Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court

By | |
Leave a comment

FRONTLINE PBS | Official May 9, 2023 FRONTLINE As controversy erupts around Clarence and Ginni Thomas, this two-hour documentary special tells the inside story of their path to power. This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: http://www.pbs.org/donate​. Over the past three decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has risen to the center of power in Washington, impacting issues affecting millions of Americans — from abortion to affirmative action. By his side has been his wife and best friend, Ginni Thomas. Together, the Thomases have left an indelible mark on America — in the legal realm and in conservative politics. But what has fueled their rise and expanded influence, and what have been the consequences? “Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court” is a FRONTLINE production with the Kirk Documentary Group. The director is Michael Kirk. The producers are Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Vanessa Fica. The writers are Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser. The reporters are Vanessa Fica and Jane Mayer. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath. Explore additional reporting related to “Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court” on our website: https://to.pbs.org/3LyTJbv

The Committees of Correspondence

By | |
Leave a comment
  • Google AI Overview

The Committees of Correspondence were vital Patriot networks established by American colonies before the Revolutionary War. Initiated by Samuel Adams in Boston (1772) and expanded colony-wide by Virginia (1773), they allowed leaders to share political grievances, mobilize grassroots resistance, and coordinate the First Continental Congress. Wikipedia +5

Origins and Purpose

Before the American Revolution, intercolonial communication was slow, limited, and heavily reliant on official (and often intercepted) British mail routes. To counter British policies—such as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts—Patriots established an underground letter-writing network to bypass royal authority. Wikipedia +2

The movement evolved in two major phases:

  • Local Committees (1772): On November 2, 1772, during a Boston town meeting, Samuel Adams formed the first major committee to draft a statement of colonial rights and circulate it as a pamphlet throughout Massachusetts. Wikipedia +1
  • Intercolonial Committees (1773): In March 1773, Virginia leaders—including Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee—established the first intercolonial standing committee to communicate directly with other colonies, unifying the Patriot cause. Encyclopedia Britannica +1

Key Functions and Impact

The Committees of Correspondence functioned as “shadow governments” that actively undermined royal rule in the Thirteen Colonies: History.com +2

  • Information Exchange: They rapidly circulated news about British abuses, legal infringements, and local protests (such as the Gaspee affair). George Washington’s Mount Vernon +2
  • Public Mobilization: They educated everyday colonists on their political rights, ensuring that the push for liberty reached rural towns and not just coastal cities. George Washington’s Mount Vernon +1
  • Unification: By spring 1773, 12 colonies had joined the network, creating a unified political front that bridged cultural and economic differences. Society for History Education +3

Legacy and the Continental Congress

The unified communications network laid the crucial political groundwork for organized resistance. When the British Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) in 1774, the committees were instrumental in organizing and summoning the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The vast majority of delegates who attended this historic convention were active members of their local or colonial Committees of Correspondence. Wikipedia +3

Controversial S.F. grocery store tax is killed but backer has a new plan to tackle affordability

By | | ,
Leave a comment

By Megan Fan Munce, Alyce McFadden, Staff Writer July 19, 2026

Gift Article (SFChronicle.com)

Supervisor Bilal Mahmood said Sunday he’ll drop a controversial proposal to tax vacant chain grocery stores, shifting his focus to an ordinance to support smaller grocery stores.Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle

San Francisco lawmakers killed a package of ballot measures Monday aimed at lowering grocery prices and penalizing shuttered supermarkets during a committee hearing Monday after the proposals met pushback from business interests and Mayor Daniel Lurie. 

Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s original “Affordable Groceries Act,” as introduced last month, sought to place two separate measures on the November ballot: a city-run fund to convert corner stores into grocery stores and a tax on existing vacant grocery chain locations. But after the tax drew opposition from fellow city leaders and members of the business community, Mahmood said he’s reversing course

Instead, the District 5 supervisor says he’ll focus on pushing a new ordinance that would devote funds toward helping convenience stores stock fresh produce and support new grocery stores with incentives and zoning reforms. The new legislation would be decided at the Board of Supervisors rather than by voters, who would have decided the fate of the original proposals. 

Tensions over the measure spilled into public view earlier this month as Mahmood pushed back against mounting criticism from business groups, developers and elected officials. The measures’ demise signals the political might of the mayor, who has enjoyed tremendous popularity during his first term in City Hall.  

At a Rules committee meeting Monday, Mahmood said he did not have the votes necessary to move either of his original proposals to a vote at the full Board of Supervisors after Supervisors Shamann Walton and Stephen Sherrill withdrew as co-sponsors last week. 

Mahmood previously told the Chronicle the measures were inspired in part by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open city-run grocery stores to combat rising grocery costs. Over the past few years, San Francisco has faced several high-profile grocery store shutdowns — including a Safeway in the Fillmore, a Whole Foods in Mid-Market and a Lucky in the Bayview, the neighborhood’s only major supermarket prior to its closure last year.

While Mahmood’s proposal would not have put the city in charge of running the grocery stores, it would have allowed it to use donations from nonprofits or money from the tax to support more grocery stores. Mahmood had said he hoped the tax would also incentivize bigger chains to remain open.

Mayor Daniel Lurie opposed the vacancy tax. A spokesperson for the mayor told the Chronicle that Lurie was working to get more grocery stores in San Francisco but believed a tax wasn’t the way to do it. 

The Chamber of Commerce and Align Real Estate, the developer seeking to turn the shuttered Safeway in the Fillmore into a housing complex, also spoke out against it, arguing it would make it harder to fill that site with a new tenant. Mahmood told the Chronicle that Amazon, owner of the empty former Mid-Market Whole Foods, was “actively lobbying” against the tax. 

Supervisor Connie Chan, the chair of the board’s budget committee, declined to bring the vacancy tax to a vote and expressed reservations about the policy earlier this month.  E

On Friday, Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman told the Chronicle he questioned whether the vacant grocery store tax might have “unintended consequences” as the city tries to lure businesses back after the pandemic. Mandelman said he is “concerned that measures like this send a different message that is a little more adversarial and that imagines that San Francisco can tax and regulate our way to recovery.”

Mandelman said representatives from the mayor’s office including Lurie shared concerns including that putting the measures to voters in November could distract from “extremely high-priority” measures headed to the ballot already, including funding for public transit and a slate of charter reform efforts.

“There’s a strong argument to be made that we really want to try to limit how much stuff we’re throwing at the voters and how much opposition we might be summoning,” Mandelman said.

Walton said in a statement Monday that he changed his mind after a report from the controller found that the vacancy tax would yield little money for city coffers. 

In light of the opposition, Mahmood said he would pivot his efforts from twin ballot measures. 

“I recognize that while there is not consensus in City Hall on how to address this issue today, … I know and believe that there is will in our city to still address the underlying issues of food insecurity,” Mahmood told the committee Monday. 

Instead, Mahmood announced that he would ask the city attorney to draft new legislation that would expand existing city programs to help combat rising grocery costs and food deserts in the city. It would revive an expired city initiative that helped convenience stores sell fresh produce and exempt new grocery stores from building and permitting fees in food deserts. 

It would also provide incentives to developers who build new housing with grocery stores on the ground floor. Mahmood said that idea came out of conversations with Mamdani administration staffers about a similar New York City program that launched in 2009. 

“We’re seeing these large scale developers coming in and removing grocery stores, so we need to make sure that when housing is built we’re maintaining neighborhood benefits,” Mahmood told the Chronicle on Monday.

Mahmood said he believes his colleagues had changed their minds about supporting the measures “due to pressure.” It’s not clear whether the new proposal will be met with similar opposition. 

“I remain committed to working with anyone and everyone to advance the solutions we agree on today, while continuing to push for the bigger changes our city needs,” Mahmood told the committee. 

July 19, 2026

Megan Fan Munce

Reporter

Megan Fan Munce is a reporter on the climate team covering California’s home insurance crisis. She writes about rate changes, state policy initiatives, the growth of the California FAIR Plan, and how homeowners are navigating challenges in the insurance market. Her awards include the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for “Burned,” a series that explored how insurance industry practices left many wildfires survivors unable to rebuild and recover. Munce joined the Chronicle as part of the two-year Hearst Journalism Fellowship, spending her first year at the Houston Chronicle. She grew up in the Bay Area before attending Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. 

How to reach Megan

Email megan.munce@sfchronicle.com or reach her on Signal at meganmunce.88 to share tips or tell Megan about your experience with home insurance in California. 

Alyce McFadden

City Hall reporter

Alyce McFadden is a City Hall reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle covering the Board of Supervisors. McFadden previously worked at the New York Times, where she was a news assistant and reporting fellow. She covered Andrew Cuomo’s history of sexual harassment, the trial of the man accused of attacking Salman Rushdie, the Los Angeles wildfires and the reaction to the killing of Charlie Kirk. McFadden has also written for Law360, OpenSecrets and the Maine Beacon. She’s a graduate of Bowdoin College, where she studied government and legal studies and was editor in chief of the student paper.

How to reach Alyce

To provide story tips or feedback or to obtain her Signal number, email alyce.mcfadden@sfchronicle.com.

Trans community, allies condemn Wiener for exploiting a march he was asked to leave

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Plus: No Planning Commission? No Sunshine Task Force? That’s The Agenda for July 19-26

By Tim Redmond

July 20, 2026 (48hills.org)

State Sen. Scott Wiener was not invited to the Trans March. He was really, really not invited: In fact, Gabriel Haaland, one of the founders of the march, told me, he had been asked specifically not to attend.

In 2016, then-Sup. Wiener, then-state-Sen. Mark Leno, and then-Mayor Ed Lee were booed off the stage at the march. (That was when Leno and Wiener were close, before Wiener stabbed his mentor in the back and endorsed London Breed for mayor.)

“We told them very clearly that we didn’t want politicians in our space,” Haaland explained to me. “We changed our policy because of Wiener, and his anti-tenant policies, and asked them not to come back.”

Wiener crashed the march, then used it to raise money

And yet, Wiener showed up this year—and again, was heckled by the crowd, particularly over his past support for the Netanyahu government of Israel. No violence occurred; the only violence was when the cops cracked down on a traditional party in what was called Stud Alley.

But Wiener didn’t just show up; after he left, he used video of the event to raise national money, $127,000 in national money, for his Congressional campaign. (According to the Standard, even Netanyahu sided with Wiener, saying he was treated unfairly.)

And that’s created some serious push back in the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s about as craven as I’ve ever seen,” Haaland told me. “To use our community in this way to raise money is disgraceful. … He never even picked up the phone and reached out to the Trans March folks.”

Trans activist Storm Miguel Florez noted:

He put the trans community in more harm than we already are by naming the Trans March and trans community in his national campaign to blast this incident and paint himself as a victim.  He knew what he was doing. You might not call that an attack, but he certainly targeted the trans community whether in a passive or aggressive way.  The consequences are that nationally, the stories in the media and think pieces are painting trans people, and specifically trans people at the Trans March as violent and unhinged. 

The Harvey Milk Club agreed. In a statement unanimously approved by the board, the club announced:

In 2016, Scott Wiener, then-State Senator Mark Leno, and Mayor Ed Lee were booed off the stage at the San Francisco Trans March. The organizers changed their policy and asked politicians not to attend the Trans March. Earlier this year, Scott Wiener ignored that request. A few individuals verbally confronted Wiener about his too little, too late position on Gaza—which changed only under a great deal of community pressure during his Congressional campaign. Wiener then went on a national media tour, stoking derision against Trans March organizers and attendees, and used the incident in fundraising emails instead of engaging his constituents or Trans March organizers. 

Local papers are reporting that Wiener’s fundraising and media pitch paid off and he raked in $127,000 for his Congressional campaign coffers. Our Club reminds community that this fundraising was carried out on the backs of, and with great harm to, hundreds of people in San Francisco’s trans community. Additionally, in response to this incident, other San Francisco politicians have engaged in harmful anti-queer rhetoric to belittle attendees of the march. This is truly a watershed moment signaling an alarming change in orientation by those in power toward trans and queer people. 

Meanwhile, on the same night, SFPD charged at Trans March attendees and made arrests at the end of the march, resulting in people being pepper-sprayed and arrested for graffiti. These attendees spent the weekend in jail and have been charged with felonies right next to the historic Compton’s Cafeteria, where trans women fought back against police repression in 1966.  

The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club condemns these self-serving actions by State Senator Wiener and urges politicians to stop using vulnerable communities as a fundraising tool. Trans people already face immense danger in this country. We need real allies, not people who will sell us out for a fundraising opportunity.

As has been his practice for some time now, Wiener did not respond to my request for comment.

The Rules Committee will consider Monday/20 the reappointment of Lydia So to the Planning Commission, but Board President Rafael Mandelman has not nominated any members, and the term of Commissioner Derek Braun has technically expired—so the commission may be unable to meet for lack of a quorum.

Mandelman told me he is interviewing candidates, but at this point, with the board’s August recess coming up, there may be no Planning Commission in San Francisco for more than a month.

When the supes voted to “streamline” the commission system, they banned the process of people whose terms had expired continuing to serve as “holdovers” until someone new was appointed.

Meanwhile, because the committee hasn’t voted on any nominees to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, that body can’t meet. Rules Chair Shamann Walton told me that committee members are seeking applications for the panel; it’s a few hours work a week, and comes with no pay but members get the city’s health insurance. You can see the qualifications here.

If you want to apply, submit a resume and a Form 700 to bos-appointments@sfgov.org.

Full disclosure: My adult independent daughter works on the Connie Chan for Congress campaign.

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Tim Redmond

Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.

After 10 years, advocates finally have a chance to make public bank a reality

By | |
Leave a comment

Just a vision in 2016, it’s now coming before the voters. But will Mayor Lurie stand in the way?

By Ian Firstenberg

July 17, 2026 (48hills.org)

On July 7, the Board of Supervisors took a monumental step towards actualizing a decade long project—a San Francisco Public Bank. In a 9-2 vote the supervisors approved a City Charter amendment that, if voters approve, would set up Municipal Finance corporation and Public Bank.

San Francisco has the potential to set an incredibly powerful standard, wresting financial control from predatory institutions like Bank of America (where the city’s General Fund money is currently kept) and into the hands of the people.

Sup. Jackie Fielder started working toward a public bank ten years ago

A San Francisco public bank would provide financial support for small businesses and eventually consumer services that BofA and other such companies never would.

“One of the really exciting possibilities is a transition to worker ownership and the current finance system is not really set up to facilitate that flexibly,” Misha Steier, spokesperson for the SF Public Bank Coalition told 48hills.

The arduous process, still in its inception, started in 2017. Organizers in San Francisco, including current District 9 supervisor Jackie Fielder, were disturbed by the municipal misalignment with the city’s values. Her experience protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline brought the reality of climate change into focus and pushed her to begin organizing for more democratic control over the city’s money.

“This is a tool in our tool box that leverages the public infrastructure of SF to support economic development and small business as well as affordable housing and renewable energy,” Fielder told 48hills.

Currently, San Francisco puts its roughly $13 billion of operating money into Bank of America. That money is then used to finance fossil fuels, weapons manufacturers and other hyper extractive industries. So, Fielder and other organizers bonded together to begin the lengthy process of taking back ownership of the people’s funds.

Thus, the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition was born. At the time, it seemed like a Sisyphean task—mostly because public banking was not strictly speaking legal in the Golden State. It took two years to clear that first hurdle, and in October of 2019 AB857 passed. The assembly bill was authored by current City Attorney David Chiu.

“Currently, a portion of our tax dollars go to some of the largest Wall Street banks in the form of fees and high interest rates. I think public banking could provide a more efficient and beneficial avenue to keeping the public’s money safe and investing in worthwhile community endeavors,” Chiu told El Tecolote at the time. “AB 857 is really about making sure that the public’s money is used to benefit the public.”

The next step came in the summer of 2021 when the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the Reinvest in San Francisco Ordinance, authored by former District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston. That ordinance created a working group, staffed with both financial experts and local organizers, to assess both the viability and the mechanics of establishing a public bank. While that extended process was, at times, marred by some friction between the financial types and the organizers, the group eventually determined that a slow phase-in of an MFC was the most effective way to get to a public bank in the city.

Former District 1 Supervisor Sandra Fewer was also instrumental in getting the SFPBC off the ground.

“We have taken many steps towards a public bank during my three years on the Board of Supervisors, but the next step necessary to move this project forward is the development of a business plan,” Fewer told El Tecolote in 2019.

Now, that business plan is in development.

“Once the funds are capitalized, to bring about an official MFC and eventually a public bank, we’ll have the ability to really make this city affordable,” Fielder said.

Affordability is often at political odds with viability, at least when it comes to any redistributive policies. A single-payer health care system is decried as too expensive, building adequate affordable housing is seen as untenable because there’s not enough money to finance it. With the public bank, San Francisco has the potential to show that in fact affordability is viable and that political will, rather than functionality, is the largest impediment.

“With financialization you just see every available dollar has to account for the potential profit it could earn otherwise. Everything is facing profit and all the money that could go towards meeting people’s needs, the vast majority of it goes towards enriching people,” Steier said.

A public bank offers more funding for affordable housing and renewable energy, and could provide small business owners lower interest rates loans. It would allow the city to empower local credit unions and small financial institutions that could further support working-class communities in the city.

The potential is overwhelming, but at this point it is just that. Compared to 2017 when I first wrote about the public bank, the city’s political landscape has moved to the right. Tech money has infiltrated local elections and Mayor Daniel Lurie has repeatedly shown not just a willingness but an eagerness to strip social welfare programs down to bare bones, if not eradicate them entirely. Political positions once taken as standard, like supporting the unhoused and expanding affordable housing, are now constantly challenged by so-called moderate elected officials.

Notably, the only two dissenting votes last Tuesday were Supervisor Sherrill of District 1, a grad-school classmate of Lurie, and Supervisor Alan Wong of District 4, a Lurie appointee.

Given the city’s move to the right and the ever-expanding political push of San Francisco technocrats, now is a pivotal time to take back democratic control of city funds.

“The best time to start a public bank is 20 years ago,” Steier said. “the second best time is now.”

Jackson Earns Senate Nomination Sweep

By | |
Leave a comment

The North Woods logger and former state senator out-organized everyone to take Graham Platner’s place on the ballot.

David Dayenby David Dayen July 19, 2026 (Prospect.org)

Troy Jackson speaks to reporters
Troy Jackson, as a Democratic candidate for governor, speaks to reporters at a campaign event, June 5, 2026, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo

Troy Jackson will be the replacement Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine after smoking his opposition in the 16 county delegate elections held over the weekend. Jackson will take on Sen. Susan Collins as a substitute for Graham Platner on the November ballot, and he got there by leveraging Platner’s formidable organizing network to blow out his competition.

A total of 17,279 Mainers cast ballots in the race. Jackson’s slate won the majority of the vote in 15 of 16 counties, and in most counties, including the biggest (Cumberland, home to the city of Portland), his slate won every delegate. Overall, he took more than 90 percent of the delegates, according to a review by the Prospect.

More from David Dayen

Jackson, a former state senator and third-place candidate for governor this year, therefore has enough support to secure an absolute majority on the first ballot at the July 25 convention in Bangor. The 101 state committee members wouldn’t matter even if they voted as a bloc against Jackson.

Jackson’s top two opponents in the quick-strike nomination race, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and public-health official Nirav Shah, both dropped out on Sunday and endorsed Jackson. Neither of them had a path to victory, as their slates failed to secure more than a handful of votes, and a few of those who did win also appeared on Jackson’s slate.

“In November, Mainers will defeat Susan Collins, and we will take back our Senate seat from the billionaires and corporations who think they own it,” Jackson said on social media.

The progressive Jackson, who earned the support of the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America in the governor’s race, starts out $11 million behind Collins in fundraising, and that doesn’t count the $8 million in the bank from Pine Tree Results PAC, Collins’s own super PAC funded by billionaire private equity tycoons. But in a state with fewer than 900,000 registered voters, grassroots mobilization does matter. And Jackson just showed that his network has the aptitude to pull it off.

The Prospect in your inbox

Analysis that goes beyond the noise, from Dayen, Kuttner, Meyerson, and more.Sign up

No paywall, no programmatic ads — just the reporting. Unsubscribe anytime. Submitting your email signs you up for The Daily Prospect, Today on TAP, Aftermath, and Weekend Reads.

An unexpected single-location countywide caucus on a weekend in July is a unique challenge, even if it was a high-profile event inside the state. Jackson identified a delegate slate, and members of Platner’s volunteer network, which at its height numbered 15,000 across the state, swung to Jackson’s side during the quick-strike process. The two agreed on most issues and put the concerns of working families, labor, and the need for universal health care first.

Organizers in “Jackson for Maine” T-shirts left over from his gubernatorial run stormed the weekend caucuses, after making a week of phone bank calls to get supporters out. Jackson’s longtime connection to the labor movement also helped with organizing; he has the endorsement of the state AFL-CIO.

For John Kirk of Blue Hill (Hancock County) and his wife Susan, becoming a Jackson delegate was “based on his platform, his progressive track record and on the recommendation of our daughter and her friends in South Portland,” he told me over text. Kirk’s Democratic club held a straw poll early in the week and Jackson got two-thirds of the vote. Local state representative Nina Milliken and several other supporters organized the slate in conjunction with the campaign, while also collecting signatures for Jackson’s candidacy.

Outside the Hancock County meeting in Ellsworth, Kirk and others manned the table and talked to voters. “In the end it worked out,” he said. Jackson’s slate won 22 out of 23 delegates.

A large number of delegate candidates in their personal statements spoke to the need to honor the will of the voters in Maine, who gave Platner the nomination with 72 percent of the vote in June. Platner withdrew after a credible allegation of sexual assault.

The unusual circumstance created a one-week mini-campaign where television ads were nonexistent, outside groups did not exert any influence, and success was measured in grassroots muscle, getting people out to community meetings and having conversations with neighbors. Jackson’s alignment with Platner’s movement and the various forms of organization he could draw from made the contest child’s play.

Retail politics may be the only place Jackson will have an edge, given the financial disparity between the two candidates. But that can go far in a heavily dispersed state where turnout is usually pretty high. The caucuses became a test of how the candidates could reach people well below the din of campaign cash and on-air sound bites. And Jackson soared over the bar.

Before you go.

I hope that you found this article interesting and thought-provoking. The reason we’re able to publish stories like this — free of programmatic ads and never behind a paywall — is because readers like you step up to support our work. 

The Prospect doesn’t answer to advertisers or billionaire owners. We answer to you and to our commitment to pursuing the truth, wherever that leads us. 

Independent, reader-supported journalism is critical at a time when the free press is under assault. 

If you believe this kind of reporting should exist and remain free to read, we hope you’ll consider chipping in. Every contribution, however modest, makes a real difference.

Donate Now

David Dayen

David Dayen
Executive Editor

Related

Maine’s Three Likely Replacements for Graham Platner

July 9, 2026

Maine’s Hybrid Nomination Can Harness Grassroots Energy

July 13, 2026

Maine Needs a Lighthouse Primary

July 6, 2026

David Dayen

ddayen@prospect.org

David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. He is the author of Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power and Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud. He co-hosts the podcast Organized Money with Matt Stoller. He can be reached on Signal at ddayen.90. More by David Dayen

Your weekly to-dos

By | |
Leave a comment
  1. Attend or host a vigil to demand Justice for Lorenzo. Justice for Johan. Justice for All. this Saturday, July 25. Lorenzo and Johan were two husbands, fathers, and neighbors ripped from their families by Trump’s out-of-control secret police force in a single week. We must come together in solidarity in communities across the US to demand an end to ICE’s violence as we mourn Lorenzo, Johan, and all victims of ICE and fight for accountability. P.S. — You may also notice vigils before the 25th listed, and we encourage you to gather as vigils are planned, either through the mass day of action or before. Don’t see an event near you? Sign up to host your own.
  2. Call your US senators to urge them to take action to permanently end Trump’s illegal war in Iran and refuse his demand for $87 billion in additional funding. The three US servicemembers who were tragically killed this weekend won’t be the tipping point for Trump and Hegseth — in fact, they are escalating their attacks and turning this aimless campaign into a new forever war. Trump has defied the American people and bipartisan War Powers resolutions, and our senators must use every tool available to end this unconstitutional war, starting by refusing to give a single dime to fund more death and destruction. After calling your senators, call your representative, too.
  3. If you have a Democratic US senator, keep calling them to oppose the CLARITY Act, the toothless crypto regulation bill that wouldn’t actually regulate Trump’s crypto empire at all. The Senate could vote on the CLARITY Act within days. Despite Trump’s $1.4 billion profit from the crypto industry in 2025, this “regulation” bill wouldn’t address Trump’s crypto corruption in any way. 78 House Dems voted to pass this feckless legislation last year — our senators cannot join them.
  4. Join our Hands Off Our Vote kickoff call next Thursday, July 30 to start getting into election protection formation in the face of Trump’s brazen attempts to sabotage the midterms (8pm ET/5pm PT). In his absurd, embarrassing speech last Thursday, Trump tried to plant seeds of doubt about election security nationwide to set the stage for interfering in November’s elections. But we are already building the people power needed to ensure the integrity of our elections remains intact and that every single vote is counted. Before joining the call, take the first step by signing up for our Hands Off Our Vote campaign.
  5. Join our second Immigrant Justice Summer virtual training call THIS Thursday, July 23 to build the skills you need to mount a safe, immigrant-aligned response when ICE surges in your community (8pm ET/5pm PT). As ICE brutality rises across the country, this is a crucial moment to learn how to identify and amplify the work of existing immigrant justice organizations in your community. More than 3,000 people joined our first training call earlier this month — we encourage you to jump in and learn alongside fellow Indivisibles committed to immigrant defense as we demand accountability for the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Johan Sebastian Guerrero, and all victims of ICE violence. Didn’t catch Call 1? That’s okay, we got you covered, jump in now!
  6. Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21, for the next installment of our Solidarity in Action series, Leading Outreach with Solidarity and Care (7pm ET/4pm PT). Whether you’re a seasoned group leader, part of a local Indivisible group, or just deciding to take the plunge to get involved in your community, this month’s virtual call will help you explore how to conduct effective outreach while centering impacted communities, practicing accountable allyship, and strengthening relationships in your network.
  7. Phonebank for Indivisible’s endorsed candidates in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed (MI-Sen), William Lawrence (MI-07), and Donavan McKinney (MI-13) this Wednesday, July 22 (5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT). El-Sayed, Lawrence, and McKinney are all facing establishment Dems who would serve corporate interests, not working people. Michiganders deserve better than the same status quo playbook that has failed working people time and time again — it’s time to elect true progressive fighters. Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

What was the Pope’s 1452 declaration?

By | |
Leave a comment

By Mike Zonta, OccupySF.net co-editor

Me:

What was the Pope’s 1452 declaration?

ChatGPT:

You’re probably referring to the papal bull Dum Diversas, issued by Pope Nicholas V on June 18, 1452.

This document has become one of the most controversial papal decrees in history because it authorized the Portuguese crown to wage war against certain non-Christian peoples and to enslave captives.

The key passage granted King Afonso V of Portugal the authority:

“…to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever… and to reduce their persons to perpetual servitude…”

In modern English, “perpetual servitude” means permanent slavery.

Why was it issued?

The historical context was the expansion of Portugal along the west coast of Africa and conflict with Muslim powers following the fall of Constantinople’s predecessor conflicts. The papacy was encouraging Portugal’s military campaigns against Muslims and supporting exploration and territorial expansion.

Three years later, in 1455, Nicholas V issued another bull, Romanus Pontifex, which expanded Portugal’s exclusive rights over lands it discovered along the African coast. That document reinforced Portuguese claims to trade, conquest, and enslavement in those regions.

Was this the “Doctrine of Discovery”?

Partly.

The so-called Doctrine of Discovery is not a single document but a collection of papal bulls and later legal principles. Among the most important are:

  • 1452 – Dum Diversas (authorized conquest and perpetual servitude of certain non-Christians)
  • 1455 – Romanus Pontifex (expanded Portuguese rights of conquest and trade)
  • 1493 – Inter Caetera, issued by Pope Alexander VI after Columbus’s first voyage, which divided newly claimed lands between Spain and Portugal.

Together, these documents were later cited by European colonial powers to justify territorial claims over lands inhabited by non-Christian peoples.

How is it viewed today?

Today, these bulls are widely criticized as providing religious justification for colonialism, conquest, and slavery.

In recent decades, many Christian denominations and Indigenous organizations have called for repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. In 2023, the Vatican issued a joint statement rejecting the legal and political use of the “Doctrine of Discovery.” The statement said that these papal documents “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples” and that the doctrine “is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

One interesting philosophical observation, given our previous conversations, is that Dum Diversas illustrates a distinction you’ve often explored in your Translations: the difference between authority and Truth. Historically, a pope possessed immense institutional authority within the Church. But your first step asks a different question:

Does institutional authority, by itself, establish Truth?

That question allows one to distinguish between an institution’s historical actions and the metaphysical question of what is ultimately true. It’s one reason these fifteenth-century documents continue to be discussed—not only as historical artifacts but as examples of how claims of authority can shape history in ways later generations may judge very differently.

‘That could be any of us’: San Franciscans protest spree of ICE killings

By | |
Leave a comment

By Lucy Hodgman, Staff Writer July 18, 2026

Gift Article (SFChronicle.com)

Protesters memorialize people killed in encounters with federal immigration agents during a gathering at San Francisco’s 24th Street Mission BART plaza Saturday.Lucy Hodgman/S.F. Chronicle

Protesters filled San Francisco’s 24th Street Mission BART plaza Saturday afternoon, voicing anger and grief over the deaths of three people in encounters with federal immigration officers this month. 

In the span of less than a week, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers fatally shot 25-year-old Joan Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, and 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. A third man was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing ICE agents in St. Augustine, Fla. 

Their deaths reignited national frustration over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and calls for a day of action across the country Saturday. Dozens of people joined the protest in San Francisco, carrying “ICE out” signs and a banner demanding “Justice for Lorenzo, Joan and all victims of ICE” as passing cars honked in support. 

“I’m furious about what happened to Lorenzo and to Joan and to many countless others,” Kari Hwang, an organizer with Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, told the crowd. “I’m furious that this doesn’t surprise us anymore.”

In January, U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis, sparking protests around the country. Thousands of Bay Area residents participated in a nationwide general strike that month, with students around the region walking out of class and dozens of businesses closing in solidarity. 

Nancy Jodaitis said she came from the Richmond District to the Mission neighborhood for Saturday’s protest in hopes of showing solidarity with immigrants in the city and around the country. “There’s grief, there’s outrage, and there’s a commitment to fight against what is happening,” she said.  

Federal immigration authorities have been “poking a sleeping giant,” said Eisa Al-Shamma of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Recent protests, he said, are a sign of people “waking up.” 

“That could be any of us,” Al-Shamma said of the people killed by ICE agents this year. “What’s to separate me from those men? There’s really nothing but luck and birth.” 

Both Guerrero and Araujo were killed after federal agents tried to pull their vehicles over, prompting ICE to suspend most vehicle stops. Trump later appeared to contradict that guidance when he wrote on social media, “we CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” 

Jim Martinez, a San Franciscan wearing a U.S. Navy veteran cap and an array of anti-Trump pins, said he felt a sense of deep frustration when he learned of the shooting deaths this week. 

“These people are just going to work,” Martinez said. “They’re minding their own business. It’s total bulls—.” 

July 18, 2026

Lucy Hodgman

Staff writer

Who they are

Lucy Hodgman is a Hearst Fellow on the Chronicle’s climate and breaking news teams. She previously covered politics for the Times Union in Albany and breaking news for Politico and the Sacramento Bee. Originally from Brooklyn, she is a graduate of Yale University, where she studied English and edited the Yale Daily News.

How to reach Lucy

To provide story tips or feedback, email lucy.hodgman@hearst.com. To share tips securely, use Signal at lucyhodgman.32.