SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
June, 09 2010, 12:49pm EDT
Contact:
Martha de Hoyos
(310) 204-0448, ext. 225
martha@bravenewfoundation.org
Brave New Foundation and TrueMajority/USAction's Members Demand Firm Withdrawal Date for U.S. Troops in Afghanistan with Politico Ad Buy
Brave New Foundation and TrueMajority
today announced the purchase of a full-page advertisement in Politico
calling for President Obama and Congress to ensure a responsible troop
withdrawal from Afghanistan ending no later than December 2011. When
asked to contribute to
cover costs for the ad, the two organizations' supporters donated the
necessary
funds within a matter of hours, underscoring a growing, intensifying
impatience
across the country with policy-makers' unwillingness to end the military
conflict and pursue non-military solutions.
WASHINGTON
Brave New Foundation and TrueMajority
today announced the purchase of a full-page advertisement in Politico
calling for President Obama and Congress to ensure a responsible troop
withdrawal from Afghanistan ending no later than December 2011. When
asked to contribute to
cover costs for the ad, the two organizations' supporters donated the
necessary
funds within a matter of hours, underscoring a growing, intensifying
impatience
across the country with policy-makers' unwillingness to end the military
conflict and pursue non-military solutions. The ad will run in Politico
on Wednesday.
The ad
leads with a quote from Pentagon-Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg,
reminding policy-makers that, "it
was always a bad year to get out of Vietnam." On Monday, June 7, the war
in
Afghanistan surpassed the Vietnam War as the longest war in U.S.
history.
To preview the ad, please click
the link below:
https://act.bravenewfilms.org/go/148?akid=1129.29662.8KgmpN&t=3
As of Monday, the U.S. has been
in Afghanistan for 104 months-more than eight-and-a half
years-surpassing the
war in Vietnam. In his December 2009 West Point speech, President Obama
announced a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin in
July 2011.
However, he set no end date, leaving open the possibility that U.S.
combat
troops could remain there indefinitely at enormous cost to
taxpayers. While Congress debates adding another $33 billion to fund an
ongoing escalation in Afghanistan, more than half of the American people
say
the war is not worth the cost, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC
News
poll.
Brave
New Foundation and True Majority intend to use the ad to send a strong
message
to Congress on behalf of their supporters that this war has gone on long
enough.
"We can no longer afford to
spend U.S. lives and U.S. dollars on a war in Afghanistan that is not
making us
any safer. Members and supporters of Brave New Foundation and True
Majority are
making their voices heard and telling Members of Congress and the
President in
clear terms that we expect a responsible withdrawal completed by
December
2011." Director, Robert Greenwald, Brave New
Foundation
"This war has already gone on too long. It's time for
Congress to stop talking, and demand an exit strategy from President
Obama.
Millions of American voted for change in 2008, it's time for President
Obama
and Democrats in Congress to deliver some." Matt Holland,
Online Director,
TrueMajority/USAction
LATEST NEWS
'Just Corrupt': Lindsey Graham Blocks Repeal of Senate GOP Payout Provision
"American taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill for partisan payouts, least of all for Senate Republicans who were implicated in the insurrection that nearly toppled our democracy," said one House Democrat.
Nov 21, 2025
US Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday blocked an effort to repeal a provision allowing senators to reap potentially millions of dollars in taxpayer money by suing the Justice Department.
Shortly after the House voted 426-0 to repeal the provision, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) slipped into a government funding package that lawmakers approved earlier this month, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) requested unanimous consent for the Senate to follow suit.
Graham (R-SC), who recently described Medicaid funding as a "money laundering scheme," objected to Heinrich's request, blocking the bill's passage. The South Carolina senator has been vocal in his defense of the payout provision even as GOP lawmakers in the House have condemned it as abhorrent.
The provision empowers senators to sue the federal government for damages of at least $500,000 if investigators obtained their phone records or other data without notifying the targeted lawmakers. The language applies retroactively, making eligible Graham and other Republicans whose records the Justice Department obtained as part of its investigation into President Donald Trump's lawless attempt to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
Graham has openly vowed to take advantage of the provision, saying in an interview earlier this week that he intends to "sue the hell out of" the Justice Department for "tens of millions of dollars."
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in response that Graham "may be upset, but he's not entitled to millions of taxpayer dollars."
"Republican senators' secret provision making themselves eligible multimillion-dollar payouts is just corrupt," said Beyer.
So far, despite mounting criticism from members of his own party, Thune appears bent on upholding the provision. The Republican senators positioned to benefit from the measure are Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said following the House repeal vote that "American taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill for partisan payouts, least of all for Senate Republicans who were implicated in the insurrection that nearly toppled our democracy."
"Majority Leader Thune must bring this measure to a vote at once," said DeLauro. "The American people deserve to know on the record who supports taxpaye-funded payouts for Republican senators, and who does not. If they really do support this cash grab, they should own it."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump Ripped Over 'Reckless' Plan to Drill for Oil Off California, Florida
"Donald Trump and Doug Burgum are once again trying to sell out our coastal communities and our public waters in favor of corporate polluters' bottom line."
Nov 20, 2025
While other governments are gathered in Brazil for the United Nations climate summit, the Trump administration on Thursday announced plans for new oil drilling off the coasts of California and Florida, drawing sharp denunciations from defenders of the planet and all life on Earth.
After running on a promise to "drill, baby, drill" and raking in campaign cash from Big Oil, President Donald Trump launched his pro-polluter agenda on the first day he returned to office. Doug Burgum, the billionaire fossil fuel industry ally appointed to lead the US Department of the Interior, advanced that agenda on Thursday with his "Unleashing American Offshore Energy" order.
Burgum ordered the department to terminate the Biden administration's 2024-29 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program—which had the fewest sales in history—and replace it with a "new, more expansive" plan "as soon as possible."
While the department said in a statement that "under the new proposal for the 2026-31 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Interior is taking a major step to boost United States energy independence and sustain domestic oil and gas production," critics quickly pointed out the pitfalls of the Trump administration's planet-heating ambitions.
#BREAKING: The Trump admin just released its plan to expand offshore drilling on the West, Gulf & Alaskan coasts of the U.S.This move threatens beloved beaches, precious marine life & countless coastal communities across the country – despite bipartisan public opposition. https://oceana.ly/4pn13t1
[image or embed]
— Oceana (@oceana.bsky.social) November 20, 2025 at 4:14 PM
"Donald Trump and Doug Burgum are once again trying to sell out our coastal communities and our public waters in favor of corporate polluters' bottom line," declared Sierra Club executive director Loren Blackford in a statement. "Americans across the political spectrum have made it clear they oppose offshore drilling. We know the risks are far too great, threatening ecosystems and coastal economies with the risk of spills that would take decades to clean up."
"Despite overwhelming bipartisan opposition, Trump and Burgum are moving forward with their reckless plan to serve their ultimate goal of handing over our public lands and waters to Big Oil CEOs," Blackford continued. "These lease sales are privatization in everything but name—a 'keep out' sign is the same whether an area was sold or leased. The Sierra Club will continue to stand with coastal communities and work to stop this reckless plan dead in the water."
“Trump's plan would risk the health and well-being of millions of people who live along our coasts. It would also devastate countless ocean ecosystems. This admin continues to put the oil industry above people, our shared environment, and the law,” said Earthjustice senior attorney Brettny Hardy.
— Earthjustice (@earthjustice.org) November 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, also blasted the administration's plan for as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales.
"Trump's war on marine life continues with this absolutely unhinged attack on our coasts," she said. "Auctioning off nearly the entire US coast to Big Oil will inflict oil spill after devastating oil spill, harm whales and sea turtles, and wreck fisheries and coastal economies. I'm confident that Americans across the political spectrum will come together to fight Trump's plan to smear toxic crude across our beaches and oceans."
Unlike the Trump administration, the center's energy justice director, Jean Su, is at COP30 in Belém. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat expected to run for president in 2028, also attended the UN conference last week.
"Trump can't stand it that Gov. Newsom showed him up here in Brazil, and I think that explains the timing of this reckless plan to drill our oceans," Su said. "To Trump, this plan is political theater to spite Newsom and the climate talks. But this isn't an episode of The Apprentice. This plan would do immense damage to people and wildlife, damage those of us at COP30 are fighting like hell to defend against."
While Florida is led by a Trump sycophant, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Newsom joined conservation and climate campaigners in calling out the administration's drilling plans. The Democrat said that "Donald Trump's idiotic proposal to sell off California's coasts to his Big Oil donors is dead in the water. We will not stand by as our coastal economy and communities are put in danger."
Trump is rolling out the red carpet for offshore oil and gas—which will inevitably spill into the ocean and increase costs at home. Trump is doing this while sabotaging offshore wind, the energy source that does the exact opposite. He’s not “unleashing American energy”—he’s underwriting Big Oil.
[image or embed]
— Senator Ed Markey (@markey.senate.gov) November 20, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Two other California Democrats, US House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman and Sen. Alex Padilla, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, similarly said in a joint statement that "with this draft plan, Donald Trump and his administration are trying to destroy one of the most valuable, most protected coastlines in the world and hand it over to the fossil fuel industry."
"They didn't listen to Californians. They didn't listen to communities up and down the West Coast. Instead, Trump wants to take a wrecking ball to our communities while trampling over anyone who stands between him and what billionaires demand," the lawmakers continued. "These lease areas are not only irreplaceable, but allowing drilling in these areas would undermine military readiness and pose risks to national security. But Trump doesn't care."
"Californians remember every spill, every dead dolphin and sea otter, every fishing season wrecked by contamination. We built stronger, cleaner, more resilient coastal communities—and a burgeoning $1.7 trillion coastal economy—in spite of all that. And we're not going to stand by and watch it get destroyed by Trump's oil and gas pet projects," they added. "This plan targets California and the whole West Coast because they think we will roll over. They are wrong. We're going to fight this with everything we have."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sanders Denounces Trump-GOP Healthcare Proposal as 'Absurd'—and Deadly
"Trump’s approach would lead to more medical bankruptcies, more unaffordable care, and more Americans dying unnecessarily in the richest nation on Earth."
Nov 20, 2025
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have finally started talking about proposals to fix America's healthcare system, but Sen. Bernie Sanders so far has found their ideas to be severely lacking.
In an op-ed published by the Boston Globe on Thursday, Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced the GOP healthcare plans as "absurd" ideas that "would take our already broken healthcare system and make it even worse."
Sanders then ripped apart Trump's plan to simply send Americans a lump sum of money that they could use to negotiate their own healthcare package, which he said would be an "absolute disaster."
"At a time when more than 60 percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck, a $6,500 check is meaningless in the face of real medical costs," he argued. "How is someone who needs a $150,000 cancer treatment going to get the care they need with a $6,500 check? What is a pregnant woman supposed to do with a $6,500 check when the average cost of childbirth in America is over $20,000? How is someone who has a heart attack going to be able to afford a $50,000 hospital stay with just $6,500?"
All of this, Sanders continued, would simply cause more people in the US to go bankrupt from trying to afford their medical expenses, which is a situation that does not occur in any nation that has universal healthcare.
"Trump’s approach would lead to more medical bankruptcies, more unaffordable care, and more Americans dying unnecessarily in the richest nation on Earth," he said.
Sanders argued that the long-term solution for the US healthcare crisis is a single-payer Medicare for All system that he has been proposing for his entire political career.
However, he also acknowledged that this proposal currently lacks support in the US Congress, and he pitched some alternative ideas to serve as a bridge to truly universal healthcare, including extending the enhanced tax credits first passed in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan; repealing the nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid that were passed by Republicans earlier this year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; and expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing care.
Sanders also challenged the president to support banning stock buybacks and dividends for health insurance companies, which he called a waste of resources that should be devoted to patients' care.
"The American people know that our healthcare system is broken," Sanders concluded. "With the country’s increased focus on health, Democrats must be strong in rallying the American people around a rational healthcare system that works for all, not just insurance and drug companies."
Sanders on Thursday made similar points in an op-ed published by Fox News in which he ripped the GOP for slashing Medicaid funding simply so Big Tech titans like Tesla CEO Elon Musk could have more money to "build millions of robots that will, by the way, decimate good-paying jobs throughout our country."
Earlier this week, the senator also sent a letter urging Democrats in Congress to support the policies outlined in his new opinion pieces.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular