1. Trump Administration begins military takeover of DC, targeting unhoused. In conjunction with his executive order targeting unhoused people, and false claims of high crime rates, Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington DC and also attempted to order the Attorney General to take over the local police force. Initially the Guardspeople weren’t supposed to be armed, but that was a lie.
The forces have already begun massive sweeps and arrests against unhoused (or perceived unhoused) people, and Ohio and South Carolina have pledged more forces.
The hostile takeover by the federal government and other capitulating states’ militias–a key part of Project 2025 and paralleled by many historical authoritarians–is meeting little pushback from establishment Dems. Several motions in court aim to block the actions. Unclear whether rule of law remains.
Approximately half of unhoused people have a disability and 8% are military veterans.
2.RFK Jr Plans to Remove Preventative Care Taskforce/Guidelines. RFK Jr. announced plans to remove the Preventative Medicine Taskforce, which he called “too woke,” sparking “deep concerns” from the American Medical Association and others.
The Taskforce, which is nonpartisan and has been vetted for any conflicts of interest, offers evidence-based guidance on preventative medicine for a range of conditions, like when patients should have cancer or diabetes screenings, HIV preventatives and cholesterol medication.
Without taskforce guidance, patients will have more inconsistent care, and insurance companies may not pay for preventative screenings or appointments.
3. They’re messing with the elections, continued. The Texas legislature continues its pursuit of illegal redistricting after Trump asked the state to find him five more red seats. Texas Dems are returning to the state, and the proceedings will likely continue.
Meanwhile, Callais v. Landry, a Louisiana-based redistricting case that is poised to destroy Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act remains on the SCOTUS shadow docket, with a date set for October. In California, Governor Newsom has threatened to make similar redistricting moves in his state in order to secure more blue districts to offset the Texas ones.
While Newsom’s stylized tweets have gone viral for annoying Trump, ultimately gerrymandering continues to contribute to voter suppression and is unlikely to end in TX, CA, or LA.
6. Trump tries new defunding tactics for DoEd, pushes conservative curriculum. The Trump Administration continues to attempt back door defunding of DoED. The latest: Congress is currently negotiating the bipartisan version of their budget bill. However, the Administration has already said DoED funding will be removed later via rescissions package. This move only requires 50 votes.
Rescissions is also how funding already allocated to PBS was revoked by the administration earlier this summer. At least ten states are planning to use ultraconservative children’s materials out of PragerU (an unaccredited think tank pretending to be a university) to fill the gap.
Prager’s materials include animated videos in which cartoon historical figures present imagined “anti-woke” talking points, like one in which Christopher Columbus tells children slavery is, “better than being killed” and Frederick Douglass calls it, “a compromise.”
7. Local: PA GOP refuses to fund mass transit, devastating cities, statewide economy. GOP-led PA failed to pass comprehensive funding for the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority and other mass transit across the state.
Specifically, SEPTA, serving Philadelphia and its suburbs, will see 20% service cuts and 21.5% fare raises staring this month. The removal of bus lines, fewer regional rail times and 9PM curfews, and the elimination of special events trains will devastate both worker and tourist mobility.
Despite chronic underfunding and restrictions that prohibit Philadelphia itself from delegating more funding, SEPTA uses their funds most efficiently per capita compared to other authorities, and provides a 70% return on investment, as Philly functions as a main economic engine for a largely rural state.
Philadelphia’s population is 40% Black and has the highest percentage of disabled residents of a major US city–marginalized and working class people will bear the burden of these cuts.
8. Local: Arkansas School Discipline ACT 565 and 804
ACT 565 stipulates that students removed from a classroom for behavioral reasons cannot be reinstated into the classroom if the behavior affected a teacher or student negatively.
ACT 804 “Law Concerning the Use of Positive Behavioral Supports in Public School Districts” removes language that implements other behavioral protocol before seclusion or restraint.
Any educational law that dictates blanket policy on behavioral protocol or classroom placement is violation of FAPE and the IEP process.
Disabled and BIPOC children are disproportionately impacted by punitive disciplinary policies in public schools.
9. Silicon Valley proposes eugenics as solution to fears of hostile AI takeover. Recently, leaders in the Silicon Valley sphere have presented a solution to fears of an eventual hostile AI takeover, and reports that conversing with AI has caused mental health issues: eugenics.
Prenatal eugenic “enhancement” has long been a darling project of the techbro set, but now they are explicitly advocating for modifications made to embryos that might ensure a “higher IQ” for the resulting child, in order to combat future issues with AI.
Advocates argue that this is not the same as the “bad kind of eugenics.” However, given the racist and ableist foundations of IQ, its obvious that they are of a piece.
Historically, eugenics has always been framed in a positive light as a way to “advance” the human race, and has always resulted in the forced sterilization and/or murder of those deemed “undesirable” by those in power.
Action Items: Share this info! Disability is often lost in mainstream coverage.
Hit the streets if you are able. March, attend a town hall, school board meeting, or other local action.
Protect your neighbors. Warn and record in the presence of ICE. Push your local officials not to collaborate.
Donate to your local food pantry, library, clinics, cash bail funds, or other mutual aid if you can. Or volunteer your time.
Call your Senators: YES to the Appropriations Committee’s push back on budget cuts and support for DC.
Make sure you’re up to date on your vaccines. Ditch the wearable tech and AI when possible.
Think about ways to spread information offline. Make flyers and stickers. Make art.
