“Gov. Mike DeWine has vetoed a new Republican-passed bill that would have required Ohioans to show a photo ID to vote by mail. DeWine announced late Wednesday that he had vetoed House Bill 472, which expanded the strict photo ID requirement Ohio has had for voting since 2023. The Republican governor issued an unusually lengthy statement explaining his decision. He said the requirement would pose an unwieldy challenge for voters without providing any real benefit. ‘This bill is not needed, because Ohio does an excellent job running elections,’ DeWine said. ‘We know who wins on election night and not weeks later!’ In vetoing the bill, DeWine noted complaints from bipartisan elections officials, who said lawmakers passed the bill too quickly during a busy legislative session earlier this month, as well as from the Ohio chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons.” (06/25/26)
“Donald Trump has found a way to soothe Democratic fears that Republicans in Congress will continue to savage the poor, funnel money to the rich, and make the nation safe for corporate dominion. He’s effectively shut down Congress until it passes an unpassable bill. Trump is demanding that the SAVE America Act (a voter suppression bill he thinks will save his hide in the midterms) reach his desk first before he’ll take care of any other congressional business. First it was Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the warrantless spying program that the intelligence hawks were poised to ram through again until Trump said SAVE had to be attached. Then a signing ceremony for the ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan agreement that passed with over 90 percent of Congress in both chambers, was abruptly canceled Wednesday because Trump asked for SAVE first.” (06/25/26)
“For years, I have been writing about the decline of public education in the United States. The political power of teachers[‘] unions led to bloated budgets as schools pursued ideological agendas over educational advancements. Despite massive budgets, scores of students in major cities have continued to plummet or remain at the same dismal levels. Now, Arkansas has shown what is possible if officials put education first. Scores in the state have soared after the implementation of reforms that many of us have advocated for years. It also shows that state governments, not the federal government, are critical to reversing our slide in educational performance as the administration moves toward eliminating the Department of Education. Arkansas implemented a new program and testing protocol called the ‘Arkansas Teaching, Learning and Assessment System’, or ATLAS, with a mix of higher pay for teachers, performance-based bonuses and a voucher system for families.” (06/24/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“There are two types of racism in the west: the kind that’s considered acceptable in polite liberal society, and the kind that’s widely frowned upon. The acceptable type of racism is the kind which considers it fine and normal to drop bombs on Muslim families overseas. The kind which sees starvation sanctions as a minor issue whose pros and cons are assessed solely on the basis of whether they will be successful or unsuccessful in achieving regime change. The kind which views imperialist extraction from the global south as the natural order of the world, with centrists and progressives squabbling only about how evenly that plunder should be distributed among westerners. The unacceptable type of racism is the kind which affects other westerners. The kind whose consequences western liberals have to see.” [editor’s note: Muslims aren’t a race – TLK] (06/24/26)
“Chicago, Chicago, that toddling town: Or it was some time ago when Frank Sinatra sang about it. Now it’s in the throes of something called a ‘Transfemicide State of Emergency’, according to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, with no time for a little toddling around the dance floor. Posting to his X account, Johnson announced in all apparent seriousness: ‘Since declaring a Transfemicide State of Emergency, our administration has strengthened the City’s capacity to support LGBTQ+ Chicagoans.’ … You may think such a thing is necessary because of the many, many murders of trans Chicagoans happening daily. In fact, only one trans person was killed in Chicago in all of last year — and the incident appears to have been a matter of domestic violence unrelated to their trans status.” (06/23/26)
“Many of the criticisms being leveled against the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran (namely, that it is not that great a deal) are accurate and worthy of attention. But under the disastrous set of circumstances resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran, it is probably the best deal that can be realistically hoped for, given that Iran clearly has the upper hand. Unfortunately, that has not stopped some Washington politicians, including many prominent Democrats, from attempting to undermine it.” (06/23/26)
“Sir Keir Starmer bowed to the inevitable Monday and resigned from leadership of the Labour Party and, therefore, from his role as prime minister. The resignation had been brewing for some time. While Starmer led the Labour Party to an astounding landslide election victory in July 2024, by September 2025, he was already being labeled the most unpopular prime minister since polling began; this followed a series of U-turns and poorly handled crises. After heavy losses of council seats in local elections in May, the Labour Party moved quickly to remove him. Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is expected to become prime minister after an internal Labour Party leadership contest. (Labour maintains a majority in parliament, so it maintains the right to form a government.) Burnham will quickly find that he doesn’t have the money to fix public services, double defense spending, and continue to fund an unwinnable war in Ukraine.” (06/24/26)
“U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jerrold Nadler, two of the top Democrats in Congress, are retiring when their terms expire in January, but they will continue to make their imprints on Washington. The pair passed the torch Tuesday night to former aides who won the Democratic primaries to replace them on Capitol Hill, and because both districts are overwhelmingly blue, they are all but certain to win in November and get sworn in to replace their former bosses. Hoyer and Nadler are the latest lawmakers to successfully anoint their successors after spending decades in Congress. Among 68 members of Congress not seeking reelection this year, at least five have endorsed former staffers to replace them and more than a dozen others have, to varying degrees, worked to smooth the path to Capitol Hill for their favored replacements.” (06/24/26)
“Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda on Wednesday conceded Colombia’s presidential election to Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative outsider who was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Election results showed de la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never run for office, defeated Cepeda, a lawmaker, by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes. ‘We assume with serenity, responsibility, and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us,’ Cepeda said in an address to the nation. ‘We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.’ The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups under a plan known as ‘total peace’. Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday.” (06/24/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Phil Buchanan & Elisha Smith Arrillaga
“Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration has waged war on nonprofits. Actions have included federal funding cuts to the tune of billions of dollars, targeting of specific organizations with investigations or indictments, and threats to tax-exempt status. While some efforts have been turned back by the courts, the administration has been unrelenting and, sadly, every American community will suffer as a result of this sustained attack. Presidential announcements warn of ‘anti-American NGOs’ and allege without any credible evidence that networks of nonprofits are acting as ‘domestic terrorist organizations’. Recently, the administration issued proposed regulations intended to impose sweeping new restrictions on nonprofits that receive federal funding—including that such organizations not advance diversity, equity, and inclusion or assist in voter registration.” (06/24/26)
