Government by the billionaires, for the billionaires

While most Americans face a worsening affordability crisis, a new analysis from the Institute for Policy Studies finds combined wealth of 935 U.S. billionaires surged to $8.1 trillion at the end of 2025, up from $6.7 trillion a year ago.

The biggest gains were among the top 15 U.S. billionaires, those with assets over $100 billion. This elite group saw their wealth surge to $3.2 trillion at the end of 2025, up from $2.4 trillion a year ago, a gain of 33 percent (more than double the S&P 500 increase of 16 percent).

Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the Forbes real time billionaire list from 2025, there are 935 billionaires in the United States with combined wealth totaling $8.1 trillion.

Meanwhile, millions of American families are facing the grueling costs of inflation, price gouging at the grocery store and the gas pump, higher health insurance premiums, and higher cost of living for communities across America. Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a November 2025 POLITICO poll, and one in four Americans are skipping medical appointments and medication doses because they can’t afford the costs. The affordability crisis is set to worsen as devastating cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps are due to hit in 2026.

4 in 10 children in rural areas receive Medicaid and/or CHIP benefits. With over 700 rural hospitals at risk of closure, and over 300 more at risk due to Medicaid cuts, children in rural areas could lose access to health services.

After poverty-reducing programs enacted in 2021 expired, child poverty more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 13.4% in 2024, and the overall poverty rate has increased from 8% back to nearly 13% in 2024.

“It’s not just that U.S. billionaires are entering 2026 with record-breaking increases in extreme wealth: it’s that they are also paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass. Average taxpayers like you and I pay income tax at triple the rate of the wealthiest Americans,” said Omar Ocampo, researcher at the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Not only are a small number of Americans holding more wealth than the rest of America, but they’re also not paying their fair share in taxes.”

These staggering combined billionaire wealth totals come as the Trump-GOP budget bill passed in 2025 de-funded health insurance, food stamps, and other vital anti-poverty safety net programs, in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and budget increases for militarism and mass deportations. 

UNEQUAL BY THE NUMBERS from Oxfam America
Article courtesy of Institute for Policy Studies

Government by the billionaires, for the billionaires

While most Americans face a worsening affordability crisis, a new analysis from the Institute for Policy Studies finds combined wealth of 935 U.S. billionaires surged to $8.1 trillion at the end of 2025, up from $6.7 trillion a year ago.

The biggest gains were among the top 15 U.S. billionaires, those with assets over $100 billion. This elite group saw their wealth surge to $3.2 trillion at the end of 2025, up from $2.4 trillion a year ago, a gain of 33 percent (more than double the S&P 500 increase of 16 percent).

Based on an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of data from the Forbes real time billionaire list from 2025, there are 935 billionaires in the United States with combined wealth totaling $8.1 trillion.

Meanwhile, millions of American families are facing the grueling costs of inflation, price gouging at the grocery store and the gas pump, higher health insurance premiums, and higher cost of living for communities across America. Nearly half of Americans said they find groceries, utility bills, health care, housing and transportation difficult to afford, according to a November 2025 POLITICO poll, and one in four Americans are skipping medical appointments and medication doses because they can’t afford the costs. The affordability crisis is set to worsen as devastating cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps are due to hit in 2026.

4 in 10 children in rural areas receive Medicaid and/or CHIP benefits. With over 700 rural hospitals at risk of closure, and over 300 more at risk due to Medicaid cuts, children in rural areas could lose access to health services.

After poverty-reducing programs enacted in 2021 expired, child poverty more than doubled from 5.2% in 2021 to 13.4% in 2024, and the overall poverty rate has increased from 8% back to nearly 13% in 2024.

“It’s not just that U.S. billionaires are entering 2026 with record-breaking increases in extreme wealth: it’s that they are also paying far less in taxes compared to the huge amount of wealth they amass. Average taxpayers like you and I pay income tax at triple the rate of the wealthiest Americans,” said Omar Ocampo, researcher at the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. “Not only are a small number of Americans holding more wealth than the rest of America, but they’re also not paying their fair share in taxes.”

These staggering combined billionaire wealth totals come as the Trump-GOP budget bill passed in 2025 de-funded health insurance, food stamps, and other vital anti-poverty safety net programs, in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy and budget increases for militarism and mass deportations. 

UNEQUAL BY THE NUMBERS from Oxfam America
Article courtesy of Institute for Policy Studies

We refuse to submit to MAGA cruelty!

In Republicans’ latest cruel effort to bludgeon us into submission, SNAP benefits are now ended for the duration of the MAGA-led government shutdown. We urge you and our elected Democrats not to knuckle under to this vicious MAGA extortion. Remember that Republicans can end the government shutdown at any time – they just don’t want to.

In response, Illinois has joined 24 other states’ attorneys general and governors in a suit against the USDA, which is refusing to release the contingency funds designed to shore up the SNAP program during emergencies like the current shutdown. The state of Illinois is also moving fast to help local food banks with $20 million in emergency funding. Right now and for the foreseeable future our job is to take care of our families and each other. If your family is losing SNAP benefits, don’t hesitate to get help at your local food pantry.

If you don’t usually receive these benefits and you’re in a position to help out, please do! Your donations are not only welcome, they are now desperately needed. Contact a food pantry in your area to learn how you can help. Here’s some information to get you started:

Bureau County Food Pantry
(815) 875-6064

Hall Township Food Pantry
(815) 663-2085

Western Bureau County Food Pantry
(309) 238-3229

Wyanet United Methodist Food Pantry
(815) 699-2647

Walnut Community Food Pantry
(815) 379-2494

Illinois Valley Food Pantry
(815)224-3658

Community Food Basket
info@ottawafoodbasket.org
(815) 431-0155

Servant’s Heart Fellowship
(815) 220-0914

Putnam County Food Pantry
(815) 866-6484

Trump to American farmers: Oh yeah — SCREW YOU TOO.

“U.S. farmers view cuts to USAID as a direct assault on them. USAID has a $40 billion budget and runs aid programs in over 100 countries with a staff of more than 10,000 workers. Over 40% of the food distributed by USAID comes from American farms, according to the Congressional Research Service.”
— Baltimore Sun, 2/11/25

Rural voters — especially farmers — are feeling the pain inflicted on them by the MAGA agenda they probably supported in the last election. Remember the massive cuts to USAID eight months ago? American farmers have already paid a heavy price for those cuts. Our Dear Leader promised to help farmers weather this storm. Help, however, never came. And now the Republicans’ stupid and pointless shutdown has moved any potential support into the distant (and unlikely) future.

Now comes the latest insult to the MAGA base: The $20 billion bailout of the Argentine economy. Who is this helping? Well, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, the bailout benefits the hedge fund buddies of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. It certainly doesn’t help our farmers, who stood by and watched as Brazil, and now Argentina, have captured the huge Chinese soybean market. And it puts the screws to US ranchers as our government just quadrupled low-tariff imports of Argentinian beef,

American Soybean Association (ASA) President Caleb Ragland shared his statement on some impacts of Trump’s trade policy of tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two biggest economies: “The frustration is overwhelming. U.S. soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina while that country drops its soybean export taxes to sell 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days.” Our farmers are starting to wonder why Trump is bailing out Argentina, yet can’t scrounge up any bailout for them, or even better yet, why he can’t quit his tariff tantrums and fix the mess he made, so they can afford fertilizer and tractors and find a market for their products.

Trump administration to disabled kids: SCREW YOU.

In their continuing effort to eradicate everything true, beautiful and righteous in the United States, MAGA Republicans have landed on some of the most vulnerable of all Americans – disabled kids. Their latest sneaky move during this ridiculous and avoidable shutdown is to fire more than 400 staffers at the already decimated Department of Education. This includes most staff at the Office of Special Education Programs, where out of 80 to 90 current employees, less than five will remain on the job. These are (were) the folks who enforce the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law that ensures millions of students with disabilities get support from their schools.

According to the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the Education Department has repeatedly said it supports - and will continue to support - funding and implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and special education for children with disabilities. These firings will make it impossible for the Department to fulfill those responsibilities. There is significant risk that not only will Federal funding lapse, but children with disabilities will be deprived of a free appropriate public education.

If you have a family member or friend receiving special services of any kind at a public school, their education may be at risk. Stand with us at Rotary Park on Saturday to protest this latest assault on civil rights!

“Some schools and states may simply stop following federal education laws altogether. If there are not people there to make sure the laws are followed, the laws are meaningless.”
— Josie Skinner, education lawyer

Why we stand together in protest

You’ve probably heard or read that Republicans are claiming the No Kings 2 protest scheduled for this coming Saturday is an act of Anti-American hatred planned by terrorists. Like almost everything coming from our Dear Leader’s group of cowardly sycophants, this is a lie. We stand together – and will continue to stand together – in protest of the deliberate and rapid dismantling of our democracy. Here’s what we will stand against, in a nutshell:

SHUTDOWN

Voters across the country are being notified by their insurers that their healthcare premiums are set to double or triple, and they are — quite correctly — holding the GOP responsible. Republicans’ refusal to negotiate any extension of the ACA (Obamacare) extra support fuels the shutdown.

The shutdown also provides Republicans the cover for another round of mass firings focused on federal programs “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” In other words, more destruction of programs benefiting average citizens in favor of privatizing our federal government.

Even some of Dear Leader’s most loyal supporters – the farmers – are hard hit by the shutdown, as federal farm loans won’t be processed and disaster aid to farmers is cut off.

Republicans could end this shutdown any time they want, but they clearly have no desire to do so.

GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION

Like in any modern authoritarian state, the wealthy cronies of our Dear Leader continue to pick the bones of our dying democracy while the common folk suffer. One recent case in point: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced a $20 billion bailout of the Argentine economy, funded by our tax dollars. You might ask why – since Argentina isn’t a particularly strong ally or trading partner of the US. The answer is simple. One of Bessent’s buddies, a hedge fund investor named Rob Citrone, will personally benefit from the bailout.

INVASION OF US CITIES BY US MILITARY

Most frightening of all, Dear Leader and his minions are now using state and federal military force against us. Active military and National Guard have been sent into Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago based on false claims of violence, chaos and terrorist actions. These invasions are not just illegal, they are antithetical to the political freedoms our country claims to hold dear. We’ll give the last word to our own Governor Pritzker.

We believe our country has turned into an authoritarian state run by a Mad King. Stand with us as we protest the power grab that has already happened and remind our friends and neighbors that there are NO KINGS in the United States of America! We’ll see you at Rotary Park in Princeton this Saturday.

Protect the First Amendment!

While the country debates headlines, the scaffolding of dissent is being dismantled—quietly, deliberately, and in plain view.

  • Journalists are being blocked from press briefings and subjected to surveillance by federal agencies.

  • Protesters are being detained under terrorism laws and having their immigration status weaponized against them.

  • Investigative outlets are being sued into silence, threatened with economic retaliation, and labeled as political adversaries.

Trump is openly threatening those who challenge his narrative—whether in the streets, in the courtroom, or the newsroom. This isn’t just political hostility—it’s structural warfare. And it’s accelerating. Every society that slipped into authoritarianism followed this same sequence:

Control the story → criminalize dissent → collapse civic trust → rewrite reality.

And if you think the First Amendment will save us, you need to understand something deeply uncomfortable: It already isn’t.

We must stand together in resistance to this attack on our First Amendment rights! Join us in protest this Saturday, 11 am — 1 pm at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Route 26, exit 56. See you at the overpass!

Many thanks to Critical Resistance for this excerpt! Read the whole article HERE.

Got questions? Get answers.

So far the state of Illinois is doing a fantastic job keeping us (mostly) safe from fascist MAGA actions. Nonetheless we have many questions — about our health care, our schools and our First Amendment rights, to name just a few. Here’s your chance to ask those questions, and many more. Join Rep. Murri Briel and Speaker Chris Welch this coming Tuesday for a community town hall in North Utica. The town hall is hosted at the International Union Operators Engineers Hall on Route 6. Doors open at 5:30. See you there!

Tomorrow we march. Then we celebrate.

Labor and community are planning more than a barbecue on Labor Day weekend this year because we have to stop the billionaire takeover. Billionaires are stealing from working families, destroying our democracy, and building private armies to attack our towns and cities.

We are working people rising up to stop the billionaire takeover–not just through the ballot box or the courts, but by showing up in support of the worker who are the backbone of our country.

This weekend we’re joining thousands of communities across the country in protest of the billionaire takeover. We look forward to seeing you at Rotary Park tomorrow, 11 am - 1 pm.

This Labor Day Weekend: Not Just for BBQ

Kings don’t work. Oligarchs don’t work. You know who DOES work? WE DO.

Honored guests at Trump inauguration 2025

The billionaire class has been fighting the labor movement ever since it began — and for obvious reasons. Better pay, better benefits and safer working conditions cost employers money, and they’re not inclined to share their wealth. So it’s really no surprise that King Donald and his MAGA minions are colluding with the wealthiest men in the world to build their already obscene fortunes and protect their assets on the backs of hard-working Americans. What IS surprising is the speed and ferocity of their attacks on our rights. Just in the last few weeks, the MAGA administration announced it plans to change over 60 regulations it deems "unnecessary" burdens to businesses and economic growth. Here’s what those changes mean for us:

  • Elimination of minimum wage and overtime protections to home healthcare workers;

  • Allowing employers to pay sub-minimum wages to disabled employees;

  • Undermining OSHA’s ability to punish businesses that put their employees in dangerous situations;

  • Rolling back restrictions meant to protect workers from heat-related stress on the job;

  • Weakening OSHA safety requirements that prevent roof falls, mine explosions, and exposure to toxic silica.

Of course this just scratches the surface — for the full list, see The Century Foundation. Adding insult to injury, MAGA Republicans in Congress are moving to strip the NEA — one of the biggest and most politically active unions in the US — of its charter.

Friends, we must unite to stop the billionaire agenda that has taken over the federal government! Instead of making life more affordable, lifting wages for workers, or repairing generations of racial injustice, the Trump administration is dismantling the government, overseeing mass firings, and gutting worker protections and social services in order to transfer even more wealth to the 1%.

So before you heat up the grill and grab your barbecue tools on Labor Day weekend, pick up a sign and join us in protest against this orchestrated attack on “government for the people.”

We’ll be at Rotary Park on Saturday, August 30. 11 am - 1 pm. See you there!

STAND UP against the regime

Is it an exaggeration to say the United States of America is falling into the control of an authoritarian regime? We don’t think so. We believe this is happening right now and right in front of our eyes. Consider the following:

  • The Trump administration has supported reviving the ENCRYPT Act and advancing the STOP CSAM Act. Though framed as protecting children, both bills would compromise end-to-end encryption by introducing backdoor access for law enforcement, jeopardizing digital privacy for everyone.

  • Former intelligence officials who publicly criticized Trump have had their security clearances revoked.

  • ICE has signed 370 new 287(g) agreements with local police, dramatically expanding federal immigration enforcement while eliminating oversight panels.

  • The IRS has reportedly conducted selective audits of nonprofit organizations that fund protest bail and civil disobedience support, suggesting politically targeted enforcement.

  • “Trump 2028” merchandise has appeared on campaign sites, prompting alarm over flirtation with violating the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit for presidents.

  • In 22 states, 41 bills have been introduced or passed that criminalize protest actions like roadway blockades and legally shield drivers who injure demonstrators.

  • The Pentagon has ordered the removal of books on race and gender from military academies and libraries, citing them as “divisive” or aligned with critical race theory.

  • The White House has repeatedly called for the impeachment of judges who block its immigration orders. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public rebuke in response.

  • In defiance of a Supreme Court ruling in the Kilmar Ábrego García case, the White House delayed returning a deported immigrant to the U.S., prompting a constitutional crisis over executive defiance of judicial authority.

The pace and pattern of these actions suggest not isolated excesses but a coordinated strategy to consolidate executive power, dismantle accountability mechanisms, and undermine democratic resistance. This is how authoritarianism wins: not through a single moment of crisis, but through normalization, rationalization, and delay. Each step feels like only a slight shift from the last. And when the shock finally comes, the country has already changed.

The time to stand up is NOW – while resistance is still possible. Join us at Rotary Park in Princeton this Saturday at 11.

Many thanks to Sage Lewis for his invaluable master list!

Don't miss the John Mitchell Dinner!

Democracy is being challenged.

What would you have done if you were alive in 1930’s Germany? That question is now our reality.

What freedom will look like for every American will depend on what we do next; how we choose to stand up to and resist Republican Fascism at every level of government.

What that resistance will look like in Congress will depend on who we elect in not only the 14th but to an even greater extent, in the 16th and our ability to elect a Democrat to the Senate.

Whether Illinois will be able to remain a beacon in the Midwest will depend on who we elect to be our leaders in 2026.

Whether our county continues to pass far right-wing, ideology-based resolutions will be influenced by who we have running for and getting elected to the county board.

The safety and well-being of Bureau County residents will be determined by who we elect to be our next sheriff.

Women’s reproductive freedom is on the line. Women’s financial freedom is on the line. The ability to love who you love is on the line. The ability to be who you are is on the line. The ability to live and work in safe and welcoming spaces, citizens and migrants alike, is on the line. The work of becoming a more racially and socially just society is on the line.

To ensure that we are able to elect our Democratic candidates; the candidates who will ensure we remain a democracy, we need to get our message out. Attending the John Mitchell dinner will provide the Bureau County Democrats with the resources we need to get our message to our voters and will allow us to support the candidates who will look out for US.

Individual tickets are $45. You may pay by check to Bureau County Democratic Central Committee, 934 N. Main St., Princeton, IL 61356, at the door, or online at ActBlue. Please join us for great food, great fellowship and some great speakers, including Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton!

To assist us in making dinner arrangements please RSVP to: 815-664-3501 or bureaucountydems@gmail.com

We honor John Mitchell for standing up for working Americans and helping to create a strong middle class. As the first two-time president and a founder of the United Mine Workers of America, John Mitchell championed safe working conditions, a 40-hour work week, and worker compensation. John Mitchell fought for the rights we now find ourselves having to fight for once again. As Democrats, we need to come together to celebrate our legacy and to commit to one another our willingness to stand side-by-side, just as John Mitchell did with his brothers, to protect our rights; to protect ourselves, our brothers and our sisters from the corporate greed intent on taking away our bargaining rights, dismantling the social safety net, and destroying the middle class. To protect our rights and our democracy, we must elect strong candidates willing to stand with us in this fight. Help the Bureau County Democratic Party elect pro-working class, pro-democracy candidates, up and down the ballot, by attending the John Mitchell Dinner.

On July 19th, March in Peace. Act in Power.

Good Trouble Lives On is a response to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we’ll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.

We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations. Whether you’re outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearance of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest, this moment is for you.

Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, "Good Trouble" is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. That’s why on July 19, almost exactly five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, we will carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.

“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
Congressman John Lewis

Join us Saturday, July 19, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm at Rotary Park in Princeton as we honor the legacy of this great American.

July 4th 2025 - Death of the Dream

“Fascism - A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.”
— American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

The Fourth of July is meant to be a celebration of freedom and democracy. But not this July 4. Today marks the day the United States turns its back on the rule of law. Today is the day our country declares war on compassion and subverts the noble dream our country was founded upon. Welcome to the Fascist States of America.

Senator Alex Padilla (CA) forcibly removed from Homeland Security press conference.

This is where we are today. Our government is “disappearing” people of color without due process. We are deporting journalists whose work may conflict with the “official” versions of events. We have deployed the National Guard to suppress constitutionally protected peaceful protests; and we have arrested elected officials who question government actions.

Then consider the budget bill just passed by both Senate and House. Among other atrocities, it allocates over $100 billion to ICE and border enforcement, including $45 billion to build new concentration camps – oops, detention centers. And how will the government pay for this tremendous expenditure? Easy. Simply by cutting ONE TRILLION DOLLARS almost entirely from Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans. Over the next ten years more than 11 million Americans will lose their health insurance because of this budget.

There is nothing to celebrate on this July 4th - instead we mourn the death of everything righteous and beautiful in our country. Tonight the fireworks will sound like mortar fire and smell like burning forests. Let us gather together tomorrow in protest.

Newsom speaks out as Trump declares war on California

Say what you will about California Governor Gavin Newsom, the man just delivered the speech of a lifetime. And given that the state of Illinois and Governor Pritzker are probably right near the top of Dear Leader’s power-mad to-do list, we’d all be wise to heed Gov. Newsom’s words.

For those of you who prefer video, you’ll find Governor Newsom’s speech HERE. Otherwise, we’ve got the full transcript below. Read it or watch it — and then SHOW UP at Rotary Park this Saturday at 11:00!

Here’s Governor Newsom’s Address to California:

“I want to say a few words about the events of the last few days.

This past weekend, federal agents conducted large-scale workplace raids in and around Los Angeles. Those raids continue as I speak.

California is no stranger to immigration enforcement. But instead of focusing on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records and people with final deportation orders, a strategy both parties have long supported, this administration is pushing mass deportations, indiscriminately targeting hardworking immigrant families, regardless of their roots or risk.

What’s happening right now is very different than anything we’ve seen before. On Saturday morning, when federal agents jumped out of an unmarked van near a Home Depot parking lot, they began grabbing people. A deliberate targeting of a heavily Latino suburb. A similar scene also played out when a clothing company was raided downtown.

In other actions, a U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, was arrested; a 4-year-old girl, taken; families separated; friends, quite literally, disappearing.

In response, everyday Angelinos came out to exercise their Constitutional right to free speech and assembly, to protest their government’s actions. In turn, the State of California and the City and County of Los Angeles sent our police officers to help keep the peace and, with some exceptions, they were successful.

Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of unrest. We manage it regularly, and with our own law enforcement. But this, again, was different. What then ensued was the use of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people and undermining their due process rights.

Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets, illegally and for no reason. This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk.

That’s when the downward spiral began. He doubled down on his dangerous National Guard deployment by fanning the flames even harder. And the president, he did it on purpose. As the news spread throughout L.A., anxiety for family and friends ramped up. Protests started again.

By night, several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive. They vandalized property. They tried to assault police officers. Many of you have seen video clips of cars burning on cable news.

Marines in Los Angeles

If you incite violence — I want to be clear about this — if you incite violence or destroy our communities, you are going to be held to account. That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Full stop.

Already, more than 220 people have been arrested. And we’re reviewing tapes to build additional cases and people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Again, thanks to our law enforcement officers and the majority of Angelenos who protested peacefully, this situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown.

But that, that’s not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation, he chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. He federalized another 2,000 Guard members. He deployed more than 700 active U.S. Marines. These are men and women trained in foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement. We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in L.A. Not in California. Not anywhere.

We’re seeing unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking lots. Kids afraid of attending their own graduation. Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals. His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses.

“Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

Democracy is next.”

That’s just weakness, weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities. They are traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.

California will keep fighting. We’ll keep fighting on behalf of our people, all of our people, including in the courts.

Yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to President Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city. Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles.

If some of us can be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves. But they do not stop there.

Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control. And by the way, Trump, he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?

I ask everyone: Take time, reflect on this perilous moment. A president who wants to be bound by no law or constitution, perpetuating a unified assault on American traditions.

This is a president who, in just over 140 days, has fired government watchdogs that could hold him accountable, accountable for corruption and fraud. He’s declared a war, a war on culture, on history, on science, on knowledge itself. Databases quite literally are vanishing.

He’s delegitimizing news organizations and he’s assaulting the First Amendment. And the threat of defunding them. At threat, he’s dictating what universities themselves can teach. He’s targeting law firms and the judicial branch that are the foundations of an orderly and civil society. He’s calling for a sitting governor to be arrested for no other reason than to, in his own words, “for getting elected.”

And we all know, this Saturday, he’s ordering our American heroes, the United States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.

Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles. When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

Democracy is next.

Democracy is under assault right before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project: three coequal branches of independent government.

There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility.

The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of Don.

Peaceful protest blocks expressway in LA

The founding fathers didn’t live and die to see this kind of moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up. Justice Brandeis, he said it best. In a democracy, the most important office — with all due respect, Mr. President — is not the presidency, and it’s certainly not governor. The most important office is office of citizen.

At this moment, at this moment, we all need to stand up and be held to account, a higher level of accountability. If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully.

I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress, and fear. But I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment.

Do not give into him.”

Why we celebrate Pride – especially this year!

Pride Month is a time to celebrate all the diverse identities that compose humanity. It’s a time to celebrate love in the many ways love is expressed. But Pride is also an act of remembrance for those who died in acts of hate-fueled violence and those who died in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Pride is when we acknowledge the ongoing struggle for basic human rights, and when we rally support for LGBTQIA+ causes. This year, the cause is clearly that of transgender Americans.

Within hours of taking office our Dear Leader issued an executive order titled “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” which withdraws all President Biden’s executive orders that served to protect and promote the well-being of transgender, intersex and non-binary persons.

He quickly followed that up with another executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which is designed to erase transgender people from the national consciousness and strip them of their rights.

This order defines sex as strictly male or female based on the “immutable biological reality of sex” characteristics at birth. It explicitly denies the existence of transgender and nonbinary people, stating, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” It prohibits the recognition of gender identity in federal documents and aims to eliminate funding for gender-affirming care, asserting that “gender ideology” undermines women's rights and safety. Get more details at THEM.

This month we hope to promote greater respect – and yes, love – for these Americans who are so persecuted by our administration. You might consider making this small public act of support – get a bumper sticker! And don’t forget to attend a Pride event – there are two celebrations next weekend, one in Dixon and one in Ottawa.

In the meantime, let’s get you up to speed on this human rights crisis: