Brooke Mels
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brookemelz.bsky.social
Brooke Mels
@brookemelz.bsky.social
790 followers 91 following 550 posts
Jurisprudence nerd and Georgia legislative advocate they/them
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Reposted by Brooke Mels
so much suffering and sacrifice only to to agree to terms that will beget more suffering and sacrifice.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
This is predatory capitalism. They gave tax breaks to billionaires so that folks could get bills like this for healthcare.
I thought my new health insurance premium was going to be $350 per month until I got this letter informing me that it would be $1,228.28 PER MONTH. I CURRENTLY PAY $50. Is my math mathing? Is that.... a 2,356.42% increase?

2256.42%????

TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY SIX POINT FORTY TWO PERCENT😩
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Why would Senate Democrats think the *promise* of an ACA vote would result in an actual vote and money in the hands of Americans, when House Republicans are refusing to seat a duly elected Democratic member of Congress to prevent her from forcing a bipartisan vote to release the Epstein files?
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Can you call Chuck Schumer right now? No matter where you live, can you take a few minutes and tell Schumer that if Senate Democrats cave you will not support Senate Dems as long as he is leader?

www.patreon.com/posts/143215...
I Need Your Help — Right Now | Matthew Cortland
Get more from Matthew Cortland on Patreon
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Reposted by Brooke Mels
We have as much leverage as we’ve ever had — and Chuck Schumer is on the brink of taking a deal that gives Democrats NOTHING.

I’m glad Hakeem Jeffries will fight this in the House, but it should not get that far. Senate Dems must not cave.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Flood the phones:
(202) 224-3121

Tell Chuck Schumer to grow a spine and hold the line…

There should be no deal that leaves working families behind.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Here's the full text of the deal:
- House CR extended to January 30, no RIFs permitted until then
- Minibus
- Ds get a filibusterable ACA vote in December

Read the text:
hillheat.com/files/467/co...
Reposted by Brooke Mels
I'm hearing the same thing. Dems are nearing a surrender. I'm shocked. Largest protest in history + best election night in years + polling showing we're kicking their ass in public opinion. And now Dems may cave.

It ain't over til it's over, so please do call if you've got a Dem senator.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Following up on this. This remains a ‘cave is minutes or hours away’ situation. If you want to impact how this plays out you need to contact senators literally now. I want to add additional points of context. What I’m relaying is what I’ve picked up from highly reliable sources.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Honestly, primarying Schumer and applying EXTREME pressure for him to resign immediately is a bare necessity, whether he kills us with this vote or not.

Even floating the idea reflects a total inability and unwillingness to lead, or represent Americans.

Regardless of the outcome, he is a traitor.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
So, listen, call Schumer’s office no matter where you live, no matter if you’re registered to vote. Leave a voicemail that says if Senate Dems cave without an ACA premiums fix, you will never vote for or donate to another Senate Democrat as long as he is Leader
Call them:

Schumer (NY)
202 224-6542

Booker (NJ)
202 224-3224

King (ME)
202 224-5344

Hassan (NH)
202 224-3324

Durbin (IL)
202 224-2152

Ossoff (GA)
202 224-3521

Shaheen (NH)
202 224-2841

Gillibrand (NY)
202 224-4451

Masto (NV)
202 224-3542

Warner (VA)
202 224-2023

Fetterman (PA)
No Point
Reposted by Brooke Mels
In light of SCOTUS insisting that outing trans people on their passports does them no harm:

"Oct 8, 1938: The marking of their passports (with a large red "J") alienated the Jewish community in Germany and constituted an important part of the campaign of persecution. "
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Trans people in Georgia, particularly around Atlanta -- Have you experienced discrimination from police when trying to enter a public restroom? If so, I want to chat with you and hear about your side of what happened.

Reach out to me - [email protected], or DM for my Signal!
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Note: while not unprecedented, it’s actually pretty rare for a sitting Catholic bishop to participate in a demonstration. It’s just not generally what Catholic bishops do.

Thus: Getting the hierarchy involved in this protest outside an ICE facility is no small thing.
Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José María Garcia-Maldonado at ICE detention facility: “Being here is an act of holiness…soon we will seek access to the facility to bring the Eucharist to our brothers and sisters; if they say no again, we will keep praying.”
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Failure of journalism, ex. 18945.

We don’t get to “and that is complete bullshit, says anyone not named Donald Trump or Karoline Leavitt” until the eighth graf.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
ICE shot an American citizen and food bank worker who tried to block them arresting an immigrant by pulling his car in front of them.
After being released from hospital: "He is now facing charges for assault on a federal officer."
www.calonews.com/featured-top...
Reposted by Brooke Mels
The policy being weaponized to inflict pain on the marginalized is intended to keep retailers from charging SNAP customers more than they charge non-SNAP customers.
The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Believe him when he talks about the pain he wants to inflict on your communities, families, & children.

This is a lawless and destructive government hellbent on denying due process, dignity, & respect to our most vulnerable.

Get in the fight. Support your local teams pushing back against this.
Q: Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows. Have some of these raids gone too far?"

Trump: "No. I think they haven't gone far enough”
Reposted by Brooke Mels
I wonder where anyone would get the idea that they should use their position in the federal government to carry out personal vengeance missions?
George Tidmarsh, the Food and Drug Administration’s top regulator of drugs, has been placed on administrative leave after being accused of using his regulatory authority to inflict financial harm on a former business associate, STAT has learned.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...
FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation
George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Brooke Mels
In the Rhode Island-based SNAP benefits case, an Agriculture Dept official says remaining contingency fund monies will pay “50% of eligible households current allotments” for SNAP payments. Official also says they do not plan to use Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds to cover the difference.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
NEWS: Federal agents crashed with woman’s car, pointed guns at her, dragged her out by legs, tossed her in a minivan, held her and (eventually) let her go without charges. This as Chicagoans say the immigration blitz is out of control. (DHS blames her.)
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...
Chicago woman dragged out of her car after colliding with ICE demands accountability
The arrest of Dayanne Figueroa highlights growing concerns about the use of force against U.S. citizens and due process. She was released after a few hours without charges.
www.chicagotribune.com
Reposted by Brooke Mels
I wrote about Edmund LaCour’s confirmation and what it means that someone with such a deeply disturbing voting rights record now has a lifetime judgeship in Alabama — the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act. patrickryne.substack.com/p/vote-suppr...
Edmund LaCour, the solicitor general in Alabama since 2019, finally got a federal judgeship. After a failed nomination in Trump's first term, he was confirmed on a 51-47 party-line vote last week to a seat on the Northern District of Alabama bench.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
absolutely devastating news.
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.

certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.