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sofiamiller.bsky.social
@sofiamiller.bsky.social
writing stuff & doing stuff 🌱

Currently @ Velshi on MSNBC

Opinions my own etc.
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U.S. citizens have been ensnared in Trump's immigration crackdown, including young kids. "Deportation Donald is not allowing any due process," says Alanah Odoms, Exec. Dir. of ACLU of Louisiana. "They are testing us," adds journalist Ray Suarez. #Velshi
www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...
'They are testing us': Citizens, including kids, are getting caught up in immigration crackdown
American citizens – including young kids and toddlers – are among those who have already been ensnared in President Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown. In the past week alone, according to the ACLU of Louisiana, at least three children in Louisiana have been deported, and in at least one of those cases, a federal judge expressed concern that the child was not given “any meaningful process.” “Deportation Donald is not allowing any due process for families in the state of Louisiana or anywhere else in this nation,” says Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. Journalist Ray Suarez adds that the Trump administration’s apparent overreach has a purpose. “They are testing us,” he tells “Velshi” guest host Charles Coleman Jr. “They are testing what the public will tolerate. They are testing the waters.”
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April 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Trump’s attacks on DEI threaten to erase Black history. “This is history that is happening now,” says Dr. Tracie Therence Ferrell, whose mom was born on the Whitney Plantation. The Trump admin is “trying to teach a false narrative about what this country is,” says Harvard's @imaniperry.bsky.social
Erasing History: Trump’s Cuts to Federal Grants Threaten Black History Museums
The Trump admin continues to attack DEI, targeting museums dedicated to Black history. Dr. Tracie Therence Ferrell reminds us that this history is vital and more current than people realize. “This is history that is happening now,” says Dr. Ferrell. “My family is not even one generation removed from a slave plantation.” And yet these important stories are at risk of erasure. “What this administration is trying to do is not just erase parts of history, but actually erase the very idea of history and knowledge in the service of mythology,” says Harvard professor Imani Perry. 
www.msnbc.com
April 27, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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Cars, electronics, denim, home goods, and processed foods are just a few of the items likely to increase in cost due to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

So much for lowering prices. #Velshi
Trump’s tariffs will cost you. Here’s how.
Trump’s tariffs against the United States’ three largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China are now in effect. These taxes levied on imported goods are not paid by the exporting country, but rather a cost that is passed on to the American consumer. Now, products like electronics, cars, denim, home goods, and food could see an increase in price.
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February 1, 2025 at 7:27 PM
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Two Idaho teenagers, a handful of authors, a tiny public library, and the nation’s largest publishers are suing the state of Idaho, pushing back against the state’s book ban that went into effect last summer. “We are the boots on the ground here in Idaho,” says 17-year-old Jerrick. #Velshi
Two teenagers, a tiny library, and the nations’ largest publishers take on Idaho’s book ban law
Two Idaho teenagers, a handful of authors, a tiny public library, and the nation’s largest publishers are suing the state of Idaho, pushing back against HB170 – the state’s book ban that went into effect last summer - a law that restricts books from both public and school libraries. The law forbids minors from accessing books with content that the state has deemed “harmful to minors.” “The most important thing is to speak out,” says Jerrick, one of the student plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs say the law is overly broad because it enables any person in the community to complain about any book whose message they disagree with. “We are the boots on the ground here in Idaho,” says 17-year-old Jerrick.
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February 8, 2025 at 6:52 PM
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“This is why it’s so important to know history," says The 19th*'s @errinhaines.bsky.social. "This is taking a page right out of Woodrow Wilson's playbook." It's “potentially devastating” to Black Americans due to the disproportionate # of Black fed workers, warns Harvard prof @imaniperry.bsky.social
‘Potentially devastating’: gutting of federal workforce hits Black America hardest
Federal data shows that Black Americans, who have historically found greater equity in the public sector compared to the private sector, will disproportionately bear the brunt of Trump's effort to gut the federal workforce. “These forms of employment in service to the nation were actually one of the few areas that Black people could rely upon to enter the middle class. It's potentially devastating, the loss of that sector,” says Harvard professor and best-selling author Imani Perry. This is not the first time it’s been tried by a U.S. President, warns Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th*. “This is why it’s so important to know history… Taking a page right out of Woodrow Wilson’s playbook.”
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February 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
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Trump has fired at least 19 inspectors general without cause and now 8 of them are filing a lawsuit against the White House. When asked why they weren’t consulted before being ousted, Fmr. Veteran Affairs IG Michael Missal says, “maybe they want lap dogs instead of watch dogs.” #Velshi
February 15, 2025 at 7:18 PM
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Ukrainians strive to secure their future & preserve their history. “The weight of history is really the motivating force for Ukrainians resisting today,” says author & journalist @yarotrof.bsky.social. “Ukrainians know they don’t have the luxury to cry right now. They need to keep resisting.”#Velshi
Velshi Banned Book Club: Ukrainian literature and the ‘weight of history’
Despite losing Ukrainian authors, journalists, artists, and more than a third of the nation’s book printing capacity, demand for Ukrainian literature is on the rise as Ukrainians strive to secure their future and preserve their history. “The weight of history is really the motivating force for Ukrainians resisting today,” says Ukrainian author and Journalist Yaroslav Trofimov. “They know that the alternative of surrender is actually worse than the tremendous casualties and destruction that occur today.”
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February 22, 2025 at 6:41 PM
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3 years ago, Ali met Ukrainian teen Nastya Shpot as she and her family fled the emerging war. Now 18, she still hopes for peace in her country. “The situation is getting more horrible,” she says, but “I’m still hoping for a peaceful sky.”

#Velshi
‘I’m still hoping for a peaceful sky’: catching up with a Ukrainian teen after 3 years of war
Three years ago, Ali Velshi travelled to Eastern Europe to cover the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While talking to Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Ali met then 15-year-old Nastya Shpot. She and her family were forced to flee their hometown, leaving behind Nastya’s father, a military chaplain who stayed to fight for their country. Ali kept in touch with Nastya and her family over the years and now, just one day before the 3rd anniversary of the start of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, Ali caught up with Nastya, who is back in Ukraine to reunite with her father. “The situation is getting more horrible” Nastya says, “It’s a miracle that [my father] stayed alive”. Despite the worsening conditions, Nastya tries to stay optimistic. Today, she’s a full time student in the U.K., where she’s determined to educate herself to be in service of Ukraine. “My country needs people like me.”
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February 23, 2025 at 5:48 PM
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Donald Trump consistently shows disdain for journalists, often calling the media “the enemy of the people” - but fmr. WH chief correspondent @jimacosta.bsky.social emphasizes the importance of free press. “We won't succumb to the warped imagination of the wannabe autocrat in the Oval Office.”#Velshi
‘We won't succumb’: Jim Acosta on the ‘lunacy’ of Trump’s takeover of the White House press pool
Donald Trump has consistently shown his disdain for journalists, frequently calling the media “the enemy of the people”. “The press, we're not the enemy of the people, we're defenders of the people,” says former Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Now, the Trump administration is taking unprecedented steps to control which journalists and media organizations are allowed access to the President. They have denied critical news teams - like those at the Associated Press and Reuters - access to the press pool. “We're here to ask the hard questions, and honestly, it's why the First Amendment is there,” said Acosta. “[Trump] can't just throw that out the window … and have just fawning propagandists and sycophants in the Oval Office with him.” 
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March 2, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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Trump’s DOJ is weighing in on abortion litigation, moving to drop a Biden-era case against Idaho’s strict ban.

If Trump's admin “pumps the brakes” on these suits, it moves us closer to #Project2025’s proposed national abortion ban. “That really is the goal,” warns @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social
Trump DOJ wants to ‘pump the brakes’ on abortion suits, creeping toward goal of nation-wide ban
On Tuesday, the DOJ dismissed a Biden-era lawsuit against Idaho over its near total abortion ban, and separately, it requested an extension in the ongoing abortion medication case in Texas. Advocates warn these steps signal the administration’s eventual embrace of Project 2025’s proposal for a nationwide abortion ban. Abortion will cease to exist in most of the United States if the Trump administration “pumps the brakes” on these lawsuits, warns Dr. Michele Goodwin, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown Law School. “That really is the goal– to make sure that there are no avenues for women to seek this type of medical care.”
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March 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
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60yrs after the “Bloody Sunday” attack on peaceful protesters in Selma, “We're sitting here grappling with these same kinds of roll backs in justice,” says poet & Pettus descendant Caroline Williams. We must “complete the unfinished business of the freedom movement,” says @imaniperry.bsky.social.
‘The unfinished business of the freedom movement’: 60 years after Bloody Sunday
The atrocity of “Bloody Sunday” helped move public sentiment, and eventually helped bring about the passage of the landmark voting rights ruling of 1965. Today, the struggle continues. In recent years...
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March 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
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Experts have warned that overturning Roe would lead to higher maternal mortality & criminal prosecution of patients & doctors. Since Dobbs, 100s of women have been criminally charged over pregnancies. “This is blood on the arrow that stabs at Democracy,” says @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social #Velshi
‘This is blood on the arrow that stabs at Democracy’: Abortion bans threaten all our rights.
“We have to understand the dismantling of Roe as being an assault against democracy,” says Georgetown Law professor Michelle Goodwin. This week, a Louisiana woman pleaded not guilty to a felony charge after allegedly giving her teenage daughter abortion-inducing medication that was prescribed and shipped from a doctor in New York, where the medication is legal. The NYC-based doctor was also indicted on a felony charge for allegedly prescribing and sending the medication to Louisiana after a telemedicine appointment. “Once you begin to say that women’s lives have no meaning, that their autonomy, that their equal protection, that all of the things that are protected in the constitutional rights do not apply to them, then you can say then for other people too in other circumstances.”
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March 15, 2025 at 5:56 PM
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In the face of Trump’s crackdown on dissent, we must reconsider “institutional neutrality.”

“Everyone in civil society needs to stand up,” says @johnjharwood.bsky.social.

“No one should have to be fearless in order to speak up and speak the truth,” adds @maryannefranks.bsky.social. #Velshi
‘Everyone in civil society needs to stand up’ – ‘Speak the truth’ while we still have agency
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has launched a multipronged crackdown on institutions and speech that challenge his agenda, targeting Big Law, universities, and media outlets. Amid this escalating assault on the First Amendment, veteran journalist John Harwood and First Amendment scholar Mary Anne Franks argue that institutions such as the press and academia must reevaluate their approaches to neutrality and objectivity. “Everyone in civil society needs to stand up,” Harwood says. “That includes the business sector. [Trump] is going to destroy the rule of law.” Franks cautions that we may be underestimating the threat to our own detriment. “It may seem when you attack Columbia University, that you’re just attacking a bunch of elites. But you’re attacking the idea of knowledge, you’re attacking the idea of criticism,” she warns. “This is a direct threat to all of us.”
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March 16, 2025 at 5:46 PM
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Fmr @govjayinslee.bsky.social is asking the powerful to stand up to Trump’s attacks on democracy. “Inaction is just as deadly as action when it comes to an autocrat taking over a democracy,” he says . “You become a patriot by using your leadership position to speak up, speak out, be bold.” #Velshi
‘Speak up, speak out, be bold’: Fmr. Gov. Inslee urges action from civil society leaders
Americans are calling on Universities, CEOs, and people in power to stand up to Trump’s ongoing attack on Democracy. “I am really hopeful that people understand that quietude and passivity are just as bad as active collaboration,” says former Governor of Washington Jay Inslee. “If you know a college president, if you know somebody who's in a big law firm, if you know somebody might be a CEO, urge them to get in touch with their courage.” The time to speak up was “yesterday,” says Inslee. 
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March 16, 2025 at 5:55 PM
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The Dem. commissioners Trump fired from the FTC are suing to block their dismissals. One of the fired commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, said the firings represent an “aggressive assault on the separation of powers, on Congress and on the people.” #Velshi
www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/w...
‘An aggressive assault on the separation of powers’: Ousted FTC Commissioners Sue Trump
Two democratic Federal Trade Commission members fired by the Trump administration last week are now suing, arguing they were fired without cause. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, one of the two fired members ...
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March 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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Trump’s recent E.O. aims to sanitize the Smithsonian of its so-called “divisive narrative”. But Americans “want to know history and not a fairy tale,” says Georgetown Prof. Chandra Manning. “Americans are more than capable of confronting hard histories,” says @marthasjones.bsky.social #Velshi
Americans ‘want to know history and not a fairy tale’: Historians on Trump rewriting US History
This week, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”. It aims at eliminating what the president calls “improper ideology” from the American Historical narrative, including at our museums, national parks, and monuments. The order singles out the Smithsonian, claiming that the museum system’s telling of America’s history is a “distorted narrative”. But, says Johns Hopkins professor of History Martha S. Jones, “Americans are more than capable of confronting hard histories, including in the halls of the Smithsonian, and come out still feeling themselves to be Americans.” Chandra Manning, U.S. History professor at Georgetown University, agrees. “It's not a question of trying to tell a positive or a negative story. It's a question of telling a false story when we leave out the people who make up our past.”
www.msnbc.com
March 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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Trump continues to target the press with verbal & legal attacks… including a revived movement to go after libel protections. “Having a credible, independent, & vigorous news media… is a threat to people who are using lies & distortion to advance their agendas,” says @davidenrich.bsky.social. #Velshi
‘This is a free speech issue’: New book investigates the movement to use the law to silence critics
Donald Trump, who has infamously labeled the press as "the enemy of the people", has recently turned to legal action against some networks, and also expressed his desire to go after libel protection – including a 1964 Supreme Court ruling that established protections for journalists who make honest mistakes. It is the bedrock of a free press that is able to hold the powerful to account, and it protects freedom of expression for all Americans. “They really want to scare people into silence," says David Enrich, New York Times journalist and author of the new book, ‘Murder the Truth.’ “Having a credible, independent, and vigorous news media that's not afraid … is a threat to people who are using lies and distortion to advance their agendas.”
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April 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM