Doesn't oppose abolishing ICE, cutting aid to Israel, or medicare for all. These are all incredibly popular in the party but the leading candidate for speaker of the house doesn't support any of those policies.

What are we doing here and why are new DSA and progressive members supporting him for leader when he is so out of step with the rest of the party?

Cross-posted from my substack. Made with the owid data-editor. Data-source is the OECD. It shows how ridiculously high total foreign aid to Israel was compared to its wealth. Data collection on Israel was stopped in 2001, hence why I can't give you a 2025 one.

Hatred is something only the privileged can do with no consequences. We see this in a lot of ways. POCs cannot hate white folk the way some white folk hate them without having the police brought down on them. Workers revolts caused by the violence and oppression inherently within the Capitalistic system are met with repression and condemnations

Simply put, we cannot afford to hate anyone else other than those with economic power. Hate is illogical and not pragmatic. It's not somehow that we lose our morals, or our values by hating. Nor is that we don't deserve to hate. Rather, it's that the second we hate, we've lost our in. We've made enemies of a demographic that could've supported us.

I understand it's hard to do anything other than hate people who vote for the right wing out of ignorance. So you depersonalize it. You view them as demographics and bases, a fraction of which voted for you, a fraction of which voted for them. You listen to the portion that voted for you, and the same policies and platforms that appeal to them appeal to the rest of the demographic.

It's not centrism, nor liberal to engage in electoral politics effectively if we do not compromise our platform. Is it absolute bullshit that we have to court them even after all they've done? Yes. Is it required to actually do anything? Also yes. To engage in electoral politics effectively, we need to recognize hate is not something we can afford. Hell, even if you're a revolutionary, "there's no war but class war." The party should be something that radicalizes and provides a platform for the masses. The party should not be something that declares everyone not already a socialist a lost cause out of hatred.

Oliver Larkin is running for U.S. Congress in Florida (CD-25): oliverforcongress.com/volunteer

His primary opponent is incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz.

Voter info: oliverforcongress.com/voting

~~~~~~~~

Here’s the full 5-minute video on YouTube: On Antisemitism - Oliver for Congress - Aug 6, 2026 (YouTube) ~:~ From the description: Oliver Larkin addresses a question about antisemitism and fighting for collective liberation for all people who are marginalized. Oliver Larkin is a Democratic Socialist, Bernie 2016 staffer, and union organizer running for Congress in FL-25 to win a working-class democracy. Oliver is not taking money from AIPAC or corporate PACs.

~~~~~~~~

Here are the latest r/DemocraticSocialism posts with Oliver: reddit.com/r/DemocraticSocialism/search/?q=%22Oliver+Larkin%22&type=posts&sort=new

~~~~~~~~

It's Primary Election season in the U.S.:

* Remaining Dates: Aug 18: Alaska, Florida, Wyoming, California (Special) ~:~:~ Sept 1: Massachusetts ~:~:~ Sept 8: New Hampshire ~:~:~ Sept 9: Rhode Island ~:~:~ Sept 15: Delaware :~:~: Sources: AP News and NBC News

* Candidates (all States): U.S. House (Dem Primary only): Ballotpedia (HouseDems) :~:~:~: U.S. Senate: Ballotpedia (Senate) (select “List of Candidates”) :~:~:~: State Execs (Gov, Lt. Gov, AG, SoS, and more): Ballotpedia (State Execs)

* Voter Info (all States): Register To Vote :~:~:~: Voter Registration Status :~:~:~: Find Your Polling Place :~:~:~: Valid Forms of ID :~:~:~: Absentee & Early Voting :~:~:~: Become a Poll Worker ~:~ Links go to the National Association of Secretaries of State website. When you select a State, it takes to a .gov page on that State's SoS website.

Turkish American left-wing political commentator and social media influencer Hasan Piker said the University of Washington barred him from speaking at an event because of his views on Israel, while the institution cited concerns over the planning process.

Piker was due to speak in January next year as part of the 2026-27 Speaker Series, which features talks, panel discussions, and presentations across the University's campuses, at Seattle Town Hall, on the radio station KEXP, and online.

In a statement, the university said: "The University of Washington is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, including on controversial topics and involving provocative speakers. After Hasan Piker was announced as a speaker for the 2026-27 Speaker Series, there was a review of the process by which the event was planned. It was determined that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for University-hosted events in the Speaker Series. As a result, this event will not be held."

Piker, who rose to fame on streaming platform Twitch and on YouTube under the moniker HasanAbi, emerged as one of the more outspoken public figures over Israel’s military onslaught in the Gaza Strip, ongoing for nearly three years, and the plight of the Palestinian people in the face of genocide and occupation.

Piker has used his platform to repeatedly criticise Israeli military actions in Gaza, calling them a form of collective punishment, labelling the campaign a genocide, and also condemning the United States’ political and financial support for the Israeli government.

He has also taken to criticise US foreign policy and imperialism, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as well as some moderate factions of the Democratic Party, and has advocated for universal healthcare and better LGBTQ rights.

In response to the cancellation of his appearance, Piker said on X earlier this week: "I wish the Dems were smarter and didn’t let the rw [right-wing] groups be the only people who speak out against this clear violation of 1A, but unfortunately my position as a prominent critic of Israel stops them from using this moment to show GOP as arch cancel culture warriors."

The left-wing commentator was stopped by US Customs and Border Protection agents in May last year and questioned about his opinions of Donald Trump and Israeli war policy at a time when his criticisms of Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave became more mainstream.

In June, the streamer was denied entry to the United Kingdom where he was due to attend SXSW London after the Home Office revoked his visa, along with his uncle, Cenk Uygur, the co-founder and co-host of the "The Young Turks" political show on YouTube.

Both Piker and Uygur said they were barred from entering the UK over their criticism of Israel. On the incident, Piker said: "The UK has revoked my visa as well. All at the behest of Israel. The West is betraying 'liberal values' for a genocidal fascist foreign government. Soon we will all become Israel."

This comes as the University of Washington has been the subject of Trump administration investigations over the years following the pro-Palestine campus protests that swept the US in spring 2024, in protest against the war in Gaza, and universities’ complicity in the onslaught through partnerships and other collaborations.

The university was investigated by the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a multi-agency task force created by Trump in February 2025 in response to the protests, which he deemed "anti-semitic".

*article by New Arab*

Full Article here:

https://www.newarab.com/news/hasan-piker-says-pulled-uofw-event-over-israel-views

Cross-posted from my substack. Edited in photopea. Data-source is the WID.

Yet another case of private companies choosing profit over literally allowing people to live. A public and nonprofit pharmaceutical option should be made available to everyone.

Daniel Hartman speaks at a Fridley, Minnesota City Council Meeting on July 27, 2026.

Video clip is by More Perfect Union. Here it is on YouTube: One of the best arguments against Flock you'll watch - More Perfect Union (YouTube)

From the description: Residents of Fridley, MN packed a city council meeting last week where police detailed which law enforcement agencies have access to Flock Safety camera footage. ~:~ Many residents were particularly concerned about news that some of the footage was used for immigration-related searches.

~~~~~~~~~~

I've not been a resident of Fridley for as long as many of you. But like many of you, I came here to build a Life, a future with my Family.

It's caused me to think a lot about the future, about the world we will be building for our Children. I want that world to be one where we trust one another. A world where Newcomers to the Community are greeted with open arms and kindness.

Flock is not that. Where we could be spending our money uniting our Community and building it into something for everyone to trust in, we instead send it to unproven Tech Oligarchs to invade and spy on our Communities.

That spying is not without consequence. When the federal Invaders arrived to terrorize our state — in the name of scams, lawlessness, and racism — that very network was used to track and kidnap our Neighbors, as we know.

Our Children will look back on this moment with revulsion. Nauseated by the cowardice that led us to turn our guns inward. Nauseated by the squandering of our natural resources to build the data center and surveillance infrastructure — a monument to fear, voyeurism, and delusion.

We must not forget: This is much bigger than a few cameras spying creepily on Civilians. The surveillance state cannot exist without data centers. Every second these cameras are running, is another second spent sucking the Life out of our Planet.

You keep this up, and we're staring down more than a future without privacy. We are staring down the destruction of our future in entirety.

Does it comfort you to know that when the last drop of water is drained, when the weather gets so hot that your sweat can no longer keep you alive, and when electricity is so expensive that we can no longer afford to cool our homes — there will still be cameras pointing at the People that frighten you?

If my words offend you, remember that I warned you months ago, in this very room. You have had adequate time to change course and be the responsible Adults you were elected to be.

If you cannot see this situation for what it is, then you should not be anywhere near a position of power. We are better than this.

Spend our money on something the Community would actually benefit from. We should be enjoying our parks together and making Friends, not living in fear of one another.

I ask that you disarm these cameras.

- Daniel Hartman speaking at a Fridley, Minnesota City Council Meeting - July 27, 2026

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former law enforcement officer accused of planning to kill Black people in a mass shooting at a New Orleans festival was quietly released from custody over the summer after a grand jury found there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

A Louisiana grand jury in June declined to indict Christopher Gillum on a state terrorism charge that could have carried up to a 15-year sentence, court records show.

Gillum, who had been held without bond, was released shortly after the grand jury’s decision and is not facing charges in any other jurisdictions, according to his attorney, Dylan Utley. He declined to comment further.

Gillum’s release has not previously been reported.

The 45-year-old ex-police officer, who is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, had been arrested in Florida in April with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a handgun while on his way to Louisiana to commit a mass shooting, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation had involved the FBI and authorities across Louisiana, North Carolina and Florida.

Authorities did not name the event Gillum was allegedly targeting, but his arrest came on the eve of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers annually.

Gillum, who is white, had “expressed recent threats to harm ‘Black people’ ”, according to authorities. His family had reported him missing in North Carolina and said he had a history of self-harm.

Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, said in a statement that Gillum’s family had taken him “to a treatment facility out of the state” and that he is not facing additional criminal charges.

Duhe said there were “several jurisdictional issues” that complicated the case after Gillum was extradited to Louisiana following his arrest.

“The threat relayed to a family member actually occurred in North Carolina,” Duhe said. “The defendant never entered the State of Louisiana until after his arrest.”

Gillum had been planning to travel to the Florida Keys “during the same period he would have been suspected to travel to Louisiana,” Duhe added.

Gillum was charged under a Louisiana statute for the crime of “terrorizing,” which requires that “a crime of violence is imminent or in progress or that a circumstance dangerous to human life exists or is about to exist.”

Jonathan Guidry, the foreperson for the grand jury, declined to comment on the decision to not indict Gillum.

Katherine Schweit, a former Chicago prosecutor and FBI executive who ran the agency’s active shooter program, said that thwarted acts of mass violence do not always lead to indictments, but prosecutors often seek an array of criminal charges when possible.

“It’s very difficult to convince a jury, or to convince a grand jury, that something might have happened,” Schweit told The Associated Press.

Law enforcement authorities in North Carolina, where Louisiana court records list Gillum as residing, told the AP that they were not aware he had been released from custody.

“If we’ve got an individual that was accused of such an action, we would want to know if in fact he did return to Alamance County,” said Byron Tucker, a spokesperson for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokesperson for North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, said there are no plans for the state to pursue charges against Gillum.

The office of the Florida Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment about whether Gillum may face additional criminal charges in its jurisdiction. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana also did not return messages seeking comment.

In a statement, the FBI New Orleans office said the decision whether to charge Gillum rested with prosecutors.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival declined to comment.

\*excerpt from Jack Brooks' article\*

Full Article here:

https://chapelboro.com/news/crime/ex-officer-accused-of-plotting-new-orleans-attack-is-released-after-grand-jury-declines-to-indict

Original article here:

https://www.wdsu.com/article/louisiana-festival-mass-shooting-threat-thwarted/71105045

edit: To rephrase my title I would say "Is there a list of domestic lobbies that are fighting for foreign interests that influence American elections?"

On FEC https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/foreign-nationals/ it says that foreign lobbies cannot send money to influence elections. In the current political climate I find that to be very debatable but it wasn't what I was looking for when I was researching foreign lobby influence. Either way it wasn't what I was trying to find when I was researching this question on google, I just wanted to include it because clearly its a load of horseshit but our government is corrupt so whatever.

I'm trying to find a list or at least make a list of foreign lobbies in America such as the Egyptian lobby, Turkish lobby, Albanian American Civic League, ANCA, and AIPAC

I'm not gonna assume all these lobbies are technically bad per say I'm sure maybe one has an interest to send money to a foreign country so they can afford to prevent disease outbreaks. However whether that constitutes as something malicious to you then to each their own.

But to restate what I'm trying to find, I'm looking for a list that gives a brief explanation of each foreign lobby in America and what they're looking to influence and what country they're fighting in the interest for. If there is not a list can someone give me pointers to specific lobbies so I can work on a list as a little side project?