I want to share with you a story from a 2011 trip to Afghanistan that perfectly encapsulates why our mission there was flawed by design and why, despite the heroism of our soldiers, it's time to leave.
1/ Read the whole thing. It's worth it.
2/ I was there with a bipartisan House delegation. We wanted to get outside of Kabul to see Obama's "surge" in action.
The military picked Parmakan, a small town in Herat Province. If I recall, it had been controlled by the Taliban, but U.S. forces had retaken it.
3/ We were greeted by the Army unit stationed there. Their leader was an impressive guy from Goshen, CT. These guys were bad ass, and rightly proud of having run the Taliban out of town.
They introduced us to the village elders, and we set off for a tour of the town.
4/ The elders told us how the Taliban used to come into town and steal their crops. Now, with U.S. Army protection, the farmers could harvest in peace and sell their crops at market prices. The Taliban were still their customers, but at least now they got paid, thanks to the U.S.
5/ As we walked, we noticed the fields were filled with gorgeous, colorful flowers.
We asked the elder what this crop was, the one they now sold to the Taliban.
"Poppy", he said, without hesitation.
6/ I turned to one of the Republicans on the trip, Rep. Adam Kenzinger, and said, "So the U.S. is here protecting the heroin trade that provides the Taliban with an income to continue the insurgency we are supposed to be fighting?"
7/ This was the U.S. in Afghanistan.
Our presence there was a recruitment boon for the Taliban. Other times, like in Parmakan, even when we "won" (took territory from the Taliban), we were losing (safeguarding their income).
From the start, the mission was flawed by design.
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2/ First, let's just understand how wildly illegal and devastating this funding cut is. This is money authorized by Congress for after school programs. Not a new program; schools get it every year. In many low income districts, their programs cannot run without these federal $.
3/ This fall, over a million kids could have no after school option. In Umatilla, OR - a low income rural town - notice just went out that the programs would shut down. Low income parents will have to find expensive (and likely far away) alternatives, or cut back working hours.
Ok, so Republicans just introduced a 900 page bill none of them have read. But my team is going through it line by line and on this 🧵you can see the hidden provisions we found. Will update all day.
1/ NEW Medicaid cuts, so now 17 million - instead of 16M - lose health care.
2/ It was bad enough they cut all the tax incentives for wind and solar energy - they added a NEW TAX on these projects to make sure America never builds any new renewables.
Remember, Trump promised the oil industry provisions like this in exchange for a $1B campaign donation.
3/ The bill BANS state regulation of AI - a stone cold giveaway to the tech companies who want to addict our kids, pollute our politics, and kill our jobs with zero guardrails.
Rumor is there's a new language coming, but it's still an effective ban. Just an outrage.
The press reported today that the votes are falling apart for Trump's budget (the one with the big Medicaid cuts).
It's the impact of organizing. It's why I set up American Mobilization Project.
1/ Here's a quick summary of what AMP has been up to in its first month.
2/ I think the entire game right now is citizen mobilization. What's the point of raising money for the 2026 election if our democracy is at risk NOW? So I'm dedicating my fundraising efforts to citizen protest. That's what AMP does - fund protest infrastructure.
3/ A taste of what we are doing:
We formed a $200,000 partnership with the Committee to Protect Health Care. They organize doctors and nurses to fight the Medicaid cuts in key states.
Already, 4,000 doctors have signed up to take action.
Earlier today I gave a speech at @sciencespo in Paris, laying out the argument for a U.S./EU regulatory approach to AI that rejects JD Vance’s insistence that we put AI industry profit and greed ahead of protecting jobs and our spiritual well being.
1/ A 🧵 on my main points
2/ Vance gave a speech in Paris in February that argued for no regulation of AI in Europe or America. It was a delusional and incoherent speech that appeared to be written by the AI industry that seeks to make billions of rapid replacement of human labor by AI and robots.
3/ He argued that AI would create more jobs in the U.S. and Europe than it destroys. This is patently untrue. The AI industry wants us to believe this so we don’t protect against the profits they will make if we don’t properly manage the transition to AI dominance.
The Minnesota assassin appears to be a hate-filled right winger. So can we stop walking on eggshells about MAGA's legitimization of political violence?
Yes, Republicans have also been the target of inexcusable violence, but this isn't a "both sides" issue.
1/ A🧵on the danger.
2/ For the last five years, MAGA has been bathed in political violence.
Most importantly, MAGA's celebration of January 6th and Trump's decision to pardon ALL the Jan 6 rioters - including the most violent - became a clear endorsement of violence committed in his name.
3/ But it didn't start with January 6th. Trump regularly threatened protesters at his rallies with violence. He cozied up to brutal dictators abroad who used violence to maintain political control.
Trump uses antisemitism as a false pretext to suppress dissent. It's disgusting, because as as this investigation outlines, Trump gives hiring preferences to people with strong ties to antisemites.
2/ White House official Paul Ingrassia is a vocal follower of white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes. At a Fuentes rally Ingrassia attended, Fuentes exclaimed "calling Donald Trump a racist only makes me like him more!", and the crowd chanted "Down With Israel!"
3/ Before coming to the White House, Trump official Rachel Cauley was a key defender of Jan 6 rioter Tim Hale Cusanelli, an avowed antisemite. In an one video rant, he called Orthodox Jews "a plague of locusts". Cauley attended his trial for support, and sat with his followers.