Hal Ravenel Woods

Father, husband, education policy, politics, sports, and all things Chicago

[David Axelrod @davidaxelrod]

All the signals are flashing red, the latest being @POTUS's summary dismissal of the remaining Federal Election Assistance Commission members.
Put that together with political hack Pulte's odious appt as DNI; election deniers in the most sensitive oversight positions; Trump's exec order on mail-in voting, and potential use of the Postal Service as a weapon of subversion; his pathological prioritization of the SAVE act, which would be the most powerful voter suppression tool in generations; and his persistent, unfounded claims of election fraud, which he uses to justify extraordinary federal interventions.
On the square, the @GOP would take a beating this fall, largely because of Trump's unpopularity.
So he's setting up Plan B--do whatever you need to do to win. Anything.
Anyone who says "Well, he wouldn't do THAT" hasn't paid attention. He's already proven he will!
So the period AFTER the Midterms may be even more turbulent than the run up to them.
The courts are going to be very busy this fall.

[Mark Warner @MarkWarner]

Reports that the White House has dismissed the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission — all of whom were unanimously confirmed by the Senate, including a commissioner appointed by President Trump himself — should concern every American, regardless of party, because the EAC was established by Congress as an independent, bipartisan body to help states administer secure and credible elections.

If these reports are accurate, removing every remaining commissioner just months before the 2026 midterm elections is an extraordinary step that demands an immediate explanation from the administration and raises profound concerns about political interference in the institutions that support our elections.

[Reuters @Reuters]

Pope Leo urged Americans to uphold the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, praising the country's long tradition of welcoming immigrants in his first major address to the United States https://t.co/zLPDluiCf1

[Christiane Amanpour @amanpour]

Trump's "net worth is off the charts, bigger than what it was prior to this presidency." @maggieNYT says we're just scratching the surface when it comes to how Trump has used the presidency to inflate his wealth.

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

Exclusive: Trump is using tens of millions in taxpayer money meant for national parks to fund his desired projects, including White House paving stones he had promised to pay for, documents obtained by @michaelscherer show: https://t.co/uRQEFX2KED

[David Axelrod @davidaxelrod]

The sheer scale and audacity of what Trump and his family are doing to monetize the presidency in every possible way for their own gain is really breathtaking, and laden with so many conflicts they're Too Big to Trail.
https://t.co/MYIujDtXuD via @NYTimes

[Lynn Becker @LynnBecker]

Outstanding - and harrowing - reporting from Block Club Chicago on the agents behind Midway Blitz. Widespread training in less-lethal force and de-escalation, but "the Trump administration encouraged agents to act recklessly," and lie ceaselessly.
https://t.co/FunkGgQcv9

[Seung Min Kim @seungminkim]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits.

[Michelle Boorstein @mboorstein]

Black. Educated. Unemployed. Over the past year, economists and civil rights leaders have observed the unemployment rate between Black and White Americans widening at a nearly unprecedented clip

https://t.co/45w1AHIvXA

[Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome]

New research from @nytimes finds that the US government is actively doing "critical minerals" deals with FOURTEEN different companies that have financial ties to the Trump and/or Lutnick families - deals worth around $9 billion in all:

[60 Minutes @60Minutes]

On March 23, more than $800 million was staked on the chance of oil prices dropping. Fifteen minutes later, an announcement from the president sent the price of oil plummeting by more than 10%.

It has not been determined if the trade was made with inside information or if the trader was in the U.S. https://t.co/AqaC2EBMVM

[David Axelrod @davidaxelrod]

It's actually mind-boggling that @JDVance would say Watergate would be a "10 hour story" today.
Just to review, Nixon's aides authorized a break-in of the DNC HQ to install bugging equipment--in a caper foiled by a night watchman, who called police. They then enlisted the CIA to mislead the FBI that the break-in was related to a probe of malign foreign actors.
The entire operation was paid for by a slush fund controlled by the WH.
The WH also enlisted the IRS to probe hundreds of Nixon's political enemies.
The AG, the WH COS and several other top aides all were convicted and served time for their involvement in the crimes and coverup.
Nixon was caught on his own secret tape system conspiring with them but was pardoned a month after he resigned by his successor, Gerald Ford.
That Vance thinks this would be a "10 hour story" today speaks volumes about the moral and ethical degradation of the Trump era.

[Mila Koumpilova @MilaKoumpilova]

The Chicago school board just announced another delay in naming a committee to steer its Black Student Success Plan.

We took a look at the initiative's cautious first year.

The district sued the Trump administration after it pulled fed funding over it.
https://t.co/FJTZeHIpRH

[Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1]

Trump's family crypto business is expected to soon be allowed to operate like a bank — a decision, made by the Trump administration, that would give U.S. companies a new route to steer money to the president.

"For the first time in history, a president is leaning on a bank regulator to give his private enterprise the implicit backing of the federal government." https://t.co/Kq7ToFVZgi

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

More than 40 years ago, I arrived in Chicago in search of an idea. I was a young man looking for purpose, who believed deeply in America, was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, and wanted to be a part of something larger. The America I believed in was one where everyone has opportunity, everyone is seen, everyone belongs—because that was an America that had a place for me, too.

[John McCormick @McCormickJohn]

CHICAGO--“Being a decent human being is a choice,” Michelle Obama says.

[ESPN @espn]

Stacey King, a three-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls who later became a fan-favorite on their broadcast team, has died at the age of 59, the team announced Sunday.

More: https://t.co/6qVZ8qkVaf

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded more than $16.3 billion in contracts in the past six months — compared with $2.1 billion from 2016 to 2024.

Most of it has gone to two firms that have ties to the White House and the Republican Party. https://t.co/47WT3tNfSF

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

More than half of the publicly identified donors to President Trump’s White House ballroom project have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion, according to a report from a government watchdog group. https://t.co/wEAqxMA7AG

[Hal Ravenel Woods @halwoods]

@sahadevsharma @PJ_Mooney @NSideTerritory When does Jed float a trial balloon re: firing Counsell?