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Tag: Project 2025

  • Project 2025 has stalled: tracker

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    The Trump administration’s implementation of Project 2025 has stalled, according to an online tracker.

    A website created by two Reddit users says the number of policies outlined in the conservative document that the White House has implemented has decreased in the last few months. The website does not provide the methodology it uses to track Project 2025.

    Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Heritage Foundation by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.

    Why It Matters

    Project 2025 is a 900-page document of policy proposals spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation think tank. It advocates limited government, border security and tough immigration laws, among other conservative measures.

    It was a source of debate before the election, with Democrats accusing Trump of planning to implement it if he won. Before the election Trump called parts of it “ridiculous and abysmal.” But after he won, he told Time in an interview that he disagreed with parts of it, but not all of it.

    What To Know

    According to the tracker, the rate at which the objectives outlined in the document have been implemented is now in decline. As per information provided by the tracker, between January and July, 13 objectives were completed on average per month. But since August, an average of one policy objective per month has been implemented.

    Overall, Trump has enacted almost half of Project 2025 (48 percent) including budget cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

    The tracker said that the document has a total of 318 objectives and that 119 have been completed while 66 are in progress.

    Fifty of these objectives were completed in January in the earliest days of Trump’s new administration and the most recently approved plan, on October 5, was approving the Amble Road Project, a proposal for a 211-mile industrial access road to facilitate the development of four mines.

    Faith Williams, the director of the effective and accountable government program at nonpartisan independent watchdog the Project On Government Oversight, told Newsweek: “The President has come a long way from saying he has ‘nothing to do with Project 2025’ last year, to referring today to his budget chief, Russ Vought, as ‘”‘of PROJECT 2025 FAME.’ Regardless of how closely past, current, and future policies hew to Project 2025, it’s clear that this administration shows no signs of slowing down in its efforts to shift how the federal government serves the public, including weaponizing the Department of Justice, deploying troops in our cities, and denigrating whistleblowers.”

    What People Are Saying

    California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office wrote on X: “Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025. But 9 months in, he has already put 48 percent into action. And now, with his shutdown, he’s all in—embracing the plan’s disastrous cuts and divisive policies.”

    Adrienne Cobb, one of the tracker’s creators, told The Cut: “I don’t think the absence of progress on these goals can be interpreted as an unwillingness to complete them.”

    Trump, on Truth Social this month: “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent. I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT”

    What Happens Next

    On Thursday, Trump met with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought, one of the document’s authors, to decide where to make government cuts.

    Regardless of its pace, Project 2025’s influence on federal workforce structure, agency priorities, and the role of presidential power is expected to remain a point of debate in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms and beyond.

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  • Donald Trump posts Project 2025 music video

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    President Trump has shared a largely AI generated music video which depicts Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, one of the architects of the conservative Project 2025 plan, as the grim reaper on his Truth Social website.

    In the video the reaper is portrayed walking through Washington D.C., before its identity is revealed as Vought. Meanwhile, a band is formed by AI generated versions of President Trump, Vice-President J.D. Vance and a number of skeletons. The music is a cover of the 1976 Blue Oyster Cult’s hit “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”

    Trump shared the clip on Thursday after saying he would meet with Vought to “determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut” amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.

    Vought was one of the architects of Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation organized agenda for a Republican president published ahead of the 2024 presidential election. During the election campaign Trump distanced himself from the project commenting: “I know nothing about Project 2025.”

    The video was credited to the ‘Dilley 300 Meme Team,’ which produces pro-Trump content for social media.

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

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  • Barack Obama is “Fired Up and Ready to Go” at Harris-Walz rally in Charlotte, North Carolina

    Barack Obama is “Fired Up and Ready to Go” at Harris-Walz rally in Charlotte, North Carolina

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    Photo by Carla Peay/The Atlanta Voice

    CHARLOTTE – “Imagine it’s January 20, 2025. It is also Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And a Black woman is holding the Frederick Douglass bible. Her name – Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And placing her hand on that bible is another black woman – Kamala Harris.”

    It was powerful imagery by Jamie Harrison, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Harrison was one of many speakers at the Charlotte Convention Center to introduce former President Barack Obama on Friday, October 25 in front of a crowd of several thousand supporters.

    “Kamala Harris will be sworn in, and she will vow to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Harris said. It was a sharp contrast to the words of Donald Trump, who called for the termination of the Constitution to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

    “What MAGA means is that the greatness of America is in our past. We believe it’s in our future,” Harrison said.

    Former Attorney General Eric Holder. Photo by Carla Peay/The Atlanta Voice

    Former Attorney General Eric Holder followed Harrison and talked about the danger of the Trump agenda – Project 2025.

    “Imagine Donald Trump back in power,” Holder said. “He would weaponize the Justice Department. He has installed a Supreme Court that thinks it’s OK for the president to violate federal law. He has a fascination with Hitler. This is the kind of America we would have under a second Trump presidency.”

    Holder spoke of the importance of voting, reminding the crowd of the sacrifices of our ancestors, who fought and died so we could have the right to vote.

    “Tim and Kamala are fighting the fights that matter,” Holder said. “We are not just going to save Democracy; we have the ability to enhance democracy.”  

    Following Holder was NC Attorney General and Democratic candidate for Governor Josh Stein, who still holds a double-digit lead in the polls over the Republican candidate, Mark Robinson.

    “We didn’t need the CNN story to know that Robinson is unfit for Governor,” Stein said. He reminded the crowd that Trump endorsed Robinson, despite Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Robinson since the CNN story aired in September.

    “The Republican vision is one of division, violence, and hate,” Stein said, drawing a parallel between his race and the presidential race.

    “The stakes could not be higher, and the choice could not be clearer,” Stein said.  

    When Barack Obama finally took the stage, the expected thunderous applause occurred. The former president then energized a crowd with a critique of Donald Trump that managed to be both funny and serious.

    “This man is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that escalator,” Obama said. “He wants to sell you stuff, like gold sneakers and Trump bibles. His behavior has become so commonplace that people don’t take it seriously. But that doesn’t mean that a second Trump presidency would not be dangerous.”

    Obama talked about Trump’s “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act, his plans to use the military against “the enemy within”, and his fascination with Hitler.

    “When I was president, a lot of people disagreed with me,” Obama said. “It doesn’t mean you go after them, to try and use the military to do your bidding. This is a democracy.”

    He talked about how Trump is taking credit for the economy he (Obama) created; his plan to give tax cuts to billionaires, and if elected, how he will surround himself with people as wacky as he is.

    “People who know him best, people who served under him say how dangerous he is,” Obama said.  He also made a point to emphasize one of the most dangerous things Trump, and his running mate JD Vance, continue to do during their rallies – blame immigrants for everything.

    “We are a nation of immigrants, so unless you are Native American, everyone in this country came from somewhere else,” Obama said.

    “He thinks rounding up and deporting people is the answer to everything,” Obama said. “His plan is mean and ugly.” He acknowledged the border crisis is real but said Trump’s solution, and the way he plans to execute it, is not the way to solve the crisis. (During Obama’s tenure as president, he deported illegal immigrants, but never presented that action as the way to solve all the problems in the US, nor did he depict all immigrants – legal or otherwise – as criminals, murderers, or people from insane asylums, as Trump does.)

    He then launched into a spirited endorsement of Kamala Harris and her qualifications to be the next president. He talked about her accomplishments as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and said she was more than ready to become the next President.

    “Elections are not just about policies, they are about character, Obama said. “We need a leader who sees you and cares about you and thinks about you. Leaders don’t need to be perfect; they need to care.”

    Obama also stumped for Stein to become the next Governor and Mo Green to become the next Superintendent of Schools, taking a moment to remind the audience that Stein’s opponent referred to himself as a “Black Nazi”, and Green’s opponent, Michelle Morrow, said that Obama should face a firing squad. He talked about how Trump ignored the pandemic playbook he and his staff put together, and how Trump’s poor response to COVID caused the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

    “We need a President who cares about solving problems,” Obama said. “We have people with the kind of character we need to lead us. We don’t need four years of a would-be king. Kamala Harris has spent her life fighting for people. She knows and cares what people are going through. If you elect Kamala and Tim, they will be focused on you.”

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    Carla Peay

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  • Child labor violations on the rise, problem could get worse: report

    Child labor violations on the rise, problem could get worse: report

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    (NewsNation) — Child labor violations are increasing, and over two dozen states have made moves that are exacerbating the issue, a recent report by Governing for Impact, the Economic Policy Institute and Child Labor Coalition says. 

    “Many assume that children working long hours in dangerous jobs is a thing of the distant past in the United States,” the report’s authors said. “Unfortunately, they’re wrong.”

    Injury rates almost doubled among workers under 18 between 2011 and 2020, the report said.

    The Fair Labor Standard Act, passed by Congress in 1938, authorized some restrictions on child labor. Still, the report says, in recent years there have been “noted increases” in child labor violations, workplace injuries and chronic absenteeism from school. 

    In FY 2023, the Department of Labor concluded 955 investigations and reported that it found a 14% increase in violations from the previous year. Nearly 5,800 children were working in ways that didn’t follow the laws, and the department assessed more than $8 million in penalties, an 83% increase from FY 2022.

    Organizations, in their report, detailed the stories of a 16-year-old boy who was killed while deep cleaning a piece of machinery in the deboning area of a Mississippi chicken processing plant. Proper supervision and precautions failed him, the report said.

    Another teen near Orlando, Florida, died at the construction site of a two-story house in 2019 when he fell from a height of 8 feet off a step ladder while holding a 24-foot flooring joist. The joist fell on the boy’s chest and killed him, the report said.

    A number of factors can lead to youth getting hurt on the job, including which occupation they’re employed in, the report said. Agriculture is an industry where the risks to child workers are the highest and regulations are the weakest, for example, according to the report.

    “Instead of addressing the troubling increase in workplace injuries among children, industry-aligned groups like those behind Project 2025 have actually proposed to change federal regulations to let more young people work in more dangerous jobs,” the report said.

    Project 2025 is a nearly 1,000-page handbook from conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, as well as other organizations, that serves as a guide for what they want done under a Republican presidential administration.

    While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, dozens of people who worked closely with him during his time in the White House are involved in it, a fact Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign has pointed out. 

    Authors of Project 2025  wrote that some young adults “show an interest in inherently dangerous jobs.”

    “Current rules forbid many young people, even if their family is running the business, from working in such jobs. This results in worker shortages in dangerous fields and often discourages otherwise interested young workers from trying the more dangerous job,” Project 2025 authors said. “With parental consent and proper training, certain young adults should be allowed to learn and work in more dangerous occupations. This would give a green light to training programs and build skills in teenagers who may want to work in these fields.”

    Along with those in the industry pushing for less child labor protections, legislators in more than 30 states have taken steps to weaken them since 2021, Governing for Impact, the Economic Policy Institute and Child Labor Coalition wrote in their report.

    “Citing labor shortages and under pressure from industry groups, these states have taken steps to: allow children under 18 — often much younger — to work in dangerous occupations, limit employer liability when their child workers are injured, and let employers schedule children for overnight shifts,” the report said.

    What can be done to prevent child labor violations?

    Since 2021, the Department of Labor has “ramped up enforcement” of current federal regulations and given employers who have committed “some of the worst abuses” the maximum penalties, the report notes. However, “the regulations themselves are out of date and insufficient.” the report said. 

    “Even with full-throated enforcement of these regulations, it’s not enough to sort of protect kids from what’s going on now in the economy,” Reed Shaw, policy counsel at Governing for Impact and co-author of the report, told The Guardian. 

    Report authors had some suggestions for changes the department can make. These include expanding the list of occupations deemed too hazardous for workers under 18 years old; increasing protections for child workers in hazardous agricultural jobs; and issuing regulations prohibiting employers from scheduling certain child workers for overnight shifts, as well as requiring rest breaks and one-day off a week for others.

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    Cassie Buchman

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  • Perilous Psittacine Donald Trump Parrots Project 25 With Promises To Close The Department Of Education, Egregiously Says Slavery-Teaching Schools Should Be Defunded

    Perilous Psittacine Donald Trump Parrots Project 25 With Promises To Close The Department Of Education, Egregiously Says Slavery-Teaching Schools Should Be Defunded

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    In today’s episode of Trump Is Still Trying To Keep America Dumb For Obvious Reasons, the ex-president made an in-person appearance on Fox & Friends to, once again, float around the idea of shutting down the federal Department of Education to ensure that everything educators are teaching in classrooms is whitey-approved. (He didn’t actually say that last part, but the last few years of anti-woke GOPropaganda proves that’s exactly what he was getting at.)

    Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty

    “We’re going to take the Department of Education — close it — we’re going to close it,” Trump said of his plans should he be elected to the White House in November. 

    He also said he would punish schools that teach about slavery. When Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade asked about schools in liberal states or cities teaching that America was “built off the backs of slaves on stolen land,” Trump said they’d be defunded.

    “Then we don’t send them money,” replied Trump.

    Trump made the same campaign promise last month during a rally in Wisconsin.

    “I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” he said, CNN reported. “We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing.”

    First of all, neither Trump nor any of his loyal MAGA minions give a damn about students being “indoctrinated” as long as it’s the right kind of doctrine. Indoctrination, in their minds, only happens when kids are being taught about the spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations that exist. To them, it’s indoctrination when students are taught that systemic racism is a thing in a country where Black people were barred from accessing the “American dream” through two and a half centuries of slavery and another century of legally sanctioned second-class citizenship.

    However, it wasn’t indoctrination in their minds when Louisiana officially became the first state in U.S. history to require by law that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school in the state from kindergarten through college. It wasn’t indoctrination when Florida education officials approved requirements to teach students that enslaved people benefited from slavery and that Black victims of race massacres also committed acts of violence. Those same officials selected PragerU — an unaccredited conservative non-profit organization founded by a loud and proud racist — to provide classroom materials to Florida schools. PragerU produced animated videos for children that taught, among other things, that Frederick Douglass, a slave-turned-abolitionist, would have agreed with America’s choice to prioritize white supremacy over ending slavery.

    Trump, however, hasn’t threatened Florida’s Board of Education with any kind of sanctions under his future presidency, because when he talks about indoctrination, he doesn’t mean white nationalist indoctrination, because that kind of propaganda is his political bread and butter.

    What Trump doesn’t seem to understand is that as much as he tries to distance himself from Project 2025 — the Heritage Foundation’s pro-fascism brainchild aimed at permanently MAGA-tizing the federal government once Trump is back in office — he can’t seem to stop saying the Project 2025 part out loud.

    One of the tenets of Project 2025 that opponents have highlighted the most is its intent to rid the country of its Department of Education.

    Speaking of which, recently, reporters for Hip Hop Hollywood spoke to Black men between the ages of 18-65 and had them read excerpts from the conservative plan for America and share their thoughts on camera. The interviews covered, among other things, the project’s impact on education should it ever be enacted.

    You can watch the video below. Spoiler alert: Black men weren’t feeling any of it.

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    Zack Linly

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  • Will Porn Decide The Next Election

    Will Porn Decide The Next Election

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    This is turning into one of the most weird elections. Now will porn sway the election?

    The presidential election has been filled with memes, hurricanes, hashtags, misinformation and more. Record voter turnout has already been seen in Georgia and anxiety is up in both parties. But will porn decide the next election? You have the right, the left, moderates, evangelicals, union members, and celebrities weighing in and trying to sway the vote.  But two groups are getting involved via porn and it could actually make a difference.

    RELATED: Diddy’s Failed Cannabis Investment Saves Industry A Scandal

    As of August 2024, Pornhub is the 16th-most-visited website in the world and the most-visited adult website. Which makes it bigger than Amazon, Pinterest, and Walmart. Additionally there are 4 adult sites in the top 50. Which makes it a powerful voice in a moment when people could be open to information about their activity.  Advertising on an adult site is inexpensive and has a huge reach. Plus, the performers have a huge reach…especially with the hard to reach demographic of men 25-44.  So why wouldn’t it become a key focus.

    FTW PAC, is a political action committee co-founded by friends Wally Nowinski and Matt Curry. Their plan to reach the hard to grab young men demographic to engage them when they consume online adult entertainment. It mixes up the ad content and their moment’s interest.

    They are running ads which starts with a woman enjoying herself on a bed before Donald Trump appears over her, or else a warning that “Trump’s Project 2025 will ban this video.” The ads conclude by telling the viewer, “Enjoy while you can.”  Powerful stuff when men are in a needy moment.

    When Louisiana banned porn, which was support by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), demand for VPNs surged by 210%. When Pornhub blocked access to Texas, searches for VPNs by Texas users increased more than fourfold.

    RELATED: Boomer And Gen Z Consume Marijuana For Similar Reasons

    In addition to FTW PAC, 17 adult film stars has launched a $100,000 ad campaign warning viewers about the Project 2025. The ads run in front of videos on popular porn sites. This is to sway the election against the the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation blueprint for the next Republican administration.  Their plan is to ban pornography and prosecute porn producers.  Additionally, they want to stop legal marijuana.

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    Anthony Washington

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  • Teachers, union leaders join Harris-Walz campaign in Orlando to slam Project 2025

    Teachers, union leaders join Harris-Walz campaign in Orlando to slam Project 2025

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    click to enlarge

    photo by McKenna Schueler

    In a second term, Trump ‘would slash funding for our K-12 schools,’ predicted Dr. Robert Cassanello (Oct. 4, 2024)

    Just ahead of World Teachers Day, local teachers and leaders of unions that represent staff in Orange County public schools gathered at the teachers’ union hall Friday with the Harris-Walz campaign to slam Project 2025, the right-wing policy playbook tied to members of the former Trump administration.

    At the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association union hall, University of Central Florida professor Dr. Robert Cassanello and other local educators slammed parts of Project 2025 that could decimate the public education system as we know it, and undercut the labor unions that fight to preserve it.

    “[Trump’s] extreme Project 2025 has a blueprint of getting rid of the Department of Education if he’s re-elected,” Cassanello, who teaches history at UCF and sits as vice chair of the statewide United Faculty of Florida labor union, pointed out.

    A vocal critic of the GOP’s war on what they see as “ideological indoctrination” in higher education, and faculty like himself, Cassanello painted a grim picture for what he believes would occur under a second Trump administration, should the former President be victorious in the Nov. 5 election.

    “He would slash funding for our K-12 schools,” Cassanello predicted, “all the while giving massive tax cuts to the billionaires and big corporations.”

    click to enlarge Ron Pollard, president of OESPA, and local educators speak out against Project 2025 (Oct. 4, 2024) - photo by McKenna Schueler

    photo by McKenna Schueler

    Ron Pollard, president of OESPA, and local educators speak out against Project 2025 (Oct. 4, 2024)

    Project 2025, a manifesto published by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, is a 922-page policy playbook developed for the next Republican administration that reaches the White House. Based on the outcome of this November’s election, that could be an administration led by former President and billionaire Donald Trump.

    While Trump has repeatedly denied any ties to Project 2025 and continues to claim he hasn’t read it, a number of his close allies directly contributed to it. A review by CNN identified at least 140 people who worked in the former Trump administration involved in the book’s policy proposals, including longtime adviser and notorious xenophobe Stephen Miller.

    The Project 2025 playbook has been highlighted by Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail as a preview of what Americans could expect if Trump is re-elected to the White House.

    Critical for educators is the part of the manifesto that directly tackles issues regarding education — by in part promoting policies unpopular with public school advocates, some of which have already started to play out in Florida — from efforts to undermine public employee unions to the deregulation of child labor laws and the expansion of school voucher programs that generally don’t improve educational outcomes, even as they divert funds away for public schools and worsen inequality.

    “Florida has been a testing ground for Project 2025 ideas,” said Ron Pollard, president of the Orange Education Support Professionals Association, a labor union that represents thousands of non-instructional staff in schools, from custodial workers to bus drivers, cafeteria workers and paraprofessionals. “I want everyone who is listening today to hear this when we say we will never stop fighting against those who think of our children’’s education and safety as just a means to an end.”

    Pollard, a former custodian for Orange County Public Schools and former member of the U.S. Steelworkers union, described Harris and her VP pick, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as leaders “who understand that our country is only as strong as its students.”

    Maira Rivera, a local teacher and vice president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, agreed. “They believe that education is a key to the middle class, and they know that when our middle class is strong, America is strong,” said Rivera, a grandmother of three OCPS students and mother of a daughter who also teaches in the public school system.

    click to enlarge Teachers, union leaders join Harris-Walz campaign in Orlando to slam Project 2025

    photo by McKenna Schueler

    Rivera noted several pillars of Harris’ platform that directly touch on issues important to many parents, students and teachers, including access to affordable childcare, advancing the Biden administration’s efforts on student debt relief, and investing in financial aid programs to help make higher education more affordable for families with fewer means.

    “I don’t need to remind anyone that Gov. Tim Walz is a teacher and a coach. He knows firsthand what our educators are facing. Or that Vice President Kamala is a staunch supporter of unions and their right to collectively bargain,” Rivera said.

    As a result of a controversial law (SB 256) approved by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, more than 68,000 public employees in Florida have lost their union representation and thus the protections and benefits they received under their union contracts. Some of those unions were first established decades ago, but due to stringent new mandates for unions, have been decertified.

    Several groups affiliated with Project 2025 contributors or that otherwise sit on its advisory board directly lobbied or otherwise proudly advocated for that Florida legislation, including lobbying arms for the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and the out-of-state James Madison Institute.

    The bill was also a priority of the Florida chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-affiliated think tank that seeks to defund the public education system and drain it of resources.

    Pollard, whose union is facing a recertification election as a result of the new regulations (essentially, a vote by members on whether to keep the union or dissolve it), argued Friday that unions are “vital” to the middle class. Research shows public employee unions in particular can help shrink the pay gap between the private and public sectors — a problem that disproportionately affects women and Black workers.

    Unions, said Pollard, provide “an avenue for better raises, for better benefits, for the very things that we strive for as family members to feed our children.” Without a union, individual workers lack the power of that collective voice, and the opportunity to demand meaningful change to wages and working conditions at the bargaining table.

    “This Project 2025 stuff is designed to take us back to a time when we fought for everything, and had nothing,” he continued. “This country was built on the back of unions.”

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    McKenna Schueler

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  • Project 2025 Architect Visiting Ohio for Center for Christian Virtue Summit

    Project 2025 Architect Visiting Ohio for Center for Christian Virtue Summit

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    click to enlarge

    (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom.)

    Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts speaks to reporters at the organization’s all-day Policy Fest at the Bradley Symphony Center in downtown Milwaukee, just blocks from the Republican National Convention, on Monday, July 15, 2024.

    Today and tomorrow, the Center for Christian Virtue will host a who’s who of right-wing Republican figures in Columbus. The group’s two-day Essential Summit serves as a prelude for the Ohio March for Life — an annual anti-abortion demonstration happening at the Ohio Statehouse Friday.

    The summit is slated to feature state leaders like Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman and Attorney General Dave Yost, as well as Kevin Roberts, the leader of Project 2025, a controversial right-wing transition plan and policy manifesto for a hypothetical future Trump administration.

    The religious lobbying organization is among the most well-connected in Ohio’s Republican dominated state legislature. On issues like reproductive rights, school vouchers and transgender issues, CCV has reliably staked out far-right positions.

    CCV was engaged from the very earliest stages with the 2023 ballot proposal from Republican lawmakers that would’ve imposed a 60% supermajority passage requirement for all future Ohio constitutional amendments. They’re also opposing the anti-gerrymandering amendment known as Issue 1 on this November’s ballot.

    CCV bills The Essential Summit as a way to bridge a purported divide between religion and politics.

    “Today,” the website reads, “many Christians believe the Bible doesn’t have anything to say about cultural and political issues. They’ve accepted the myth of the sacred-secular divide. Others feel isolated in their convictions and pressured into silence.”

    Project 2025 architect and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts will be delivering the event’s keynote speech. The Heritage Foundation transition plan has prompted so much pushback that former President Trump has publicly disavowed it, despite the fact a variety of officials from his administration helped draft the plan.

    Dr. Ben Carson who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary during the Trump administration is scheduled to speak as well as the president of Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian university in Michigan, and the CEO of the Babylon Bee, a conservative satire news site.

    Among the Ohio elected officials and lawmakers slated to speak are Attorney General Yost, discussing how Christians can influence the marketplace, and Senate President Huffman, who will be speaking alongside Hillsdale president Larry Arnn. Additionally, state Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, and state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania are scheduled for speeches over the two-day conference.

    Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.

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    Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

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  • How John McCain fought to get money out of politics — and lost

    How John McCain fought to get money out of politics — and lost

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    Thirty-five years ago, John McCain’s political career nearly ended shortly after it had begun. It was November 1989, and the Senate Ethics Committee had the freshman U.S. senator from Arizona in its sights…

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    Brendan Joel Kelley

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  • Previewing the Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris | Inside Story

    Previewing the Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris | Inside Story

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Host Tamala Edwards visits the National Constitution Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia for an in-depth preview of the ABC News Presidential Debate taking place on Tuesday, September 10.

    Edwards spoke with the NCC’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Vince Stango and General Counsel and Board Member Liz Preate Havey all about this great non-profit, non-partisan museum, celebrating the U.S. Constitution and promoting healthy civic discourse in our country.

    RELATED: Harris-Trump presidential debate: How to watch, what to know

    They share how the plans came together so quickly for Tuesday’s debate.

    Then, the panel takes a deep dive on what both candidates need to do to win this debate.

    Will this exchange be about policy or personality?

    What topics will resonate with local voters: the economy, abortion, Project 2025 or foreign policy?

    RELATED: Street closures, other info you need to know for the debate

    And is there a growing divide between support for the candidates when it comes to gender and education?

    Get the Inside Story with Sharmain Matlock-Turner, Brian Tierney, Liz Preate Havey and Bob Brady.

    And watch ABC New’s coverage of the Presidential Debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10th on 6abc and everywhere you stream.

    Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    Tamala Edwards

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  • Kamala Harris outlines plans to build an “Opportunity Economy”

    Kamala Harris outlines plans to build an “Opportunity Economy”

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    RALEIGH, N.C. – The speech was billed as the first major economic address of her presidential campaign, and United States Vice President Kamala Harris did not disappoint. Addressing a small but vocal crowd of supporters at the Scott Northern Wake Campus of Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, the Vice President outlined a series of economic reforms designed to provide much-needed relief to those struggling through tough economic times.

    “This election is about two different visions for our nation,” Harris said as she began her remarks. “One, ours, is focused on the future, and the other is focused on the past. We see that contrast in many ways, including the way we see the economy. We sadly remember the millions of Americans who were out of work. We were facing one of the worst economic crises in history. And today, by virtually every measure, our economy is the strongest in the world.”

    Photo by Julia Beverly/The Atlanta Voice

    It was the first among many enthusiastic applause lines for Harris, who gave a detailed breakdown of the policy areas she plans to address as President of the United States, while also touting the success of the Biden/Harris administration. Harris spoke about the creation of 16 million new jobs, historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy, and the lowering of inflation to less than three percent during the Joe Biden presidency.

    “As president, I will be laser focused on creating opportunities for the middle class that advance their economic security, stability and dignity. Together, we will build what I call an ‘opportunity economy.’ Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.”

    (Photo by Julia Beverly/The Atlanta Voice)

    Harris’ plans include several major policy initiatives, which include the following:

    ·      The elimination of medical debt impacting consumer credit scores

    ·      A ban on price gouging for groceries

    ·      A cap on prescription drug costs

    ·      A $25k subsidy for first time home buyers

    ·      A child tax credit that would provide $6k per child for families for the first year of a child’s life

    Prior to Harris’ speech, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic Candidate for Governor, and current Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, each took the stage, both receiving raucous cheers from the audience.

    “Vice President Harris is here today to shed a bright light on the urgency of lowering costs and make life more affordable for the people of North Carolina,” said Stein, who is in a tight race with Republican candidate Mark Robinson, the current Lt. Governor.

    “I believe that if you work hard, where you come from should never limit how far you can go. To deliver on that promise, we must invest in our people and their future,” Stein added.

    (Photo by Julia Beverly/The Atlanta Voice)

    Cooper, who describes himself as a longtime friend and supporter of Harris, was on the short list for VP before taking himself out of the running. Harris ultimately choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.

    “I have been out there on the campaign trail and talking to people, and I have that 2008 feeling!” said Cooper, evoking memories of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and sparking an additional round of cheers.

    “Vice President Harris has ignited a firestorm of excitement as we head into the final stretch of this election and today she has chosen us, North Carolina, to unveil key highlights of her economic agenda.”

    Cooper described Harris as tough, focused, and as someone who will fight for the people who need her.

    Several times during her speech, the crowd interrupted Harris to chant “We’re not going back! It was a line Harris used herself as she continued to contrast her plans with those of Donald Trump, and what she called his backward-looking agenda of Project 2025. On that point, the audience was in enthusiastic agreement.

    “If you want to know who someone cares about,” Harris said in closing, “look who they fight for. Now is the time to chart a new way forward.”

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    Carla Peay

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  • Project 2025: The Blueprint for America’s Democratic Demise

    Project 2025: The Blueprint for America’s Democratic Demise

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    Trump is “America’s Hitler.”

    Those aren’t my words. They’re the words of Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance. That’s what he and many others used to say about Trump before they succumbed to his influence. Now, they’re proclaiming their loyalty by bowing down and kissing the ring of an insurrection inciter, a racist, a sex predator, a twice-impeached, four-time indicted, now convicted felon, and former disgrace of a President.

    Recently, the Republicans held their national convention. Despite the delusional and deranged policies Trump has been shoving down our throats, he was met with thunderous applause.

    Let me paint a picture of a second Trump term, according to MAGA Republicans and Trump’s closest cronies.

    Journalist and historian Anne Applebaum aptly noted, “Often, for autocrats, the second time in power is worst.” That’s a chillingly accurate description of what we’d face with Trump, especially with the tyrannical policies in Project 2025.

    If you haven’t heard, Project 2025 is a 920-page blueprint for a second Trump term, straight out of a dystopian novel. It’s packed with the horrifying policies MAGA Republicans dream of imposing.

     It’s the MAGA Republicans’ plan to take control of this country and our lives.

    It demolishes checks and balances, tramples personal liberties, and outlines a Trump power grab ripped from a dictator’s playbook.

    Trump wants to fire up to 1 million people in the federal government and replace them with a bunch of extreme MAGA Republicans who would do Trump’s bidding instead of the American people and the Constitution.

    And let’s talk about your wallet because you can forget about that with Project 2025. MAGA Republicans want to increase taxes on the middle class, gut social security for young Americans, slash Medicare, let employers stop paying overtime, and more.

    They also aim to obliterate the Department of Education and eliminate the Head Start program. As a former Head Start educator and school principal, I find this vile and inexcusable.

    Project 2025 also wants students in public high schools to take a military entrance exam in an effort to draft them into the military. However, it leaves private school kids untouched.

    The cherry on top? They’re hell-bent on banning abortion and restricting access to birth control and Plan B. As someone who knew life before Roe v. Wade and almost died from a stillbirth, we simply cannot go back.

    Now, Trump knows this plan is insane and unpopular, and has recently tried to distance himself from Project 2025, claiming he knows nothing about it.

    But Project 2025 is crawling with former Trump officials and cabinet members.

    All MAGA Republicans are trying to do now is lie about Project 2025 so they can win the election and begin to implement this draconian plan—just like authoritarians in other countries did when trying to grab onto power. But we cannot ignore their true vile intentions.

    So, what’s next?

    Trump used his first term to destroy the guardrails of democracy, stack the courts with loyalists, and make the truth seem like “fake news.”

    So, while our democracy survived a first Trump term, it won’t survive a second one.

    Don’t take my word for it. Trump said he will become “a dictator on day one.” This isn’t just a scare tactic by Democrats; it’s simply what Trump has already told us will happen if he wins. So, believe him when he says he’ll be a dictator.

    There is simply too much at stake to focus on anything other than the choice we have in this election: democracy or dictatorship.

    I’m choosing democracy every day.  

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    Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24)

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  • (Source of the Day) What is Project 2025? An MBFC Analysis

    (Source of the Day) What is Project 2025? An MBFC Analysis

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    Project 2025, spearheaded by The Heritage Foundation, aims to pave the way with a 900-page plan for a conservative administration’s 2025 presidential transition. Focusing on policy, personnel, and training, it seeks to counteract liberal politicians’ perceived damages and lay the groundwork for a conservative governance structure. The project has four pillars: a policy agenda, a personnel database, training, and a 180-day playbook. Notable contributors include Paul Dans and Spencer Chretien, former Trump administration officials.

    Funded and supported by over 90 conservative organizations, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Heartland Institute, Project 2025 is deeply rooted in conservative ideologies. Its policy proposals, developed by more than 400 conservative scholars and experts, emphasize conservative priorities such as immigration reform, education overhaul, and countering China’s influence.

    Key policy initiatives include enhancing border security, dismantling the Department of Education, rejecting gender ideology and critical race theory, establishing a commission to investigate the origins of COVID-19, and increasing executive authority. These proposals have stirred controversy among Democrats, who view them as regressive and harmful.

    Despite its ambitious goals, Project 2025 has been labeled as mixed in terms of factual reporting and reliance on sources with questionable credibility. Additionally, former President Donald Trump has recently distanced himself from the project, raising questions about its influence and future direction.

    Overall, Project 2025, rated right-biased, represents a significant conservative effort to reshape American policy and governance, but its partisan approach and controversial proposals continue to spark debate and scrutiny.

    Read MBFC Full Review on Project 2025

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  • Playing In Our Faces: Donald Trump Tries To Distance Himself From #Project2025 Backlash — ‘I Know Nothing’

    Playing In Our Faces: Donald Trump Tries To Distance Himself From #Project2025 Backlash — ‘I Know Nothing’

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    Source: The Washington Post / Getty

    Donald Trump questionably claims he’s an expert on everything else, but now he expects us to believe he has “no knowledge” of Project 2025 and its oppressive plans to give him unprecedented power as president. After the plan, directed by Trump’s former chief of staff, exploded online, that would make him the last person in the country to hear about it. 

    In his Philly campaign rally speech, Trump stated, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

    According to AP News, he posted a statement distancing himself from Project 2025 on his social media website. “Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

    Wish them luck? PLEASE.

    Project 2025: The Drastic Plan Trump “Doesn’t Know About”

    Let’s break down what Trump is desperately trying to distance himself from. Project 2025 is a 922-page plan that proposes a massive expansion of presidential power. The project includes but isn’t limited to: 

    • firing up to 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists (JUST SICK)
    • National abortions ban
    • Birth control, IVF, and STD Testing restrictions
    • Patient Data exposure
    • Eliminating the Department of Education and free school lunch programs
    • Enforcing Christian principles
    • Removing Environmental Protection Agency and protections for endangered species
    • Implementing tax policies that benefit the wealthy
    • Weaken unions and workplace safety regulations
    • End FBI efforts to combat disinformation
    • Repeal Acts for Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Fair Housing
    • End gender equality protections
    • Getting rid of DEI workers and training programs
    • Criminalizing LGBTQ+ rights and homelessness
    • Using the U.S. military against the U.S. citizens

    Yet Trump would have us believe he’s completely in the dark about it. It’s hard to swallow, especially given his past authoritarian actions and statements.

    The Social Media Firestorm

    What’s really pushed Trump into this awkward denial is the social media uproar. Project 2025 has been trending online and on television screens. As BOSSIP previously covered, celebrities such as Taraji P. Henson are taking part in the activism against it.

    Taraji didn’t hold back at the BET Awards, calling the oppressive overthrow of the government for what it is. Her bold move has put even more pressure on Trump and spread awareness of the initiative. Now, he’s backtracking and expecting us to fall for it despite his party’s track record of calling for these extremist policies.

    Trump can try to address the elephant in the room, but his response is far from convincing.

    Trump’s Ties to Project 2025 Figures

    The key players behind Project 2025 are all Trump insiders:

    • Paul Dans, the project’s director, was a former chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under Trump.
    • John McEntee, a senior adviser, was the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office.
    • Russ Vought, a significant contributor, is on the Republican National Committee’s platform writing committee.

    With such close ties, Trump’s denial is more than just suspicious; it’s strategic.

    Conservative Leaders’ Radical Agenda

    Conservative leaders are openly declaring their revolutionary intentions to drag the U.S. back to the 1800s.

    AP News states that Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation President, declared on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

    With over 110 conservative groups involved, they’re pushing policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president. This isn’t just about Trump; it’s a full-blown attempt to reshape America.

    Trump’s Extreme Agenda

    Even if he’s trying to sidestep Project 2025, Trump’s own plans are still alarming. Research shows that he’s gearing up for a massive deportation operation and wants to potentially tariff all imports if he gets a second term.

    These proposals, when combined with Project 2025, paint a chilling picture of the future. It’s devastating enough that his SCOTUS picks have lifetime control over our laws and seemingly use it to dismantle more civil rights by the day.

    Trump’s campaign has previously warned outside allies not to speak for him, yet Karoline Leavitt, a campaign spokeswoman, has been featured in Project 2025’s videos. The hypocrisy is staggering.

    It’s as if they want to distance themselves while simultaneously keeping the radical base riled up. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too. 

    Democrats Sound the Alarm

    The Democratic response has been fierce. The Biden campaign has slammed Project 2025 as a “violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”

    AP found that Ammar Moussa from the Biden campaign described it as an “extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term that should scare the hell out of the American people.”

    On Independence Day, the Biden campaign posted a dystopian image from “The Handmaid’s Tale” on X, captioned, “Fourth of July under Trump’s Project 2025.”

    It’s a clear warning about the dangerous path ahead. 

    What’s Next?

    Trump’s comments come as the Republican Party prepares to draft its party platform, and Project 2025 is gearing up to share a 180-day agenda for the next administration privately.

    As these developments unfold, the American public must stay alert and informed. Trump’s denial might be a tactical move, but the implications of Project 2025 are too significant and dangerous to ignore. 

    This isn’t just about political maneuvering; it’s about the future of our democracy and lives.

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    Lauryn Bass

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  • Trump seeks to distance himself from pro-Trump Project 2025

    Trump seeks to distance himself from pro-Trump Project 2025

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    (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump on Friday sought to distance himself from a closely aligned conservative group’s plans to radically reshape the federal government and American life should the former president win a second term.

    In a post to his social media site, Trump claimed, “I know nothing about Project 2025,” the name given to a playbook crafted by the Heritage Foundation to fill the executive branch with thousands of Trump loyalists and reorient its many agencies’ missions around conservative ideals.

    “I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump continued on Truth Social. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

    The post comes days after the president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, drew widespread backlash from Democrats for saying in an interview that the country was “in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

    Project 2025 — widely viewed by conservatives as a blueprint for Trump’s second term transition — is run by several former Trump administration officials and includes many policy priorities that are aligned with those of the former president, especially as they relate to cracking down on immigration and purging the federal bureaucracy by making it easier to dismiss civil servants and career officials.

    But it also includes controversial proposals Trump has not discussed, including banning pornography, reversing federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, excluding the morning-after pill and men’s contraceptives from coverage mandated under the Affordable Care Act, and making it harder for transgender adults to transition.

    Among the chief objectives of Project 2025, its authors wrote, is: “Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.”

    Trump’s campaign has sought for months to make clear that Project 2025 is not its official policy platform amid an intensifying effort by President Joe Biden and Democrats to tie Trump to its more controversial policies.

    Yet those efforts are complicated by Trump’s extremely close relationship with many of the people who launched Project 2025 or helped contribute to it. Paul Dans, the head of Project 2025, was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management during the Trump administration, and the group’s roadmap for the next administration includes contributions from others who have worked for the former president, including his former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, former acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli and former deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn. John McEntee, Trump’s former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office and one of his closest aides while in office, is also a senior adviser for the project.

    Trump himself told a gathering of religious broadcasters in February that Roberts was “doing an unbelievable job” and “bringing (Heritage) back to levels never seen.”

    The remarks came at a Nashville conference shortly after Roberts and Dans both addressed the same crowd. Dans shared with the audience it was his intention to serve in a second Trump administration should the former president win in November. Speaking before Trump about Project 2025 that night, Roberts said, “We want no credit” for the groundwork it is laying, and instead wanted “President Trump and his administration to take credit for that.”

    The group has long stated its transition project is a template they hope will be adopted by the next Republican president, something a Project 2025 spokeswoman reiterated in a statement to CNN.

    “As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign. We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president. But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement,” the statement reads.

    A senior Trump campaign adviser told CNN that Trump’s post disavowing the group stemmed from a series of factors, most notably the Biden campaign’s recent messaging campaign tying Trump to the project.

    Project 2025 has long frustrated Trump and his top advisers, who have been annoyed with the amount of coverage its policy platforms have received and the perception that the group is working in tandem with the campaign — despite Project 2025 partnering with a series of top Trump allies.

    The group’s partners include several leading conservative groups with close ties to Trump’s campaign, including those who have been tapped by Trump’s advisers to serve as part of their 2024 ground game strategy in key battleground states, such as Turning Points USA.

    Other high-profile organizations partnered with Project 2025 include the Center for Renewing America, run by Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, who is viewed by many in Trump’s orbit as a likely contender for another Cabinet position in a second administration and is helping to lead the GOP platform committee ahead of the Republican National Convention later this month. The Conservative Partnership Institute, run in part by Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Sen. Jim Demint, and America Legal First, founded by his immigration adviser Stephen Miller, are also partners.

    The Biden campaign on Friday quickly dismissed Trump’s attempts to keep Project 2025 at arm’s length.

    ​​“Project 2025 is the extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term that should scare the hell out of the American people,” Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “Project 2025 staff and leadership routinely tout their connections to Trump’s team, and are the same people leading the RNC policy platform and Trump’s debate prep, campaign, and inner circle.”

    The Trump campaign has previously pushed back on reports about plans Trump’s allies are looking to implement if Trump wins reelection. Trump’s campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita issued a statement in November arguing that “reports about personnel and policies that are specific to a second Trump Administration are purely speculative and theoretical” and that no outside groups have the authority to speak on behalf of Trump or the campaign.

    LaCivita doubled down further on Friday, tweeting: “Poke the Bear you are going to be bit” while sharing an article titled: “Trump torches Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.”

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    CNN

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  • (Media News) Trump Distances Himself from Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025

    (Media News) Trump Distances Himself from Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025

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    Former President Trump distanced himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, stating on Truth Social, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”

    Project 2025, a 900-page proposal, outlines conservative priorities for a future Republican administration, including reshaping executive powers, eliminating certain agencies, and reducing abortion funding. It also suggests reimplementing Schedule F, making it easier to fire federal workers, a move Trump initially ordered in 2020 but was revoked by President Biden.

    Democrats criticize Project 2025 as extreme, forming a task force to combat it. Despite Trump’s distancing, his advisors have ties to the project. Trump indicated plans to reintroduce Schedule F if reelected. Project 2025’s spokesperson stated the recommendations are up to the president to decide.

    The Biden campaign’s rapid response director, Ammar Moussa, labeled the project as an “extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term.” Despite Trump’s attempt to separate himself from the project, connections between his former officials and Project 2025 suggest ongoing alignment with some of its goals.

    Read MBFC’s comprehensive review of Project 2025

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  • Analysis: Supreme Court grants Trump ‘absolute’ immunity, raising concerns about potential dictatorship

    Analysis: Supreme Court grants Trump ‘absolute’ immunity, raising concerns about potential dictatorship

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    Happy Independence Day! Where’s the potato salad and the ribs?

    July 2, 1776 was the day that the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. John Adams noted that July 2 would be remembered in the annals of American history. 248 years later, the United States Supreme Court extended sweeping powers to the executive branch in a way that would make King George III blush.

    The Supreme Court in TRUMP vs. United States, the high court granted the executive branch “absolute” presidential immunity for “his core constitutional powers.” Additionally, the president “enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does if official.” The six conservatives voted for and the three liberal-minded justices dissented.

    In layman’s terms, the executive branch has a greater level of immunity than police officers. Police officers can be charged with murder. However, the President is cloaked by the separation of powers as outlined in Article II of the United States Constitution, according to the Supreme Court decision. 

    So, what does that mean for the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump? It means he can fulfill his promise of being a dictator on ‘day one.’

    One historical figure compares to Trump in this moment

    Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger meets with President Mobutu of Zaire in his Pentagon office in 1983.

    In 1960, Mobutu Sese Seko was the second in command in the Congolese Army. In November 1965, Mobutu led two successful coups, with the backing of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). And in 1971, Mobutu Sese Seko consolidated power unto himself. He launched a ‘national authenticity’ program in Congo, previously known as the Democratic Republic of Zaire. He rid his country of all colonial influence and re-established a national identity. 

    In a speech in Dakar, Mobutu described his plan as, “an experience drawn from the anarchy caused by the plurality of political parties and by the ascendancy of imported ideologies, spread through empty slogans. We have had to wipe the slate clean of all previously existing parties.”

    Essentially, Mobutu Sese Seko established a unitarian government. He had the backing of Chairman Mao and the support from Apartheid South Africa. He was a major cult of personality, an overseer of a bereft kleptocracy, while his government was full of corruption. His friends, family members, and benefactors ran government agencies. Mobutu embodied big man rule. What he said was law. 

    During his thirty-two year rule, Mobutu plundered nearly $5 billion of his country’s wealth and resources. He would take himself shopping in Paris, fly the famed Concorde supersonic jet, and entertain the world’s best and brightest. Meanwhile, his country was crumbling. The paved roads his country had in the sixties, devolved into bush in less than twenty years. In the mid-1990s, the AIDS epidemic and famine ravaged his nation. In a country that did not have clean drinking water, affordable medical infrastructure, and lacked security, the disease brought the country and Mobutu to its collective knees.  According to UNAIDS, an estimated 410,000 Congolese children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. 

    Mobutu’s government fell in 1997 when he was forced into exile. He was suffering from prostate cancer and he died from his illness on September 7, 1997. 

    Mobutu and Donald Trump love what the government could do for them. Both men had an insatiable desire for power and established autocracies. And both men were willing to destroy the economic prospects of their countries in the name of putting their pursuits first. 

    Project 2025 is happening right now

    Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation and architect of Project 2025, said this on national television: 

    “The reason that so many anchors on MSNBC, for example, are losing their minds daily is because our side is winning. And so I come full circle on this response and just want to encourage you with some substance that we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be.”

    Project 2025 will destroy women’s rights, civil rights, voting rights, plus LGBTQ+ rights and protections. It will slice and dice environmental protections and regulations. And it does not stop there. The Family Research Council is leading a new initiative called the “Platform Integrity Project.” It calls on the public to pressure the Republican Party to adopting a hardline anti-abortion, anti-LGBT stance ahead of the election.

    Donald Trump, after the Supreme Court handed immunity over to him, amplified calls for mass violence directed at his enemies. He also “ReTruthed” a post using the QAnon slogan, “Where we go one, we go all.” Trump’s MAGA movement believes African-Americans, women, and ethnic minorities, will “replace” White people in society. 

    This goes on while the corporate and mainstream media continue to shake their hands and whine about how President Biden is too old to be president. And yes, the corporate and mainstream media is still whining over the President’s poor debate performance. Why? They need a two-horse race in order to drive ratings and ad sales while ignoring what will be the most nakedly obvious power grab in the history of western civilization.

    What’s Next?

    Here is the good news: The choice will be yours on November 5, 2024. It may be the last chance for Americans to exercise that right at the ballot box. 

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    Itoro N. Umontuen

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