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Something I'll always stress as relevant here: you do not have a right to an attorney in immigration court proceedings. If you can't afford an attorney, this free / low-cost system of nonprofit immigration legal services orgs + law school clinics + pro bono networks is typically your best bet.

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Grammatically this is an awful post. That second who should definitely be an AND. I am so sorry for anything my hasty typing and poor compositional skills implied about Ben Affleck.

Since 2020 the number of self funded candidates running for federal office has risen each cycle, and while self funders don't always win they exert undue influence in political spaces. This is outside of all the other ways that our current political system listens when money talks.

It also provided a lens for looking at the narratives around self-funded politicians, particularly ones who claim to be self-made in business. These folks invoke the idea that they can't be bought because they have so much money and yet it's almost always their money that gets them into the room.

It really made me wonder why all these people would be excited to keep this guy in office and whether that serves the people of the district, particularly when the district is one where 54% of renter households have household incomes under 50% of the Area Median Income

An heiress whose family benefitted from pay to play appointments in the Trump White House A luxury realtor who sold a multimillion dollar mansion to Ben Affleck & JLo who is also the son in law of Michael Milken (famously pardoned by Trump in 2020)

Meet A billionaire and former AIPAC pres who is one of Michigan's top ten Republican donors A venture capitalist who was dining at Mar-A-Lago while the US was bombing Iran A Trump bundler and former state level finance chair who co-chaired a Trump fundraiser at Mike Shanahans house

The 5 people we reported on have donated over $6.5M to Trump and MAGA affiliated PACs and $4.6M to the Republican party committees post J6. Together they gave Thanedar $26,600.

But as interesting as all of that is Thanedar's money is REALLY interesting. Thanedar is largely self-funded (including investing campaign funds in crypto which is a WHOLE other thing). This man doesn't need to take controversial money but he still does. Why? And why does he appeal to these donors?

Looking into Thanedar was a fascinating exercise. There's a lot going on. For a sample feel free to look up his name alongside any of the following search terms "franking," "beagles," "Viagra" and "gas station" and "FDA."

Yesterday, @sacreddemocracy.bsky.social released some campaign finance reporting on Congressman Shri Thanedar. Thanedar famously tried to impeach Trump but weirdly appears to be the choice for a group of MAGA donors who exemplify the way that campaign cash is undermining American democracy

Tonight!

I hate that this country has no retirement policy and that retirement planning is tied up with the market.

In a locally controlled infrastructure spending structure, alders fund bike grid. Not only is this a Yakov Smirnoff callback, it's also a joke about menu money. What a city!

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I think furloughs are extreme and I also think that repeatedly closing the budget with late short term fixes without longer conversations about the actual cost of schools makes most regular people think the govt is always broke, mostly broken & all of this is a little made up.

It's also worth noting that the removal of the furlough days was made possible by a revised estimate of TIF surplus $$. These kinds of shifts are what almost always ends up happening with the budget in August.

"CPS said the change is in response to feedback from the community but also comes after pushback from some board members, as well as the unions representing teachers and support staff."

I was ASKED not to wear deodorant 🦨