Stephen Semler
@stephensemler.bsky.social
Policy analyst/advisor. Newsletter: stephensemler.com
The Simon Wiesenthal Center *literally blessed* Donald Trump while he was ushering Nazis into the government. The organization condemned anti-fascist Jews for using a Yiddish anti-fascist slogan. To pretend they represent anything but a fascist fringe is absurd.
"1 in 6 people and 1 in 5 children face food insecurity in OR and southwest WA, according to the OR Food Bank...Black and Latine families...are twice as likely to experience poverty as white families, according to the OR Center for Public Policy."
Black-owned farms in Oregon are advancing food sovereignty and making it fun
In the face of systemic inequity and worsening poverty statistics that disproportionately affect Black Oregonians, Black farms are on the front lines of feeding and empowering Black communities.
streetroots.org
1) I made it clear that SNAP emergency allotments were tied to the covid public health emergency. 2) My point was Biden ended extra SNAP benefits during a cost of living crisis, completely by choice, and that maybe he should’ve not done that. www.stephensemler.com/p/trumps-foo...
This is the exact same argument the GOP used to slash enhanced ACA subsidies: it was a pandemic era policy so it should end post-pandemic; who cares how many millions of people it was helping.
Darwin Woodka@darwinwoodka.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe difference is Biden's cuts were after the Covid emergency was mostly over and those provisions were supposed to be temporary. Not pointing this out is misleading.
Enrollment in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) has dropped by more than 5 million people since July 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s flagship legislation, passed in July 2025. jacobin.com/2026/08/trum...
Regular reminder that Biden was a piece of shit
Stephen Semler@stephensemler.bsky.social · 2mo agoTrump has cut off food aid to more than 5 million people. But is Trump’s SNAP cut worse than Biden’s? In terms of total monthly benefits lost, Biden’s was 4x worse after nine months ($4 billion to Trump’s $1 billion). www.stephensemler.com/p/trumps-foo...
Trump has cut off food aid to more than 5 million people. But is Trump’s SNAP cut worse than Biden’s? In terms of total monthly benefits lost, Biden’s was 4x worse after nine months ($4 billion to Trump’s $1 billion). www.stephensemler.com/p/trumps-foo...
Enrollment in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) has dropped by more than 5 million people since July 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s flagship legislation, passed in July 2025. jacobin.com/2026/08/trum...
📢As @stephensemler.bsky.social breaks down, millions of families are being forced to go hungry because of Trump's SNAP cuts... All while ICE sits on a nearly endless budget to terrorize our communities and rip families apart. We can and must create a moral budget that funds compassion > cruelty.
Earlier this year in Minnesota, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security infiltrated and surveilled meetings of nonprofit groups and two of the US’s biggest labor unions, the Communications Workers of America and the Service Employees International Union.
The Trump Administration Has Been Spying on Labor Unions
Earlier this year in Minnesota, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security infiltrated and surveilled meetings of nonprofit groups and two of the US’s biggest labor unions, the Communications Workers of America and the Service Employees International Union.
jacobin.com
Dockworker unions in 6 countries, representing 40 ports, are calling for strikes and shutdowns in October 30 to protest war. The unions say, “We are ready to meet with organized groups of dockworkers and port workers from any other ports interested in becoming part of this common struggle.”
Dockworkers Unions in Six Countries Announce Day of Strikes and Protests Against War and Genocide
Unions representing workers at 40 ports in Europe and the Mediterranean are calling for an international day of action on October 30.
inthesetimes.com
The War Department delivered its unreleased annual report on civilian casualties to members of Congress on Tuesday, two government officials told The Intercept — one of whom called the report “a fucking joke” while the other called it a “total whitewash.” interc.pt/4q9aLR8
The Trump administration bought ICE eight Boeing 737s and two luxury Gulfstream G650 private jets, which are said to provide a “seamless blend of privacy, efficiency, and indulgence” for “executives, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals.” Caviar fascism www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
ICE is sitting on $100 billion
Polygraph | Newsletter n°348 | 10 Aug 2026
stephensemler.com
I hope the next Congress rescinds the future year funding and restores accountability.
ICE is bewildered by the scale of its own budget. The agency has used just 12% of the funding from the GOP's two reconciliation bills. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
Earlier this year, the White House said ICE would use $36 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in FY2026. The agency is on track to use just half that amount. After local resistance, ICE's incompetence appears to have done the most to limit its harm. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
ICE is sitting on $100 billion
Polygraph | Newsletter n°348 | 10 Aug 2026
stephensemler.com
ICE is sitting on $100 billion in unused funds. By the time ICE got $39 billion from the Secure America Act in June, it still had $61 billion left over from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed almost a year earlier. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
NEW @crisesnotes.bsky.social piece: Following up on my reply to @edzitron.com,I've decided to provide some more context on the GFC's key ingredient & contrast it with the lack of remotely similar dynamics in Data Center financing.That is: no threats to liquidity www.crisesnotes.com/the-great-fi...
The Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 Was First and Foremost a Liquidity Crisis: Lessons for the Data Center Financial Crisis Debate
The reason I care so much about keeping the record clear about the causes of the Great Financial Crisis is that I think there are many important lessons about how the financial system works in that cr...
crisesnotes.com
Earlier this year, the White House said ICE would use $36 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in FY2026. The agency is on track to use just half that amount. After local resistance, ICE's incompetence appears to have done the most to limit its harm. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
ICE is sitting on $100 billion
Polygraph | Newsletter n°348 | 10 Aug 2026
stephensemler.com
If/when we retake control of Congress, we must claw back any remaining funds and #AbolishICE:
Stephen Semler@stephensemler.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe Trump administration bought ICE eight Boeing 737s and two luxury Gulfstream G650 private jets, which are said to provide a “seamless blend of privacy, efficiency, and indulgence” for “executives, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals.” Caviar fascism www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
ICE is bewildered by the scale of its own budget. The agency has used just 12% of the funding from the GOP's two reconciliation bills. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
Caviar fascism may be my new favorite descriptor of our political leadership.
Stephen Semler@stephensemler.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe Trump administration bought ICE eight Boeing 737s and two luxury Gulfstream G650 private jets, which are said to provide a “seamless blend of privacy, efficiency, and indulgence” for “executives, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals.” Caviar fascism www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
The Trump administration bought ICE eight Boeing 737s and two luxury Gulfstream G650 private jets, which are said to provide a “seamless blend of privacy, efficiency, and indulgence” for “executives, celebrities, and high-net-worth individuals.” Caviar fascism www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
ICE is sitting on $100 billion
Polygraph | Newsletter n°348 | 10 Aug 2026
stephensemler.com
ICE is sitting on $100 billion in unused funds. By the time ICE got $39 billion from the Secure America Act in June, it still had $61 billion left over from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed almost a year earlier. www.stephensemler.com/p/ice-is-sit...
By @stephensemler.bsky.social #AbolishICE and invest in health care, education, housing, etc. open.substack.com/pub/stephens...
ICE is sitting on $100 billion
Polygraph | Newsletter n°348 | 10 Aug 2026
open.substack.com
