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This Week’s “Party on the Peninsulas”:
Chairperson Curtis Hertel
Government Censorship
Dr. Abdul El Sayed
RFK Jr.’s War on Health
Michigan Democratic Party Launches Ad Program to
Hold House Republicans Accountable for Budget Cuts to Police and Health Care
(Sample Ad)
In the News
Michigan Politics and Policy
- Gretchen Whitmer warns Michigan: ‘Undeniable signs of an ailing economy’ – Bridge Michigan
- No state budget yet: What could this mean for your child? – Lansing State Journal
- DNR director on budget cuts: Millions of fish, hundreds of jobs at stake – Detroit News
- Trade war, drought squeeze Michigan farmers heading to fall harvest – Bridge Michigan
- JD Vance in Michigan: Trump will send National Guard to Detroit if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asks
- Michigan’s overseas military voters can use online portal to return ballots – Votebeat
- Democratic Labor Caucus Unveils Legislation to Strengthen Unemployment Insurance – Michigan House Democrats
- Michigan lawmakers weigh moving primary date ahead of 2026 campaign – Detroit News
- GOP Representative Greene’s Committee Stripped Of Bills For Taking Israel Trip – MIRS Blog
- US Rep. Haley Stevens calls for RFK Jr. to resign as HHS Secretary – Detroit Free Press
- Whitmer quietly quits National Governors Association – Detroit News
- Schuette Opts Out Of SD-35; New Polling Shows ‘Jumpball’ – MIRS Blog
- With Schuette Out, Who Gets In? – MIRS Blog
- Insider: Some Michigan House GOP offices dark as they push in-person work – Detroit News
- MSU researchers honored for unexpected cancer treatment breakthrough – The State News
Ending Freedom of Speech
- Sotomayor rebukes calls to ‘criminalize free speech’ in apparent swipe at Pam Bondi – POLITICO
- Eight months later, Trump’s promise to ‘bring back free speech’ collapses into farce – Maddow Blog
- This Just In: We Are Already Not Living In A Free Democracy – Talking Feds Substack
- FCC Chair Brendan Carr Isn’t Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him – WIRED
- In Jimmy Kimmel Suspension, Trump Campaign Against Critics Escalates – Wall Street Journal
- Right Wing TV group demands Jimmy Kimmel Apologize and Pay Charlie Kirk’s Family if He Wants Suspension Lifted – People.com
- Jimmy Kimmel suspension spurs top House Democrats to demand FCC chair resign – Axios
- EDITORIAL: If Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t have free speech, no one does – The Washington Post
- Bondi Doubles Down on Free Speech Attack: ‘That Era Is Over’ – Daily Beast
- EDITORIAL: Pam Bondi Needs a Free Speech Tutorial – Wall Street Journal
- Stephen Colbert’s Emmys speech reminded us what America is missing right now – Hannah Holland/MSNBC
- The Right’s Scary Quick Campaign to Exploit Charlie Kirk’s Death – The New Republic
- Washington Post Columnist Says She Was Fired for Posts After Charlie Kirk Shooting – The New York Times
- Thoughts on Being Right-Wing Cancel Culture Victim – Matthew Dowd
- It’s about repression, not free speech – Noah Berlatsky/Public Notice Substack
- Foreign disinformation about Charlie Kirk’s killing seeks to widen US divisions – AP News
Trump-World Grift, Lies and Corruption
- Donald Trump Lashes Out at Reporter Asking About His Family Cash Grabs: ‘Quiet!’ – Daily Beast
- Does Anybody Care This Is the Worst Bribery Scandal Since Teapot Dome? – The New Republic
- In Giant Deals, U.A.E. Got Chips, and Trump Team Got Crypto Riches – The New York Times
- JD Vance’s ‘statistical fact’ on political violence is neither statistical nor a fact – Maddow Blog
- DOJ Deletes Study Linking Most Domestic Terrorism to the Far Right – Lincoln Square
- Tiffany Trump’s Family Cruised the Mediterranean on an Oil Mogul’s Yacht – The New York Times
- Live updates: Judge tosses Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times – AP News
- Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims – AP News
- Elected officials arrested in NYC protest over immigration facility conditions – AP News
GOP Governmental Incompetence
- US Taxpayers Will Pay Billions in New Fossil Fuel Subsidies Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill – WIRED
- China’s Snub of U.S. Soybeans Is a Crisis for American Farmers – The New York Times
- DOJ Funding Update: A Deeper Look at the Cuts – Council on Criminal Justice
- Expert Warns ‘Beginning of the End’ After Shock CDC Vaccine Vote – Daily Beast
- Welcome to the New Era of Covid Vaccine Tourism – Mother Jones
- RFK Jr.-Backed Panel Advises Against MMRV Combo Vaccine for Young Children – Wall Street Journal
- Revealed: Trump administration retreats on combating human trafficking and child exploitation – The Guardian
- National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars – The Washington Post
- Trump’s deportations divert FBI agents off child predator cases – MSNBC
Rigging the 2026 Election
- Louisiana’s Chief Election Official Confirms Lack of Widespread Noncitizen Voting – Brennan Center for Justice
- The 2026 election is already under attack – Popular Information Substack
- Mail-in voting helps Arizona Republicans. But Trump wants to end it – AP News
- Justice Department sues Oregon and Maine in its quest for state voter data – AP News
Across the Nation
- VIDEO: Barack Obama – Our democracy is non self-executing
- Dems Outperformed 2024 in 38 out of 40 Races in 2025 – Meidas+
- Former Georgia Republican Geoff Duncan launches a run for governor as a Democrat – NBC News
- New Poll: Trump’s Support Amongst Latinos is Dropping – Global Strategy Group
Kennedy wants to limit CDC’s role to infectious diseases
NBC News