Presidents don't have the power to change how we vote...& other stories.
By the time you read this newsletter, I'll have wrapped up my book launch in Chicago for my new book, Breaking ICE: Community Defense Against State Terror and MAGA Fascism. (See photos below) Next week, I'll be presenting my book in my hometown of Pasadena, California at indie bookstore, Vroman's Books. If you're local to the Los Angeles area, please come and say hello in person on September 3 at 7 pm!
In other news, Shane Murphy Goldsmith, President and CEO of Liberty Hill Foundation recently sat me down for an extensive interview. Turns out Shane had grown up listening to my daily radio show on KPFK. She said on LinkedIn, "My interview with my shero, Sonali Kolhatkar, dropped today! After 9/11, as a baby organizer, I listened to her show every morning on KPFK to understand what was happening and why. She was one of very few sources of truth on the subject."
Shane and I spoke for WELL OVER AN HOUR. I'm so used to being the one asking the questions that it was really fun to be the one answering them and in this wide ranging conversation I laid out exactly how I view the world as a journalist committed to social justice. WATCH IT BELOW 👇🏾
Here are the stories I published this week on Rising Up With Sonali:
Rising Up Against AI and Big Tech’s Injustices
Does AI's takeover of our lives and society make you mad? This week on my special bonus series, Rising Up for Justice where I have weekly conversations with changemakers, I spoke with Kevin De Liban, Founder and President of TechTonic Justice, a nonprofit using legal advocacy, education, and organizing to fight alongside low-income people left behind by AI.
🏆 I award the prize for "best conversation of the week" to this one right here:
KEVIN DE LIBAN: "[AI] is extracting as much from us as people as possible to line the pockets of rich billionaires, huge corporations, but not just for purposes of greed, which I think is a key point, but also for purposes of power. When they extract, when they make life more precarious, it becomes easier for them to kind of shape the future of the world, whether that's by capturing government, kind of taking over political processes of all sorts, or otherwise kind of disenfranchising and discouraging civic participation and the things that are needed for a healthy democracy. "
Supreme Court Signed Off on Trump's Desire to Decimate Vote-by-Mail:
🏦 The US Supreme Court on Monday issued a 6-3 ruling allowing the Trump administration to restrict mail-in voting. All six conservative justices voted to lift a June 2026 injunction on Trump’s quest to make it harder for people to cast ballots, particularly in liberal voting regions such as California, Oregon and elsewhere. Rather than be filled with rage - as I was when I first saw headlines about this story - I encourage you to watch/listen to this interview with FairVote's David Daley carefully to understand what Trump is trying to do, when it will go into effect, and what can be done:
DAVID DALEY: "None of this is constitutional. The president does not have the ability to make this kind of sweeping power over voting. And none of it is even practical in the two months, barely, that remain before these midterm elections."
Corporate media's goal is to leave you feeling overwhelmed and accept the status quo.
New Americans Are Gearing Up to Protect Their Vote
The Trump administration earlier this year claimed it had discovered more than 250,000 noncitizen voters on the rolls of just four states. Government officials offered no evidence to support the wild claim, one that contradicts every report and investigation. In other words, they JUST LIED in order to demonize immigrants and weaken the voting rights of people of color. Nicole Melaku of National Partnership for New Americans outlines how folks are fighting back through a new campaign.
NICOLE MELAKU: "We're really working to get the word out of what's happening this November, what's on the ballot for our communities through a nonpartisan civic engagement lens. And one of the things that's really important is that us having close proximity to members across the country who are seeing the outcome of these policies in their families' lives, whether they're seeing militarization of their community, or you're seeing families being split apart, or you're seeing people lose status. "
Trump is Kicking Millions off Medicaid... But what if we had a Medicare-for-All System?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) published a rule in June, ostensibly to comply with Trump's One Big Beautiful Act of 2025 requiring Medicaid recipients to prove they have worked for 80 hours a month in order to qualify for government healthcare. The rule takes effect in January 2027 and health advocates are warning it could exclude many who need benefits but cannot fulfill the work requirements. Instead of adding layers of expensive and onerous bureaucracy to determine eligibility, what if we just used our tax dollars to pay for our healthcare and cover everyone? Sophia Tripoli of Families USA explains more.
SOPHIA TRIPOLI: "about 10 million people are going to lose health insurance, nearly eight million of those folks likely to come from the Medicaid restrictions that we're talking about specifically."
My latest print stories:
britney
The Left Chapter
Book Launch for Breaking ICE at Pilsen Community Books in Chicago, August 27
