your ballot, or to overturn a warrant, or any other reason someone claiming to be a government agent might give you. If you have to pay a fine, you will receive a letter, and be told where to pay it. You will never need to pay using gift cards or cryptocurrency.

PLEASE be scam aware right now, as emotions and urgency are really high.

[todaysbird]

awesome. this is just what America needs

[kateeorg]

Misinformation Watch: Matpat

There's been a recent misconception about Matthew Patrick/Matpat that I desperately have to correct.

NO. Matpat is not a politician now.

He is not in Congress.

He did not win any elections.

Matpat (and Stephanie Patrick, for that matter, let's not forget her) are actually working WITH a couple of actual Congressional reps as part of a bipartisan group called the Congressional Creators Caucus, or the Creator Economy Caucus.

They are trying to educate lawmakers about online content creators and their needs, as a couple of long-running creators themselves, as this is an economic space that affects a significant amount of Americans on all sides. They are aiming to influence policy, but are not actually creating policies themselves. Considering the mess that the TikTok "ban" created, this could be such an amazing help.

But NO. Matpat is not in Congress and is not running for an election anytime soon.

Please reblog, pass this around, because I don't want to spend hours correcting every single "Matpat is in Congress now?" posts, especially since I can't tell which ones are just jokes and which ones genuinely believe it.

[terriwriting]

They were driving a rented 2024 Chevy Malibu with Oklahoma plates. The traffic stop escalated when the musicians said they were Canadians. After an officer brought out a detection dog, the sisters were told the vehicle had tested positive for narcotics. After a physical search turned up nothing more than a bottle of wine and one of the sister’s medication, the questioning continued.

“The officer speaking to me seemed to believe that Canada was the root of where all these drugs were coming from,” Cassie said. “It seemed very much in line with the narrative that has recently been touted.”

The Trump administration has accused Canada of flooding the U.S. with the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The unsubstantiated claim is being used as pretext for tariffs placed on Canadian goods.

Before the MacDonald sisters were released from their detainment, they were both subjected, in separate police vehicles by different officers, to a loyalty test.

“Mine asked, ‘I have an important question to ask you, which do you prefer, Canada or the United States?’” Cassie said. “It seemed weighted, as if whether we were going to be given a further difficult time or if we were going to have the opportunity to go on our way depended on the answer I gave.”

[liberaljane]

Digital illustration of an indigenous man with two braids wearing a jean jacket. There's text that reads, 'Columbus didn't discover anything.'

[eugenedebs1920]

“We are unique among the world’s armies. We are unique among the world’s militaries. We don’t take an oath to a country. We don’t take an oath to a tribe. We don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant, or to a dictator, or to a wannabe dictator. We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea, that as America, we are willing to die to protect it.”

“Those values and ideas are contained within the Constitution of the United States of America which is the moral North Star for all of us who had the privilege to wear the cloth of our nation. It’s that document that all of us wearing that uniform swear to protect and defend against all enemies, foreign, and domestic. Those who sacrificed themselves upon the alter of freedom the last two and a half centuries of this country must not have done so in vain. The millions wounded in this nations wars did not sacrifice their limbs, and shed their blood, to see this great experiment in democracy perish from this earth. No. We the American people, we the American military must never turn our backs on those who came before us. We will never turn our back on the Constitution. That is our North Star. That is who we are, and that is why we fight.”

General Mark Milley

[auntierayeraye]