Matthew Cunningham-Cook
@matthewccook5.bsky.social
reporting at the Center for Media and Democracy, organizing in the labor movement
Pinned
Elon Musk and His DOGE Bro Have Cashed In on Americans' Retirement Savings
Antonio Gracias is helping Musk gut the government and the Social Security program at DOGE, as they benefit from Americans’ retirement savings.
www.rollingstone.com
my first byline in Rolling Stone (!) edited by the amazing @andrewperez.bsky.social. How exactly does Musk's privately held empire run? on the backs of retired teachers, firefighters, cops and bus drivers www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
We're not supposed to execute people with intellectual disabilities because it violates the 8th amendment. The Supreme Court will hear a case where Alabama argues that Intellectual disability when it comes to death penalty should only be decided only by IQ tests.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Alabama wants to lower the bar for executing disabled people—if SCOTUS lets it
The case law is clear: There's more to intellectual disability than IQ tests. Will Trump's justices care?
www.motherjones.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
We're not supposed to execute people with intellectual disabilities because it violates the 8th amendment. The Supreme Court will hear a case where Alabama argues that Intellectual disability when it comes to death penalty should only be decided only by IQ tests.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Putin's war in Ukraine shows where authoritarianism can lead: ~1.4 million casualties. An entire generation sacrificed for one man's imperialist delusions.
We must not let any president drag us into war without congressional approval.
We must not let any president drag us into war without congressional approval.
December 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Putin's war in Ukraine shows where authoritarianism can lead: ~1.4 million casualties. An entire generation sacrificed for one man's imperialist delusions.
We must not let any president drag us into war without congressional approval.
We must not let any president drag us into war without congressional approval.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
"At first glance it sounds impossible—but a strategic look back at the coordinated strikes and militancy of the past two decades shows we might be much closer than we think." by @alexhan.bsky.social
Maybe a General Strike Isn’t So Impossible Now | Labor Notes
labornotes.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:42 PM
"At first glance it sounds impossible—but a strategic look back at the coordinated strikes and militancy of the past two decades shows we might be much closer than we think." by @alexhan.bsky.social
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Let’s call this what it is: greed.
I’ve met with workers all across America — not a single one has said we need more billionaires.
A union contract is how we balance the scales and workers get their fair share of the profits they create. https://on.wsj.com/3KzznSL
I’ve met with workers all across America — not a single one has said we need more billionaires.
A union contract is how we balance the scales and workers get their fair share of the profits they create. https://on.wsj.com/3KzznSL
The World Has More Billionaires Than Ever
Soaring tech valuations and stock-market gains have boosted the number of billionaires and the wealth they hold.
www.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Let’s call this what it is: greed.
I’ve met with workers all across America — not a single one has said we need more billionaires.
A union contract is how we balance the scales and workers get their fair share of the profits they create. https://on.wsj.com/3KzznSL
I’ve met with workers all across America — not a single one has said we need more billionaires.
A union contract is how we balance the scales and workers get their fair share of the profits they create. https://on.wsj.com/3KzznSL
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Deportations actually _increase_ housing prices because they shrink the construction industry.
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
November 13, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Deportations actually _increase_ housing prices because they shrink the construction industry.
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
NEWS --> Tons of fresh detail on what video of the strike shows: Rep Adam Smith says two men are sitting on capsized boat, drugs aren't visible. Rationale officials gave for killing is they *may* have been able to keep trafficking.
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details
The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services committee tells TNR after watching the video: “This is a big, big problem.”
newrepublic.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:52 PM
NEWS --> Tons of fresh detail on what video of the strike shows: Rep Adam Smith says two men are sitting on capsized boat, drugs aren't visible. Rationale officials gave for killing is they *may* have been able to keep trafficking.
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
"It's bad," Smith says.
Read here:
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
I have been dismissive of many calls for strikes of all kinds, general or not. But this moment, when millions turn out to "No Kings" rallies and tens of thousands are taking direct action to protect our immigrant neighbors, requires us to reimagine what is possible.
At first glance, a general strike sounds impossible—but a strategic look back at the coordinated strikes and militancy of the past two decades shows we might be much closer than we think, writes @alexhan.bsky.social, executive director of @inthesetimes.com labornotes.org/2025/12/mayb... 1/2
Maybe a General Strike Isn’t So Impossible Now | Labor Notes
labornotes.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:14 AM
I have been dismissive of many calls for strikes of all kinds, general or not. But this moment, when millions turn out to "No Kings" rallies and tens of thousands are taking direct action to protect our immigrant neighbors, requires us to reimagine what is possible.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
The only reason not to follow the Prison Rape Elimination Act is if you do not want to eliminate rape
BREAKING: Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans & intersex people, memo says. A DOJ memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) do not align with Trump’s Jan. 20 anti-trans executive order, @byadamrhodes.bsky.social reports.
Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people
A Department of Justice memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act do not align with Trump’s executive order
prismreports.org
December 5, 2025 at 1:16 AM
The only reason not to follow the Prison Rape Elimination Act is if you do not want to eliminate rape
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
SCOOP: White nationalist Stephen Miller's America First Legal's revenue more than TRIPLED in 2024 to $32 million It's latest IRS filing for 2024 obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that it spent $15.2 million of this huge haul.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:28 PM
SCOOP: White nationalist Stephen Miller's America First Legal's revenue more than TRIPLED in 2024 to $32 million It's latest IRS filing for 2024 obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that it spent $15.2 million of this huge haul.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
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Support Bolts
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boltsmag.org
December 3, 2025 at 6:20 PM
You can help Bolts continue to provide crucial coverage of local elections. Here's how:
- Repost this = I donate $1.
- Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1.
- Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation.
(Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)
- Repost this = I donate $1.
- Follow @boltsmag.org = I donate $1.
- Donate (link below) + tell me how much = I match your donation.
(Donate monthly = I match a year's worth)
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Hakeem Jeffries Calls For Execution Of Central Park Five
December 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Hakeem Jeffries Calls For Execution Of Central Park Five
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Disgraceful decision to let two murderers off the hook
NEW: The office of State Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced that it will not pursue criminal charges against two NYPD officers who last year shot and killed a 19-year-old who was experiencing a mental health crisis in his Queens home.
buff.ly/AoLKXm2
buff.ly/AoLKXm2
No Criminal Charges For NYPD Officers Who Killed Win Rozario
The office of State Attorney General Letitia James says it will not prosecute the officers who shot the Queens teen as he experienced a mental health episode.
www.thecity.nyc
December 4, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Disgraceful decision to let two murderers off the hook
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Texas Republicans in fight over congressional map. The new gerrymandered map will be used in the 2026 midterms. The vote is 6–3, with the Republican appointees siding with Texas.
December 4, 2025 at 11:00 PM
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Texas Republicans in fight over congressional map. The new gerrymandered map will be used in the 2026 midterms. The vote is 6–3, with the Republican appointees siding with Texas.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
The first strike was also a war crime
This would be, without any doubt, a war crime committed by the United States. We prosecuted Germans and Japanese for doing this exact thing in WWII.
December 4, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The first strike was also a war crime
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
At first glance, a general strike sounds impossible—but a strategic look back at the coordinated strikes and militancy of the past two decades shows we might be much closer than we think, writes @alexhan.bsky.social, executive director of @inthesetimes.com labornotes.org/2025/12/mayb... 1/2
Maybe a General Strike Isn’t So Impossible Now | Labor Notes
labornotes.org
December 4, 2025 at 10:25 PM
At first glance, a general strike sounds impossible—but a strategic look back at the coordinated strikes and militancy of the past two decades shows we might be much closer than we think, writes @alexhan.bsky.social, executive director of @inthesetimes.com labornotes.org/2025/12/mayb... 1/2
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Read @juliametraux.bsky.social's latest. The findings are concerning on their own, but are amplified by the fact that many workplaces rely on freelancers for basic functioning.
When I worked at NBC, many roles were required to be a contractor for a year before being eligible for benefits.
When I worked at NBC, many roles were required to be a contractor for a year before being eligible for benefits.
For @motherjones.com, I wrote about what's at stake for chronically ill contractors and freelancers as Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits expire.
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
For many contractors, losing ACA subsidies means losing health care
The GOP's unprecedented premium hikes put chronically ill workers—especially freelancers—in peril.
www.motherjones.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Read @juliametraux.bsky.social's latest. The findings are concerning on their own, but are amplified by the fact that many workplaces rely on freelancers for basic functioning.
When I worked at NBC, many roles were required to be a contractor for a year before being eligible for benefits.
When I worked at NBC, many roles were required to be a contractor for a year before being eligible for benefits.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
For @motherjones.com, I wrote about what's at stake for chronically ill contractors and freelancers as Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits expire.
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
For many contractors, losing ACA subsidies means losing health care
The GOP's unprecedented premium hikes put chronically ill workers—especially freelancers—in peril.
www.motherjones.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:22 PM
For @motherjones.com, I wrote about what's at stake for chronically ill contractors and freelancers as Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits expire.
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When you're already sick, the possibility of not being able to afford health insurance at all is terrifying. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Schools across US have agreed to Amazon’s “dynamic pricing” contracts—subjecting them to big price swings for basic supplies, new report finds.
On the same day, Denver Schools paid $114 for a case of markers, but $149 for another.
Amazon disputes the data:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
On the same day, Denver Schools paid $114 for a case of markers, but $149 for another.
Amazon disputes the data:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US schools face big price swings for basics under Amazon’s ‘dynamic pricing’, report claims
Amazon calls the report ‘flawed and misleading’ and says it offers lower prices than competitors
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Schools across US have agreed to Amazon’s “dynamic pricing” contracts—subjecting them to big price swings for basic supplies, new report finds.
On the same day, Denver Schools paid $114 for a case of markers, but $149 for another.
Amazon disputes the data:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
On the same day, Denver Schools paid $114 for a case of markers, but $149 for another.
Amazon disputes the data:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
NEW: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week. Attendees are debating model policies that would suppress the vote, advance MAGA priorities, further endanger the climate, and more.
ALEC Members Meet in Texas to Push Their Right-Wing 2026 State Legislative Agenda - EXPOSEDbyCMD
The American Legislative Exchange Council is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week.Attendees are debating model policies that wou...
www.exposedbycmd.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
NEW: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week. Attendees are debating model policies that would suppress the vote, advance MAGA priorities, further endanger the climate, and more.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
NEW: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week. Attendees are debating model policies that would suppress the vote, advance MAGA priorities, further endanger the climate, and more.
ALEC Members Meet in Texas to Push Their Right-Wing 2026 State Legislative Agenda - EXPOSEDbyCMD
The American Legislative Exchange Council is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week.Attendees are debating model policies that wou...
www.exposedbycmd.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
NEW: The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is holding its annual States and Nation Policy Summit at the four-star Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Texas this week. Attendees are debating model policies that would suppress the vote, advance MAGA priorities, further endanger the climate, and more.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
The affordability crisis is hitting Black women the hardest as their unemployment rates rise. Naomi Bethune charts the impact on maternal health, and the forced downgrade in lifestyle choices.
prospect.org/2025/12/04/b...
prospect.org/2025/12/04/b...
To Be Black, Female, and Unemployed - The American Prospect
How unemployment in the Trump era shapes Black women’s lives when maternal care and food choices are in the mix
prospect.org
December 4, 2025 at 1:23 PM
The affordability crisis is hitting Black women the hardest as their unemployment rates rise. Naomi Bethune charts the impact on maternal health, and the forced downgrade in lifestyle choices.
prospect.org/2025/12/04/b...
prospect.org/2025/12/04/b...
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
These are good moments to remember that the CEOs of all the biggest companies in America are happy to go to White House dinners and slap this guy’s back. They do not care about this. Remember this, years from now, when they want you to forget.
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."
December 4, 2025 at 12:13 AM
These are good moments to remember that the CEOs of all the biggest companies in America are happy to go to White House dinners and slap this guy’s back. They do not care about this. Remember this, years from now, when they want you to forget.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Senator Mark Kelly has seen the Trump admin's classified justification for the boat strikes and said they should be released to the public. Kelly can release the info himself due legislative immunity; but when asked if he would, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Why Hegseth's Alleged War Crime Will Never Be Revealed
Lethal strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean is shrouded in an above-top secret world
www.kenklippenstein.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Senator Mark Kelly has seen the Trump admin's classified justification for the boat strikes and said they should be released to the public. Kelly can release the info himself due legislative immunity; but when asked if he would, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Reposted by Matthew Cunningham-Cook
Men incarcerated at the notorious Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia in the 1800s had more access to sunlight than people held at DCP now.
And it can lead to lifelong health consequences.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/12...
And it can lead to lifelong health consequences.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/12...
Isolation in Dauphin County jail can lead to lifelong medical problems: ‘If I don’t get out of here soon, I’m going to die’
Men incarcerated at the notorious Eastern State Penitentiary in the 1800s had more access to sunlight and outdoors than people currently incarcerated at DCP.
www.pennlive.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Men incarcerated at the notorious Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia in the 1800s had more access to sunlight than people held at DCP now.
And it can lead to lifelong health consequences.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/12...
And it can lead to lifelong health consequences.
www.pennlive.com/news/2025/12...