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Building Coalitions: Is the Enemy Of My Enemy My Friend?

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Imagine if we built coalitions from advocates of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights, women’s reproductive choice, health care and immigration reform, and workers’ rights groups…

Editor’s note: This post is by friend and fellow writer Jay Morris. His impressive bio is below.

Some say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Under that theory, building coalitions with organizations and peoples who are directly impacted by conservative ideology sounds easy, right? Immediately, thoughts of coalitions containing worker’s unions, women’s rights organizations, immigrant groups and other organizations which are often downtrodden by conservatopia start dancing in my head. 

Sadly, the rainbow that makes up our diverse community also casts a shadow upon it. Our community is comprised of women, workers, immigrants and other categories of persons other than just LGBTQ who are affected by right wing antics, but we also have many in our community who support oppressive views. In fact, GOProud, an “LGBT” organization, holds onto Republican principles even when the Texas GOP Platform and platforms in other states call for re-criminalizing sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex (a notion previously overturned in 2003 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas). But we don’t have to look to such radical examples to prove this point.

More recently, the LGBT advocacy organization GetEQUAL posted a supportive message against the incendiary SB 1070 in Arizona (the “Papers Please” legislation.) In response, numerous members of the LGBTQ community complained, indicating that they concur with the Arizona policy and such mixing of messages divides our community. While this is a small minority in our community, their voices must be considered.

Read: “Wisconsin Union Uprising: Why This Is The LGBT Community’s Moment“

On the other hand, by uniting with worker’s unions, women’s groups, immigrant organizations and other more progressive ideas, the LGBT community can find fierce and vocal allies in the struggle against oppression. The power of this unity is evidenced in an unlikely place, San Antonio Texas.

This past Saturday, March 5, 2011, the 21st International Women’s Day March was held. The organizers at Esperanza San Antonio planned several stops along the march route as points of oppression. The points of oppression were not exclusive to the oppression of women (albeit they are inclusive of women,) but also included points of oppression for other victims, including immigrants, workers and, indeed, LGBT people. Several hundred people from all walks of life participated, including politicians, student groups, women’s groups, elder groups, parenting organizations, union groups and more. This method provided each “cause” an opportunity to educate other progressive organizations about how their communities had been affected by oppression.

To be fair, it would be extraordinarily difficult to build such coalitions while maintaining a radically inclusive sampling of the LGBTQ community and still make progress. However, it can be done.

Consider if you will what conservatives attack: (1) women’s reproductive choice, (2) immigration reform [i.e. the Dream Act], (3) health care reform [aka Obamacare], (4) LGB rights [i.e. same-sex marriage], (5) transgender rights [i.e. employment non-discrimination], and (6) worker’s rights [i.e. collective bargaining], to name a few. By unifying these groups under one umbrella, we could develop a nearly unstoppable force.

The key to this development is to avoid single-issue matters. Rather than each organization declaring support for the other’s cause, perhaps the correct way is to speak out against the opposition together.

In Texas, where our examples remain, just invoking the name of Lamar Smith (the anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT equality, and anti-reproductive rights U.S. Representative from Texas) to any of these groups sends shivers down all their spines, but for different reasons. Yet, in an area where a strong conservative majority keeps battling away at the more progressive minorities, we still make it about each micro issue. Immigrants, LGBT people and women rally for their respective causes and rights. Perhaps the next election cycle we can develop a plan to make it more of a macro issue – to depower the conservative agenda.


Jay Morris is a State Lead for GetEQUAL.org, a founding member of the Direct Action Network San Antonio, a writer for Ignite San Antonio Magazine, and blogger at jaysays.com.  You can find him posting randomness on Twitter or engage him in conversation on Facebook.

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‘War Is Peace’: White House’s Navarro Mocked Over Claim Tariffs Are ‘Tax Cuts’

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July 17, 2025

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Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, says the White House likes “where we’re at” with tariffs—which he insists are “tax cuts,” despite broad disagreement from economists. Navarro also says President Trump’s tariffs have brought in $100 billion in six months, but he also insists that that money is paid by foreign countries. Ultimately, tariffs are generally paid—at least in part—by consumers, as higher prices for imported goods or for domestic products that rely on imported components.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday (videos below), Navarro said, “when we put tariffs on the foreign countries, particularly the ones that depend on us the most, they have to eat the tariffs.”

“So tariffs, they’re not tax hikes, they’re tax cuts,” Navarro insisted.

“We’ve had $100 billion so far we raised in six months. We’re gonna have trillions over the ten years, and that’s going to pay for the big, beautiful bill. Tax cuts and debt reduction by the tune of about $2 trillion.”

READ MORE: ‘Trust in Trump’: White House Touts ‘Incredible’ Economy as Inflation Jumps

“We like where we’re at,” he claimed.

Navarro also insisted that “the reason why tariffs don’t cause negative impacts like inflation is because these countries, they depend so heavily on us. Europe, China, go around the world. They just live, they feast off us with unfair trade practices.”

“When we say, ‘No, you can’t come in unless you pay this tariff,’ they got to eat the tariff,” he again insisted, neglecting to state that the importer, and, ultimately, the consumer, pays most or all of the cost of the tariffs.

FactCheck.org, analyzing some of Navarro’s claims on tariffs back in April, reported that “tariffs, also known as customs duties, are a tax increase on the U.S. importers who pay the tariffs – not foreign countries. And because those importers often pass at least some of those costs on to U.S. consumers through price hikes, tariffs are considered to be regressive taxes that affect lower-income households more than others as a percentage of income.”

READ MORE: ‘Total Nonsense’: Stephen Miller Blasted Over ‘Wonders’ of Life ‘When Illegals Are Gone’

Responding to Navarro’s claim that tariffs are tax cuts, journalist Aaron Rupar, founder of Public Notice, wrote: “War is peace.”

Professor of Law Joseph Mastrosimone wrote: “Good lord this man is insanely stupid. And he is a senior White House Counselor. Right on brand.”

Joe Walsh, the former GOP congressman turned political commentator and a Democrat, called Navarro’s claim: “Utter b——-.”

Watch the videos below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Go Home’: Noem Tells Farmers to Help Their Undocumented Workers ‘Self Deport’

 

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‘Trust in Trump’: White House Touts ‘Incredible’ Economy as Inflation Jumps

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July 17, 2025

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is crediting President Donald Trump with what she described as an “incredible economic turnaround in just six months.” However, inflation continues to rise under his administration, and the data she cited highlighted only a selective set of favorable economic indicators.

Americans “saw prices for new and used vehicles and airfares dropped last month,” Leavitt enthusiastically declared on Thursday during a press briefing.

“In addition, prices for gas, fuel oil, energy commodities, hotels, airfare, public transportation, and fresh vegetables are all down over last year,” she claimed.

“As we said all along, trust in President Trump. The American dream is back and everyday families are already reaping the benefits of this incredible economic turnaround in just six months.”

READ MORE: ‘Total Nonsense’: Stephen Miller Blasted Over ‘Wonders’ of Life ‘When Illegals Are Gone’

Her statements highlighted positive data while leaving out ongoing inflation concerns.

Prices for new and used vehicles did drop last month, but both are up over the past 12 months: 0.2% for new vehicles and a hefty 2.8% for used cars and trucks, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks all these items and publishes the monthly inflation rate.

Overall, inflation last month rose to an annual rate of 2.7%, the highest level in months.

The cost of food is up 3% over last year. Electricity is up 5.8% over last year, and utility (piped) gas service is up a massive 14.2% over last year.

READ MORE: ‘Go Home’: Noem Tells Farmers to Help Their Undocumented Workers ‘Self Deport’

Shelter is up 3.8%, and medical and transportation services are both up 3.4% over last year.

Economists cite the President’s tariffs, now beginning to take effect, along with rising costs for food, energy, and rent as the reasons for the increase in inflation.

The White House appears to be attempting to head off public concern.

“Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Republican Says Trump on Immigration Could Be Like Lincoln Was for Slavery

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‘Fear Is the Tool of the Tyrant’: Maurene Comey, Fired by Trump DOJ, Sounds Alarm

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July 17, 2025

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Maurene Comey, the veteran federal prosecutor who led the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice amid a sweeping Trump administration scandal over its refusal to release the so-called Epstein files. Now, she has a few words of advice for her former colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” wrote Comey, in a letter obtained by Politico. “Do not let that happen.”

Maurene Comey served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and is the daughter of the also-fired former FBI Director James Comey, who reportedly is under investigation by the Trump DOJ.

READ MORE: ‘Total Nonsense’: Stephen Miller Blasted Over ‘Wonders’ of Life ‘When Illegals Are Gone’

“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.”

Also in her letter, which Politico’s Kyle Cheney posted (below), Comey wrote: “Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination. Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful.”

“For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, the hard part seemed to be acting ‘without favor.’ That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law,” she explained. “Fear was never really conceivable. We don’t fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office.”

She lamented, “we have entered a new phase where ‘without fear’ may be the challenge.”

Read Comey’s letter below or at this link.

READ MORE: Republican Says Trump on Immigration Could Be Like Lincoln Was for Slavery

 

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