Donald Trump and incompetent RFKjr are enabling anti-vax propaganda and now preventable measles is spreading

Echo reported published in The New York Times by Teddy Ronsenbluth:

Measles Cases Hit New Record in U.S., as Vaccination Rates Wane

More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000, through 2024 combined.

A patient with measles symptoms was assessed in South Carolina, where an outbreak sickened nearly 1,000 people in 2025 and 2026.

Frankly, the opening paragraph in this New York Times article should set your brain on fire.🔥💢

Measles Cases Hit New Record in U.S., as Vaccination Rates Wane
More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000 through 2024 combined.

The United States has now recorded more cases of measles in 2026 than in any other year since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000, a grim sign that the country may be headed toward a new era in which the disease regularly sickens thousands every year.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that there have been 2,318 confirmed cases of measles so far this year.

In fact, the case count toppled the record set last year, when measles infected more than 2,200 Americans and killed two unvaccinated children. More measles cases have been reported in the United States in the last two years than in all the years from 2000 through 2024 combined.

Reversing course on measles would require a nationwide push to improve vaccination rates, a prospect that experts said seemed unlikely under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Instead, the incompetent RFKjr halted funding for vaccine hesitancy research, downplayed the risks of measles and spearheaded a hunt for evidence that vaccines are unsafe.

In November, (right around election time❗) a panel of international experts will meet to determine whether the United States has lost its elimination status, which has long been viewed as one of the country’s crowning public health achievements.

“This is just going to keep happening,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. “It’s going to mean living in a perpetual state of vulnerability and risk until we get vaccination levels up.”

Many of the cases reported this year were tied to a large outbreak in South Carolina that took root last October in a close-knit, evangelical Slavic community and quickly became the largest outbreak in the United States since 2000. The outbreak, which ultimately sickened nearly 1,000 people, was declared over by state health officials in April.

Still, the virus is far from contained. Utah is fighting an outbreak that began along its border with Arizona last summer and has led to more than 700 cases, spread across every jurisdiction in the state. Virginia health officials have reported more than 170 cases from an outbreak that began in mid-May. Pennsylvania is grappling with an outbreak that has sickened more than 100 people this year.

In total, the C.D.C. has reported 35 new measles outbreaks this year. A vast majority of cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccine status was unknown.

The string of outbreaks is no surprise to public health experts, who have watched vaccination rates tick down in recent years. Nationally, the measles vaccination rate fell during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not rebounded to the 95 percent required to stem the spread of the measles virus in a community. While the latest national data shows that about 93 percent of kindergartners have received the measles, mumps and rubella shot, that protection is uneven: Some communities have vaccination rates approaching 100 percent, while others have rates below 80 percent.

Measles, one of the most contagious diseases, is exceptionally good at exploiting those pockets with weak immunity.

“It’s going to find people who aren’t immune,” said Dr. David Kimberlin, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “It’s like a heat-seeking missile.”

Children have borne the brunt of the infections, making up more than 70 percent of confirmed cases. More than 80 children and adolescents have been hospitalized this year for complications like pneumonia, which leaves patients gasping for air, and brain swelling, which can cause lasting damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities. (There are no treatments for measles, though researchers are trying to develop them.)

While many of the children who became ill were vulnerable to the virus because their parents opted them out of the measles vaccine, local health departments have also reported several cases in babies too young for the shot and people with health conditions that make them ineligible for the vaccine.

The outbreaks have taken a steep economic toll, as state and local public health departments strained to track down everyone exposed to the virus, start vaccination campaigns and analyze tests. Researchers have estimated that in 2025, each measles case cost the United States more than $100,000, when factoring in health care spending and the days of missed work for sick people or caretakers.

Of course, the United States is not the only country grappling with a measles resurgence. Canada, which lost its elimination status last year, has reported more than a thousand cases this year. Health officials in Bangladesh confirmed more than 8,000 infections since March.

Still, several experts said the Trump administration’s response — which has not included any national push to increase vaccination rates — has done the United States no favors.

Courtney Spencer, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the department has mounted an “aggressive outbreak response,” and pointed to the $8.5 million it has given states to help contain outbreaks and the technical assistance that the C.D.C. has provided to those areas.

She added that the department has said, referring to the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella, that “M.M.R. vaccination remains the best protection against measles.”

Dr. Jonathan Temte, a former chairman of the C.D.C.’s vaccine advisory committee, said: “We have seen virtually no national messaging. We’ve seen no ad campaigns.” He added, “I think that really tells us something about their priorities.”

Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are not telling Americans the truth about the failed war in Iran

Editorial opinion published in the The Virginian-Pilot:

Americans deserve honesty from White House about Iran war

It’s called the fog of war — the uncertainty and confusion that can proliferate during the physical and emotional demands of combat operations. Orders and directions can be muddled, communication can break down, and those in the thick of it can struggle to find their footing.

For the Trump administration, though, events in Iran are more akin to a fog machine of war — from the shifting justifications for attacking in February, to the moving goalposts of what it hopes to achieve, to the deliberate obfuscation of the number of service members harmed.

Americans don’t need access to classified intelligence or after-action reports to better understand what’s happening in this conflict, certainly not anything that could put members of our military at greater risk. But the nation does deserve frank, honest talk from its leaders in order to properly assess the purpose, status and cost of a war it is being asked to support and to fund.

The United States, in partnership with Israel, launched a war against Iran on February 28. Donald Trump, speaking the morning of the initial strikes, called on the Iranian people to take control of the government and urged the armed forces to surrender, saying that “America is with you.”

What Donald Trump promised would be a limited campaign has subsequently proved to be way more complicated than he expected, reflecting why his predecessors never launched such a massive undertaking. His rationale has shifted in the weeks and months since, from halting Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, to removing its leadership and, lately, keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping.

Trump asked Americans to follow this scattered logic and to trust in his handling of the war. But most aren’t buying into his arguments; polling this month by The Washington Post-Ipsos found 68% said the Iran war was not “worth fighting,” while just 28% said it was. The conflict is more unpopular than the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan were at any point.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress that the Pentagon needs $67 billion in emergency funding to pay for operations, despite also claiming that Iran’s military was decimated. NBC News, citing internal DOD numbers, reports the cost of the war is already between $80 billion and $100 billion. Taxpayers will foot that bill, in addition to paying higher costs for gasoline, fertilizer and other goods due to disrupted trade in the Middle East.

And then there are the casualty numbers. This White House isn’t the first to obscure the number of service members killed and wounded in combat operations, but Trump and his allies painted the Afghanistan withdrawal — which Trump negotiated — as a colossal failure when an attack amid that chaotic exit claimed the lives of 13 Americans.

That was unquestionably a tragedy, so how can administration officials square their outrage with this action in Iran, where at least 18 service members have died, including four in the last week❓😔😡😢

One extricated our nation from a decades-long conflict while this campaign seems to be dragging the U.S. further into one.

The Pentagon finally admitted Monday that more than 100 troops were injured in recent attacks, but only when pressed by journalists to release that information to the public. 

A Defense Department spokesperson told The New York Times that “the ‘vast majority’ of … casualties since July 7 involved ‘mild concussions,’ and 96% of those service members have returned to duty.”

That is, indeed, welcome news. But Hampton Roads needs no reminder of the long-term consequences of injuries sustained in battle and the cost of caring for wounded service members, having endured those challenges for decades due to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Americans need a clear-eyed view of Donald Trump's illegal war, as do lawmakers making decisions about how — or whether — to pay for ongoing operations. That responsibility rests with the president, who should turn off the fog machine and level with the public about his war of choice.

American military: Eighteen young military killed in the Trump illegal Iran war named with unit identification

TIME magazine report by Chantelle Lee:

Eighteen American service members have died in the war in Iran in the months since the U.S. and Israel launched the initial military strikes on Feb. 28.

From left: Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas; Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York; and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan

About ❓447 more U.S. service members have been wounded in the conflict, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System, which was last updated on July 21. Nearly 100 service members have been injured since July 7—of those, 96% have since returned to duty, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. He added that the “vast majority” of those injuries were “minor concussions.”

Among the wounded was the U.S. airman at the center of a rescue effort behind enemy lines just over a month into the war. On April 3, an American fighter jet was shot down in Iran, causing the pilot and the weapons systems officer to eject from the aircraft. The former was rescued soon after the crash, but the latter went missing for more than 24 hours behind enemy lines. 

On April 5, Donald Trump announced that the service member had been rescued, and, while he had been wounded, “he will be just fine.” (But, these two service members were never identified.)

The war, which has quickly expanded in the Middle East, has killed thousands of people across the region.

The Pentagon released the identities of six American service members who were killed in the conflict in early March, and shared the name of the seventh on March 9. On March 13, U.S. Central Command said that six more service members had died. The following day, the Pentagon released the names of those service members, all of whom were crew members who died after the U.S. aircraft they were aboard, a KC-135, crashed in western Iraq.

On July 7, the U.S. Navy released the identity of a commanding officer who was on board a helicopter that went down in the Arabian Sea six days earlier and is presumed to be dead following days of searching. The other service members who were part of the helicopter crew have been rescued.

Later the same month, U.S. Central Command said on July 18 that two American service members were killed in action in Jordan amid an Iranian attack, and that another service member was missing. The next day, Central Command said that “after a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains” and that the process to verify the identity of the individual was ongoing.

Central Command also said on July 19, that, in a separate incident, an American service member in northern Iraq had been killed in action the day before “during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone.” On July 21, the Department of Defense (DoD) identified that soldier. (Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System on July 19, 2026, at Erbil Air Base, Iraq. The incident is under investigation.)

Here’s what to know about the seventeen service members who have died in the conflict.

Michael Emmanuel Swinton:  Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton was 30 years old and was from Fayetteville, North Carolina, the DoD said on July 21. He was “killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System” two days earlier, at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, and the incident is “under investigation,” according to the department.

Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the DoD said.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina paid his respects to Swinton in a social media post on July 21.  “We extend our heartfelt condolences to … his wife and family in Spring Lake, his extended family in Fayetteville, and the Fort Bragg community,” Tillis said. “We are grateful for his service and will always remember his sacrifice.”

Tyler James Feehan:  1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan was 25 years old, the DoD said on July 20. He was from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and was killed in action on July 18 after “an enemy attack” the day before at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The department said “the incident is under investigation.”  Feehan was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii paid her respects to Feehan in a post on X on July 20.

“Today, my thoughts and aloha are with 1st Lt Feehan’s family, and the families of all the brave servicemembers killed and injured in this war,” she said. “As we honor their service and sacrifice, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to bring an end to this war.”

Isabella Gonzales:  Pvt. Isabella Gonzales was 19 years old and lived in Carrollton, Texas, according to the DoD. She was killed in action in the same attack as Feehan, but died on July 17.

Private Gonzales was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany.

In a social media post on July 20, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he and his wife were praying for Gonzales’s family, as well as Feehan’s family. Abbott said that “our nation is forever indebted to” both service members.  “Texas mourns the loss of Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, killed in action serving our nation in Jordan. She was just 19 years old. Her courage and sacrifice represent the very best of Texas,” he said.

Commander Gabriel Edwards, 42 years old:  On July 1, a helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea after what the U.S. Navy said was an “emergency landing.” Three members of the four-person crew were rescued, and the fourth was declared missing. After more than 100 hours of search and rescue operations, the Navy ended the efforts on July 5. On July 7, the Navy identified Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards as the missing crew member. He is presumed to be dead.

Commander Edwards, originally from Oakland, Oregon, is survived by his wife and two children, in addition to his “large extended family,” the Navy said. He graduated from Norfolk State University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in physics, and commissioned through the Naval ROTC.  “Gabe has dedicated his life to serving his country with honor, courage, and commitment. He led with humility, integrity, and compassion, always putting his people before himself,” his wife, Rebecca Edwards, said in a statement. “To those who served alongside him, he was a respected leader and mentor. To our family, he is the love of my life, an extraordinary father to his children, and the foundation of our home. His greatest joy was always his family.”

John Klinner:  Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, was a resident of Auburn, Alabama, according to the Pentagon. He graduated from Auburn University in 2016 with a mechanical engineering degree, according to the school. He participated in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Auburn University, per the MacDill Air Force Base, and in 2017 he joined the Air Force.  He was the chief of squadron standardizations and evaluations at the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, which is stationed at the Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base. The squadron “functions administratively” under the 6th Air Refueling Wing at the MacDill Air Force Base, according to the MacDill Air Force Base. Klinner died on March 12, along with five other service members, after the U.S. aircraft they were on crashed in Iraq.  He is survived by his wife and three children, The Associated Press reported. His wife, Libby Klinner, said in an Instagram post that she was devastated for her children, according to the AP.
“They won’t get to see firsthand the way he would jump up to help in any way he could,” she said in the post. “They won’t see how goofy and funny he was. They won’t witness his selflessness, the way he thought about everyone else before himself. They won’t get to feel the deep love he had for them.”

Ariana Savino:  Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, was a resident of Covington, Washington, according to the Pentagon. She was also a member of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, serving as the chief of current operations pilot, according to the MacDill Air Force Base. She was part of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Central Washington University, and earned her active duty commission in 2017. Savino died on March 12, in the same crash that killed Klinner and four other service members.  U.S. Air Force Col. Ed Szczepanik, 6th Air Refueling Wing Commander, mourned the loss of Klinner, Savino, and their fellow squadron member, Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, in a press release.

Ashley Pruitt

Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, resided in Bardstown, Kentucky, according to the Pentagon. She was also a member of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, serving as an assistant flight chief of operations and KC-135 instructor boom operator, according to the MacDill Air Force Base. She joined the Air Force in 2017. Pruitt died in the March 12 crash in Iraq. Sgt. Pruitt was married, and had a daughter and a stepson, her father told the New York Times. He told the news outlet that Pruitt had dreamed of serving her country by entering the Air Force ever since she was young. “She knew that this would be her path,” her father told the Times. “She passed doing what she loved—that’s fighting for this country.”

Seth Koval:  Capt. Seth Koval, 38, lived in Stoutsville, Ohio, and was an aircraft commander assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio, according to the Ohio National Guard. In 2006, he enlisted into the Air Force, according to his Air Force biography. He graduated from Purdue University five years later with a degree in aviation operations. In 2017, he transferred to the Ohio Air National Guard.

“To lose a member of the Air Force family is excruciatingly painful, especially to those who know them as son, daughter, brother, sister, spouse, mom, or dad. To lose them at the same time is unimaginable,” Szczepanik said. “Our communities feel this loss deeply and Team MacDill will ensure their sacrifices and service to our nation are never forgotten. We will honor them each and every day as we continue to answer our nation’s call.” He died in the March 12, crash in Iraq.  His wife, Heather Koval, shared a statement on Facebook, in which she said that Koval “grew up dreaming about becoming a pilot and to stand beside him as he made his dreams come true was an honor.”  “He was truly the most amazing husband, father, son, brother, friend, and Airman. He loved what he did, and he was proud to put his uniform on and serve others,” she said. “He always put others before himself—until the very end. I will see him in the smile of our son and carry him with me in every moment.”

Curtis Angst:  Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, was a resident of Columbus, Ohio, and was also part of the 121st Air Refueling Wing, serving as a KC-135 pilot, according to the Ohio National Guard. He had 10 years of service; he enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard in 2015, according to his Air Force biography. Before commissioning, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with an aerospace engineering degree. He died with the five other service members in the March 12 crash. Mary Angst, Angst’s wife, told the New York Times in a statement that their family was “beyond grateful for the outpouring of love and support surrounding us during this unimaginable time.”  “Curtis was incredibly proud to serve our country, and we are committed to honoring his life and legacy,” she said.

Tyler Simmons:  Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, lived in Columbus, Ohio and was a boom operator assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing, according to the Ohio National Guard. He joined the Air Force in 2017, according to his Air Force biography.  Simmons died in the March 12 crash in Iraq.  His father told the New York Times that Simmons had been deployed to the region for another assignment, but he had volunteered to join the crew on the plane that ended up crashing.  “He didn’t have to be on that flight, that’s just the kind of person he was,” his father said.

Benjamin Pennington:  Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, was a resident of Glendale, Kentucky, according to the Pentagon. He joined the Army in 2017, at first working as a unit supply specialist, according to U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC). Last summer, he was assigned to the Space Battalion as a part of the 1st Space Brigade in Fort Carson, Colorado. He received several accolades for his service, including the Army Achievement Medal. Pennington died on March 8, after sustaining injuries “during an enemy attack” seven days earlier at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on March 9. The department said that the incident is under investigation. USASMDC said Pennington would posthumously be promoted to staff sergeant.

“Sgt. Pennington was a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty,” 1st Space Brigade commander Col. Michael F. Dyer said in a statement.

Jeffrey O’Brien:  Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien was 45 and a resident of Waukee, Iowa, according to the Army Reserve. He commissioned in the Army Reserve in 2012, serving first as a signal corps officer. In 2019, he was deployed to Kuwait. He was awarded the Army Achievement Medal, as well as the Meritorious Unit Commendation, among other accolades. O’Brien died on March 1 “during an unmanned aircraft system attack” in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, that killed five other service members, the Pentagon said on March 4. The department said that the incident is under investigation.
In a statement shared by Des Moines television station KCCI, O’Brien’s parents and brothers remembered him as “a son, grandson, the oldest of 3 brothers, a nephew and compassionate young man raised on a farm near Monti, IA.”  “It was instilled in him to recognize that when people need help or a job needs done, you do it because it is the right thing to do,” his family continued. “Growing up, whether it was waking up early to help his Grandfather to tend livestock, baling straw on the family farm, or raising flags for his local parish on Memorial Day and July 4th, Jeff would always put others ahead of himself.”

Robert Marzan:  Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, lived in Sacramento, California, according to the Pentagon. In a Facebook post, Marzan’s niece said he was “just two months away from coming back home” from his last deployment after more than three decades in the Army at the time of his death.

He was at the site of the March 1, attack in Kuwait that killed O’Brien and four other service members, and the Pentagon said on March 4, that it believed he also died in the attack. The Pentagon said that a medical examiner will confirm this. Marzan is survived by his wife and daughter, the LA Times reported. “He would do anything for you, and family and friends meant the most to him,” Marzan’s childhood friend told KCRA. “He was an amazing husband, father, brother, nephew, uncle, and friend. You always knew he cared deeply about the people in his life.”  “While the entire world now knows your name uncle, you have always been my loving and fun uncle, grandma’s baby, a devoted husband, protective and loving father, baby brother, cousin and best friend to many,” Marzan’s niece wrote on Facebook. “You’re our Hero with a servant’s heart, you lead with love and bravery, you gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, an honorable soldier, and I believe God welcomed you Home with open arms saying ‘Well done, my son, well done'.” 

Nicole Amor:  Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor was 39 and resided in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. She enlisted in the National Guard in 2005, working as an automated logistics specialist, according to the Army Reserve. In 2006, she transferred to the Army Reserve. She was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Amor had two children: a son in his senior year of high school and a daughter in fourth grade, the AP reported. She liked gardening, rollerblading, and bicycling.
She died on March 1 in the attack in Kuwait, according to the Pentagon.  Her husband told the AP that Amor had been set to return home soon before her death. “She was almost home,” her husband told the news outlet. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first—it hurts.”
Amor was awarded several accolades for her service, including the Army Commendation Medal and National Defense Service Medal, according to the Army Reserve.

Declan Coady:  Sgt. Declan Coady was 20 and lived in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Army Reserve. Coady, who was a student at Drake University, joined the Army Reserve in 2023, working as an Army information technology specialist. He received several accolades for his service, including the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon. Coady had been attending classes virtually while stationed in Kuwait, the AP reported. He died on March 1 in the attack in Kuwait, the Pentagon said. Coady was promoted from specialist to sergeant posthumously, according to the Army Reserve.  “I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister told the AP. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”

Cody Khork:  Capt. Cody Khork, 35, lived in Winter Haven, Florida, according to the Army Reserve. He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009, serving as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist. Five years later, he began working as a military police officer in the Army Reserve. He was later deployed to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay, and Poland.  He received a number of awards for his service, including the Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal, according to the Army Reserve.  Khork was killed in the March 1 attack in Kuwait, according to the Pentagon. His family told news outlets in a statement that Khork “felt a calling to serve his country.”  “He was deeply patriotic and took great pride in serving something greater than himself,” his family said. “He lived with purpose, loved deeply, and served honorably. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the example he set, and the love of country and family that defined him.”

Noah Tietjens:  Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, resided in Bellevue, Nebraska, according to the Pentagon. He came from a military family, the New York Times reported. He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006, serving as a wheeled vehicle mechanic, according to the Army Reserve. He had previously been deployed to Kuwait in 2009 and in 2019. He received several decorations for his service, including the Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal. Tietjens died in the attack on March 1 in Kuwait, the Pentagon said. He is survived by his wife and a teenage son, the Times reported. The family had trained in martial arts together. Tietjens had wanted to start his own martial arts studio someday, according to the Times.

Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, (Queens) New York. Her death in Jordan was reported on July 22 nd. She is a third American service member believed to have been killed by an Iranian attack on an air base in Jordan has been identified by the United States military as Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad of New York.

Connor Greene contributed reporting.

Donald Trump and maga Republicans continue to lie about elections in America. Does Senator Susan Collins know this?

Echo opinion published in the Boston Globe by Ilya Somin:

Trump's big lie isn’t about the six year old 2020 election. He’s targeting the midterms.

During another rambling speech on July 16th, Donald Trump falsely claimed without credible evidence about there have been serious breaches of election security and repeated his assertions that the 2020, election was compromised. As in the past, these remarks are utterly indefensible. And they are likely part of an illegal effort to federalize control over the upcoming midterm elections, so as to tilt the results in his party’s favor. 

Hopefully, America’s courts and federal system will continue to stymie him.

Trump claimed in his speech that some 278,000 non-citizens illegally registered to vote . There is no real evidence to support this, and even he didn’t claim proof there was any significant actual illegal non-citizen voting. 

Decades of efforts to find such evidence — including by the right-wing conspiracy creating Heritage Foundation — have turned up no more than a few dozen cases, over a span of several decades. A search of the Heritage’s election fraud database turns up only 99 supposed cases of non-citizen voting from 1982, to 2025.

Trump also claimed foreign powers intervened to prevent his election in 2020, and that China “obtained” some 220,000 voter files. In January 2021, the US intelligence community — then led by Trump’s own first-term political appointees — concluded foreign interference did not tilt the election against him and that China did not even try to do so. The voter-file access claim makes no sense. As my Cato Institute colleague Walter Olson — an election law specialist — points out, “this means nothing” because it is possible to buy or rent

 voter information from states that make them public information.

These fake claims are intended to bolster Trump’s long-standing assertions that the 2020, election was somehow “stolen” from him. But, overwhelming evidence shows the contrary. 

In 2020-21, Trump and his political allies filed 64 court cases challenging the results in six key swing states. As detailed in “Lost, Not Stolen,” a review of these cases conducted by prominent Republican lawyers, election law specialists, and former federal judges, none of these decisions found significant evidence of voter fraud.

While some cases were dismissed on procedural grounds, 30 were decided on the merits, and in 14 others the plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew their suits (likely because they lacked evidence to substantiate their claims). 

Trump only prevailed in one case — a Pennsylvania decision involving procedural flaws that did not involve near enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s over 80,000 vote margin of victory in that state. Later investigations conducted in various swing states — including those undertaken by Republicans in Arizona and Michigan — likewise found no meaningful evidence of significant fraud.

If some combination of Democrats and foreign powers had managed to “steal” the 2020, election while Trump was in the White House, and avoid detection in the process, one wonders why they didn’t do it again in 2024, when a Democratic president was in power and in control of the Justice Department and the intelligence community. The fact that no such thing happened then is yet further evidence that it didn’t happen in 2020.

The real purpose of Trump’s ongoing lies about the 2020 election and election security may be to bolster his efforts to “nationalize” control of the 2026 midterm elections, so that he can skew results in his party’s favor, at a time when most pollsters and election analysts expect Republicans to lose control of at least one house of Congress, and possibly both.

Fortunately, Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for election administration, subject to override by congressional legislation. 

No current federal law gives Trump the authority he seeks. Numerous federal courts — including in cases presided over by Republican-appointed judges — have rejected his attempts to change voter ID rules by executive order and take control of state voter rolls. Courts should similarly rule against any potential efforts to use federal law enforcement agencies or — worse still — troops, to seize control of polling sites and ballots, just as the Supreme Court in December rightly rejected Trump’s illegal efforts to use the National Guard in Illinois and other blue states. State governments should also do everything possible to resist such power grabs through the political process and mobilize public opinion against any attempts.

America’s decentralized system of election administration has downsides, as well as virtues. But, as leading election law scholar Richard L. Hasen notes, it provides valuable protection against “a president hell-bent, like Trump, on election subversion.” 

Hasen, previously an advocate of election law centralization, adds that this has led him to reconsider. Americans would do well to heed Hasen’s point and also reject Trump’s bogus claims of fraud, intended to pave the way for his own very real efforts to undermine our elections.

Reader response on this opinion: Trump is laying the foundation for his Big Bad Pouting Party that will follow the coming mid-terms.
Echoing Roy Cohn's advice, Trump makes a practice of stating a LIE, and then REPEATING that lie, over and over, until the lie is gradually ACCEPTED AS TRUTH by the sheep in his flock.

He is claiming voter fraud already, and will continue to bleat this lie, hoping the sheep will swallow it.
Get ready for this latest Feces 💩Fest, America❗ Adolf Hitler's propaganda creator Joseph Goebbels made The Big Lie theory a reality. 

Senator Susan Collins should use her seniority to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump NOW, because he is clearly on the way to declaring martial law in America, rather than accept the outcomes of the 2026, mid term elections. 

Donald Trump imposes tariff taxes on Canadians without Congressional authorization. Does Senator Susan Collins know this?

Friends, newsletter from Robert Reich:

Trump on Monday signed orders to impose a 50 percent tariff on a wide range of Canadian imports.

(Maine Writer:  But I thought the Supreme Court ruled against Donald Trump being authorized to impose tariffs without Congressional approval.  Tariffs are taxes and only Congress can impose them, as per the mantra: "taxpayers must authorize taxes not the president, taxation without representation is against the law....)

The White House claims the tariffs are a “punishment” for Canadian discrimination against American cars, dairy, and alcohol.

But the tariffs will also punish us. Remember, tariffs are import taxes — paid for by you and me and everyone else in America. So, we’re about to pay more for everything we import from Canada — plywood, paper, furniture, hockey sticks, cement, et al. Canada is our second-largest trading partner, for chrissake.

Even if the Supreme Court finds that Trump lacks authority to invoke these tariffs and the government must refund American importers for the extra cost — as the high court did with his first round of tariffs — you and I won’t be reimbursed for the extra costs we’ve paid.

Corporations aren’t giving their customers any of the $80 billion in refunds they’ve received from the Treasury Department for the first round of tariffs, so don’t expect any reimbursement on this second round. Which means we’re doubly screwed.

Worse yet, the Treasury isn’t really bearing the cost of the $80 billion in refunds. The cost is being borne by you and me and all other American taxpayers, because our money funds the government. And as taxpayers we’ll also be paying for the second round of refunds, assuming the Supreme Court orders them. Which means we’re triply screwed.

Actually, we’re quadruply screwed because Trump is imposing the new tariffs under the Tariff Act of 1930 — the notorious Smoot-Hawley tariff that worsened the Great Depression by causing other countries to retaliate and impose tariffs on goods coming from the United States. It’s likely to have a similar effect in coming months.

If you hadn’t noticed, the American economy is already shaky. Prices are rising faster than wages, which means most of us are becoming poorer even before Trump’s next round of tariffs. His war in Iran is pushing up the price of gas and, indirectly, food.

The real reason for the new tariffs is that Trump is pissed off that Canada had the temerity (and the right) to retaliate against his first round of tariffs, and it has resisted Trump’s calls to be annexed as the 51st state.

Why would Canadians ever want to live in a nation that could elect Trump❓

In any event,  writes Robert Reich, I believe I can speak for most Americans when I apologize to our Canadian friends. We’re sorry we elected him. He’s made our lives worse. He’s a continuing embarrassment to us. (Did you see him grandstand at the World Cup❓ We have to live with this crap 💩every day.👎😡)

Believe me, we’re doing everything we can to put him back in his cage.

P.S. Where is Senator Susan Collins❓

Donald Trump continues to obsess about old election news while American military are being killed in his illegal war of choice with Iran

RECKLESS❗ It is insane and outrageous that — once again — the keepers of our election system have to issue statements responding to preposterous claims by Donald Trump and other Republican maga U.S. leaders that the system has been somehow compromised and co-opted by threats here and abroad.

Rather than tell Americans about his plan to end the illegal Iran war he declared and is now shackled with, he went on and on about old news and fake claims about election fraud.  #ImpeachTrumpNOW

Where is Senator Susan Collins❓

Echo editorial board opinion published in the Rutland Herald, a Vermont newspaper:

In Vermont, Attorney General Charity Clark and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas released a joint statement responding to the claims made by Trump during a national address on July 16, Thursday night concerning the integrity of the nation’s elections.
(Two national networks NBC and ABC did not carry Trump's address live and CBS cut away to regular programming after only a few minutes.)

In the speech, (for those with the intestinal fortitude to endure it) Donald Trump repeated false claims about the 2020, election that have been investigated and disproven. 

Going into the Midterm elections, Trump continues to raise doubts and conspiracies to negate Republican losses and carry on with his drumbeat that elections are “rigged” when they don’t go his way.

However, there is no evidence that China actually used that information in any way. It has long been established that China collects immense volumes of data on Americans unrelated to any efforts to manipulate votes or alter election outcomes. And public versions of voter files are widely available, including online, and can be bought and sold by campaigns and political parties so they know which doors to knock on and where to send mail.

An Associated Press reports that China’s efforts to influence the 2020, campaign were already well-documented, and there was no assessment of any direct election interference. The records released Thursday do not refute that conclusion but reveal an internal intelligence community debate about how to characterize Beijing’s efforts and motives.

In addition, Trump touted the release of a new Department of Homeland Security investigation, based on state voter rolls and public records, that he said had identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections.

According to published reports, the agency uncovered more than a quarter of a million noncitizens illegally registered to vote in California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada, based on public records, which are often erroneous or incomplete. Another 28,000 noncitizens, it claimed, were found on voter rolls in 25 states using the new Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.

Nevertheless, there is no allegation that any of those people actually voted, which would be a crime. That data has also not been verified. Reports have found that the SAVE database is plagued with errors, including outdated information that has often classified naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Indeed, a federal judge has barred the database from being used over fears that voters will be wrongly purged from voter rolls, the AP reports. Studies have found noncitizen voting to be extremely rare. Noncitizens are also allowed to vote in some local elections and could be on the rolls for that reason.

Trump also cited Russia, as well as issues domestically in Michigan concerning canvassing voters.

Notably, Trump told the nation the intelligence included “revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure” that leave it vulnerable “to hacking, exploitation and foreign interference.” 

One report in the files included a list of recent breaches — mostly by Russia — and called on state and local election officials to step up their defenses to prevent information from being used to obtain absentee ballots or alter voter rolls.

According to the AP, election officials acknowledge that voting machines also carry risk — which is why they don’t rely on them alone to ensure the accuracy of the vote. Safeguards like physical security, equipment testing, paper ballot backups and post-election audits help to catch machine errors or threats.

But it is unclear what the administration is doing to facilitate their efforts. Earlier this month, Trump ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems, and maintains the national voter registration form after the group resisted his efforts to require potential voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

Trump’s address had the intended effect, with renewed claims of old news about fraud and conspiracies. So much so that election officials across the nation are having to tamp down the fires yet again. It is irresponsible and reckless to stoke these fears.

We in Vermont commend Clark and Copeland Hanzas for working diligently with our town and city clerks to ensure secure and fair elections here in Vermont. There definitely is a lack of integrity in play here, but it’s all on Trump — not within the states❗

Donald Trump and stupid climate denial maga Republicans are creating Canada as a scapegoat for wildfires? Stupid Is As Stupid Does!

Re: Out of control Canadian wildfires are caused by climate change:

Heather Delany Reese: While Canada was battling devastating wildfires and smoke spread deep into both Canada and the United States, Donald Trump in his typically cruel style decided to weigh in. 

Not to offer support or express sympathy for the families forced from their homes. He wasn't thinking about the countless times Canadians have been there for Americans during some of our darkest moments. Instead, he blamed a natural disaster on Canada, accused the country of negligence, threatened additional tariffs while the fires were still burning, and declared that "the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!"

Shared from HD Reese by Dr. Peter Shaw on social media:  “Scientists warned in May that these cuts could hinder efforts to protect people from wildfires as soon as this summer.
It is this summer. And the smoke is here. The same administration that dismantled our wildfire smoke research is now blaming Canada for wildfire smoke. The same president who pulled the United States out of climate agreements is attacking Canada for the consequences of climate change. The same government that gutted the agencies designed to protect Americans from exactly this kind of crisis is now standing on a propaganda platform calling our closest ally negligent. Climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center noted: “If anything, Canada should be blaming the U.S. for their increased fires.” The United States remains the world’s largest historical contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the hotter, drier conditions making these fires worse every single year. And instead of acknowledging that, this administration destroyed the research, withdrew from the agreements, and blamed the neighbor.”

I must be stupid, expecting more of our federal government. I fail to understand the lack of human empathy & the unbridled cruelty, the ignorance & selfishness that the monster Trump exhibits. He will be gone eventually. 

In November, vote MAGA out. The IMPEACH, CONVICT, AND IMPRISONMENT. WITH NO POSSIBILITY OF PARDON.

Senator Susan Collins supported a $70 billion allocation to fund evil ICE through 2028 so Americans can expect more killing

Card campaign for democracy:  Senator Susan Collins of Maine voted to approve a 💲70 billion allocation to support the evil ICE Gestapo through 2028, Innocent people are now murdered and at risk for being gunned down without cause as a result of her horrible vote. 

As we remember Renee, Alex, Lorenzo, and Johan, let's come together and plan how we can persuade two-thirds of Congress to defund and abolish ICE. It may seem impossible, but remember—nothing is impossible. Difficult tasks are ours to face, and you know what? We can do hard things. Everyone of us committed to this fight for our country's soul has the strength to do hard things and make a difference.

Although I’ll be honest, I don’t know exactly how we can do this, but I believe we can. I don’t know where to start, but I do want to begin gathering your thoughts and ideas and organize them into a document of potential starting points. And who knows what ideas could grow from this. What we might accomplish after the midterms and beyond.

Two-thirds of Congress could do remarkable things to bring an end to fear and to improve safety for all people.  Is Senator Susan Collins listening ❓

Donald Trump and maga Republicans like Senator Susan Collins put Jordanians as targets in the illegal Trump war of choice

Echo report published in The New York Times by Greg Jaffe, Julian E. Barnes and Jonathan Swan

An Iranian attack that killed two 😥 U.S. soldiers and left one service member missing on Friday was the fourth in five days on U.S. forces in Jordan, multiple American officials said. Taken together, the attacks have wounded dozens of U.S. service members and damaged a number of helicopters. (Still waiting for the names of the deceased U.S. military and the person reported missing.) 

(Julie's note:  Donald Trump's illegal war of choice is scary and now with Jordan experiencing Iranian attacks, the war is putting our Jordanian ally in the thick of a war that never should have happened.

Where is Senator Susan Collins❓)

The flurry of attacks and the losses they have caused are a sign that Iranian forces not only still have ample missile stocks but have also become more adept at evading U.S. air defense systems, said the U.S. officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

Jordan, which hosts major U.S. air bases, grew in importance in the run-up to and the early days of the war, as the Pentagon shifted a number of troops from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to relatively more secure locations in Jordan and Israel. The country’s role in U.S. operations has only increased as other American allies in the region have restricted Washington’s ability to base troops in and fly aircraft over their territories, the U.S. officials said.

In early July, Iran widened its attacks in the region, including Jordan for the first time since Tehran and Washington signed a cease-fire agreement in June.

The U.S. officials offered a recounting of the last five days of Iran’s attacks on Jordan, which the Pentagon has not yet discussed in detail publicly.

The first attack to hit U.S. forces in Jordan struck a residential facility at King Faisal Air Base, wounding as many as five U.S. service members, they said. The second hit a base in eastern Jordan where U.S. Blackhawk helicopters were operating from, damaging a significant number of them.

Then, 48 hours ago, Iranian missiles hit Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq, which is the same base where the troops were killed on Friday, the officials said. The earlier strike wounded about 20 U.S. troops rushing to take cover in bunkers. No one was killed in that barrage. But on Friday, when the Iranians struck the base again, two U.S. troops were killed and four other service members were injured, according to U.S. officials. Other personnel were evaluated for minor injuries and returned to duty.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

On Friday, the Iranian Army said it had launched a drone attack targeting fuel tanks at the U.S. base in Azraq. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also said it had used missiles and drones to target aircraft shelters at the base, according to Fars News Agency, a semiofficial news outlet affiliated with the Guards.

Jordan’s location allows the United States to conduct “more efficient air operations across Syria, Iraq and the broader region,” said David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general who was a main architect of the 1991 Persian Gulf air war.

“Friday’s attack was therefore not just an attack on a base,” he said in an email on Saturday. “It was an attack on the U.S. regional coalition and an attempt to make the political cost of hosting American forces greater than the security benefit.”

The U.S. military announced on Saturday evening that it had launched retaliatory strikes to degrade Iran’s threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan.”

Even before those strikes, Donald Trump signaled that he planned to increase strikes on Iran in the next week and intended to hit more Iranian infrastructure, including bridges, electrical power plants and distribution systems. (So, my question❓Has Iran surrendered yet❓)

Speaker Mike Johnson promised he would govern "according to the Bible" but his what he says is different than what he does: Hypocrite

PLEASE 🙏🏼SHARE THIS: A social media echo from Ed Jansen:

My struggle with Speaker Mike Johnson is not that he is a conservative or that we disagree politically. People of good faith can disagree. My struggle is that he publicly presents himself as a “Bible-believing Christian,” yet repeatedly promotes claims that have been shown to be false—including the false claim that Democrats shut down the government to provide free healthcare to undocumented immigrants.

Jesus did not teach us to manipulate the truth to gain power. 

He said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no.” He taught that we recognize people by their fruits, and he reserved some of his strongest criticism for religious leaders who appeared righteous publicly while acting differently in practice.

Christian ✝️ faith is not proved by quoting the Bible, displaying religious symbols or condemning others. It is demonstrated through truthfulness, mercy, humility, justice and love.

Mike Johnson does not embarrass me because he is a Republican. He embarrasses me when he lies and uses Christianity to provide moral cover for dishonesty and political hypocrisy. That is not the way of Jesus—and he does not speak for my faith.

Again and again, Jesus says to them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Matthew 23:13-36

A very brave U.S. Air Force officer Major Jason Watson stood where cowardly Republicans like Senator Susan Collins are too afraid to show courage

Major Jason Watson is an active-duty U.S. Air Force officer and 17-year logistics veteran who made national headlines in July 2026. He was arrested on the U.S. Capitol steps while in military uniform after publicly calling for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. 

Air Force Major Jason Watson has never been in combat. He’s an American hero all the same. Echo editorial published in the Sun Sentinel, a South Florida newspaper.

Major Watson spoke his mind and will pay a steep price

Watson is the Air Force Academy graduate who stood in uniform on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington last week holding a sign saying “Impeach convict remove.”

It took three minutes for the Capitol police to arrest him. That was the least of his concerns.

He’s in Air Force custody now, likely to be court-martialed. Military prison is definitely a possibility. His career is almost certainly over.

Major Watson knew what the price could be for proclaiming in public what so many others in Washington are afraid to say even in private.

Some are the members of Congress, Republicans mostly, who have been abetting Donald Trump’s subversion of the Constitution by doing nothing about it. (Like Republican Senator Susan Collins, for example❗)

Others are military officers disgusted and alarmed by Trump’s military incompetence and how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (the wino) has been cashiering generals and admirals for being Black, female or simply for their sense of duty and honor.

And yet, precious few of those congressional Republicans have been willing to speak up for the nation’s sake.

For some mysterious reason, they are paralyzed by Trump’s tyrannical passions for power and punishment, as demonstrated by the recent party primary defeats of two respected Republican senators who he opposed.

Unlike officers in uniform, however, politicians have nothing to lose but their paychecks and perks. The “sacred honor” that 56 people pledged to each other on July 4, 1776 — along with their actual lives and fortunes — is long out of fashion in Washington.

The military has rules against campaign activity in uniform. Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice also prohibits commissioned officers from using “contemptuous words” against the president, vice president, members of Congress, the secretary of defense and certain others.

To call for Trump’s well-deserved impeachment may be contemptuous to a court-martial, but it will be seen as courageous elsewhere.

“It’s really a question of how severe those consequences will be,” said retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis, who was chief prosecutor of the alleged al Qaeda terrorists at Guantanamo until he resigned rather than obey orders to use evidence obtained by waterboarding.

“I knew it would end my military career, but I chose to do it anyway, because I thought it was worth it,” Davis said in an email to the Sun Sentinel. “I suspect Major Watson went through the same or similar thought process as me. Unfortunately for him, Trump is far more petty and vindictive than George Bush.”

Davis subsequently won a settlement and damages over being fired from the Congressional Research Service for newspaper op-eds criticizing President Obama’s failure to reform the process.

In 2020, he was the Democratic nominee for Congress in a deep-red western North Carolina congressional district.

According to the Washington Post, Major Watson’s protest wasn’t his first. He was an anonymous, masked participant holding an “Impeach convict remove” sign during a 22-day hunger strike last year. That got no attention. It occurred to him what would.

“In the grand scheme of things, I’m just a nobody,” he told the media before climbing the Capitol steps. “What matters far more than who I am is what I have to say and the price I’m willing to pay to say it.”

By coincidence, another well-publicized demonstration occurred in Washington on the Fourth of July. Hundreds of members of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, paraded through the capital. Some carried Confederate flags.

Nearly all of them wore masks, lacking the individual courage of a solitary Air Force major with a career and his freedom at stake.

Jason Watson showed them — and all of America — what true patriotism is.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant.

Maine neighbors calling for evil ICE Gestapo to be abolished

Dear Maine Neighbor:  

Letter from Representative Raphael Macias of Topsham, Maine.


On Monday morning, our state witnessed a devastating and unacceptable tragedy. Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old husband and father, was shot and killed during an ICE operation in broad daylight on the streets of Biddeford. My heart is with Johan’s family and with everyone in the community grieving this profound loss.

Reports indicate that Johan was not the target of the enforcement action and that he had work authorization in the United States. If accurate, this was not merely a mistake. It was a catastrophic failure of federal law enforcement that demands full transparency, independent investigation, and real accountability. No agency should have the power to take an innocent life. Without the most rigorous public scrutiny, they will be emboldened to do it again.

Constitutional protections do not disappear at the curbside, at a traffic stop, or when federal agents put on masks. This tragedy raises urgent questions that cannot be brushed aside. Who authorized this operation

❓ Why was lethal force used❓ Who will be held responsible❓ And what concrete changes will be made to ensure this never happens again❓ The people of Maine deserve clear answers, not silence, deflection, or empty promises. This has shaken public trust in the federal government’s willingness and ability to enforce the law while protecting innocent people and upholding due process.

Let’s be clear, if armed, masked federal agents from outside our communities can enter Maine and kill someone ❗ 💢😡😠during an operation that appears to have targeted someone else, then every person in our state has reason to be alarmed. 

Tourists, visa workers, asylum seekers, non-English speakers, immigrant families, and citizens alike must be able to trust that government agents will respect constitutional rights and human life. Without that trust, Maine’s safety, economy, and basic sense of community are all harmed.

As a member of the Maine Legislature, I call for the abolishment of ICE and will continue to sponsor legislation that defends our state from this rogue agency. But meaningful reform and oversight of federal agencies rests with Congress. I urge you to contact Maine’s congressional delegation and demand a full, independent investigation, public transparency, and enforceable reforms.

This is about the limits of government power. It’s about due process. It’s about whether people can live without fear of preventable harm at the hands of their own government. A government worthy of public trust must welcome accountability, not resist it.

Please continue supporting Johan’s young family, our immigrant neighbors, and everyone affected by this horrific tragedy. Take care of yourselves and of each other.

Rafael Macias Serving House District 51 in Topsham, Maine

Contact Our Maine Congressional Delegation
Senator Susan Collins       (202) 224-2523
Senator Angus King          (202) 224-5344
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree  (202) 225-6116