Verena Harfst

Intimidation campaigns won’t change the law: sending ICE or armed federal agents to the polls is illegal. @wendyweiser.bsky.social and Jasleen Singh lay out the many laws and structures that protect elections and enable Americans to vote confidently in @time.com:

We need to get money out of politics. Let's start with Elon Musk. Full story in reply.

The U.S. Postal Service has reduced mail pickup at some local facilities, which could affect when your ballot is postmarked. To find out whether your ZIP code is affected, use our lookup tool: www.propublica.org/article/mail...

With the Midterms underway, here’s a voice offering hope and confidence. More than 12 million Americans have already voted. This is the moment when ordinary people can speak back to power.

Call 866-OUR-VOTE with any voting questions or issues. Trained, non-partisan #ElectionProtection volunteers are ready to help you vote. Election Protection is a nonpartisan coalition helping Americans understand their voting rights, get accurate voting information & resolve any problems when voting.

Elon Musk is spending $445M+ to buy the midterms for one very simple reason. He's terrified that a Democratic Congress might finally hold him accountable.

“Fearful that he is losing in Alaska, Trump is desperately clinging to power by weaponizing the Justice Department and declaring fraud nearly two weeks before an election has even occurred,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) wrote on X. “The only threat to election integrity is Donald Trump.”

The DOJ will dispatch an unprecedented 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states on Election Day, among them people who have challenged election results on behalf of Republicans in the past. One more step to lay the groundwork for MAGA and Trump to reject the results if they don't go their way.

Since 2022 Putin’s war killed 150,000 Ukrainian soldiers, killed or injured more than 73,000 Ukrainian civilians (UN-verified; probably many more), and sent over 500,000 Russian soldiers to their deaths. Yet Trump’s buddy Witkoff calls Putin a “humanitarian.” How cruel and twisted are these people?

This is a lawsuit to watch: Trump is trying to intimidate the BBC over its impartial, objective reporting. Instead, the BBC is turning the tables on Trump. Jack Smith has an opportunity to reveal in court facts about Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection that he was forced to keep from the public.

If you can bear it - read about how Russia systematically uses rape and sexual torture as a weapon in its war against Ukraine. Yet Trump is siding wih the war criminal Putin against a democratic people fighting for their sheer survival. We need to ask: WHY??? Americans stand with Ukraine!🇺🇦 🇺🇦🇺🇦

On Saturday, during the biggest day of protests this fall, Meta took down the No Kings organizing page for hours. A corporation beholden to Trump thwarts a political movement & electoral mobilization within seconds. Senator Chris Murphy on FB:”Outrageous. Put this on the January investigation list.”

This is encouraging. Voters are hearing the call: VOTE EARLY!

Ossoff: "Tech titans dig bunkers while warning us the AI they're creating risks human extinction. Meanwhile, our Congress debates youth sports and the president builds a ballroom ... I refuse to leave my girls a world as dark and dangerous and cruel as this one threatens to become"

Money is flooding the midterm elections in unprecedented amounts, including Elon Musk’s reported $366 million to help GOP candidates. It all shows the need for an effective ban on such spending from federal contractors. bit.ly/4ykN5fi

Today in New London, CT: TOO BIG TO RIG! NO KINGS!

2020 election conspiracies shape federal preparations for Midterms. Early voting helps avoid long voter lines, and threats and misinformation to discoursge and confuse voters on November 3rd.

Join us, this is a bipartisan national rally to encourage early voting. There are many rallies in Connecticut alone. We would love you to come!

Donald Trump Is a Traitor. www.americaamerica.news/p/donald-tru...

Join ‘No Kings’ on October 17: 2,500 non-partisan rallies, marches, and parties in all 50 states urge Americans to vote early in midterm election. Find out where you can join a rally nearest you:

Thank you, Ukraine!🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Everyone can help. There are many ways. Let’s all do our part.

Let's do it 👇

Tell it to your friends: VOTE EARLY!

A fundamental threat to our civil liberties is hidden in the Crypto Bill: AI companies seek broad waivers from ANY regulation from a financial regulator, including those related to privacy, security, consumer protection, and civil rights for the sake of AI experiments, and without any oversight!

Cheers for a woman who truly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize! And Trump? Sanctioning the international body that charges crimes against humanity and striking a deal with the war criminal Putin, helping fund his slaughter of Ukrainians — all this within one single day.

Putin is now openly—not just covertly, as Trump once denied—helping Trump in the Midterms. In return, Trump is helping fund Putin’s murderous war against Ukraine. How much more evidence do we need to question whose side the man in the White House is on? STAND WITH UKRAINE!🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

Putin throws lifeline to try to save Trump in the midterms. In return, American dollars go to Russia and get put toward killing innocent Ukrainians. Trump/Russia right out in the open. www.dailymail.com/news/article...

Bit by bit, our constitutional freedoms are being undermined, eroded, and ultimately stripped away through threats, deception, misinformation, and covert operations. Will Americans wake up in time to stop this erosion before free speech, a free press, and free elections are lost for good?

The SAVE Act did not pass and there is no federal requirement that you need a birth certificate or passport to vote. brennancenter.org/everything-you-need-vote

Accompanied by the cheers of his audience, Trump said at a rally in Neb. on Oct. 5, referring to Iran: “Let them take, let them take out Los Angeles; let them take out San Diego. That’s a very small price to pay.” A US president voicing violent phantasies of nuclear armageddon of Democratic cities?

Trump sees the government not as a steward for all Americans, but as a tool to protect his hold on power.If his assault on the principle of executive neutrality takes root, we will lose far more than control of the House or Senate;we will lose the possibility that the will of the people can prevail.

When a picture speaks a thousand words

In violation of federal statutes and bar any ethical inhibitions, Trump has begun to air campaign propaganda ads funded with taxpayer dollars on TV and streaming services. Even some Republicans in Congress are demanding that the government stop funding his autocrat-style propaganda with our money.

Anne Applebaum has been right about a lot of things and this is one. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

We are ruining our own institutions, which is sad for us and great for our enemies.

Given Trump’s daily lies, the manipulated photo he published on Truth Social showing him with Chinese President Xi might seem trivial. But portraying himself as composed when he visibly grimaced during the flyover is another example of who is manufacturing “fake news.” In fact, it’s propaganda.

A brilliant performance by Senator Jon Ossoff, calmly exposing Pete Hegseth’s months of blatant lies about the Iran war:

Here’s what to know about voting in the midterms: ✅You can vote by mail. ✅You don’t need to bring a passport or birth certificate to vote. ✅It is illegal for ICE or federal troops to be at the polls. Make a plan to vote, and vote early if you can. bit.ly/3UjBBrc

A free press doesn’t just happen. It’s something we must protect. Today, people are stepping up to ensure that the independent journalism that millions rely on continues. Take a minute to see why supporters are taking action – and join them with a gift today. Donate now >> n.pr/4yerbLt

Chilling: MAGA pressures on Trump to declare martial law on or around Nov 3. “The Midterms will be canceled or temporarily suspended, or the results or certification of winners will be in limbo for an undetermined period of time.” In case of riots: “Our armed forces are a lot bigger than they are.”

Bravo. Five major TV networks and the WP are restricting their coverage of Trump events following his ban on CNN, Politico, and MS NOW. This is precisely the moment when the press must stand together. Freedom of the press is not a favor granted by the president—it is a constitutional right.

“The secretive, close relationship between the son of a sitting U.S. President and a member of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s inner circle raises serious national security and public corruption concerns,” Rep. Robert Garcia wrote.

I agree, 100 percent!

Talarico for US Senate: “I wish our government would go after pedophiles like they go after brown men headed to work at 7 am. I wish they would close billionaire tax loopholes like they close our public schools. I wish they would fund healthcare like they fund forever wars in the Middle East.”

The Trump administration is pursuing a multipronged strategy to quash those it perceives as its ideological opponents. Part of it involves using expansive authorities meant to combat foreign terrorist groups against U.S. civil society. bit.ly/4Ak6MWP

After illegally bulldozing half of the White House, Trump bans media that won’t lie for him from the other half. Every self-respecting media entity in America should boycott what’s left of the White House if he keeps violating press freedom.

Timothy Snyder: Celebrate democracy by helping us get your eligible friends and neighbors registered for their next trip to the ballot box! Go to www.vote.org and visit handsoffourvote.net to learn more about how to make sure the will of the people prevails in November. #handsoffourvote

In yet another flagrant violation of the First Amendment, Trump again attacks the free press, now banning key media outlets from the White House and Air Force One. This is the behavior of a strong man, a dictator, unacceptable in our democracy. This ban needs to fall in the courts, quickly!