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What is the Far Left ? The growing visibility of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and victories by some DSA-backed candidates has trig…

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The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE America Act, passed the House of Representatives on February 11, 2026, and is currently under consideration in the United States Senate.

As of mid-July 2026, the SAVE America Act has not yet passed the Senate and is stalled after multiple failed votes. This bill is a top priority for the president (47) ahead of the 2026 midterms. He has consistently urged Congress to pass it and has even withheld his signature on other bills until the SAVE America Act is sent to him. 47 is demanding that the Senate cancel its August recess until the voting bill is approved.

Why should we oppose this legislation and protect our democracy? We must make our congressional leaders hear our voices. Please call, text, email, visit their district offices, and demand that they vote NO!

The SAVE America Act will introduce additional obstacles for eligible voters trying to register and cast ballots, disrupting the way elections are conducted nationwide just months before the midterms. Specifically, the bill would eliminate online and mail-in voter registration, impose excessive civil and criminal penalties on election officials, and disenfranchise millions of Americans by requiring documentary proof of citizenship and photo identification both when registering to vote and when voting at the polls. Currently, only 6% of voters register in person at an election office, and over 146 million Americans do not own a passport.

It's important to note that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and instances of such voting are extremely rare. Federal law requires voters to swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens and eligible to vote.

Like many civil rights organizations at the national, state, and local levels, we urge Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and invest in expanding access to voting rather than restricting it. The proposed SAVE America Act conflicts with the U.S. Constitution by granting states primary authority over the timing, locations, and methods of federal elections, with only limited oversight from Congress.

Additionally, this bill emerges amid heightened tensions surrounding election administration. Recent events, such as the FBI's seizure of hundreds of boxes of 2020 election ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and similar incidents in other battleground cities, have fueled concerns—especially as Trump continues to falsely assert that he won in 2020.

The Brennan Center for Justice highlighted that the bill would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, disproportionately affecting younger voters and people of color. Women, particularly those whose married names do not match their birth certificates or passports, would also face additional challenges in voicing their opinions.

We must contact California's two senators and demand that they vote NO on the SAVE America Act as written. We should write letters to the editors of local newspapers, include information about the bill in our organizational newsletters, and share it with friends, family, and colleagues. While resources may be limited, we should also support organizations fighting for justice on the front lines.

It is essential to stand in solidarity with other progressive community-based groups working to dismantle white supremacy and promote justice. If enacted, the SAVE America Act would create significant hurdles for both voters and election officials. We must take direct action, organize peaceful protests, and actively raise awareness!

If enacted, the SAVE America Act would create hurdles for voters and election officials.   Please call California's two United States Senators:

United States Senator Alex Padilla

501 I Street, Suite 7-800

Sacramento, CA 95814   website: https://www.padilla.senate.gov/about/

*This office is currently under renovation and is only available by appointment only

(916) 448-2787 or (202) 228-3865

Posted by Duane Campbell

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May 26,2026
Bt Marc Cooper
Donald J. Trump has been a disaster so often with such regularity that it has become difficult to distinguish between bad weeks and very bad weeks. This last week has been downright catastrophic for The Boss, his enablers and acolytes and possibly for the immediate future of the republic.

Bad for Trump. Bad for MAGA. Bad for whatever normie Republicans are still out there and threatening to our democracy not to speak of the rest of the world.

Appearances can be misleading and often contradict reality. Flexing his sagging muscles, Trump appeared as strong as ever in influencing recent GOP primaries by financing and dragging across the finish line a number of retro-MAGA screwballs against somewhat more rational Republicans (this is actually good for the rest of us as the flying monkeys are easier to beat in the November general elections).

This is against a more ominous background of his poll numbers continuing to node dive, now into Bush 08 territory and heading quickly toward the dark hole of Nixonland, the high 20's. It's a pity Trump is not running for a third term as he would be crashed by Democratic dog cathcher of East Jesus, Missourri in 2028. Trump has never ben stronger with MAGA, but MAGA has never been weaker or more fragmented. And decomposing.

As is president Trump -- as both his official policies and his late night Truth Farts, not to mention his public speaking descend ever deeper into MADNESS. The Trump-MAGA train crash took on consequential proportions when a handful of Senate Republicans, including high-profile MAGAS refused to give him the 51 Senate votes to finally fund ICE, essentially aping the position of the Democrats.

Yes, you heard that right, Republicans denied Trump the votes he needs to keep funding ICE. The rather meek Senate leader John Thune dealt him the humiliating blow of sending the Senate off for a two week vacation, perhaps cutting short the chance of eventually approving the funding before the early voting in the midterms.

That's after the Republicans were forced to pull the $1.8b heinous slush fascist fund out of the big reconciliation bill aimed at aggrieved Trumpanzees who claim the Biden Justice Department was weaponozed against them. B;these fine patriots to plead guilty. As the DOJ also convinced 100% of the judges involved in hunfreds odtrial Translation: Trump want to hand loads of cash to the 1600 convicted hooligans a,omg whom not a single conviction was overturned.

First, he pardoned them. Now he wants to give them 100 grad reward each. Madness?Yes. But there's a more sinister motive In play here. Yjey may be what some analysts like Ruth Ben-Ghiat call "retatiners."

" Such retainers are common in organized crime and autocratic corruption around the world. I agree with former national security operative Steven Cash's assessment that the "settlement" "resembles the kind of state-funded loyalty network or private militia support system often seen under rising authoritarian regimes overseas." The idea of MAGA as a revolution that continues the energies of 1776 was integral to the Stop the Steal movement that fueled January 6 and served as a recruiting and radicalization ground for those who assaulted the Capitol and wanted to harm Republicans and Democrats alike. 1776 rhetoric and images run through in the January 6 documentary Fight Like Hell (Jon Long, 2024) which follows the flow from Stop the Steal to the tragic events of that day (I consulted on the film)...

While the U.S. armed forces is to all appearances doing Trump's bidding, and ICE is developing in the direction of being a state-funded revolutionary guards operation, there is nothing like having a private militia that is loyal to you personally. With this slush fund, Trump signals to violent extremists that their service to him has not ended. "America could evolve into a national brand of electoral autocracy in which election subversion is backed up by grassroots violence," I wrote in the fall of 2021. The 2026 midterms could present an opportunity for this militia in the making to serve the leader again."

One day, Signore Bomgiorno, I mighi call on you some day for a favor," Vito Corleone said to a small time supplicant mortician who needed The Godfather's help in getting a suitore of his daughter busted up.

Republians, and everybody else, previously rasied enough hell over Trump's jaw dropping movr to pay himself $10b dollars for psychological damage by Biden. That one never sood a chance. Congress, neither seems very excited, about provding the extra $100b in taxpayer funding for his Marie Anoinette ball room, Ain't gonna happen-at least at nowwhere that level.

And now we have more, not a lot, but more MAGAS saying they will no longer go ahead with funding the collapsing war on Iran and are ready to join Democrats in approving the restrictive war powers act. Trump can't wait to get free of that Booby Trap that Netanyahu and Hegseth lured him into. But there's a problem: there is no exit accept a humiliating retreat which Trump could likely precede with one more massive bombardment so he can claim Mission Accomplished.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thecoopscoop/p/trump-is-slowly-crumbling ?

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May 26,2026 Bt Marc Cooper Donald J. Trump has been a disaster so often with such regularity that it has become difficult to distinguish b…

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Guess what ? on line Influencers have Influence. Like Tic Toe, and Joe Rogan. They are advancing Steyer. We should care because this is part of the way Trump won re election in 2024. It is being used now in California. And, it will be used in the 2028 campaign. The Bee tells the story.

Guess what ? Influencers  and Tik Toc  and Joe Rogan influence.  This was a major contributor to the Trump victory in 2024.  It will be even more powerful in 2028.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article315718825.html

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posted by Duane Campbell

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Steyer misleads on immigration.  A possible response

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Steyer misleads on immigration.  A possible response

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Tom Steyer should end his negative, inaccurate, destructive media campaign distorting the reality of Becerra’s work on immigration. Instead, if he hopes to be governor, he should campaign on what he is in favor of.

The anti Becerra  ads funded by Tom Steyer are endless and deceptive. Becerra is being blamed for Trump  era immigration failures.  The failures  were created by the overcrowding of immigrants detention facilities during the Trump era.

The Truth is Xavier Becerra inherited the failures at HHS caused by the Trump era assault on immigrants and immigrant children.  And he resolved many of the problems.  Now, Trump has done it all again- even more.

See Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SntyYRugBgY&t=1224s

Steyer has gained substantive progressive support in recent weeks including from major unions and political organizations.  He should campaign positively and accept the voters solutions whichever way the votes come in.  If he refuses, progressive groups should reconsider their endorsements which endanger this elections.

If Steyer continues to misrepresent the issues, here is an alternative for those of us who do not want a November election where we are faced with a choice between two bad Republicans.  ( Proposal Reprinted from another source. )

A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN CALIFORNIA?

NO WAY!

***VOTE STRATEGICALLY IN JUNE 2 PRIMARY***

HERE’S THE SITUATION:

California has a “jungle primary,” meaning the two candidates with the highest votes will be on the ballot in November, regardless of party.

Democrats have at least six candidates competing, while the Republicans have two. Democrats are diluting the vote so much that NONE of them are frontrunners. Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra and Katie Porter are at 14-10% in polls.

Both Republicans are MAGA Trump supporters. Steve Hilton is a Fox News commentator. Chad Bianco is a Republican sheriff. Both are round 14 %  in polling.

If we don’t organize and strategize RIGHT NOW, the two Republicans could end up being our only two choices on the ballot in November!

In spite of Steyers flooding the airways  and our mail boxes with inaccurate campaign ads,,,

We should be strategic to get a candidate on the November that we would be willing to vote for.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DELAY CASTING YOUR VOTE UNTIL 7-10 DAYS BEFORE THE  June 2 primary.

THEN VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRAT (OPPONENT OF DONALD TRUMP )  WITH THE HIGHEST POLLING NUMBERS.

Despite what you may feel about some of the candidates, ANY of these Democrats would be much, much better than either of the two Republicans!!!

A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN CALIFORNIA COULD MEAN:

- more ICE agents in the streets, deportations, detention facilities

- subverting, disrupting, hijacking the election in 2028

- appointing Republican judges and other officials hostile to democratic rule of law

- dismantling environmental regulations

- reducing social services and safety net programs

- reducing protections for LGBTQ people, racial minorities, immigrants

Further actions to help get an opponent of Trump on the November ballot.

SEND THIS INFORMATION TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, so that people understand why they need to hold off voting until a week before the primary.

Post this on your social media.  Spread the word.

VOTE IN THE PRIMARY! Check to see if your neighbors will vote.

We recommend that you take your ballot to the nearest Safe Box.

Thank you for your participation in helping to save our democracy!

Nicky Silver, nickysilver3@icloud.com

Rebecca Silverstein, rebsilver74@gmail.com

Renée Allen, eenera@icloud.com

Ruth Hurvitz, itzruth@mac.com

Further reading:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5848331-california-governor-race-becerra-steyer/

https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/03/california-governor-candidates/

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/election/voter-guide/article315281369.html

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A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN CALIFORNIA?

NO WAY!

***VOTE STRATEGICALLY IN JUNE 2 PRIMARY***

HERE’S THE SITUATION:

California has a “jungle primary,” meaning the two candidates with the highest votes will be on the ballot in November, regardless of party.

Democrats have at least six candidates competing, while the Republicans have two. Democrats are diluting the vote so much that NONE of them are frontrunners. Tom Steyer, Xavier Becerra and Katie Porter are at 14-10% in polls. (See links at bottom for information on the candidates.)

Both Republicans are MAGA Trump supporters. Steve Hilton is a Fox News commentator. Chad Bianco is a Republican sheriff. Both are at 17% in polling.

If we don’t organize and strategize RIGHT NOW, the two Republicans could end up being our only two choices on the ballot in November!

DEMOCRATS HAVE TO BE STRATEGIC TO GET A CANDIDATE ON THE BALLOT.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DELAY CASTING YOUR VOTE UNTIL 7-10 DAYS BEFORE THE PRIMARY.

THEN VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRAT (OPPONENT OF DONALD TRUMP )  WITH THE HIGHEST POLLING NUMBERS.

Despite what you may feel about some of the candidates, ANY of these Democrats would be much, much better than either of the two Republicans!!!

A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN CALIFORNIA COULD MEAN:

- more ICE agents in the streets, deportations, detention facilities

- subverting, disrupting, hijacking the election in 2028

- appointing Republican judges and other officials hostile to democratic rule of law

- dismantling environmental regulations

- reducing social services and safety net programs

- reducing protections for LGBTQ people, racial minorities, immigrants

FURTHER ACTIONS TO HELP GET AN OPPONENT OF DONALD TRUMP ON THE BALLOT:

SEND THIS INFORMATION TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, so that people understand why they need to hold off voting until a week before the primary.

POST THIS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. SPREAD THE WORD.

VOTE IN THE PRIMARY!

PLEASE TAKE YOUR BALLOT TO THE NEAREST SAFE BOX RATHER THAN GOING THRU THE U.S. POSTAL

SERVICE TO ENSURE THAT YOUR VOTE GETS IN ON TIME.

Thank you for your participation in helping to save our democracy!

Nicky Silver, nickysilver3@icloud.com

Rebecca Silverstein, rebsilver74@gmail.com

Renée Allen, eenera@icloud.com

Ruth Hurvitz, itzruth@mac.com

Further reading:

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5848331-california-governor-race-becerra-steyer/

https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/03/california-governor-candidates/

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/election/voter-guide/article315281369.html

The scenarios are worth a read.

Duane Campbell

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This election is critical to the resistance.
The anti Becerra  ads funded by Tom Steyer for governor are endless and deceptive. Becerra is being blamed for Trump  era immigration failures.  The failures  were created by the overcrowding of immigrants detention facilities during the Trump era.

The Truth is Xavier Becerra inherited the failures at HHS caused by the Trump era assault on immigrants and immigrant children.

See Here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SntyYRugBgY&t=1224s

Duane Campbell

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Use this to get to the Preserving Democracy bulletin board.

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The fact that the NEA, one of the largest unions in the U.S., is mobilizing for May Day is a significant advance.

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On May 1, 2026, educators will join workers, parents, students, and community members to rise up for dignity, justice, and public investment in our lives, not in billionaires' profit margins. This toolkit provides guidance to help you join the May Day Strong National Day of Action and make a bold impact for our schools and communities.

Across the country-from fruit fields in California to classrooms in Chicago, from kitchens in Queens to loading docks in Atlanta-working people are rising up. NEA members are joining other laborers, parents, education workers, immigrants, students, and neighbors demanding stronger, safer, and more dignified communities.

NOT Business As Usual

On May 1, 2026, in hundreds of cities, we will join and host May Day Strong events to honor the workers who won the eight-hour day-and to carry that legacy forward at a time when billionaires and corporations have tilted the rules against the rest of us. The change we need has never come from standing alone; it has come when workers and communities move together.

This May Day will be a day of rallies, marches, teach-ins, labor actions, and a refusal of business as usual - because when those at the top rig the system, collective action is how we set it right.

Our Demands to Build the Society we ALL deserve:

Stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.

Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs working people rely on.

Fully fund public schools, healthcare, and housing for all.

Stop the attacks on our communities, including policies targeting immigrants, people of color, Native people, people with disabilities, and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Host or Join a May Day Event!

Whether you're hosting a march, rally, or protest, this toolkit equips you to make a bold impact. Register your event and help build the movement in your city. Be sure to check the map before registering your event so you're not overlapping with another event that's already been planned. If there's not yet a registered May Day event in your area, the power is in your hands to host your own.

Be sure to search for events by city (ex: Erlanger, KY) rather than zip code to get accurate results.

Register Your May Day Event
On May 1, we will flex our collective muscle legally, peacefully, and in unity. May Day is one of many opportunities we will seize to make our voices heard. We won't be silent or ignored. There's too much at stake. If you have specific questions about how to make May Day 2026 a success or want to connect with teams across the country to share ideas, contact [email protected] .

Spread the Word

Our message gets more powerful with each person who joins us. Use these tools to spread the word about the national day of action, get your local engaged, and invite your networks to get involved!

Talk about May Day in a 10 Minute Meeting!

10 Minute Meeting Checklist for Building Reps and Local Leaders:

Check for the Local/State plan. Know if your local or state affiliate is hosting or participating in an event or action already, and any information they have ready now-check with your president if you're not sure. Be sure to check if you should share a sign-up or if you need to make one for your building or local.

Have an end-ask with examples. Do you need to ask members to brainstorm what your building or local can do to participate in May Day? Are you making an RSVP and attendance ask to members? Or does your local need help with more specific preparation and/or duties?

Adapt and use the sample slides or make your own. Be sure to check out the speaker notes, especially on the history of May Day.

10 Minute Meetings should be 10 minutes! Practice reading through-is it taking longer than 10 minutes? What do you need to cut? If you're going to get folks together for another meeting to work on getting ready for May Day, be sure to tell members at the end!

Follow-Up. Keep the ball rolling with any commitments or plans made by having deadlines, meeting up, and checking in before May Day!

Talking Points to Educate, Agitate, & Organize

Why "Workers Over Billionaires"? Whether you're a teacher in Idaho, a bus driver in New York, or a school nurse in Louisiana, you are under attack from billionaires who have bought off our politicians and rigged the system to crush working-class families.

What are billionaires doing? These profiteers are defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. They're trying to create a race to the bottom-on wages, on benefits, on dignity itself.

Why are billionaires doing this? They want to erase labor rights, break our unions, and silence immigrant voices. That's why May Day is not just a rally-it's a strategy.

What are we doing? We are rising up because our lives, our families, our public schools, and our health care are worth fighting for.

Can we win? Yes. We are drawing on the legacy of our labor and community movements to create a better future for us all. We have a winning record against billionaires who try to corrupt our democracy, target our families, and destroy our dignity.

Copy & Paste Communications Guide

Use the messaging below to spread the word about May Day online!

Instagram: On May 1, educators are joining workers across the nation to take a stand for our families, our public schools, and our communities. Click the link in our bio to find a May Day Strong event near you or to sign up to host your own.

Facebook: When our communities are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back! Join the May Day Strong national day of action to demand a new era for educators, our communities, and all workers: nea.org/mayday

Bluesky/Threads/Other: When educators, families, and community members come together, there is nothing we cannot achieve. On May 1, we are reclaiming our power and demanding the future we deserve. Join us: nea.org/mayday

Subject Line: Join us: [Name of your Group/Organization/Town/City] is participating in a national day of action on May 1

Body:

FirstName/Friend,

Whether you're a teacher in Idaho, a bus driver in New York, or a school nurse in Louisiana, we all want to live in communities that lift each other up, center justice and integrity, and invest in the future.
Every year, on May 1, workers from around the world celebrate the power of solidarity and fight for progress. This year, we are coming together for a national day of action in support of stronger, safer, and more dignified communities.
We know this fight is more important now than ever. Donald Trump is letting Elon Musk and his billionaire friends raid public education funding and programs like Medicaid to fund their tax cuts. They are rigging the system so they profit while our communities pay the bill.

These profiteers want us to forget we are the many, and they are the few. That is why they are trying to weaken us by attacking unions and divide us by targeting immigrant families, communities of color, and people who identify as LGBTQ+.

On May 1, educators, students, parents, and our allies are coming together to reclaim our power. We are rising up because our lives, our neighbors, our public schools, and our health care are worth fighting for. Will you join us? Find a May Day Strong event in your community or host your own!

Whether you are joining one of over 100 existing May Day Strong events or hosting your own, we have tools to help you every step of the way. Find planning guides, communications toolkits, and more at nea.org/mayday.

We know our communities are united in support of our students, schools, and each other. On May 1, let's honor the legacy of the workers who gave everything for the eight-hour workday-and to carry their struggle into today's fight for a country that serves the many, not the few.

In solidarity,

SCRIPT: Hi <Member Name>, this is <Organizer Name> with <Affiliate Name>! We're hosting a 5/1 event as part of a national day of action. Will you join us? Reply STOP to quit

IF YES: Great! Please RSVP to let us know you plan to attend here: <Link>

IF NO: I understand, <Member Name>. Thanks for your time!

● People are Hurting
Share examples specific to the event, community

● Billionaires rigged the rules
Examples specific to your area or schools

● Public systems are under attack
Bring it back to schools and students.

● Acting together is how we change things
Solutions exist; together, we can improve public education & communities.

To download printable versions of the static graphics above, click on the buttons below each image. For social media sharing, right click on them from a desktop computer and click "save image as." For the moving graphic, download by opening this link in a new tab, right clicking on the video, and choosing "save video as." The posters are sized to be printed vertically at 11" x 17" or horizontally at 17" x 11".

So, you've decided to host a May Day Strong Event!

Thank you for using your time and energy to demand our leaders put our families over billionaire fortunes-public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, and housing over homelessness.

Use the steps and questions below to guide your planning for before, during, and after your May Day Strong event.

Step 1: Choose Your May Day Tactics

On May 1st, we will host demonstrations across the country to fight back against this crisis and demand accountability. Not all demonstrations will look the same, but they should all prioritize visibility and the core message. Here are some ideas for your May Day event:

March. Join thousands across the country on May 1 to march against the Trump-Musk Coup and billionaire takeover. Bring together your community to create a show of strength against this crisis, and be part of a national moment that changes the conversation-and turns the tide.

Rally. Gather your community to rally together on May 1. Create a platform, invite speakers, and build a program designed to highlight the harms of the crisis we face-and what we'll do to fight back. Rallies are a great way to involve impacted people, compelling speakers, and essential voices from allied communities. We're building a big tent.

Protest. If you're in an area where it will be hard to get a crowd together, you can still participate! Either join a larger event in your region, or get some friends together and hold a smaller one. This could look like a gathering at congressional district office, or a banner drop. Visibility is the key component-so make your signs, get your banners, and plan your chants!

Walk-In. During school walk-ins, parents, educators, and students, along with neighbors and community leaders, gather in front of their school 30-45 minutes before the school day begins. We rally and listen to a few speakers discuss what they want for the school, and then we all walk into the school together. Walk-ins can be used to celebrate your school, collaborate with school officials, or protest harmful school conditions and policies.

Art Build. Art has the power to highlight injustice while also uplifting hope for our future. Partner with local artists or lead your own group art project to create signs, banners, or installations that share messages of protest or help illustrate the communities we are fighting for.

* A core principle behind all May Day events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all hosts and participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.

Step 2: Gather your team

Demonstrations require a lot of support, and no one person can make them happen on their own. Be sure to identify a team of leaders to help carry out your event and empower folks to take on key responsibilities. Depending on the scale of your event, you may want to create teams or just have one point person for specific duties. You can find some specific ideas for roles below:

Media liaison: Press outreach is most effectively handled by one person who can respond to requests and make connections with speakers.

Master of Ceremony (MC): Identify at least 1 group member to be responsible for firing up the crowd, introducing speakers, starting chants, and making sure the overall program is running on time.

Speakers and storyteller coordinator: As you build your program for your event, you will need at least one person who is charged with recruiting and managing your speakers and storytellers. They will be their main point of contact for reviewing content, communicating day-of logistics, and ensuring every speaker has what they need.

Photographer/videographer: Ask at least one person to take photos and one separate person to take video. Got something really special and visual planned? Think about hiring a professional photographer.

Communication lead: Communications before, during, and after your event is key to your success. Make sure to have a lead assigned to promote your May Day demonstration on through online and offline media (they should coordinate with your media liaison) and that they are communicating with attendees to remind them of the event logistics and to follow up with future asks.

Logistics manager: Events necessitate a lot of logistical planning. From securing the proper permits to ensuring your sound system works, you will want at least one person who is in charge of considering what attendees will need to be safe, healthy, and ready to protest.

These are just some of the many roles you may need to fill when planning your event! Start with what needs to get done and work backward from there.

Step 3: Decide on your event logistics

Now that you've found your team, it is time to start planning! There's a lot that goes into planning a demonstration, and below are just some of the key steps to follow when laying out your May Day event:

Choose a time. It is also a best practice to check in with group members and potential speakers to see what's most convenient before finalizing a time. As always, consider what times will be most accessible for folks in your community. Most May Day events will take place midday.

Decide on your location and key event logistics. This is the next step for your group. Try to prioritize landmarks or other public sites with high-visibility, like state capitols or city halls, major parks, or in other high traffic outdoor areas in your community. All May Day events should be in high visibility, public locations. May Day events should not be hosted at private business locations.

Register your event through Mobilize. Once you have your event set, register it on Mobilize and it will show up on the May Day map of events. That way we can help push out your event and help recruit attendees.

Prepare any props or setup needs. At the very least, you need a megaphone and a few signs with your demands. If it's available to you, it is also helpful to have a podium, press packets, water, and banners. As a registered host, keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities for resource support from the May Day team.

Make sure you have sign-in sheets! Include contact information so you can stay in touch with everyone who attends. Remind attendees to text 'MAYDAY' to 48744 on May 1 to get added to our national tally of participants.

Are there additional needs for health, safety, or other logistics? Think about things like coffee, donuts, or a sign-making station. Make a list of details and assign someone to each detail!

Step 4: Create your event program and speaker list

The program is an important part of the success of your event. Make sure your content is engaging, motivating, and represents the message you want to send. Things to consider:

When identifying speakers and storytellers- Make sure they include representative voices from students, parents, educators, and other community members. If you're holding a rally, you'll need compelling speakers to anchor the agenda. Aim to lock in 2-4 speakers who can talk authentically about the crisis we face. Examples include:

Federal Workers

Educators

Tenants, Union Members, Immigrant Workers

Elected Officials

When planning your program- A successful program takes into account your event goals, the audience experience, and the potential impact. Ask yourself the following:

What are the main takeaways you want attendees to leave with? Make sure your speakers and program align with the messages and goals of your event.

How can your event become more newsworthy? Are there any mascots, local celebrities, or elected officials that could attract media? Is there a climax moment or powerful visual story?

What presentations can help make the day a success? Is there a report, student-inspired artwork or a music group that can generate excitement or emphasize your message?

Step 5: Promote your event and recruit attendees

Now that you've planned your event, you want to make sure that people attend it to hear your message and take action with you. It will be important to recruit turnout from the rest of the community. This will show that support for public schools and students come from within AND outside the school community. Try these recruitment tactics:

Create an outreach list. Build a list of email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information and have your committee and event partners add potential participants to it. Send regular mass emails and plan phone banks to reach these lists.

Tap your planning committee. Ask each member of your planning committee to identify and call ten people to personally invite to the event. Create a "promotion kit" with sample promotional emails, phone scripts, and social media. Circulate to volunteers and ask them to share the event with their networks.

Build local partnerships. Reach out to parent/student school-based organization leadership, engage school volunteers, and ask other groups that are connected to the community, like the Boys and Girls Club, Kiwanis Club, etc. to circulate information to their friends and families. Connect with local businesses and request they post a flier about the event and/or post about the event on their social media pages. Ask your local politicians to join the event and to share it with their listservs and on their social media accounts.

Be present in the community. Leaflet neighborhood events with fliers with either sign-up sheets or a QR code to the registration page. Make presentations at community events such as meetings of neighborhood associations and places of worship, and at education-related events. Spread the word during school-sponsored activities, like athletic events, open houses, performances, and cultural nights. Canvass the neighborhood and knock on doors to explain the action and ask people to participate.

Are you a union member? Unions were created for this moment! Make sure to use the key touchpoints of your union to engage your members with the walk-in. Try these tactics:

Call a work-site meeting and announce the event.

Put fliers on your union bulletin board and in members' mailboxes.

Through one-on-one conversations, ask members to attend the action and register for the event.

Sign members up to help plan the event and delegate roles for outreach.

Enlist support from former or retired members who still live in your community.

Step 6: Alert the Media

We want our message to be heard! Reach out to reporters and media outlets. Ask them to cover your event and share the stories. Our guidance on how to engage with press before your event:

Build your media list: Make sure to include daily newspapers, local TV and radio stations -as well as weeklies like neighborhood papers, online outlets, and publications that reach specific audiences. If you aren't sure who from a media outlet to reach out to -look for an editor or news desk to contact.

Send your media advisory to your local media. This informs reporters about your event and gives them all the details needed to cover it.

Identify 3-4 spokespeople who can be available to speak to reporters. These should include leaders, educators, nurses, community leaders, parents, and students. Spokespeople should be people who are comfortable seeing their names printed or being featured on camera while telling their personal stories. While you should expect that the media will speak to others who attend the event, most media appreciate having a few people who are ready and able to speak.

Assign a point of contact for media. They should be able to answer logistics questions, and greet media at the event. Ideally this would be someone who is not part of any speaking program.

Step 7: Countdown to your event

As the big day arrives, it is time to do your final countdowns! Here are some last minute items to make sure you check off your to-do list:

Identify day-of volunteers. You will need people to help with set up, event coordination, and clean up.

Confirm logistics with your speakers. Reach out to everyone on your program and make sure they have everything they need to show up and be successful.

Remind, remind, remind. Everyone is very busy these days and that makes it easy for things to fall through the cracks! Remind all your registrants, partners, and media contacts of the details of your event.

Run-through your event. Do a thorough run-through of your event run of show with your planning committee. Start from when you want the very first person to arrive and end when you want the last person to leave. Make note of any further to-dos or items needed that come up.

Step 8: Host your event!

The day is here! Make sure to broaden the impact of your event by capturing content, coordinating with media, and engaging with partners. Check out our event coverage pointers:

Continue to coordinate with your media contacts. Your assigned media person should introduce themselves to reporters who come to the event and let the media know that you have some folks who are comfortable speaking to the media. Take note of which reporters and media outlets showed up to cover the event to ensure that you know where to look for coverage after the event.

Cover the event on your channels. If you have social media channels, make sure that you have assigned at least one person to cover the event live on your accounts. Post content that highlights the power and significance of your program.

Help participants add to the story. Fellow planners and attendees are your best online ambassadors! Provide them with some talking points, graphics, and/or prompts for posting online. Make sure to send these resources to your community partners, local businesses, and participating politicians.

Video and photography complete the picture. Video and photography may seem overwhelming, but there are lots of great (and free) tools you can use to help create this engaging content. Check out Canva, CapCut, InShot, and other online editors or just share what you've captured from your phone! Authenticity is key in these mediums, don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

Step 9: Follow up with attendees, speakers, and partners

Remember, we want this to be a movement, not a moment! Follow up with attendees and speakers so that you move them up the ladder of engagement and to your next organizing asks. Try these tactics:

Say thank you and reup highlights. Send thank-you notes to all walk-in participants and organizers. On social media, continue to share highlights, thank participants for joining, and push to the next call-to-action.

Report on successes. Collect turnout numbers, photos, and media clips to send to NEA at . Contact any outlets that did not make it to cover the event, letting them know you understand they couldn't make it, but you would be happy to connect them with community members (your identified spokespeople) and send them photos/video, while encouraging them to cover the event given the importance of it to your community.

Start planning what's next. Reconvene planning committee to assess what worked well, what could be improved, and key lessons for moving forward with your campaign.

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On May 1, 2026, educators will join workers, parents, students, and community members to rise up for dignity, justice, and public investment in our lives, not in billionaires' profit margins. This toolkit provides guidance to help you join the May Day Strong National Day of Action and make a bold impact for our schools and communities.

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An extraordinary important connection.

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LIVE: Bernie Sanders, Naomi Klein & Ro Khanna on AI and the Future

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Duane,

May Day is 10 days away. From coast to coast, working people are already building something powerful.

NEA has been working to bring activists together. State affiliates are mobilizing. Local leaders are organizing actions from the ground up. More than 880 events are already planned in every state across the country.

This is how power grows. Not handed down, but built together.

On May 1, educators and our allies will show up everywhere—standing together for public schools, for our students, and prioritizing workers over billionaires. We are not asking for attention. We are showing where the power already is: in the people who teach our kids, support our students, and hold our communities together.

Find an action near Sacramento!  ➤

There are rallies, marches, teach-ins, and community events planned from Fresno to Philadelphia. Find out where to get plugged in. If there's not an event near you, there’s still time to organize one. We'll even provide you with a toolkit to get started.

This is our moment to step in, step up, and build the kind of power that will make a difference in the lives of educators and students.

Be part of May Day!

In solidarity,

The NEA EdActionTeam

Get involved in a May Day action!  ➤

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The President Plans Genocide tonight _ Snyder

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The President Plans Genocide tonight _ Snyder

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Choosing Democracy: Timothy Snyder. The President Plans Genocide Tonight:   Timothy Snyder  “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” These are not the words of Hitler, or Stalin, or ...

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Thinking about... | Timothy Snyder | Substack

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Opening the future by understanding the past. Click to read “Thinking about...”, by Timothy Snyder, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

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State workers support AB 1729

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Action by local Faith Leaders : Immigration

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Action by local Faith Leaders : Immigration

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Bishop Soto Offers Public Witness Opportunity-Ash Wednesday

In response to federal actions in Minnesota, our California Catholic Bishops have issued a Statement on Recent Violence, Public Trust, and the Call for Peace and Accountability, expressing their concern that what is unfolding in American cities "may unravel the essential social covenants that protect us all from violence and abuse." Parishioners may read the full statement on the diocesan website.

You are invited to join Bishop Soto and other local faith leaders at the Moss Federal Building, 650 Capitol Mall, for an Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service, on February 18 from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.  According to the diocese, "these liturgies are opportunities for us to publicly witness to our faith and the need for conversion to the Gospel of Life and Dignity, both personally and socially."

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Excellent guides.

Building networks to create and sustain resistance.

Views from the South,

https://ourmoralmoment.substack.com/p/america-has-seen-authoritarianism?

Excellent advice.   A conference at Vanderbilt, , and the Poor Peoples Campaign.

Duane Campbell

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Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has, often in open defiance of the law.

Read the report from the NY Times Editorial Board, Oct. 31, 2025,

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/31/opinion/trump-autocracy-democracy-report.html

He has persecuted opponents, by passed Congress, sent troops into cities, defied the courts, changed election rules, vilified minorities, and enriched himself and his family.

A great summing up of the current situation.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/31/opinion/trump-autocracy-democracy-report.html

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First they came for the immigrants.- ICE

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First they came for the immigrants.- ICE

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Nazi Germany.  1940

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

—Martin Niemöller

This quote is attributed to a prominent German pastor Martin Niemöller.

After World War II, Niemöller openly spoke about his own early complicity in Nazism and his eventual change of heart. His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today. 1944.

Submitted by Duane Campbell

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Key budget details for FY 2026:

ICE: Multiple reports from July and August 2025 project ICE's total budget to be between $27.7 billion and $30 billion or more, which includes a base budget plus significant supplemental funding. This large increase is due to a budget bill passed in mid-2025 that allocated $75 billion for ICE over four years.

Marine Corps: The Marine Corps requested $57.2 billion for FY 2026.

The Marine Corps recently unveiled its budget request for fiscal ...

Jul 6, 2025 — The Marine Corps recently unveiled its budget request for fiscal 2026 that calls for spending $57.2 billion on new airc...

Facebook

Big Budget Act Creates a “Deportation-Industrial Complex”

Aug 13, 2025 — The biggest piece of the pie for enforcement operations in the United States will go to Immigration and Customs Enforc...

This is how a private extra constitutional military force is created. Like the NAZI Gestapo.

More on ChoosingDemocracy.blogspot.com

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The Importance of Higher Education in the resistance,

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The Importance of Higher Education in the resistance,

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Biological differences between liberals and conservatives

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Biological differences between liberals and conservatives

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To a surprising degree, our political beliefs may derive from a specific aspect of our biological makeup: our propensity to feel physical revulsion.

I. "My Jaw Dropped"

Why do we have the political opinions we have? Why do we embrace one outlook toward the world and not another? How and why do our stances change? The answers to questions such as these are of course complex. Most people aren't reading policy memos to inform every decision. Differences of opinion are shaped by contrasting life experiences: where you live; how you were raised; whether you're rich or poor, young or old. Emotion comes into the picture, and emotion has a biological basis, at least in part. All of this and more combines into a stew without a fixed recipe, even if many of the ingredients are known.

On rare occasions, we learn of a new one-a key factor that seems to have been overlooked. To a surprising degree, a recent strand of experimental psychology suggests, our political beliefs may have something to do with a specific aspect of our biological makeup: our propensity to feel physical disgust.

In the mid-2000s, a political scientist approached the neuroscientist Read Montague with a radical proposal. He and his colleagues had evidence, he said, that political orientation might be partly inherited, and might be revealed by our physiological reactivity to threats. To test their theory, they wanted Montague, who heads the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory at Virginia Tech, to scan the brains of subjects as they looked at a variety of images-including ones displaying potential contaminants such as mutilated animals, filthy toilets, and faces covered with sores-to see whether neural responses showed any correlation with political ideology. Was he interested?

View More

Montague initially laughed at the idea-for one thing, MRI research requires considerable time and resources-but the team returned with studies to argue their case, and eventually he signed on. When the data began rolling in, any skepticism about the project quickly dissolved. The subjects, 83 in total, were first shown a randomized mixture of neutral and emotionally evocative pictures-this second category contained both positive and negative images-while undergoing brain scans. Then they filled out a questionnaire seeking their views on hot-button political and social issues, in order to classify their general outlook on a spectrum from extremely liberal to extremely conservative. As Montague mapped the neuroimaging data against ideology, he recalls, "my jaw dropped." The brains of liberals and conservatives reacted in wildly different ways to repulsive pictures: Both groups reacted, but different brain networks were stimulated. Just by looking at the subjects' neural responses, in fact, Montague could predict with more than 95 percent accuracy whether they were liberal or conservative.

The subjects in the trial were also shown violent imagery (men pointing revolvers directly at the camera, battle scenes, car wrecks) and pleasant pictures (smiling babies, beautiful sunsets, cute bunnies). But it was only the reaction to repulsive things that correlated with ideology. "I was completely flabbergasted by the predictability of the results," Montague says.

His collaborators-John Hibbing and Kevin Smith at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and John Alford at Rice University, in Houston-were just as surprised, though less by the broad conclusion than by the specificity of the findings and the startling degree of predictability. Their own earlier research had already yielded a suggestive finding, indicating that conservatives tend to have more pronounced bodily responses than liberals when shown stomach-churning imagery. However, the investigators had expected that brain reactions to violent imagery would also be predictive of ideology. Compared with liberals, they'd previously found, conservatives generally pay more attention-and react more strongly-to a broad array of threats. For example, they have a more pronounced startle response to loud noises, and they gaze longer at photos of people displaying angry expressions. And yet even in this research, Hibbing says, "we almost always get clearer results with stimuli that are disgusting than with those that suggest a threat from humans, animals, or violent events. We have an ongoing discussion in our lab about whether this is because disgust is simply a more powerful and more politically relevant emotion or because it is an emotion that is easier to evoke with still images in a lab setting."

Findings so dramatic, especially in the social sciences, should be viewed with caution until replicated. The axiom that extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof clearly applies here. That said, Hibbing, Montague, and their colleagues are scarcely alone in linking disgust and ideology.
At a deep, symbolic level, some researchers speculate, disgust may be bound up with ideas about "them" versus "us," about whom we instinctively trust and don't trust.
Using a far cruder tool for measuring sensitivity to disgust-basically a standardized questionnaire that asks subjects how they would feel about, say, touching a toilet seat in a public restroom or seeing maggots crawling on a piece of meat-numerous studies have found that high levels of sensitivity to disgust tend to go hand in hand with a "conservative ethos." That ethos is defined by characteristics such as traditionalism, religiosity, support for authority and hierarchy, sexual conservatism, and distrust of outsiders. According to a 2013 meta-analysis of 24 studies-pretty much all the scientific literature on the topic at that time-the association between a conservative ethos and sensitivity to disgust is modest: Disgust sensitivity explains 4 to 13 percent of the variation in a population's ideology. That may sound unimpressive, but it is in fact noteworthy, says David Pizarro, a psychology professor at Cornell who specializes in disgust. "These are robust, reliable findings. No matter where we look, we see this relationship"-a rarity in the fuzzy field of psychology. The trend stands out even more, he adds, when you consider all the other things that potentially impinge on "why you might have a particular political view."

II. The Behavioral Immune System

Broadly speaking, studies of possible connections between ideology and susceptibility to disgust fall into two categories. The first involves measuring subjects' sensitivity to disgust as well as their social or political ideologies and then calculating the correlation between the two. The second category explores whether exposure to disgusting subject matter can actually influence people's views in the moment. But whatever the type of study, the same general finding keeps turning up. "We are at the point where there is very solid evidence for the association," says Michael Bang Petersen, a political scientist at Aarhus University, in Denmark. His own research finds that "disgust influences our political views as much as or even more than long-recognized factors such as education and income bracket."

So many scientists have thrown themselves into this line of research in recent years that it has become an accepted discipline, sometimes jokingly given the aptly unappetizing name " disgustology." Their conclusions raise a lot of questions, chief among them: Why in the world would your reaction to mutilated animals, vomit, and other unwelcome things somehow be associated with your views on transgender rights, immigration, or anything else stirring debate in the news?

Researchers have theories rather than answers. At a deep, symbolic level, some speculate, disgust may be bound up with ideas about "them" versus "us," about whom we instinctively trust and don't trust. In short, this research may help illuminate one factor-among many-that underlies why those on the left and the right can so vehemently disagree.

There is nothing inherently political about disgust. It evolved not to guide us at the ballot box but rather, it is widely theorized, to protect us from infection. As we move about in the world, a sizable volume of research shows, our minds are constantly searching our surroundings for contaminants-moldy leftovers, garbage spilling out of trash cans, a leaky sewage pipe-and when the brain detects them, it triggers sudden feelings of revulsion. Confronted, we withdraw from the threat. The mechanism is part of what's known as the "behavioral immune system," and it is as vital for survival as the fight-or-flight response. Our pathogen-tracking system does its job largely beneath our conscious awareness-and pays close attention to those walking germ bags we call human beings.

This dynamic was highlighted in a pioneering series of experiments launched in the early 2000s by the psychologist Mark Schaller, of the University of British Columbia. Like a smoke detector, Schaller discovered, our germ radar operates on a better-safe-than-sorry principle. It is error-prone in flagging danger-it produces a lot of false positives. Any physical oddity displayed by the people around us-contagious or not-can set off an alarm. Just as a pink eye, a hacking cough, or an open wound may activate our behavioral immune system, so too can a birthmark, obesity, deformity, disability, or even liver spots. Furthermore, having germs on our mind can affect how we feel about people we perceive to be of a different race or ethnicity from ourselves.

In one notable experiment, Schaller showed subjects pictures of people coughing, cartoonish-looking germs sprouting from sponges, and other images designed to raise disease concerns. A control group was shown pictures highlighting threats unrelated to germs-for instance, an automobile accident. Both groups were then given a questionnaire that asked them to assess the level of resources the Canadian government should provide to entice people from various parts of the world to settle in Canada. Compared with the control group, the subjects who had seen pictures related to germs wanted to allocate a greater share of a hypothetical government advertising budget to attract people from Poland and Taiwan-familiar immigrant groups in Vancouver, where the study was conducted-rather than people from less familiar countries, such as Nigeria, Mongolia, and Brazil. Familiarity does make a difference. Schaller, whose landmark studies are credited with sparking the initial interest in the relationship between disgust sensitivity and prejudice, says: "If I grow up in an environment where everybody looks pretty much the same, then someone from China, for example, might trigger my behavioral immune system. But if I grow up in New York City, then a person who comes from China is not going to trigger this response."

If pathogen cues of this kind can indeed intensify prejudice, the explanation could be biological adaptation. Some scientists-notably the psychologist Corey Fincher, at the University of Warwick, in England, and the biologist Randy Thornhill, at the University of New Mexico-theorize that foreigners, at least in the past, would have been more likely to expose local populations to pathogens against which they had no acquired defenses. Other scientists think germ fears piggyback on negative stereotypes about foreigners common throughout history-the notion that they're dirty, eat bizarre foods, and have looser sexual mores.

Whatever the explanation, an online study launched by Petersen and Lene Aarøe, also at Aarhus University, and Kevin Arceneaux of Temple University suggests that a dread of contagion is not just a personal matter. It can have an impact on society. The investigators began by evaluating the disgust sensitivity of nationally representative samples of 2,000 Danes and 1,300 Americans. The participants were then asked to fill out a questionnaire that assessed their views about foreigners settling in their respective countries. As the researchers reported in 2017, opposition to immigration in both the Danish and American samples increased in direct proportion to a participant's sensitivity to disgust-an association that held up even after taking into account education level, socioeconomic status, religious background, and numerous other factors.

The team expanded the part of the study that focused on the U.S. It got state-by-state breakdowns of the prevalence of infections, and also analyzed statistics compiled by Google Trends, which tracks internet searches related to contagious illnesses in an effort to spot early signs of outbreaks. Crunching the numbers (the results are as yet unpublished), the researchers found that resistance to immigration is greatest in states with the highest incidence of infectious disease and where worry about this, as reflected by internet activity, has also been high.

More recent investigations by Petersen and Aarøe suggest that those with high disgust sensitivity tend to be leery of any stranger, not just foreigners. They view casual social acquaintances with a certain amount of suspicion-a robust finding replicated across three studies with a total of 4,400 participants. The implication is clear: Disgust and distrust are somehow linked. And maybe, again, the link is defensive in origin: If you shrink your social circle, you'll reduce your exposure to potential carriers of disease.

III. The Smell Test

Interest in disgust sensitivity extends beyond its potential role in fostering xenophobia and prejudice. As the social psychologists Simone Schnall, at the University of Cambridge, and Jonathan Haidt, at NYU, have shown, disgust sensitivity may also help shape beliefs about right and wrong, good and evil. In one experiment, Schnall, Haidt, and other collaborators sat subjects at either a clean desk or one with sticky stains on it as they filled out a form that asked them to judge the offensiveness of various acts, such as lying on a résumé, not returning a wallet found on the street, and resorting to cannibalism in the aftermath of a plane crash. One subgroup of participants seated at the filthy desk-those with high "private body consciousness," meaning they were particularly sensitive to their own visceral reactions-judged the transgressions more severely than those seated at the pristine desk.

Foul odors can be just as effective as a sticky desk. Another experiment involved two groups of subjects with similar political ideologies. One group was exposed to a vomitlike scent as the subjects filled out an inventory of their social values; the other group filled out the inventory in an odorless setting. Those in the first group expressed more opposition to gay rights, pornography, and premarital sex than those in the second group. The putrid scent even inspired "significantly more agreement with biblical truth." Variations on these studies using fart spray, foul tastes, and other creative disgust elicitors reveal a consistent pattern: When we experience disgust, we tend to make harsher moral judgments.

In thinking about why disgust sensitivity may be associated with conservative moral values, researchers have considered the potential connection between the behavioral immune system and religion. Religious strictures and other traditions may have the hidden function of protecting us from disease, some theorize. Our urge to respect certain culinary practices, sexual prohibitions, and injunctions about washing and hygiene may not be just about achieving spiritual or symbolic purity, but may be the result of an evolutionary drive to avoid contamination.

Could a predilection toward revulsion indicate how we vote? A team led by Cornell's David Pizarro and Yoel Inbar, at the University of Toronto, set out to answer that question by conducting an online study during the 2008 U.S. presidential contest between Barack Obama and John McCain. In the run-up to the election, the researchers assessed the contagion anxiety of 25,000 "demographically and geographically diverse" Americans and then surveyed the attitudes toward the candidates held by a random subset of the larger group. Those with the highest germ fear reported that they were more likely to vote for McCain, the Republican nominee and the more conservative candidate. Further, the actual proportion of votes that went to him in each state directly scaled with that state's level of contagion anxiety. The researchers eventually extended studies of this kind to 121 countries and found that disgust sensitivity correlated with a conservative ethos basically everywhere there were sufficient data for analysis. As Pizarro, Inbar, and the other authors of the study write in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, this result suggests that disgust sensitivity "is related to conservatism across a wide variety of cultures, geographic regions and political systems."

IV. "It's a Little Hack"

Disgustology is a young endeavor.Not all the pieces fit together neatly, and some suppositions (as always) may turn out to be wrong. But a few clues have recently surfaced that suggest a useful framework for interpreting this sprawling mass of findings. One of them, in hindsight, is obvious: the etymology of disgust. The English word is derived from the Middle French desgoust, which literally means "distaste." As it turns out, what tastes foul to us is typically a sour or bitter substance-which can be a marker of contaminants (think of spoiled milk). Several years ago, Pizarro learned that people vary tremendously in the number of bitter receptors they possess on their tongue, and thus in their taste sensitivity. What's more, the trait is genetically determined. This got him wondering: If conservatives have a greater disgust sensitivity, are they also better at detecting bitter compounds? "It seemed like a really long shot," Pizarro says. But he, Inbar, and Benjamin Ruisch, a grad student at Cornell, decided to put the idea to the test. They recruited 1,601 subjects from shopping malls and from the Cornell campus and gave them paper strips containing a chemical called Prop and another chemical called PTC, both of which taste bitter to some people. Sure enough, those who had self-identified as being conservative were more sensitive to both compounds; many described them as unpleasant or downright repugnant. Liberals, on the other hand, tended not to be bothered as much by the chemicals or didn't notice them at all.

The researchers went a step further. Taste receptors, they knew, are concentrated in fungiform papillae-those spongy little bumps on your tongue. The greater the density of papillae, the more acute your taste. So they dyed subjects' tongues blue (which allows the papillae to be more easily observed), pasted a paper ring on them like those used to prevent pages from tearing out of a metal binder (to create a standard area to be evaluated), and recorded the number of circumscribed papillae. The degree to which subjects' views tilted to the right was, they found, in direct proportion to the density of papillae on their tongue. This result may have bearing on a puzzling partisan split in food preferences. A 2009 survey of 64,000 Americans revealed that liberals chose bitter-tasting arugula as their favorite salad green more than twice as often as conservatives did. It may also have a bearing on conservative President George H. W. Bush's famous hatred of broccoli-an unusually bitter vegetable. Of course, sometimes a stalk of broccoli is just a stalk of broccoli.

No doubt your own political allegiances will heavily influence what you extract from the bulk of this research. If you're liberal, you may be thinking, So this explains some of the other side's nativism and hostility to immigration. But it's just as easy to flip the science on its head and conclude, as conservatives might, that the left is composed of clueless naïfs whose rosy-eyed optimism about human nature-and obliviousness to various dangers-will only lead to trouble.

The research itself does not speak to the relative merits of a conservative or liberal ethos-how could it? Conservatism and liberalism are not monolithic, and they rest on deep intellectual traditions. In terms of gut reactions, the relative appeal of each philosophy can depend significantly on context-for instance, on whether times are kind or cruel. When tensions are high and groups split into factions, as they inevitably do, we can depend on our family and friends to defend our interests-but the outsider is an unknown quantity and, from an evolutionary perspective, may be seen as a source of contamination or, more generally, a threat.

One defining characteristic of disgust, though, is that it occupies a blind spot in our psyche. As Pizarro notes, "It's such a low-level, almost noncognitive emotion that you really aren't thinking that much about it." Compared with anger, happiness, and sadness, he says, disgust is also "less open to change based on your judgment, your thoughts, your reasoning." Chocolate in the shape of dog poop, he points out, is still gross. The emotion is more reflexive than reflective. "That is the rhetorical strength of disgust," Pizarro says. "It's a little hack. You hack into brains pretty quickly and easily by making them feel disgust," bypassing logic and reason to sway judgment.

Aristotle may not have found this idea surprising. As he intuited millennia ago, a human being "is by nature a political animal"-uniquely endowed with the capacity for deliberation and speech, but at the same time governed by instincts we share with other living creatures. Like bees, he noted, we have a desire to congregate-to form societies. Aristotle could not have anticipated the germ theory of disease, or the role infection avoidance might unconsciously play, but his fundamental insight about the animal side of our politics remains prescient. Even the most rational among us might not always be as rational as we'd like to think.
This article appears in the March 2019 print edition with the headline "The Yuck Factor."

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first involves measuring subjects’ sensitivity

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state-by-state breakdowns of the prevalence of infections

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Liberals and Conservatives React in Wildly Different Ways to Repulsive Pictures

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To a surprising degree, our political beliefs may derive from a specific aspect of our biological makeup: our propensity to feel physical revulsion.

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How the system is rigged and unrigging it

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How the system is rigged and unrigging it

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WATCH: Cory Doctorow explains enshittification

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The author and activist on why everything suddenly got worse -- and how to fight for a better future

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How to beat MAGA in 2026, 2028, and Beyond

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As you read this, I’m asking one question: Is this a plan you would put your name on?

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Review the list and choose one, or several, to become involved in

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List of Organizations Fighting for Democracy 05.20.25

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Opportunities to engage

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5 Calls: Recommended by Indivisible YOLO county (Davis) 

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Make Your Voice Heard in just 5 minutes!

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Make Your Voice Heard in just 5 minutes!

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https://5calls.org/getting-started/

STEPS:

1. Choose an issue you care about from the list (27 choices)

2. Provide your location to identify your congressional district

3. Based on your issue, 5calls will provide the script, whom to call (governor, congress person, etc) and the phone number

4. Make the call

5. You’ve made a difference!

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Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

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Goods Unite US- Find out who supports the Republican Party.

5 Calls- Makes it quick and easy to make daily calls.