SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Olivia Alperstein, (609) 206-7920
On Wednesday morning, the President announced via Twitter his intention to impose a ban on transgender people serving in the military. In response, Progressive Congress Action Fund issued the following statement:
On Wednesday morning, the President announced via Twitter his intention to impose a ban on transgender people serving in the military. In response, Progressive Congress Action Fund issued the following statement:
"The President's announcement of a ban on transgender military service members is discriminatory, unsound policy which will deprive able, capable people of serving and defending our country. Our President has chosen, via Twitter, to announce a reversal of a critical military policy based purely on prejudice, not sound judgment. Are we now going to ban all women from serving in the military, too, despite all evidence that gender has nothing to do with a person's ability to serve?
This is a giant, dangerous step backwards. Our nation's previous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy did not even ban LGBT service members outright, and all it did was force military members to serve while in the closet. It hurt our troops and established a dangerous culture of undeserved punishment; we are still apologizing to and rectifying the dishonorable discharges of people who were forced to leave the military solely because of their sexual orientation.
Our country is not made safer by hatred and bigotry toward transgender people; it is made safer by our troops, who deserve our full support regardless of gender identity or expression. We urge the President to rethink this policy out of consideration for our national security interests, both foreign and domestic. We need capable men and women to serve in all branches of our military, full stop, and this policy would do nothing but discourage able people from enlisting and or continuing to serve their country."
Progressive Congress Action Fund is a 501(c)4 organization that serves as the vital linkage between progressive Members of Congress and grassroots organizers around the country, turning bold policy ideas into action and advancing a progressive agenda.
"The need for federal regulations to address this type of misinformation and prevent AI deepfakes from upending our elections and undermining our democracy has never been more urgent," said one advocate.
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Wednesday applauded pop star Taylor Swift for using her platform and her endorsement of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race to go beyond simply expressing support for the Democratic candidate—choosing instead to also call attention to artificial intelligence and how it's been used to spread misinformation.
"Recently I was made aware that AI of 'me' falsely endorsing Donald Trump's presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," wrote Swift in an Instagram post announcing her endorsement of Harris.
Swift was referring to a false AI-generated image, known as a deepfake, that showed the singer-songwriter's likeness dressed as Uncle Sam with the caption, "Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump." Trump shared the image on his Truth Social account in August, along with fake images of people appearing to wear shirts that read, "Swifties for Trump."
The images were shared days after the Federal Election Commission's Republican chair, Sean Cooksey, had announced the agency would not establish new rules to prohibit political candidates or groups from misrepresenting opponents or issues with deceptive images.
Cooksey had said the FEC wanted to wait and see "how AI is actually used on the ground before considering any new rules"—a decision Public Citizen denounced as "shameful."
On Wednesday, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert noted that the way AI and deepfakes can and will be used has already been made clear, partially by Swift's experience.
"Taylor Swift—who has been a victim of both AI-generated election misinformation and AI-generated non-consensual intimate deepfakes—is correct in identifying the immensely damaging harms that could result from the spread of AI misinformation, including abuses of our elections."
In addition to the images shared by Trump, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, posted on social media a deepfake video that showed a manipulated image of Harris.
"The need for federal regulations to address this type of misinformation and prevent AI deepfakes from upending our elections and undermining our democracy," said Gilbert, "has never been more urgent."
"The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years," said Sen. Ron Wyden. "That's where we ought to go to start making progress."
The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee said during a hearing Wednesday that instead of tossing Social Security's sacred guarantee "in the trash" by cutting benefits, lawmakers should crack down on mega-rich tax dodgers as a way to keep the New Deal program fully solvent for decades to come.
"The ultra-wealthy are avoiding nearly $2 trillion in taxes every 10 years," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing. "That is enough to keep Social Security whole till the end of this century."
"That's where we ought to go to start making progress," Wyden added.
The senator's remarks came during a hearing titled "Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security," which featured testimony from Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O'Malley and several expert witnesses.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who presided over the hearing, used his opening remarks to blast GOP proposals to raise the retirement age, a change he said would "especially hurt low-income retirees."
Whitehouse, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, acknowledged that some Republicans have pushed back on the notion that the GOP wants to cut Social Security benefits. But if Social Security benefit cuts "really are off the table," the senator said, "that leaves only one other option to prevent insolvency: raise revenue."
"There is no third option. And that means it's time to get to work identifying smart, fair ways to raise revenue, fund the Social Security Trust Fund, and preserve and protect benefits," Whitehouse continued. "Fortunately, there are solutions that would both extend Social Security solvency indefinitely with zero benefit cuts and make our tax system fairer, like my Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act."
At today's @SenateBudget hearing, @SenWhitehouse slams Republican plans to slash $1.5 trillion from Social Security.
Whitehouse plans to strengthen Social Security by requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share! pic.twitter.com/nWRJt3hUWp
— Social Security Works (@SSWorks) September 11, 2024
Wednesday's hearing came in the heat of a presidential race in which Social Security has featured prominently, with Democrats warning that GOP nominee Donald Trump would push for deep benefit cuts if he's elected to another White House term.
During Tuesday night's debate, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris made the only mention of Social Security, vowing to protect the program that lifted 28 million people out of poverty last year.
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement following the debate that while Harris reinforced "her commitment to Social Security and Medicare," Trump "was mum on the topic."
"At least when Trump has nothing to say, he cannot compound his many conflicting and confusing statements about Social Security and Medicare—from calling Social Security a 'Ponzi scheme' to saying he's 'open' to 'cutting entitlements' and proposing to eliminate some of the taxes that fund Social Security," said Richtman. "Tonight's debate underlines the fundamental reality that one candidate in this race will truly protect Social Security and Medicare—and that is Kamala Harris."
According to the latest trustees report, Social Security is positioned to fully pay all benefits and administrative costs until 2035 and is 90% funded for the next quarter century.
Progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups have argued for years that the best way to ensure Social Security's long-term solvency is clear: make the wealthy pay their fair share into the program. Due to the payroll tax cap, millionaires stopped contributing to Social Security just 60 days into 2024.
"Warren Buffett stops paying into Social Security 30 seconds into the new year," O'Malley said during his testimony at Wednesday's Senate hearing, "and the people that clean these buildings pay in all through their paychecks."
"People are standing up, risking everything, to protest the sale of weapons that have slaughtered millions," said one activist, who lamented that "instead of being celebrated as the heroes they truly are, they're met with violence."
Police in the southern Australian state of Victoria on Wednesday attacked anti-war protesters with so-called "less lethal" weapons including stun grenades, hard foam projectiles, and pepper spray outside a major international arms convention in Melbourne amid Israel's Australia-backed annihilation of Gaza.
Protesters gathered outside the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center, where the three-day Land Forces International Land Defense Exposition kicked off on Wednesday. Organizers describe the event as "the premier gateway to the land defense markets of Australia and the region, and a platform for interaction with major prime contractors from the United States and Europe."
Protest organizers—who included the groups Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars—said the demonstration was a stand against the arms trade in general and Australia's and other countries' support for Israel, which is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
"We're protesting to stand up for all those who have been killed by the type of weapons on display at the convention."
Protesters shouted slogans including "Free Palestine!" and "Shame!" as attendees entered the expo venue.
"We're protesting to stand up for all those who have been killed by the type of weapons on display at the convention," Students for Palestine organizer Jasmine Duff explained. "Many of the weapons inside the convention center are advertised as battle-tested. In the context of Israeli weapons firms, which are present, this means tested through killing civilians in Gaza."
Since the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, Israeli bombs and bullets have killed or maimed more than 145,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The Australian government has approved more than 300 export permits for military and dual-use equipment to Israel since 2016.
Duff said police "used serious weapons on peace activists that should be banned for use on demonstrators, including pepper spray, which is classified as a chemical weapon."
"They hit us with batons, including hitting one man so hard he had to go to hospital, and they shot us with rubber bullets," she added.
Police say they acted after some protesters pelted officers with rocks, bottles, horse manure, and a liquid substance they claimed was acid. They also said that protesters mistook hard foam projectiles for rubberized bullets. Officials said 39 people were arrested for alleged offenses including assault, obstruction, arson, and blocking roads. At least two dozen officers reportedly required medical treatment.
Human rights groups decried the heavy-handed police response to the mostly peaceful protest.
"As reports emerge of police using tear gas, pepper spray, and stun grenades during protests in Melbourne, Australia, Amnesty calls for all allegations of misuse of force to be promptly and impartially investigated," said Amnesty International Australia.
Activists said they will keep up pressure on the Australian government for as long as it supports Israel's slaughter in Gaza. The organizers of Wednesday's protest said they are planning another demonstration outside Hanwha Defence Australia, followed by a vigil in Batman Park.
"Direct action is a bedrock of democracy," Disrupt Land Forces organizer Caroline da Silva toldThe Age. "Directly acting to prevent harm is in the DNA of all people of conscience."
"The anti-militarist movement on this continent has grown and matured very rapidly since Israel's attacks on Gaza began," she added. "We are deeply committed, and we are growing stronger. Change will come."
On Tuesday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Labor-led government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese supports the recent decision by Britain's Labour government to suspend some arms export licenses to Israel.
"I welcome the decision of my U.K. counterpart," Wong toldThe Guardian. "It reflects what we have been advocating throughout this conflict. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas."