<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Siren: Siren Shorts]]></title><description><![CDATA[Siren Shorts are bite-sized, rapid-response videos designed to quickly examine breaking news by showing you the whole picture. Hosted by Sam Schwartz and Micah Erfan.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/s/america-matters</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yLIf!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a8d7408-d1c0-47e3-9b85-c0227d58f7c2_600x600.png</url><title>The Siren: Siren Shorts</title><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/s/america-matters</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 15:35:18 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[The Siren Network]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[thesirennetwork@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[thesirennetwork@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[The Siren]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[The Siren]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[thesirennetwork@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[thesirennetwork@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[The Siren]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[WATCH: Trump Loses MASSIVE Support From Catholics, New Poll Finds]]></title><description><![CDATA[Donald Trump is hemorrhaging support from a base of followers that he&#8217;s historically had no problems with.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-trump-loses-massive-support</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-trump-loses-massive-support</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2026 21:01:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/197140790/738c630d2df308c83dcb7dae821ce0f3.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Donald Trump is hemorrhaging support from a base of followers that he&#8217;s historically had no problems with. A newly released poll shows Catholics abandoning Trump after his baffling decisions to engage in blasphemy, mocking Jesus and the Catholic faith as a whole.</p><p>This follows previous blowback that Trump has received, from top MAGA influencers and religious leaders alike condemning Trump&#8217;s actions. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fb1a9847-8612-42a0-9934-5b78ffbfef96_2269x2269.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;ef209920-b065-49ab-8ca2-2ade322f945c&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you value this reporting and want it to continue, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription. Your support is entirely what makes this work possible.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-trump-loses-massive-support?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-trump-loses-massive-support?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[HUGE: Democrats SUE TRUMP to Prevent His Takeover of 2026 Midterm Elections]]></title><description><![CDATA[Donald Trump and his allies have waged an unprecedented war on America&#8217;s election infrastructure since the beginning of his second term.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/huge-democrats-sue-trump-to-prevent</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/huge-democrats-sue-trump-to-prevent</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:03:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194858085/09b0dc620b2e310053549b8e7b29d4c3.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Donald Trump and his allies have waged an unprecedented war on America&#8217;s election infrastructure since the beginning of his second term. Through an endless barrage of unconstitutional executive orders, Trump seems dead-set on tampering with voting ahead of 2026 and 2028, as Republicans stare down a generationally bad defeat in the upcoming midterm elections.</p><p>The good news is that Democrats are fighting back. A group of 23 states led by Democrats have officially sued Donald Trump and other members of his administration over their unconstitutional interference with mail-in ballots. This latest attempt by Trump at suppressing and interfering with the upcoming midterm elections came through a blatantly illegal executive order. Not one Republican-led state joined the lawsuit.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you value this reporting and want it to continue, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription to The Siren. Your support is entirely what makes this work possible</a>.</strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>The executive order in question directed federal agencies to compile a list of eligible voters, and ordered the U.S. Postal Service to regulate and restrict mail-in voting. You know, the voting method that Trump <em>just used</em> last month to vote in a Florida special election.</p><p>Dragging Trump to court will slow down his efforts to steal the midterm elections. Thanks to an army of Democratic Attorneys General and Governors, Trump has a very steep hill to climb before he lays one more finger on our elections.</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/fb1a9847-8612-42a0-9934-5b78ffbfef96_2269x2269.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;9bc6da0a-1016-46fc-b9e8-2cb52afb723d&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/huge-democrats-sue-trump-to-prevent?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/huge-democrats-sue-trump-to-prevent?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[WATCH: TMZ Opens DC Office & Republicans are SCRAMBLING]]></title><description><![CDATA[TMZ is officially in Washington DC, and Republican lawmakers are not having a very good time.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-tmz-opens-dc-office-and-republicans</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-tmz-opens-dc-office-and-republicans</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:48:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194244183/75b25aeec3dd48aa85f4835f8a05dc6a.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>TMZ is officially in Washington DC, and Republican lawmakers are not having a very good time. They&#8217;ve been on the scene for just one day and have already confronted Ted Cruz about his refusal to comment on Trump&#8217;s egregious attacks on the Pope and his mockery of Jesus Christ, and Lindsey Graham for his Disney World vacation amid the government shutdown.</p><p>More concerningly, two members of Congress resigned today due to sexual assault and rape allegations. TMZ&#8217;s presence in DC might be exactly what we need to expose members of Congress who think the law doesn&#8217;t apply to them, as legacy media reporters and outlets largely refuse to cover these stories in fear of losing their access.</p><p>The bottom line is: If you are a member of Congress engaging in illegal behavior, you should not be serving in Congress, no matter what your political affiliation is. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;98335232-4387-459d-a7d4-6beb784973e5&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks down this story and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Videos like these are entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-tmz-opens-dc-office-and-republicans?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-tmz-opens-dc-office-and-republicans?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: Trump DELETES Truth Social Post After HUGE MAGA Backlash]]></title><description><![CDATA[Is it possible to be a real Catholic and still support Donald Trump at this point?]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-trump-deletes-truth-social</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-trump-deletes-truth-social</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 23:29:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/194099779/878e2a396c624a302345fd84993b105a.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Is it possible to be a real Catholic and still support Donald Trump at this point? Last night, Donald Trump mocked and attacked the Pope, saying he was &#8220;weak on crime.&#8221; He then posted an image of himself dressed in religious robes, with people on their knees praying to him, surrounded by floating figures resembling angles, with glowing hands on a man&#8217;s forehead, supposedly healing him.</p><p>In other words, Trump attacked the Pope, and then said that he was actually Jesus. We&#8217;ve spoken a lot about the growing MAGA civil war, and Trump&#8217;s loss of supporters like Alex Jones, Marjorie Taylor Green, Nick Fuentes, Joe Rogan, and more. But the immediate, voracious backlash from MAGA and Trump&#8217;s biggest supporters in the media against his two posts, has been unlike anything we&#8217;ve ever seen.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you value this reporting and want it to continue, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription. Your support is entirely what makes this work possible.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Practically every single prominent MAGA figure you can think of has slammed Trump&#8217;s actions, calling it &#8220;blasphemous&#8221; and telling him to take down his posts. Cardinals and Archbishops from across the nation issued rare statements calling for an apology from Trump, and voicing their disgust with his actions. The comments of Trump&#8217;s Truth Social posts, filled with some of the most committed, self-described &#8220;Ultra MAGA&#8221; supporters, looks like your average resistance Twitter or BlueSky post, with some followers calling Trump the "Antichrist,&#8221; a &#8220;False God,&#8221; and saying &#8220;I&#8217;m officially 100% done with you [&#8230;] I cannot believe I voted for you three times!&#8221;</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:94946,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/i/194099779?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcC2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F230ed703-e73a-41fe-88ac-90b127fe75c1_1280x720.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The comments on Trump&#8217;s Truth Social posts from MAGA supporters, calling him the &#8220;Antichrist&#8221;, and regretting their votes.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Pope Leo&#8217;s reaction was swift but calm, saying: &#8220;I&#8217;m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.&#8221; And shockingly, Donald Trump, who has made it his mantra to never apologize or admit wrongdoing, has taken down the post depicting himself as Jesus, after saying he posted it himself and thought he was a doctor. </p><p>In the same press conference, Trump continued to attack the Pope, as his war in Iran rages on and his approval rating falls to levels never before seen in U.S. history. So much for the &#8220;Golden Age of America.&#8221;</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;4a0dc331-7fba-4a6a-b3e7-d7e471b0d3cd&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-trump-deletes-truth-social?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-trump-deletes-truth-social?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: Pam Bondi Might Be Going to Prison]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pam Bondi is now trying to evade a Congressional subpoena to testify about her role in the coverup of the Epstein Files.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-pam-bondi-might-be-going</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-pam-bondi-might-be-going</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:57:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193662901/369bf3116b1b8472111a451403c2a49d.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Pam Bondi is now trying to evade a Congressional subpoena to testify about her role in the coverup of the Epstein Files. On Wednesday morning, the DOJ released a statement saying Pam Bondi would not appear in front of the Oversight Committee, which would be contempt of Congress, also known as a crime.</p><p>Other Trump allies, like Steve Bannon, have gone to prison for this exact same reason.</p><p>The Trump regime and its DOJ continue to hide over 2.5 million Epstein Files documents from the public, which they are still legally required to release. Survivors have not gotten accountability, and their abusers are still free, with many people referenced in the Epstein Files working in the Trump White House.</p><p>Pam Bondi will no doubt go down in the history books, but not in the way she wants. Bondi will be remembered for her protection of pedophiles and her coverup of the Epstein Files, in her shameless attempt to shield Donald Trump and his billionaire friends from accountability and justice. In addition, Bondi will be remembered for her lawless political prosecutions of Donald Trump&#8217;s enemies, and her manic breakdown during a Congressional testimony.</p><p>The &#8220;most transparent administration in history&#8221; is sure trying to keep things quiet right now. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;3b53cc52-7550-49b1-be78-f9b22a1cec9e&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Want to supercharge our fight against Trump? Become a paid subscriber today to support The Siren&#8217;s mission and shows like these.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: MAGA Congressman CAUGHT in Predatory Sex Scandal]]></title><description><![CDATA[Trump-endorsed MAGA Congressman Tony Gonzales has been caught in a second sex scandal.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-maga-congressman-caught</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-maga-congressman-caught</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:27:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193414419/159b01f125b7c7ed382674d40d3a4f38.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In possibly the most unsurprising twist of all time, yet <em>another </em>MAGA Congressman&#8217;s career has been ruined after his latest sex scandal has surfaced.</p><p>This time, it&#8217;s Texas MAGA Rep. Tony Gonzales, who according to newly released text messages, pressured his political director to send him nude images more than 12 times, in addition to asking for sex. Gonzales said, &#8220;I know what I want and I won't stop until I get it,&#8221; even as the staffer rejected him.</p><p>Gonzales is already under fire for his affair with a staffer in the lead-up to her suicide, which prompted a House Ethics Committee investigation into his actions. Gonzales is currently married with six children, and has admitted to having the affair, saying &#8220;I've asked God to forgive me, which he has.&#8221;</p><p>In the Trump White House, this might make Gonzales eligible for a cabinet position. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;2761f5aa-4ac2-4e96-8222-bdd1bb924b79&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Videos like these are entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[WATCH: Top Trump Supporters ABANDON him as MAGA Falls Apart...]]></title><description><![CDATA[It's all coming to an end. This failed presidency is crashing and burning in real time.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-top-trump-supporters-abandon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-top-trump-supporters-abandon</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 21:51:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/193207230/bc0948a5f806779127a6cb1a8c48fd34.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Trump&#8217;s lies are finally catching up with him. We are over a year into Donald Trump&#8217;s second term, and the state of America is pure chaos. Between new wars, the longest government shutdowns in U.S. history, a violent secret police force executing Americans on the street, massive unemployment rates, skyrocketing gas prices, countless illegal and unconstitutional actions including war crimes broadcast through Twitter, and so much more, Trump&#8217;s biggest supporters are rapidly turning on him.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you value this reporting and want it to continue, please consider subscribing or gifting a subscription. Your support is what makes this work possible.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>We&#8217;re not exaggerating, either. Literally almost every single prominent media personality who endorsed Trump in 2024 have completely turned against him, with more leaving the MAGA ranks daily.</p><p>Every week, a new Joe Rogan clip surfaces bashing Trump. Alex Jones said Trump is &#8220;gone&#8221; because he is visibly sick and decaying. Andrew Schultz and Theo Von, two comedians turned podcasters who both had Trump on their shows, have both distanced themselves from Trump, with Schulz stating that he regretted his vote because Trump was doing the "exact opposite" of what he promised during the 2024 election. Self-avowed white supremacist Nick Fuentes recently said he is done with Trump and the GOP. And &#8220;manosphere&#8221; individuals like &#8216;Sneako&#8217; are openly tweeting about how much they miss Joe Biden.</p><p>If only there was someone else running in 2024 who told you all of this would happen.</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;0600934c-8668-4834-b355-ced5d2128de4&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks down this story and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-top-trump-supporters-abandon?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-top-trump-supporters-abandon?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Democrats Won Big in Virginia. Here's 12 Ways They Can Deliver]]></title><description><![CDATA[It's time to deliver...]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-won-big-in-virginia-heres</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-won-big-in-virginia-heres</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:36:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp" width="1456" height="819" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GEcY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c014305-dfdb-4999-96a2-093e0f52181c_1920x1080.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p style="text-align: center;"><em>A guest post by </em><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;fb99ac34-ad83-4263-b298-061eb86e38de&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>. </p><p>Virginia Democrats just had one of the most productive legislative sessions in years. With a historic trifecta, the largest House majority in nearly four decades, a Senate majority, and Governor Abigail Spanberger in the Executive Mansion, they came to Richmond with a mandate: make Virginia more affordable for working families.</p><p>And so far, they&#8217;ve made real progress. Spanberger has signed legislation reining in pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who inflate prescription drug prices. Manufactured homes can now be built in more places. High energy users like data centers must now pay for their own infrastructure, shielding ratepayers from those costs. And a free state tax filing program, passed unanimously, means working Virginians no longer have to pay a private company just to file their taxes.</p><p>That&#8217;s a genuine start. But let&#8217;s be honest, it&#8217;s only a start. The affordability crisis in Virginia runs deep, and what&#8217;s been signed so far has only scratched the surface of what&#8217;s possible. Here are 12 proven ideas that would do exactly that.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg" width="1456" height="679" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:679,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1523946,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g2bt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77501c24-c594-448b-8bdc-05e9176df191_1500x700.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>HOUSING</strong></h1><p>Rising housing costs are the single biggest driver of financial stress for Virginia families. The diagnosis is simple: we don&#8217;t have enough homes. Building more housing, in more places, faster, is the most powerful lever Democrats have, and it doesn&#8217;t require a massive government spending program. It requires rolling back the local rules that are currently making affordable development impossible.</p><h4><strong>1. Reduce minimum lot sizes statewide.</strong></h4><p>Zoning rules that require large minimum lot sizes artificially restrict how much housing can be built on available land. A developer who wants to build three modest homes on a lot zoned for one simply cannot, not because of economic forces, but because of a government rule.</p><p>In some localities, the minimum lot size requirements are truly astounding. In Prince William County&#8217;s agricultural zone, the minimum lot size is 10 acres, over 400,000 square feet. For reference, the footprint of a typical townhome is often just 1,400 square feet.</p><p>That is not a market outcome. It is a government-imposed ban on affordable housing. And we should be honest about why these rules exist. They are not about safety. They are not about infrastructure. In many cases, they exist because existing homeowners and local officials want to keep housing scarce and expensive. They want to protect their property values. They want to keep working-class people out. That is the uncomfortable truth that too many politicians are afraid to say out loud.</p><p>Virginia Democrats should say it. And then they should do something about it.</p><p>Virginia should make it illegal for any locality to ban townhomes, capping the minimum lot size any locality can impose at 1,400 square feet. If a locality is using land use laws to price working families out of their community, the state has not just the power but the obligation to stop them.</p><h4><strong>2. Cap building permit fees.</strong></h4><p>In parts of Northern Virginia, permit fees and local charges add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of building a single home. These costs get passed directly to buyers and renters. They are effectively a government tax on housing construction, and they fall hardest on the most affordable end of the market, where margins are thinnest, and developers are most price-sensitive. Capping them statewide puts direct downward pressure on the cost of building homes.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:675,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:88808,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/webp&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!shuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c287f91-788f-4ba0-a909-109110811f2a_1200x675.webp 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>TAX REFORM</strong></h1><h4><strong>3. Implement a split-rate property tax.</strong></h4><p>A split-rate property tax taxes land at a higher rate than the buildings on it. The logic is straightforward: taxing land value discourages speculation and landbanking, i.e., holding under-built or vacant property in high-demand areas while waiting for values to rise. Taxing buildings less encourages development and improvement. If you are a wealthy investor who owns a surface parking lot in the middle of a thriving neighborhood, your tax bill goes up, which creates real pressure to build something useful. Regular homeowners who actually use their land come out ahead. Renters and new buyers benefit from lower rents and lower housing prices. It is a pro-development, anti-speculation reform that doesn&#8217;t require a single dollar of new spending.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg" width="1456" height="971" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:971,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:314288,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QuBk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01c4feb8-bef8-425c-ad72-ccf5e4ee7ac1_2500x1667.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>HEALTHCARE</strong></h1><p>Healthcare costs are squeezing Virginia families from every direction, at the pharmacy, in the hospital, and on their insurance bills. The common thread in each of the following proposals is the same: more competition, more transparency, more supply.</p><h4><strong>4. Allow full independent practice rights for nurses.</strong></h4><p>Virginia requires nurses to practice under physician supervision even when they are fully qualified to treat patients independently. The result is a government-enforced bottleneck that restricts the supply of care, particularly in rural parts of the state where physician shortages are most severe. Removing that restriction expands access, increases competition, and drives down costs. It is one of the clearest examples of occupational regulation that protects incumbents rather than patients.</p><h4><strong>5. Open accelerated medical school pathways.</strong></h4><p>The physician shortage is fundamentally a supply problem, and supply problems have supply solutions. Accelerated three-year MD programs, already piloted in states across the country, can increase the number of practicing physicians faster without reducing the quality of care. More doctors mean more competition. More competition means lower prices. This is not complicated.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg" width="1200" height="800" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:800,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:112198,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RgZp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1afac68f-df86-4cb9-af67-8ad98207cff2_1200x800.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>CONSUMER PROTECTION</strong></h1><h4><strong>6. Comprehensive junk fee ban and all-in pricing law.</strong></h4><p>Here is a simple principle that Virginia should put into law: if a fee applies to every single customer, it is part of the price. Period. It must be included in the advertised price, online, in print, at the point of first display, everywhere.</p><p>The list of fees this would eliminate is long and familiar. Resort fees and destination fees tacked onto hotel bills. Service fees and order processing fees added at the last step of buying a concert ticket. Apartment admin fees and lease initiation fees charged to every tenant. Telecom regulatory recovery fees buried in the fine print of your phone bill. Healthcare facility fees charged for routine outpatient visits that have nothing to do with the care you received.</p><p>These fees exist for one reason: to make the price look lower than it is. They are a form of consumer fraud that has been normalized by the industry. Virginia should follow the lead of other states and make them illegal.</p><h4><strong>7. Require interchange competition on credit card transactions.</strong></h4><p>Every time a consumer swipes a card, the merchant pays a fee, typically 2 to 3 percent, to the card network and issuing bank. Those fees are built into the prices of everything you buy, whether you pay with cash, card, or anything else. Small businesses pay them and have no choice but to pass them on.</p><p>The problem is not the existence of any fee. It is the lack of competition that allows the fee to be so high. Visa and Mastercard dominate the market and set fee schedules with little competitive pressure. Requiring card networks to offer merchants a choice of at least two unaffiliated routing networks, the model behind the federal Credit Card Competition Act, lets the market drive fees down. It is not a price cap. It is a competition mandate. And it would put real money back in the pockets of consumers and small business owners across Virginia.</p><h4><strong>8. Allow direct sale of cars.</strong></h4><p>Virginia law requires automakers to sell vehicles through franchised dealerships. This is not a market outcome; it is a government mandate that protects a middleman industry from competition. Consumers pay for it in the form of higher prices and a worse buying experience. Allowing manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, as Tesla and others have gotten permission to do in select states, introduces genuine competition into the car market and drives prices down. There is no consumer protection rationale for this restriction. It exists because dealers lobbied for it. That is not a good enough reason to keep it.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg" width="1200" height="675" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:675,&quot;width&quot;:1200,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1223879,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vsT_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3e6efab2-3c81-4f88-a671-bc644cbaa072_1200x675.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>BUSINESS CLIMATE</strong></h1><h4><strong>9. Eliminate all Virginia corporate welfare, redirect the savings to business courts, and reduce business fees.</strong></h4><p>Virginia hands out hundreds of millions of dollars in targeted tax breaks, subsidies, and exemptions to specific industries and corporations every year. The data center tax exemption alone costs the Commonwealth nearly two billion dollars in a single fiscal year. Some of these giveaways may have made sense when they were created. Most have never been seriously evaluated. All of them represent a choice to favor politically connected industries over ordinary Virginians and small businesses.</p><p>Democrats should end them, every single one, and use the savings to do two things. First, create dedicated Virginia business courts: specialized courts with judges who have commercial expertise, designed to resolve business disputes faster and more predictably. This is a genuine competitive advantage for attracting investment and costs a fraction of what we give away in corporate subsidies. Second, use remaining savings to reduce the fees and taxes that fall on every Virginia business, not just the ones with lobbyists. The way to help Virginia businesses is not to give more special giveaways to megacorporations. It is to reduce the real unnecessary burdens that negatively affect all businesses, large and small alike.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg" width="880" height="587" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:587,&quot;width&quot;:880,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:172974,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H0n_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F227264f2-9aaa-4af3-80f2-adfb5697a1f8_880x587.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>FOOD &amp; EVERYDAY COSTS</strong></h1><h4><strong>10. Reform Virginia&#8217;s Cottage Food Laws.</strong></h4><p>Right now, Virginia law severely restricts what home-based food producers can sell, where they can sell it, and how much they can earn doing it. A home baker who wants to sell bread at a farmers market, a jam maker who wants to supply a local grocery store, or a small food entrepreneur trying to build a business from their kitchen runs into a wall of regulations that have nothing to do with food safety and everything to do with protecting incumbent commercial producers from competition.</p><p>Reforming cottage food laws means raising or eliminating the revenue cap on home food businesses, expanding the list of approved products, and allowing direct sales through more channels, including online and at retail locations. It lowers the barrier to entry for small food entrepreneurs, increases the supply of locally produced food, and creates more competition that puts downward pressure on food prices. States like Wyoming have gone nearly fully deregulated on cottage food and seen thriving local food economies as a result.</p><p>This is a reform that Democrats should own proudly. It empowers working people to build businesses from their own kitchens, creates economic opportunity with zero public spending, and makes food more affordable and more local at the same time.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg" width="1456" height="819" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:819,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:631688,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HO54!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1669910d-0a71-465a-bbb0-9a29183d6623_3840x2160.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>EDUCATION &amp; WORKFORCE</strong></h1><h4><strong>11. Universal dual credit &#8212; 50% enrollment by 2029.</strong></h4><p>Dual credit programs allow high school students to earn college credits before they graduate, at little or no cost. Every credit earned in high school is a credit that doesn&#8217;t have to be paid for in college. Setting a concrete statewide target, 50 percent of Virginia students enrolled in a meaningful number of dual credit courses by 2029, creates accountability and puts Virginia on a path to dramatically reducing the cost of a college degree for the next generation. States like Tennessee have pursued this aggressively and seen real reductions in student debt and time-to-degree.</p><div><hr></div><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif" width="960" height="684" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:684,&quot;width&quot;:960,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:32584,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/avif&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://micahe.substack.com/i/193101306?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J7SC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fee0e51c3-21b7-4dc7-9b03-384acad26c4b_960x684.avif 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h1><strong>FISCAL STRUCTURE</strong></h1><h4><strong>12. Create a Virginia Sovereign Wealth Fund and enshrine it in the Constitution.</strong></h4><p>This one is different from the rest. It is not about lowering a specific cost today. It is about building the long-term fiscal foundation that allows Virginia to lower costs and make pro-affordability investments for decades to come.</p><p>Here is the problem. When Virginia runs a budget surplus, that money tends to get fought over and spent on one-time giveaways, a tax rebate here, a line item there, with no lasting impact. It is the fiscal equivalent of spending a windfall instead of investing it. Other countries have done something smarter: they have created sovereign wealth funds that invest surplus revenue in the market, build wealth over time, and use the returns to fund public priorities without raising taxes.</p><p>Virginia should do the same. The mechanism is simple. Every surplus dollar goes first to fully topping off Virginia&#8217;s rainy day fund, already one of the best-managed in the country. Every dollar beyond that flows automatically into a new Virginia Sovereign Wealth Fund, invested in diversified index funds managed by an independent board modeled on the Virginia Retirement System. The fund never flows backward; it only receives, never pays out during downturns. That is what the rainy day fund is for.</p><p>Over time, the profits from this fund can be used to finance tax reductions and pro-affordability investments, without raising taxes or cutting services to pay for them.</p><p>Both the waterfall mechanism and the withdrawal restrictions should be enshrined in the Virginia Constitution, protected from any future legislature tempted to raid it for short-term political gain.</p><p>For too long, Virginia surpluses have been blown on one-time giveaways rather than long-term investments. It is time to change that, structurally and permanently.</p><div><hr></div><p>Virginia Democrats came to Richmond this year with the most power they have had in a generation. They have already begun using it. But the mandate voters gave them in November was bigger than one session, bigger than one signing ceremony, bigger than any single bill.</p><p>The policies above represent a generational opportunity &#8212; to make Virginia the most affordable, most economically dynamic state on the East Coast. Not by accident. Not incrementally. But by design, with intention, and with the courage to go further than anyone has gone before.</p><p>The work has started. Now it needs to continue.</p><p><em>A guest post by </em><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;681490a7-32ea-4217-a84d-7df91fdabb77&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span>. Make sure to subscribe to Micah for more content like this, and daily news breakdown videos.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-won-big-in-virginia-heres?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-won-big-in-virginia-heres?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Democrats just crushed Trump and passed MAJOR LEGISLATION ]]></title><description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s easy for things to feel completely hopeless and dire right now in 2026 America, as Trump and his MAGA goons carry out one authoritarian action after another.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-just-crushed-trump-and</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-just-crushed-trump-and</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:08:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/192907255/3a6fc96ccea567a2c5736e78f67548ec.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s easy for things to feel completely hopeless and dire right now in 2026 America, as Trump and his MAGA goons carry out one authoritarian action after another. But good things are still happening across the nation- even under this regime- and we need to shine a light on them.</p><p>Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger of Virginia just signed a massive package of bills that actually benefit regular Americans, instead of the billionaires and corporations that Trump and Republican have been serving for his entire second term. These bills will stop predatory middlemen from hiking up drug costs, increase the housing supply while making it more affordable, eliminate junk fees on health insurance, crack down on data centers so consumers don&#8217;t have to cover their costs, and create a free tax filing program so you never have to hand TurboTax $50 just to pay the government what you already owe them.</p><p>And possibly the most significant legislation just passed by Democrats are paid sick and medical leave for Americans, something Republicans blocked for years. Now Democrats have power in Virginia and they&#8217;re using it. Elections have consequences (and sometimes good ones)!</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;61666b89-9c6c-42ed-987a-0c92c8229e45&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you believe in this work, please consider subscribing today to support our independent journalism. Your support directly fuels The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission and makes it possible to continue.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: Millions Protest Trump Worldwide During Historic No Kings Rallies]]></title><description><![CDATA[Good evening, everyone!]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-millions-protest-trump-worldwide</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-millions-protest-trump-worldwide</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sam Schwartz]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 28 Mar 2026 23:43:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/192464629/926813ca93f7c6738de8c15167fb5ccb.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Good evening, everyone! It&#8217;s Sam Schwartz from The Siren. I just got back home from an incredible No Kings protest here in Boston, filled with hope, joy, activism, and a ton of creative signs!</p><p>Early estimates put the Boston No Kings rally alone at over 100,000 attendees. To my knowledge, there is not a general consensus yet on how many people marched today across the globe, but with a record number of 3,300+ events planned internationally, (which is around 500 more than the October 2025 No Kings rallies), it&#8217;s fair to assume today&#8217;s protests will end up as the largest in U.S. history.</p><p>I spoke to Bostonians about what motivated them to show up to today&#8217;s rally, who or what they&#8217;re fighting for (or against), and much more. <strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you believe in this work, please consider subscribing today to support our independent journalism. Your support directly fuels The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission and makes it possible to continue.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Donald Trump and his MAGA goons must be watching footage of today&#8217;s record-breaking protests across the nation and shaking in their boots. Yesterday, the news of yet <em>another </em>Republican retirement echoed throughout Washington D.C., (Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, dealing a blow to Trump&#8217;s power. It&#8217;s the latest sign, along with Trump&#8217;s rapidly falling approval ratings and support among men, independents, Latinos, and young people, that Republicans are in serious trouble as we approach November.</p><p>I decided to try something different today, and hope you enjoy this video! Leave a comment down below telling me where you protested, and what your favorite sign of the day was!</p><p>All this and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-millions-protest-trump-worldwide?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-millions-protest-trump-worldwide?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump LOSES IT as TSA Crisis Rapidly Worsens]]></title><description><![CDATA[Across the nation, hours-long airport lines are causing extreme flight delays. All the while, Trump makes the situation worse online.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-loses-it-as-tsa-crisis-rapidly</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-loses-it-as-tsa-crisis-rapidly</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:29:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/191812188/8c63609d5aaaa4f2c299fa3be7d86fae.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s the current state of America under Donald Trump: Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Masked secret agents are invading American cities and executing U.S. citizens, gas prices are skyrocketing due to Trump&#8217;s illegal war in the Middle East, the job market is on life support, the president is celebrating the deaths of veterans online, and fundraising off the deaths of U.S. troops. And now, due to a partial government shutdown, massively long TSA lines are causing thousands of Americans to miss their flights.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">We are working around the clock to bring you breaking news updates. If you believe in this work, please consider subscribing to support our independent journalism. Your support directly fuels this show and makes it possible to continue.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Here&#8217;s MAGA logic, summarized: On any given day, a tumble at the stock market is immediately branded as Joe Biden&#8217;s fault from the MAGA pundit class. Hours later, a positive swing is the &#8220;Trump economy.&#8221; Basically, when anything negative happens under Donald Trump, it&#8217;s the Democrats&#8217; fault. It&#8217;s the most blatantly hypocritical and irrational argument deployed in modern American politics.</p><p>Now, you&#8217;ll hear Republicans incomprehensibly screeching about a &#8220;Democrat shutdown,&#8221; in response to the long airport wait times. In reality, Democrats have offered multiple funding bills for DHS, and in return, are asking for stricter regulations for ICE agents and DHS itself. Republicans have refused, therefore creating the current TSA crisis.</p><p>Instead of attempting to solve this problem, Donald Trump can be seen tweeting like your average Facebook shitposter, celebrating the death of a former FBI director and veteran, and posting that the Democratic party is &#8216;greatest enemy&#8217; America has, (behind only Iran, of course).</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;69b6218e-9cec-403d-95e8-777067fc16ae&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks down this story, and much more, right here on The Siren Network. Make sure to follow <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;43259697-5811-4af1-909d-3052257d1024&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for more breaking news updates.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Want to supercharge our fight against Trump? Become a paid subscriber today to support The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-loses-it-as-tsa-crisis-rapidly?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-loses-it-as-tsa-crisis-rapidly?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: Democrats Move to BLOCK Trump's Paramount Merger]]></title><description><![CDATA[Democrats are fighting back against Trump's wildly dangerous media merger.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-democrats-move-to-block</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-democrats-move-to-block</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:30:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/191633237/9b010dba568ea78aaf10a4f7420c947c.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Ellisons, a family of notorious pro-Trump billionaires, are poised to take control of dozens of major media brands if their bid to purchase Warner Bros is successful.</p><p>Of course, this is all Donald Trump&#8217;s doing, after Trump publicly interfered with Netflix&#8217;s attempt at the merger. Trump has openly stated that he wants CNN in new hands, likely to provide him with favorable media coverage. Pete Hegseth, the clownish Defense Secretary, said during a press conference, &#8220;The sooner David Ellison takes over [CNN], the better.&#8221;</p><p>These types of mergers are plainly bad for the American people and for the entertainment industry, with the merger potentially stopping dozens of films and TV shows per year from being made, slicing job opportunities within the industry, eliminating competition between studios, and creating a massive consolidation of media entities within the United States. This merger, which has overtly political incentives and benefits for the current occupant of the White House and his allies, is extremely dangerous. One or two billionaires should not own and control all of the media we consume as a nation.</p><p>In fact, even Warner Bros. staffers do not want this deal to go forward. As Politico reported, a longtime worker at Warner Bros., joked that she and her colleagues have have a &#8220;praying-to-our-savior Rob Bonta text chain,&#8221; amid layoff fears. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James are working to block this merger from going forward.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you believe in this work, please consider subscribing to support our independent journalism. Your support greatly helps us uncover the facts, fuels this show, and makes it possible to continue.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>All this and more, right here on The Siren Network. Make sure to follow <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;d1c874d0-c3df-494a-8e04-be33fe82dc4a&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for more daily breaking news videos.</p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump HUMILIATED As Every World Leader Refuses to Help Him]]></title><description><![CDATA[Trump has spent a year abusing our allies. Now, he wants them to come to his aid?]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-humiliated-as-every-world-leader</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trump-humiliated-as-every-world-leader</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 19:03:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/191505469/7766c7fa2c4d567da6cd51629dcecb96.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Donald Trump has spent a large portion of the previous year embarrassing, arguing with, and hurting our allies. He levied sweeping tariffs for no reason, attempted to &#8220;take&#8221; Greenland, called Mark Carney the &#8220;future Governor of Canada&#8221; after promising to make Canada the 51st state, leaked Emmanuel Macron&#8217;s text messages, said he no longer feels obligated to think "purely of peace," eliminated USAID funding, and literally rolled out a red carpet for Vladimir Putin.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you believe in this work, please consider subscribing to support our independent journalism. Your support greatly helps us uncover the facts, fuels this show, and makes it possible to continue.</a></strong></p><p>That list doesn&#8217;t even begin to cover all of the terrible things Trump has done to and said about our allies. But now, Trump expects these countries, which he has spent over a year abusing, to immediately join the United States in a war that <em>we </em>started in Iran?</p><p>As a result of Trump&#8217;s actions, every world leader and NATO ally has flat-out rejected Trump&#8217;s call for assistance with his Iran War, greatly humiliating him in the process. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;44b79d7d-91c6-43b0-84b6-7523b1b8472d&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks this story down and more, right here on The Siren Network. </p><p>Make sure to follow <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;a88381f2-5a12-46f0-8e51-943ca1ed3b88&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for more daily, breaking news videos!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump's Iran War is Officially BACKFIRING]]></title><description><![CDATA[The war is not going the way Trump thought it would. Because he doesn't "think" anything.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-iran-war-is-officially-backfiring</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-iran-war-is-officially-backfiring</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:15:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/191147179/9cd79152d8da0f26f00b8255361080a7.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Friday, Trump said the U.S. had &#8220;totally defeated&#8221; Iran. Like everything out of Trump&#8217;s mouth, that was a complete lie. In reality, his war in Iran is backfiring, and quickly.</p><p>Trump&#8217;s Iran War has resulted in moderate leaders in Iran being killed, with remaining moderates quickly losing power. Iran&#8217;s new Supreme Leader (also named Khamenei) is a mourning son whose wife, son, mother, and father were killed in U.S./Israeli strikes. The IRGC, the Iranian military, now rules the country, assuming near-total control over Iran&#8217;s security, politics, and economy. Iran state media is releasing videos of massive crowds of people chanting &#8220;Death to America,&#8221; with leaders promising revenge to Trump and America.</p><p><strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you haven&#8217;t already, please subscribe to support our work and this independent journalism. Your support fuels this work and ensures we can continue the show.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Oil prices have soared at an astonishingly high rate, and not just in America, but in the entire world. The Strait of Hormuz, the crucial trade route nestled between Gulf countries, has been shut down by Iran. The Trump White House was reportedly &#8220;surprised&#8221; by this development, because they are incompetent clowns. Iranian leaders have appeared on NBC News and American media to say there is &#8220;no point&#8221; in continuing peaceful negotiations with the United States.</p><p>All of this, obviously, is not good. In fact, it&#8217;s terrifying. But it&#8217;s the latest example of Trump&#8217;s radically impulsive, baffling decision making, and potentially his most dangerous, consequential action.</p><p>There is zero rational explanation as to why the U.S. decided to begin war with Iran, and if there is one, Trump and his goons certainly have not provided it. Instead, Trump is too busy wearing MAGA baseball hats to the dignified transfers of U.S. troops killed as a result of his war, and then using images of the ceremony in his fundraising emails (yes, this actually happened). This war has made America, and the world, much more dangerous than it was just one month ago.</p><p><span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;1253c825-21be-402e-a657-a5d31e44fe75&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> breaks all of this down and more, right here on The Siren Network. Make sure to follow <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Micah Erfan&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:86249574,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4d65554c-c746-4c1a-8311-790a4f945e9b_744x744.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;dfd7229e-5605-4d77-866a-264f9015e59e&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> for more daily videos!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[WATCH: White Supremacist & Jan. 6 Rioter Jake Lang Exposed As a Pedophile]]></title><description><![CDATA[It's always the ones you most expect.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-white-supremacist-and-jan-6</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-white-supremacist-and-jan-6</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 23:59:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/190561008/834dfa1c1e2906c25b3f95eddcd6e9ec.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This past weekend, we <a href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-pardoned-jan-6-rioter-sentenced">reported</a> on a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who was sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse.</p><p>Well folks, it looks like insurrectionists are cut from the same cloth, as Neo Nazi and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter, Jake Lang, has been caught attempting to meet up with a 15 year old girl. <strong><a href="http://thesirennetwork.com/subscribe">If you haven&#8217;t already, please subscribe to support our work and this independent journalism. Your support fuels this work and ensures we can continue the show.</a></strong></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>You may have seen Jake Lang this past weekend in New York City harassing Mayor Zohran Mamdani outside Gracie Mansion, where he staged a self-described anti-Muslim rally. In addition, Lang spent four years in prison before Donald Trump pardoned him and 1,500 other Jan. 6 rioters on day one of Trump&#8217;s second term. Lang was also seen kicking and destroying an anti-ICE art installation in Minnesota, for which he faces felony charges.</p><p>There are now dozens of cases of Trump&#8217;s pardoned Jan 6 insurrectionists returning to crime, or being charged with child sex crimes. Not surprising, considering their idol is an adjudicated rapist, 34-count felon, and serial fraudster.</p><p>Micah Erfan breaks down this story and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[WATCH: Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Sentenced to Life In Prison For Child Sex Abuse]]></title><description><![CDATA[He was pardoned by Trump. One year later, and he's landed right back in prison.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-pardoned-jan-6-rioter-sentenced</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-pardoned-jan-6-rioter-sentenced</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:58:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/190238646/6257a9156ec06fa3163b7b367fb0a1cd.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>More and more January 6th rioters are ending up right back in prison after their big pardon by felon-in-chief Donald Trump. At this point, enough of them have been charged with child sex crimes that we can call it a pattern.</p><p>According to Donald Trump, immigrants and minorities are the ones committing heinous crimes and need to be locked up. Turns out, it&#8217;s actually Trump&#8217;s own supporters.</p><p>Micah Erfan breaks down this story, right here on The Siren Network.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Videos like these are entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-pardoned-jan-6-rioter-sentenced?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/watch-pardoned-jan-6-rioter-sentenced?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[BREAKING: Republicans Unveil DISASTER Bill to End All Immigration]]></title><description><![CDATA[This is a completely insane bill. But it's not surprising coming from the modern day GOP.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-republicans-unveil-disaster</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-republicans-unveil-disaster</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 01:39:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/190164264/afa127cd85142508d1dabeee00b36187.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The classic Republican talking point on immigration is to say, &#8220;We&#8217;re not against immigration! Just the illegal kind.&#8221; But now, Republicans aren&#8217;t even <em>attempting</em> to hide it anymore, as Republicans in Congress are now championing a new bill designed to effectively end all immigration into the United States.</p><p>Micah Erfan breaks down the insane list of unhinged changes to the immigration system the bill asks for, including ones that are outright unconstitutional.</p><p>All this and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Videos like these are entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-republicans-unveil-disaster?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/breaking-republicans-unveil-disaster?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Give a gift subscription&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&amp;gift=true"><span>Give a gift subscription</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[6 U.S. Troops Killed as Iran War Worsens, Trump's Support Rapidly Craters]]></title><description><![CDATA[Donald Trump's war with Iran is proving to be a massive political mistake that will cost him.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:27:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/189719346/b1cd21d857e3c7c7bde8c135e940dcce.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Videos like these are entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>After Donald Trump started his latest war, this time with Iran, he spent the weekend partying in Mar-a-Lago with his billionaire friends while hiding from the public. Today, Trump spoke about his favorite color drapes while in the White House as 6 U.S. troops were confirmed to be killed so far in his war with Iran.</p><p>Trump and his MAGA cult have offered no coherent explanation as to their motives in starting this war, after Trump spent years campaigning on being the &#8220;anti-war&#8221; candidate, and the &#8220;peace&#8221; president. Pete Hegseth confirmed today the conflict was indeed a war, after Republican Senators spent the day claiming it wasn&#8217;t, before Hegseth and Trump himself said U.S. troops may be deployed to the region.</p><p>All of this, because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the New York Times reported today, spent months attempting to convince Trump to attack Iran alongside Israel. Not only did Trump do exactly what Netanyahu wanted, but Marco Rubio today said the U.S. decided to attack Iran because Israel was going to do it anyway, meaning Israel was in the driver&#8217;s seat on this war.</p><p>Trump&#8217;s MAGA party is quickly losing support over his authoritarian, unilateral decision to drag the United States into yet another Middle Eastern war. Many prominent MAGA figures such as Matt Walsh, Dave Smith, and Curt Mills, the executive director of <em>The American Conservative</em> magazine, are slamming Trump and his White House over their decision to go to war, with Mills saying Trump &#8220;could be impeached.&#8221;</p><p>We can only hope so. Micah Erfan breaks down this story and more, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens/comments&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Leave a comment&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/6-us-troops-killed-as-iran-war-worsens/comments"><span>Leave a comment</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Democrats OUTPLAY Trump as Right-Wing Media Monopoly Grows]]></title><description><![CDATA[Democrats across the nation are aligning to stop the Trump Paramount/WB merger.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:12:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/189414094/12dd751040efc22e59d5d0b00b5468fb.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Want to supercharge our fight against Trump? Become a paid subscriber today to support The Siren&#8217;s mission and shows like these.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>As the Trump-aligned Ellison family attempts to create a patently illegal right-wing media monopoly, Democrats across the nation are forming plans to stop the merger. The Ellisons have proved they are willing to placate and bend the knee to Trump in order to grow their bank accounts, as we have seen with Bari Weiss&#8217; appointment as CBS Chief, the disruption of 60 Minutes, the interference and cancellation of Stephen Colbert&#8217;s show, and Ellison&#8217;s assistance in the U.S. TikTok deal.</p><p>If this deal goes through, Trump will have proxy-control over CNN, CBS, HBO, and hundreds more of the most iconic and influential brands and media organizations in America. This is nothing except authoritarian and inherently un-democratic. The deal must be stopped.</p><p>Micah Erfan breaks down this story, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right/comments&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Leave a comment&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/democrats-outplay-trump-as-right/comments"><span>Leave a comment</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trump's Surgeon General Nominee Is Absolutely F*cking Crazy]]></title><description><![CDATA[Another day, another insane MAGA nomination.]]></description><link>https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Micah Erfan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:05:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/189293173/bd4eea9de2f1a663f4812b0382bd1fbb.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">The Siren is entirely reader supported. Become a paid subscriber today to support the show and The Siren&#8217;s pro-democracy mission!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p>Trump&#8217;s pick for the Surgeon General position, Dr. Casey Means, is just as crazy as you&#8217;d expect. In addition to being an architect of the RFK Jr. &#8220;MAHA&#8221; agenda, Means dropped out of her residency program and has not been a licensed physician since 2023.</p><p>During her recent Senate confirmation hearing, Means refused to say that vaccines do not cause autism and is a full-blown anti-vaxxer, calling them &#8220;a crime.&#8221; She fits in nicely within the most unqualified and dangerous quack administration in U.S. history.</p><p>Micah Erfan breaks down this unhinged nomination for one of the most important roles in the country, right here on The Siren Network.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is/comments&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Leave a comment&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.thesirennetwork.com/p/trumps-surgeon-general-nominee-is/comments"><span>Leave a comment</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>