“As an adjudicated insurrectionist, Trump is an illegitimate president according to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and therefore every official act as president will be illegitimate.”
–Mike Zonta, co-editor of OccupySF.net
The 14th Amendment states: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
Call your Congressperson and your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121
The film, which blends new interviews, archival footage and watercolor animation, will drop on the service later this year, and seems likely to contend for the best documentary short Oscar a year from now.
The Baddest Speechwriter of All, a documentary short about Dr. Clarence B. Jones, the lawyer and speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has been acquired by Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. It will drop on the service later this year.
In the film, which blends new interviews with archival footage and watercolor animation sequences hand-painted by Brazilian artist Daniel Bruson, Dr. Jones, who is now 95, reflects on his life on the front lines of America’s Civil Rights Movement, and the personal toll experienced by himself and others as a result.
Proudfoot, who is repped by UTA and served as a producer of the film through his company Breakwater Studios, tells THR, “This is a man who not only witnessed but personally shaped the Civil Rights Movement from the inside. Stephen and I are still humming from the incredible response to the film at Sundance and could not be more thrilled that now, millions of people will experience Dr. Jones’ electrifying testimony because of this extraordinary partnership with Netflix.”
Adds Curry and Erick Peyton, who also served as producers of the film through their company Unanimous Media, “We couldn’t be more excited that The Baddest Speechwriter of All has found a home with Netflix. Dr. Jones’ story has long deserved this level of reach and recognition. Through Netflix’s platform, his words and stories will resonate with audiences across borders and generations. We’re deeply grateful to Ben and the entire creative team whose passion and dedication made this film possible.”
The film’s executive producers included Elizabeth Goodstein and Gigi Pritzker for Madison Wells, Peter Rotter and Jane Solomon. Its cinematographer was Brandon Somerhalder, editors were Nick Wright and Tim Johnson and composer was Cameron Moody. UTA Independent Film Group and WME Independent co-repped the sale.
Establishment Democrats don’t trust their own voters to make the decision of who should represent them in some of the races that will decide who controls Congress next year.
There is little doubt that, if it were up to the Republicans across the country who are working hard to gerrymander their opponents out of existence, or the GOP lawmakers in Congress pushing the SAVE America Act, every Democratic voter would be disenfranchised. Sometimes, however, it seems as though establishment Democrats have the same goal.
Time and time again, they are trying to take decisions that ought to be made by voters away from them. We have seen this in presidential primaries and also when former Vice President Kamala Harris was anointed to take on Donald Trump in 2024 (although, to be fair, Joe Biden’s stubborn insistence to run for a second term and his refusal to drop out of the race sooner was a big part of that problem).
The most recent example of this dynamic came this week courtesy of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which added eight candidates to its “Red to Blue” program — an initiative that identifies particularly vulnerable Republican-held districts that Democrats hope to flip.
That in itself is hardly controversial.
The program, which now includes 20 names but will likely be expanded in light of the favorable political climate for Democrats, is meant to give promising candidates a boost in races the party believes they can win. And, usually, being part of “Red to Blue” does translate into more fundraising opportunities from donors who want to make sure that their money has a maximum impact on which party controls Congress.
The problem, however, is that some of the newly added Democrats haven’t even sewn up their nominations yet, which means that the DCCC is trying to pick winners and losers in competitive primaries and deprive the party’s voters from choosing their preferred candidates.
To those familiar with the machinations of the Democratic Party, it will come as no surprise to learn that the congressional hopefuls being disadvantaged in those cases are more progressive.
One is Randy Villegas, who is running in California’s 22nd district and has been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Instead of letting Californians decide who is the best candidate in a fair fight, the DCCC instead added Jasmeet Bains to “Red to Blue.”
This drew heavy criticism from the party’s left wing.
“Establishment Democrats want a big tent party until it starts to include real progressive fighters who don’t answer to corporations and billionaires,” stated David Hogg, an activist who co-founded the progressive group “Leaders We Deserve.”
CPC leaders were slightly more diplomatic.
“We disagree with the DCCC’s decision to attempt to tip the scales in this race. Voters, not the DCCC, should pick Democratic nominees,” they said in a joint statement. “The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and our members have consistently advocated for DCCC neutrality in competitive House primaries, and the DCCC should have observed that policy in this race.”
In Maine, where the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee already whiffed when it endorsed Gov. Janet Mills (D), who recently ended her campaign, the DCCC backs Joe Baldacci. That move drew criticism from two of his primary opponents.
“It’s undemocratic for national establishment Democrats to put their thumb on the scale in any primary,” said Matt Dunlap, who has released a poll showing him leading the race. “Just like in certain other races across Maine this year, they won’t decide this one — the people of Maine will.”
And Jordan Wood, the leading fundraiser in the race, noted that he was not surprised by the news but rather energized.
“Maine does not want DC political elites deciding our primary,” he said before arguing that the DCCC’s endorsement shows that change is needed in the nation’s capital. “It’s a reminder of how desperately we need change in Washington, not just to stop [Donald] Trump and hold him accountable, but also to fix our broken party, which is so out of touch with people that it thinks it knows better than them.”
And that gets to the heart of why the DCCC’s move is so short-sighted.
In a midterm election, which usually features lower turnout, voter enthusiasm is crucial, especially in close districts like the “Red to Blue” targets.
Therefore, alienating any voter bloc, such as progressives in this case, by trying to influence the primary and disadvantage certain candidates, is extremely short-sighted.
In addition, it makes Democratic leaders in Congress sound disingenuous when they talk about Republicans trying to disenfranchise voters. Because, albeit on a different level, this is exactly what they are trying to do: make sure that the voices of certain voters don’t get heard.
Klaus Marre Klaus Marre, a former congressional reporter, is a senior editor for US politics at WhoWhatWhy. He writes regularly here, and you can also follow him on Bluesky and Substack.
Robert Reich and Inequality Media May 7, 2026 Our media is controlled by just a handful of billionaires and their corporations. And Trump is making things even worse. Here’s how we stop it.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30, 2026 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
“Performative dipshittery, wrapped in fictional jingoism, delivered by an incompetent drunk wearing the clothes of an adolescent boy,” said one critic of Hegseth’s video.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew instant ridicule on Thursday after he released a video touting President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget as a fiscally responsible plan that is “putting the American taxpayer first.”
At the start of the video, Hegseth accuses defense contractors of bilking the Pentagon for expenses such as factory construction, while also constantly charging more for cost overruns.
Hegseth then claims that Trump has brought together a group of private-sector negotiators whom he’s labeled “Deal Team Six” to lay down the law on the defense industry and save the US taxpayer money.
Thanks to President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget, this War Department has moved from bureaucracy to business.
This is a FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT in our Arsenal of Freedom—ensuring our military remains the most lethal fighting force in the world. pic.twitter.com/ykIfMw3kuU
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) May 7, 2026
Hegseth never explains how it is possible that the president and his “Deal Team Six” are saving US taxpayers money while at the same time asking US taxpayers to fund a $1.5 trillion military budget that would be over 50% more than the 2025 US defense budget and more than four times the money spent on defense by China, the world’s second biggest defense spender.
Regardless, Hegseth wrote in a social media post that the $1.5 trillion budget would be “a FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT in our Arsenal of Freedom—ensuring our military remains the most lethal fighting force in the world.”
Critics of the Trump administration erupted in mockery after seeing the Hegseth video.
“Spread this lame ass video everywhere,” wrote Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor, a former National Security Council staffer under President Barack Obama. “I want every voter to know that Trump has requested a $1.5 TRILLION Pentagon budget. Shut up if you want better healthcare or for Social Security to remain solvent. All you get is more bombs to drop on Iranian schools.”
Indigo Olivier, a reporter for The New Republic, said Democrats could make the proposed Trump budget a winning issue given how many other problems—including the rising costs of gasoline, groceries, and healthcare—that the Trump administration seemingly has no interest in addressing.
“I would love to hear Democrats talk about Pentagon price gouging with even half the energy they devote to Hasan Piker,” she wrote. “The administration pushing a $1.5 trillion defense budget somehow becoming the face of anti-waste messaging is political malpractice.”
Former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) described Trump’s proposed Pentagon budget as “hundreds of billions more in waste and fraud—at taxpayer expense.”
“Remember when this administration pretended it was going to bring down the national debt?” Amash asked.
Former Republican political strategist Jeff Timmer delivered an even harsher assessment of Hegseth’s video, which he labeled “performative dipshittery, wrapped in fictional jingoism, delivered by an incompetent drunk wearing the clothes of an adolescent boy.”
Journalist Patrick Henningsen ripped Hegseth for delivering a “desperate, dumbed-down message” that he predicted would “go down in history as one of the biggest own-goals yet—and the worst pieces of war propaganda we’ve ever seen.”
Steven Kosiak, nonresident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote an analysis last month of Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget in which he said, “It is difficult to overstate just how massive an increase in defense spending this would represent, or how unhinged it seems to be from reality and sober policymaking.”
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks onstage at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California on May 3, 2026.
(Photo by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Blueprint Capital Advisors)
“Saying so privately to some big donors is very different than publicly calling for transparency from the DNC, which is badly needed,” said Norman Solomon of RootsAction, which has led calls for the release.
Even former Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly “has no problem with a public airing” of the Democratic National Committee’s internal “autopsy” report on her 2024 loss to Republican President Donald Trump—which the DNC has continued to conceal, despite mounting demands for transparency.
Harris’ position was reported Thursday by NBC News, which noted that “while she indicated to donors that she had no issue with releasing it, Harris has not discussed the postmortem with DNC Chairman Ken Martin and did not know about his decision to keep it under wraps until it happened.”
NBC cited “a person who has heard the conversations,” one of multiple sources journalists Jonathan Allen and Natasha Korecki spoke with for their broader report exploring “turmoil over the Democratic Party’s future” and Harris’ consideration of a 2028 run.
For months, Martin has resisted pressure to release the autopsy—which, as Axios revealed in February, found that the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip contributed to Harris’ defeat.
Citing a “person close to Harris,” NBC also reported Thursday that the former VP “is signaling privately that she has more to say about the Middle East now that she is freed from the Biden White House policy,” and “she is likely to do so after the midterm elections,” either “from the perspective of a party elder or from the perspective of a candidate seeking votes.”
While touring the country for the book she wrote after her loss, Harris has publicly acknowledged that she is weighing another White House run. Though the 2028 election is two and a half years away, she has led early polling. However, the party’s potential primary field is incredibly crowded, featuring dozens of current or former governors and members of Congress.
Potential contenders include governors from the Trump 2.0 era—such as Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan—as well as leading progressive voices in Congress, such as Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Norman Solomon, national director of RootsAction, which has spearheaded calls for publishing the full postmortem, wrote in a recent opinion piece for Common Dreams that “Martin’s concealment of the autopsy report puts a thumb on the scale for one candidate: Kamala Harris.”
Solomon highlighted the DNC’s reported conclusion about the role of the Gazagenocide in the election result, and suggested that “renewed attention to the Harris 2024 finances would also be unwelcome.”
In response to Harris’ reported remarks to donors, Solomon said Thursday that “more than four months have passed since Martin announced he was reneging on his promise to release the autopsy.
“But Harris still hasn’t made any public statement that she believes it should be released,” he added. “Saying so privately to some big donors is very different than publicly calling for transparency from the DNC, which is badly needed.”
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Vertical Apr 13, 2026 In the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin (Jude Law) joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano) to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain, using violence and deception to change the world forever. Putin and Baranov’s reign of chaos begins with lies and corruption, and quickly escalates to assassinations, tyranny, and eventually all-out war. Starring: Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Jeffrey Wright, and Jude Law Directed by: Olivier Assayas Release Date: May 15, 2026
Harry S. Truman was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953). As vice president, he succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died less than three months after he began his fourth term.
During World War I Truman served as an artillery officer. After the war he became part of the political machine of Tom Pendergast and was elected a county judge in Missouri and eventually a United States Senator. After he gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, Truman replaced vice president Henry A. Wallace as Roosevelt’s running mate in 1944.
As president, Truman faced challenge after challenge in domestic affairs. The disorderly reconversion of the economy of the United States was marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes, and the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act over his veto. He confounded all predictions to win re-election in 1948, largely due to his famous Whistle Stop Tour of rural America. After his re-election he was able to pass only one of the proposals in his Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to begin desegregation of the U.S. armed forces and to launch a system of loyalty checks to remove thousands of communist sympathizers from government office, even though he strongly opposed mandatory loyalty oaths for governmental employees, a stance that led to charges that his administration was soft on communism. Truman’s presidency was also eventful in foreign affairs, with the end of World War II and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the creation of NATO, and the Korean War. Corruption in Truman’s administration reached the cabinet and senior White House staff. Republicans made corruption a central issue in the 1952 campaign.
Truman, whose demeanor was very different from that of the patrician Roosevelt, was a folksy, unassuming president. He popularized such phrases as “The buck stops here” and “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen.” He overcame the low expectations of many political observers who compared him unfavorably with his highly regarded predecessor. At one point in his second term, near the end of the Korean War, Truman’s public opinion ratings reached the lowest of any United States president, but popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency became more positive after his retirement from politics and the publication of his memoirs. He died in 1972. Many U.S. scholars today rank him among the top ten presidents. Truman’s legendary upset victory in 1948 over Thomas E. Dewey is routinely invoked by underdog presidential candidates.
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One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism Virtual Event · Hosted by No Kings Time Wednesdays 8 – 9:30pm EDT Location Virtual event Join from anywhere About this event Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations,... Continue reading →
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CBS + SF Examiner Gubernatorial Debate Registration Register here to attend the CBS KPIX + San Francisco Examiner Gubernatorial Debate. Guests will be selected at random on May 10 and receive a confirmation email on May 12. Date: Thursday, May 14, 2026 Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm Location: 465 California... Continue reading →
When you volunteer for Saikat, it’s on us to give you a great experience and a genuine chance to make a difference. We don’t want to waste a second of your time. That’s why we’re always optimizing. And I’m excited to report that this Saturday we talked with 300% more... Continue reading →
Trump Regime Takedown: Every Saturday Saturday, March 7, 2026 12:00 PM 2:00 PM Tesla San Francisco999 Van Ness AvenueSan Francisco, CA, 94109United States (map) Google Calendar ICS Keep democracy alive every Saturday by showing up, taking a stand, and sticking together for the long haul. Standing together is better than standing alone. Let’s get together... Continue reading →
