Dear friends,
“[Trump’s] actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”
This was some good news for LA and for the National Guard personnel who were troubled by their deployment.
[Sarah] Streyder, of the Secure Families Initiative, said she had heard dozens of complaints indirectly through their families. She had also seen a written comment passed along to her organization from a national guard member who described the assignment as “shitty” – particularly compared with early secondments to help with wildfire relief or, during the Covid pandemic, vaccination outreach.
“Both of those experiences were uncomplicatedly positive, a contribution back to the community,” Streyder described the message as saying. “This is quite the opposite.”
But later last night the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stopped the order from taking immediate effect, until a hearing on Tuesday. This will allow Trump to keep National Guard troops in LA during tomorrow’s No Kings Day protests.
Here is an action that bears repeating. Please personalize it:
Call on your Congressional Delegation and state representatives to denounce the use of federalized troops to stop legal protests. This quick action is from People Power United.
Elise Engler’s No Cuomo, No Kings! gouache, watercolor, color pencil, watercolor pencil, graphite on paper, 5.25 x 10” June 12, 2025
The rank behavior of the regime extends into many areas, like a foul smell we cannot escape. Senator Padilla was manhandled and handcuffed for asking a question of Kristi Noem. Noem lied and said that Padilla failed to identify himself and lunged at her.
“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.”
This is what we are standing against, today, tomorrow, and every day.
Trump implied the US would provide Israel with more military equipment – “Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come,” he wrote – but he stopped short of saying American resources would come to Israel’s defense. Trump is set to meet with his National Security Council later on Friday morning.
Lindsey Graham eagerly responded with the dumbass response,
“Game on!”
Just this week, 41 Israeli officers and reservists said the government was waging an “unnecessary, eternal war” in Gaza. In a letter to Netanyahu, the
group [said it] would refuse to take part in a “war designed to preserve the rule of Netanyahu” and appease “anti-democratic and messianic elements in [his] government.”
Trump, who promised to end wars, can’t stop himself from vomiting up talk of domination.
The White House, today. Photograph by Andrea Sussman
More than twenty progressive members of Congress have co-sponsored legislation, HR 3565 to block the Trump administration from delivering major US weapons to Israel which it has used in its mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Tell Congress to block military aid to Israel! This quick action is from the American Friends Service Committee.
I didn’t get to watch the mayoral debate last night. There are the usual 5 takeaways articles and you can read about Cuomo taking money from GOP donors.
The best jab at Cuomo was Mamdani’s response to the attack on his own experience as a public servant:
"To Mr. Cuomo: I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA. I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo," Mamdani fired back, to cheers.
This Saturday, June 14, is the first day of early voting. If you know someone who has recently tuned into the mayoral primary and is eligible to vote, they can still do so. Here’s how:
In fall 2023, NYS “Golden Day” legislation to allow in-person voter registration was signed into law.
Eligible people who appear on the first Saturday of early voting can use same-day voter registration procedures, without the need for additional steps. An unregistered eligible person must first be offered the opportunity to complete a registration affidavit, and then can cast an affidavit ballot.
I have called the Board of Elections repeatedly to try to find out if it’s possible to register for a party in person tomorrow if you’re currently registered without a party designation. They have not responded. It’s worth a try!
Also, a reminder about ranked-choice voting:
If I really dislike a candidate, should I rank that person last?
If there is a candidate you oppose, do not fill out the oval next to their name at all. By including that candidate anywhere on your ballot, you could be helping that person win if your other choices are eliminated. So if you want to avoid a certain candidate being elected, do not put that person anywhere on your ballot.
The bold above is mine. I ranked Eric Adams last in 2021 because I thought he was preferable to Andrew Yang. There are good times to leave a blank.
My rankings are 1 - Mamdani, 2 - Lander, 3- Adrienne Adams, 4 - Zellnor Myrie. If you want to rank a 5th, rank Blake or Stringer.
You may already have forgotten last week’s ‘bombshell’ news, that Jessica Ramos endorsed Cuomo. Like the progressive organizations that I support — Working Families and JFREJ, among others — I have withdrawn my support from Ramos.
Blake and Stringer are not going to be consequential in this race, so I’m comfortable leaving a blank in the 5th spot.
Are you still confused about ranked choice voting? Please participate in this fun, teachable moment from the good people at Hell Gate, who want to make sure you really do understand how ranked choice voting works:
Rank your top 5 NYC bridges! Check out the preliminary results!
Be safe this weekend. I’ll see you in the streets!
with love,
L