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A worried NATO holds large – scale combat drills as the US stance on Europe shifts under Trump Which is completely understandable since Trump is about to hand Ukraine to Putin and Pete Hegseth has pretty much told Europe ” you’re on your own.” European countries conducted their largest combat exercises in years last week, testing their ability to deploy large – scale forces on the eastern border. Meanwhile, Putin is sitting in Moscow laughing his rear end off.

What to know about Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court Trump is heading to the Supreme Court For the first time in his second term, using an emergency appeal to call on the justices to let him fire the head of a government ethics watchdog agency. The case will decide whether Congress can create independent agencies that are protected from the whims of the White House, or whether presidents can fire anyone seen as a potential critic. It will also give a clue as to whether or not the Supreme Court will cooperate with the fascist coup attempt.

Proud Boys leader pardoned by Trump wants to return to the scene of the crime as member of Congress Henry ” Enrique ” Tarrio was serving a 22 year sentence for convictions of multiple felonies before Trump pardoned him. Included are seditious conspiracy ” to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power,” The judge called it a ” constituted act o f terrorism.” Sadly, he is running in Matt Gaetz’s district. And if that district could elect Gaetz, they could elect Tarrio.

The Courts Can’t Stop the Trump – Musk Coup In theory, the temporary restraining orders against Trump’s executive orders should be effective stopgaps. The problem is the court has no enforcement mechanism. It has no army, no police force, no power to enforce its will. Instead it’s the executive, in this case Trump, that is supposed to enforce the court’s orders. This piece argues that the only way to stop Trump is for his approval rating to nosedive.

Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs Workers across the country have responded with anger and confusion the last few weeks as they grappled with the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections. And the cost of what these workers do to make the country run hasn’t been calculated yet.

Democrats need a new message: ‘ Blame Republicans ‘ This isn’t that hard. Democrats should have one simple message to deliver: Republicans are responsible for everything that happens from now on. Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency. All the unintended consequences, government shutdowns, and the certain colossal failures will be 100% Republican – owned. Sounds good. But the problem is the Democrats have been very bad at delivering any message.

Mayor Bibb Pitches Council a Meatier Cleveland Budget in the Face of a Year of Political Change Cleveland City Council and Mayor Bibb are in the midst of determining what the city will spend in the next year. In Bibb’s view, it’s roughly $2.1 billion, a 3% increase over what was spent last year. The main problem with the spending calculations though is that state and federal grants could be significantly cut or eliminated. So how is that possibility figured into the calculations?

The TIF scam continues. Money pooled by the city from taxes on the Bedrock Riverfront development that would have gone into the general fund will now, just as the other TIF’s, be used to back public infrastructure improvements for the billion project. If you click the link and read the article, you’ll see that development will be magnificent. But at what cost to the neighborhoods?

Cleveland Browns pitch financing plan for Brook Park stadium Speaking of taxpayer scams. The Browns are proposing a 50 / 50 split between private and public sector financing of the $2.4 billion domed stadium. Which means we would be paying $1.2 billion of the tab. Browns officials are of course claiming a sleight of hand when they say that financing will not come from the general revenue fund that provides services. But wherever that money comes from it will be money that would go into the general fund to provide services

Ronayne ‘ optimistic ‘ about Browns staying downtown Which doesn’t quite fit with the article above. Ronayne says in the article that ” active conversations ” have been ongoing for weeks with the Haslam’s and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb about keeping the Browns on the lakefront. One of two things are going on. These conversations may be happening in case the Haslam’s don’t get $1.2 billion for the domed stadium. Or Bibb and Ronayne may posturing to make it look like they did everything they could to keep the Browns in Cleveland.

Job Cuts Begin at Cuyahoga Valley National Park Amid DOGE’s Valentine’s Day Weekend Binge The Cuyahoga Valley National Park has seen record attendance in recent years mostly because of its natural beauty and it being well maintained. Last year, CVNP saw roughly 2.9 million visitors enter its boundaries. But the DOGE cuts are a huge threat because if the park is not well maintained it will soon lose its natural beauty.

Conservative group launches ad campaign against Cleveland Clinic’s DEI initiatives The conservative nonprofit Consumers Research, a catchy name that makes people believe they are actually looking out for consumers, has launched a six figure TV ad campaign accusing the clinic of prioritizing patients based on race, performing child sex changes and pushing transgender propaganda. And of course they launched the campaign without having any evidence that their claims are true.

New Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel: Mike DeWine’s political heir or caretaker It is hard to say anything for sure except that Tressel and DeWine are both lying when they say they haven’t talked about it. If he is indeed just a caretaker, why not just say it. And if he is planning to run, he’ll need to get campaign infrastructure in place soon so he can begin fundraising. The most likely scenario is that he is thinking of it and will have DeWine’s blessing if he does it.

Students Say They Will Leave Ohio If Lawmakers Go Forward With Massive Higher Education Overhaul SB 1 would ban diversity and inclusion, putting diversity scholarships at risk. It would also set rules about what can be taught and discussed in the classroom, banning “controversial” topics such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, immigration policy, marriage and abortion. In other words, the fascist state would be extended into college classrooms.

How Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education Would Affect Ohio School Districts As Trump continues to talk about dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, Ohio educators are concerned about what that could mean for federal funding that school districts across the state rely on. Ohio school districts, on average, receive about 10% of their revenue from the federal government. And if that is cut, students living in poverty and students with disabilities are the ones who are most at risk of losing the support they need to succeed

Who is ICE Putting in Ohio Jails? One County Won’t Say. Based on the legal advice of federal officials, Geauga County jail officials will not release records that detail who is inside its facility awaiting deportation proceedings. But Seneca County jail officials have provided the Marshall Project  – Cleveland with the last six years of monthly ICE invoices. In Seneca County, ICE pays $90 a day per detainee, contributing about $2.2 million toward the sheriff’s $2.8 million budget.

The Chilling Effect of Trump’s Indiscriminate Immigration Arrests & Propaganda At the one month mark of the new Trump administration, it is clear that the president’s thinly veiled  threats of imposing mass deportation on ” criminal immigrants ” are in fact a promise to target all immigrants – and sometimes even U.S. citizens. We have already seen wrongful arrests of people with U.S passports, including a veteran in New Jersey, Native Americans in the Navajo nation and others from Puerto Rico.

Trump’s mass deportation plan hits its own wall Trump’s plan to deport ” millions and millions ”  of undocumented immigrants is meeting reality – already stretching the limits of the government’s resources, less than four weeks into the new administration. A lack of funds, detention space, officers and infrastructure to handle arrested immigrants is frustrating many involved in the effort and has made the goal of one million deportations this year seem unrealistic. Let’s hope they continue to be frustrated.

How Donald Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Threatens U.S. Food Supply As the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement, the undocumented farm workers who sustain the $1.53 trillion U.S. agricultural industry – comprising  42% to 50% of the agricultural  workforce – are living in heightened fear of deportation. Farmers and industry specialists fear that once deportations start at the farms there will be severe labor shortages that will disrupt food production and drive up consumer prices.

Trump’s idea of ‘ competence ‘ – only white men need apply It’s not hard to see Trump’s racism in his unrelenting attacks on diversity programs at the start of his second term. And Trump has frequently described immigrants as ” poisoning the blood ” of the nation and he has referred to Black Lives Matter being a hate group. His assault comes despite a pew poll that recently found that a 52 percent majority support diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

CCPC March Membership Meeting: Statehouse Issues

CCPC March Membership Meeting: Statehouse Issues Tuesday, March 18 from 6:30 to 8 pm. As horrible as things are in Washington, things are just as bad in Columbus. Rachel Coyle, the Communications Director at Innovation Ohio will be joining us to preview upcoming bills and the upcoming budget. You may know of or have seen Rachel’s popular advocacy training program ” How Things Work at the Ohio Statehouse,” which teaches Ohioans how to be effective Statehouse activists. Please click here to register for the event. After registering you’ll receive an email with the Zoom link.

And in case you missed it

Video of CCPC February Membership Meeting