Evening Roundup, August 29
Featuring Liz Shuler, Shawna Young, Shalise Manza Young, Craig Becker, Maria Peralta, Frederic J. Frommer, Xavier Becerra, Ruben Bolling, Jamie Schler, The Contrarian Podcast & the Pet of the Week
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on why Labor Day is more important than ever
As we approach Labor Day this Monday, it’s more important than ever that we take time to reflect on what the holiday stands for. The Trump administration has been ruthlessly anti-union from the first day of Trump’s second term. His aggression towards workers’ rights proves...
New Orleans’ Next 100 Years
By Shawna Young
Twenty years after Katrina, here's how we should be investing in a great American city.
Pay them what you owe them
By Shalise Manza Young
WNBA players are demanding a fairer share in their upcoming contract.
Craig Becker on the power of unions & Trump's attacks against civil institutions at large
Yesterday, the Trump administration signed another executive order adding more federal agencies to an already expansive list of those who must end their collective bargaining agreements with unions. This is just the latest move in a series of attacks against workers’ rights from Trump.
Labor Day 2025: Workers will take to the streets to protest the billionaire agenda
In a powerful display of collective action, working Americans are set to take to the streets this Labor Day with over 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” rallies and protests planned nationwide. The mobilizations, spearheaded by the Mayday Strong Coalition of national, state, and local labor and community organizations, will protest what organizers call a…
50 years ago, Springsteen resisted the hype around his seminal album, Born to Run
By Frederic J. Frommer
The hard-charging, kinetic album lifted The Boss to the echelons of rock.
The CDC is in chaos: Xavier Becerra on Trump's attacks against the health agency
Wednesday, Trump fired the CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez for refusing to bow down to RFK Jr.’s absurd anti-vaccine policies. In the past week alone, at least four other top health officials have resigned from the agency, leaving it in disarray.
Tom the Dancing Bug
Follow Ruben Bolling on Substack here; Join Tom the Dancing Bug’s Inner Hive here; and here is the Tom the Dancing Bug website, with information about the new book, “It’s the Great Storm, Tom the Dancing Bug!"
Plum and Wild Blueberry Crisp
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”—Albert Einstein
20 years after Katrina and the future of unions
This week marked the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the massive failure of the federal government’s response that followed. Over 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands more were displaced from their homes.
Contrarian Pet of the Week
Introducing...Gabi!
Gabi is currently looking for his forever home. If you’re interested, please reach out to maura.anne.mcdonough@gmail.com!
"These are the Times that Try Men's Souls"
Trump's ability to stretch the powers of the Presidency far beyond the starting point of authoritarian rule is attributable to a single safeguard that has failed the American people - the U.S. Supreme Court, where his far-right wing ideological bedfellows have ignored well-established precedents and twisted reason and logic out of all proportion to justify his abuses of the Constitutional and Congressional powers conferred upon him.
Today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in affirming a lower court decision, held in an en banc 7-4 decision that enough is enough and ruled that his imposition of sweeping and massive worldwide tariffs exceeded his authority, though they stopped short of issuing a prohibition to allow Trump to appeal to his 5 willing enablers on the Supreme Court.
At least 3 of these enablers can be expected to follow their usual pattern of first deciding to uphold whatever Trump does and then engaging in the most contortionist perversions of logic to attempt to justify their preconceived decisions.
The future of our democracy will then rest upon whether or not the remaining two Justices will do their duty.
Gabi is beyond wonderful, and so are you for fostering him! With 4 animals, we’re full up right now but best of luck! Fantastic.