@rachellevy
Teacher, parent, writer, ed ldshp & policy PhD, former candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, local Dem chair, staffer to everyone's favorite Virginia state senator, jigsaw puzzler. I ask a lot of questions. Sometimes I make people angry. (she/her)
How the Hell Did We End Up Here?
From the failed ethno-nationalist revolt in the early 1990s to the triumph of MAGA extremism - A history of the Republican Party, Part II.
Some thoughts from my new piece:
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LANDERS: Why did the FBI seize election records in AZ?
TRUMP: They probably thought the election was rigged
LANDERS: It wasn't though
TRUMP: Oh really? How do you know?
LANDERS: Your own AG said it
TRUMP: If you say it wasn't rigged, you're a rotten reporter
LANDERS: Where's the evidence?
Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken.
“I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold.
The government won’t say if any agents have been punished.
(Published Jan. 2026)
Patel fires FBI Iran experts just in time for war. Counter-terror generally has already been taken apart.
www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...
"Duped by Bibi"?
This is textbook antisemitism.
I am against this unjust, horrible war, and Netanyahu is bad news.
But Trump and the Republicans have agency and can decide to do horrific, terrible things all by themselves.
Me, last week: "The main thing I’d want to get across to people about Donald Trump and his administration right now is that however unprepared you might think they are for war, the chances are very good that it’s much worse. Much, much worse."
Can I just repeat myself for this week's post?
Tax breaks are meant to grow and develop an industry. Not last forever.
Data centers are doing fine. We need to invest those dollars into people and into the broader economy.
That’s how we get broad based prosperity and a more dynamic economy.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
• More hardline than father
• He’s the IRGC candidate
• Relatively young: 56
• Avoids public
• Trusted by father, clerics
• Was in military during Iraq-Iran war
• His wife, Zahra, killed in Israeli airstrike w his father
The leader of the protest was pardoned J6er Jake Lang.
Staff at the nation’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility have placed bets on which detainee will be the next to die by suicide, according to new reporting from the Associated Press based on 911 calls and detainee accounts.
Early Voting in this special election starts Friday, March 6th, and goes through Saturday, April 18th, with “Election Day” on Tuesday, April 21st.
Fight back! Vote YES!
Details here 👇
Yesterday was the 1st day of Early Voting in the VOTE YES campaign to fight back against MAGA rigging of our elections.
Thank you to everyone who got out to vote & to our poll greeters!
VOTE EARLY at the Hanover County Complex until Apr 18th! Election Day is Apr 21st at your regular polling place.
Voting YES this April stops Trump and MAGA Republicans’ power grab and levels the playing field for the 2026 midterms.
Visit IWillVote.com to make your plan to vote.
Finally, we have an Attorney General who is protecting us instead of Trump.
Elections matter.
Democrats care about protecting Virginians pocketbook and rights.
Republicans want to fleece us.
NEW: The bad news about international-student enrollments at American colleges just got worse. An exclusive @chronicle.com analysis of just-released State Department data shows new visa issuances in the summer of 2025 dropped by more than a third. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
This video from the @network4pubed.bsky.social - NPE debunks myths about the federal voucher program.
Republicans' Illegal War in Iran War is costing our country, and US taxpayers, $1 Billion per day.
Here's a great tool to examine those costs and see what those tax dollars could have paid for instead:
It's hard right now. It's easy to give up hope & give into inaction, cynicism, & compromise with fascism.
But we can not give up & we can not give in.
You can not have an impact every where at every time, but all of us can have an impact, together, each of us doing our part when & where possible.
SNCC were amongst the biggest organizers of Selma.
Yesterday we lost Bernard Lafayette.
Today is Marion Barry's birthday.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Bloody Sunday
Thread.
Really good article (it's been gifted) about the Republicans' attacks on scientific research, public health, and especially on Black, Brown, and LGBTQ people.
Iran Wars and Affordability Don’t Really Go Together talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/iran-...
Nashville Reporter Estefany Rodríguez was detained by ICE without a warrant or just cause and transferred to Louisiana far away from her US citizen husband. With so many egregious violations of the Constitution here, it's obvious she was purposely targeted out of sadistic spite for journalists.
Obama has the crowd at Jesse Jackson's eulogy hanging on his every word
CFR: Meanwhile, the head of Europe’s police body said yesterday the war could have “immediate repercussions” in regard to terrorism, violent extremism, and cyberattacks. Trump, asked Wednesday whether Americans should worry about attacks at home, replied, “I guess.”
CFR: Qatar’s energy minister issued a stark warning about the war’s impact on energy prices today, telling the Financial Times that continued war could force Gulf energy exporters to shut down production within days and drive oil prices to $150 per barrel.
"Polls are open. Do your thing, Virginia." - Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05)
Yep, definitely "do your thing, Virginia"; namely, let's approve the redistricting amendment, then in November, vote John McGuire the hell out of Congress (if he's even on the ballot, that is; he may just drop out after 4/21) bluevirginia.us/2026/03/vide...
