Progressives for a Democratic Republic - PDR

Democrats should not be supporting candidates who oppose AI regulation. Democratic establishment politicians who wholeheartedly support AI are not friends of the working class.

AI companies pose a threat to working class people.

We need an economy that works for all, not just AI.

The Democratic establishment just got swept in New York City. All three of them. In one night.

Three allies of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment-backed Democratic incumbents in Tuesday’s New York congressional primaries — dealing the democratic socialist leader of America’s largest city a sweeping victory in his bid to reshape the Democratic Party.

Here’s what happened race by race:

**NY-13 — Harlem, Washington Heights, parts of the Bronx:** Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat — a congressman backed by Governor Kathy Hochul and virtually the entire House Democratic leadership. Chevalier is a 32-year-old community organizer who works at a public defender’s office providing legal aid to victims of police brutality. She has never held elected office. She just beat a 10-term incumbent.

**NY-10 — Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn:** Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman — who had Nancy Pelosi’s backing and the full weight of the establishment behind him.

**NY-7 — Open seat:** Claire Valdez, a DSA-backed state assemblywoman, won the open seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez — who endorsed her opponent.

Three races. Three upsets. Nancy Pelosi’s candidate lost. Kathy Hochul’s candidate lost. The retiring congresswoman’s chosen successor lost.

Democratic socialist candidates pushed for an edge in these races on issues like Israel policy and inequality — running explicitly against the establishment on Gaza, housing, and economic justice.

Here’s what this means in plain terms:

Six months ago Zohran Mamdani was a state assemblyman nobody outside New York had heard of. He ran for mayor, won, and immediately started using that platform to reshape the congressional delegation of the nation’s largest city. Tonight he succeeded — flipping three seats from the establishment to the progressive left in a single evening.

Bernie Sanders said it Saturday in Brooklyn: “They are going to do it again on Tuesday.”

They did it again on Tuesday.

📌 Source: ABC7 NY / Washington Post / NBC News / Al Jazeera

For the first time in American history — both chambers of Congress have voted to end a president’s war.

The Senate voted 50-48 Tuesday to pass a war powers resolution directing President Trump to remove U.S. military forces from hostilities against Iran — marking the first time such a measure has successfully passed both the House and Senate simultaneously.

Four Republicans crossed party lines to vote yes: Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Bill Cassidy. One Democrat voted no: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Two Republicans — Mitch McConnell and Dave McCormick — did not vote. Their absences contributed directly to the resolution’s passage.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Trump’s military campaign in Iran “a historic blunder.”

Here’s the full context of what just happened:

Trump launched the Iran war on February 28 — without asking Congress. Without a declaration of war. Without an Authorization for Use of Military Force. He just did it. And for 115 days, Congress watched, debated, and gradually built the votes to say: enough.

The House passed its version 215-208 earlier this month. Today the Senate followed. The resolution directs the president to “remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran” unless Congress declares war or formally authorizes military force.

Now here’s the part that matters for what happens next:

Trump is expected to veto the measure. He has the votes to sustain that veto — a two-thirds override majority in both chambers is out of reach. So the war continues. The resolution is, legally speaking, symbolic.

But symbols matter. This is Congress — including members of Trump’s own party — going on record to say: this war was never authorized, it should never have started, and we are formally directing you to end it.

Congress never authorized the military action in Iran. That sentence has been true for 115 days. Today both chambers of Congress said it out loud — in a vote, for the record, with names attached.

Susan Collins voted yes. The same Susan Collins who has issued “concerned” statements about Trump’s conduct for years without consequence. The same Susan Collins who Graham Platner is running against in Maine. She voted to end the Iran war today.

Rand Paul voted yes. Lisa Murkowski voted yes. Bill Cassidy voted yes.

John Fetterman voted no.

Every name is on record. Every vote matters in November.

📌 Source: Washington Post / CNN / CBS News / NBC News / Al Jazeera

While JD Vance was in Switzerland trying to negotiate peace with Iran — eleven Iranian men left this note in a locker room in Los Angeles.

"From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast. We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity. Thank you, Los Angeles, for your hospitality. And thank you to every Iranian who gave their heart, voice, and soul for Iran throughout these 180 minutes. May peace, respect, and friendship prevail among all nations."

These are the people America has been at war with for 116 days.

These are the people whose flag was booed at the opening ceremony. Whose players were forced to sleep in Tijuana, Mexico and commute across the border to play their matches because U.S. officials restricted their time on American soil. Whose staff members were denied visas entirely.

They came anyway. They held Belgium scoreless for 90 minutes — with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand making save after save to earn Player of the Match. They wrote that note in English. They thanked Los Angeles. They asked for peace.

The same week Trump posted on Truth Social threatening to "hit Iran very hard again, only harder" — while his Vice President was at the negotiating table in Switzerland.

The same week Iran's negotiators walked out of talks because Israel kept bombing Lebanon.

The same week a University of Chicago professor said on camera: "We started a war we were guaranteed to lose. And we have lost."

Eleven men. A Post-it pad. A locker room in Inglewood.

"May peace, respect, and friendship prevail among all nations."

Politicians couldn't write that. Diplomats wouldn't dare say it. Eleven soccer players just did.

📌 Source: Reuters / AP / Al Jazeera

83 people were killed in Lebanon on Friday. 141 wounded. More than 100 Israeli airstrikes since midnight. One Lebanese soldier killed in a targeted attack on his motorbike.

And on that same Friday — the United States and Iran called off their peace talks.

U.S.-Iran talks were canceled Friday after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — with Iranian officials refusing to travel to Switzerland and insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before negotiations can take place.

Israel launched what Al Jazeera described as more than 100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon in a single day — just hours after a renewed ceasefire was announced. Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed 83 people killed and 141 wounded. Most casualties were civilians in southern Lebanon. Lebanese army soldiers were also killed — including one in a targeted strike on his motorbike — prompting a rare political response from the Lebanese military.

Since March 2, Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,057 people in Lebanon and wounded 12,121.

Here’s the contradiction at the center of this entire diplomatic process — stated plainly by Hezbollah’s parliamentary representative Ali Fayyad: “A ceasefire while the enemy continues its targeting and assassinations is meaningless. The position of the resistance is clear, unambiguous, non-negotiable and without retreat.”

Iran’s position has never changed from day one: Lebanon must be included in any agreement. The United States signed an MOU with Iran that Iran says requires Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Israel says it signed nothing and is bound by nothing. Netanyahu said publicly he will keep fighting “as long as Hezbollah does.”

So the sequence, repeated now for months, is this: ceasefire announced → Israel bombs Lebanon → Iran closes the Strait or walks out of talks → mediators scramble → ceasefire renewed → Israel bombs Lebanon again.

Israel and Hezbollah did eventually agree to renew their ceasefire Friday evening — mediated by Qatar, the U.S., and Iran.

Until the next strike. Until the next walkout. Until the next 83 dead.

John Mearsheimer was right. JD Vance was right. You cannot kill your way out of this. And until Washington is willing to tell Israel that in public — with consequences — this cycle does not end. It just restarts.

📌 Source: Al Jazeera / PBS NewsHour / AP / Wikipedia

For setting off fireworks and spray-painting cars outside a Texas immigration detention center — six people just received 50-year prison sentences. One received 100 years. Another 70.

Eight people were sentenced Tuesday in connection with a July 4, 2025 demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas — the first federal terrorism case the Justice Department has ever brought against activists labeled “antifa.” Benjamin Song received 100 years. Maricela Rueda received 70 years. Six others received 50 years each.

Here’s what actually happened that night — and why the sentences have alarmed civil liberties experts across the political spectrum:

On July 4, 2025, approximately 12 protesters gathered at the edge of the Prairieland detention center, launching fireworks and using loudspeakers to boost the morale of detainees inside. The fireworks caused no property damage. Two protesters split from the group to disable ICE vehicles. Benjamin Song, who was legally armed, allegedly fired toward officers after a local police officer drew his weapon — and an officer was struck nonlethally. Ballistics evidence at trial showed the injuring bullet was curved, suggesting the officer may have been wounded by ricochet rather than direct fire.

The officer, Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross, has fully recovered.

Seven of the eight defendants were convicted not of shooting anyone — but of riot, material support to terrorists, and using explosives, based largely on their use of encrypted Signal messages, their black clothing, and printed materials the prosecution called evidence of “antifa” ideology. The Trump administration designated antifa as a domestic terrorist organization last fall.

Critics warn the case could have wide-reaching impact on protests, given that organizations operating within the U.S. are supposed to be protected by First Amendment free-speech rights. Last week, federal prosecutors charged 15 additional people in Minnesota with conspiracy for anti-ICE protests — claiming they had thrown chunks of ice at federal vehicles and set up blockades.

Let’s hold both things at once: a police officer was shot and injured. That is serious. Benjamin Song pulled a trigger and an officer went to the hospital. That warrants prosecution.

And: six people received 50-year federal prison sentences for setting off fireworks, spray-painting cars, and wearing black clothes. The officer they’re accused of helping attack has fully recovered and is back at work. Their sentences are longer than those given to many people convicted of actual murder.

The DFW Support Committee called it “a sham trial, built on political persecution and ideological attacks coming from the top.”

The question every American — regardless of politics — should be asking: when did fireworks outside a detention center become a terrorism offense carrying a century in prison? And if this precedent holds, what does that mean for the next protest? And the one after that?

📌 Source: CBS Texas / Texas Standard / AP / Democracy Now / Left Voice

In Texas alone, the government flagged 2,724 voters as “potential noncitizens.” A quarter of them had already proven their citizenship to get their driver’s license. Some had their registrations canceled without ever knowing it.

That’s what Trump’s secret voter purge database actually did in the real world. And today a federal judge shut it down.

U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked the Trump administration’s overhaul of the SAVE database — ruling the federal government “knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.” The judge said she “cannot stand idly by while that happens.”

Here’s what the Trump administration actually built — and how it actually worked:

The Department of Homeland Security revamped its immigration verification system to make it easier for states to purge voter rolls. To do it, they obtained Americans’ Social Security numbers from DOGE — where employees had already been accused of misusing sensitive personal data — and combined them with citizenship data federal officials themselves knew to be unreliable. The judge found they did all of this in secret, “haphazardly,” without public notice, without comment periods, and without privacy impact assessments required by law.

At least 25 states used the revamped database. Texas alone scanned all 18 million of its registered voters through the system. It flagged 2,724 people as “potential noncitizens” — sent them letters demanding proof of citizenship within 30 days — and canceled registrations when people didn’t respond. Some of the flagged voters had already proven their citizenship at the Texas DMV to get a driver’s license. At least 11 Travis County residents were confirmed U.S. citizens who were flagged anyway.

Travis County voter registrar Celia Israel called the ruling “validating”: “We have asked a lot of questions in the past several months about the SAVE database and about its accuracy. The lawsuit confirms there are inaccuracies.”

And here’s what the judge found most damning: the administration knew the database was inaccurate before they deployed it. They were told. They went ahead anyway — because they were scrambling to comply with a Trump executive order “aimed at reshaping federal elections.”

The election integrity argument requires that the problem being solved actually exists at scale. Federal immigration investigators hunting for noncitizen voters found the problem is small. What isn’t small: thousands of actual U.S. citizens flagged, threatened, and in some cases removed from voter rolls — five months before a midterm election that determines control of Congress.

DHS’s response to the ruling: “It’s amazing how hard the Left will fight to stop us from solving problems they insist do not exist.”

The judge’s response: 75 pages.

📌 Source: Votebeat / CBS News / CNN / New Republic / Newsweek

Trump called him a “communist lunatic.” Then met him in the Oval Office and called him “a very rational person.” Today Zohran Mamdani is trying to reshape Congress — and Fox News is more worried about him than almost anyone else on the ballot.

Today New York, Maryland, South Carolina and Utah hold primary elections — and two figures who aren’t even on the ballot are the ones everyone is watching: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump, both testing their political clout in races that will shape the future of their parties.

Here’s what’s actually on the line in New York today:

Mamdani is backing three democratic socialist congressional challengers taking on the Democratic Party’s old guard: Brad Lander against incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10; Darializa Avila Chevalier against 10-year incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13; and state Assemblymember Claire Valdez in the open NY-7 seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

Chevalier — a 32-year-old community organizer who works at a public defender’s office providing legal aid to victims of police brutality — says a victory today could be the “domino” that falls and builds “socialist power” nationwide.

Goldman has the backing of Nancy Pelosi. Espaillat has the backing of Gov. Kathy Hochul and most of House Democratic leadership. Velázquez endorsed Reynoso against Valdez.

This is the establishment vs. the movement. Again. In the most watched congressional primaries of 2026.

Even a Democratic strategist who is a veteran of both Sanders presidential campaigns told Fox News: “It’s crystal clear that Mamdani understands power and how to leverage it. He remains incredibly popular, and it appears he also understands that may not always be the case. That’s why you see him flexing his political muscle now. It’s smart politics.”

Meanwhile Trump — after his endorsed candidates for governor lost in both Georgia and Iowa this month — protected himself from another embarrassment in South Carolina by endorsing BOTH candidates in the GOP gubernatorial runoff simultaneously. “I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!”

The man who calls Mamdani a “communist lunatic” just endorsed two people running against each other to guarantee a win.

One of these leaders understands power. The other one endorses both sides of the same race.

Today New York decides which vision of the Democratic Party moves forward. And results tonight will tell us whether Mamdani’s movement can extend beyond City Hall — or whether the establishment holds the line one more time.

📌 Source: Fox News / NBC News / AP / ABC News

Do you forgive Susan Collins for her vote for Brett Kavanaugh, which resulted in Roe vs Wade being overturned?

Before the end of this week, nine unelected justices will decide whether your child’s citizenship is real, whether the president can fire whoever he wants, and whether your mail-in ballot counts.

The Supreme Court is racing to complete 23 cases before its summer recess — including four that will define the limits of presidential power for years to come. The decisions are expected any day.

Here’s exactly what’s at stake in plain language:

**CASE 1: Birthright citizenship.** Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office ending automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status — upending more than 100 years of settled constitutional interpretation. A majority of justices appeared poised to invalidate the order when they heard arguments in April. If they strike it down: children born here remain citizens. If they uphold it: hundreds of thousands of American-born children lose citizenship retroactively.

**CASE 2: Can Trump fire anyone he wants?** Trump fired Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission — a member of an independent agency Congress specifically protected from political removal since 1914. The court appeared likely to side with Trump. If Trump wins: he can fire the heads of the FTC, SEC, NLRB, and potentially the Federal Reserve Board — turning every independent watchdog agency into a political arm of whoever sits in the White House.

**CASE 3: The Federal Reserve.** Trump also fired Lisa Cook, a Fed Board Governor — the first time any president had moved to fire a Fed governor in the central bank’s 112-year history. Bill Pulte — the mortgage regulator with one week of intelligence clearance — alleged Cook made misrepresentations on mortgage documents before Biden nominated her. If Trump wins here, every future president can fire Fed governors over political disagreements — ending the central bank’s independence and its ability to control inflation without political interference.

**CASE 4: Your mail-in ballot.** Mississippi allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five business days. Republicans challenged it. A ruling against counting those ballots could disenfranchise thousands of voters in November’s midterms — affecting races that determine control of Congress.

A Stanford law professor said the clash between Trump and the court is unlike anything seen in “almost 100 years.”

Four cases. One week. The architecture of American democracy — who is a citizen, who can govern independently, and whose vote counts — decided by nine people who answer to no one.

📌 Source: CBS News / CNN / U.S. News / Fox News / WSJ