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​U.S. President Donald Trump is shown on television monitor.

The Contradictions at the Heart of Trump’s Iran War Narrative

Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose Ranked Choice Voting for All Elections

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A protestor holding a sign that reads "Hey Congress Do Your Job."

Congress Isn’t Failing—It’s Choosing Not to Govern

Don't let the Jan. 6 commission be another missed opportunity

Opinion

Rioters breach Capitol security Jan. 6

Rioters breached Capitol security and stormed the building Jan. 6. The Senate appears poised to block the establishment of an investigative commission.

Win McNamee/Getty Images
Debilyn Molineaux
By Debilyn MolineauxMay 28, 2021
Debilyn Molineaux

Debilyn Molineaux is the catalyst of JEDIfutures.org , a global initiative that helps people imagine and create just, equitable, dignified, and inclusive futures. She is best known for her pioneering work in civic innovation, having co-founded Bridge Alliance, Living Room Conversations, and National Week of Conversation. She formerly acted as co-publisher for The Fulcrum. Across these efforts, Debilyn has brought together unlikely allies to co-create solutions for democracy, governance, and social transformation.

Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, systems change, and spirit. A long-time practitioner of personal and collective growth, she brings a deep commitment to the inner dimensions of change that are often overlooked but essential to transformation. Debilyn speaks of the “interstitial spaces” — the connective tissue between people, institutions, and movements — where new possibilities take root.

She also hosts the podcast Terrified Nation, which helps audiences move from fear and despair into courage and action. Her voice is sought by impact investors, changemakers, and visionary leaders who want to align resources, imagination, and human growth toward a thriving future for all.

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Molineaux is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and President/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

As a journalistic endeavor, we focus a lot on what's wrong with Congress and the dysfunction that stalls nearly all high-profile legislation from being debated. But we haven't explored the possibilities lost to partisan fighting. How many opportunities do we miss to improve our collective governance?

If Senate Republicans prevail, the so-called Jan. 6 commission will be a major missed opportunity. And the subsequent investigations will lack the gravitas of the bipartisan investigation citizens deserve. Commissions following Watergate and 9/11 put aside political gamesmanship and focused on uncovering the truth. The act of seeking facts together is essential.

All of Congress should be demanding the facts. Especially since each of our elected officials and their staff may have testimony to provide.

The alternative is investigating through congressional committees, where witnesses and committee members are the same people. It would be messier and less believable. Especially with members of Congress already campaigning for their 2022 elections. We have only to remember the many partisan investigations of Benghazi or Donald Trump followed by their weaponization for campaign ads.

Commissions are the best way for us to analyze what happened, what mistakes were made and how we can improve to prevent the same mistakes from happening again. A bipartisan Jan. 6 commission would provide the American people with the facts and reassure us that our government can correct itself in service to the people.

A commission is not a request for more partisanship. We demand an honest accounting of what happened, who was involved and what we missed that could have prevented it from happening. It's an opportunity to build trust, instead of further eroding it.

Such knowledge is critical if we are to advance our society further. It is our duty to create a safe working environment for public officials, their staff and our security forces. If we fail to create a safe working environment for public servants, then hope for democracy is decreased as public service becomes a life-or-death risk few will take.

Lack of a commission at this moment will further diminish our confidence in elected officials and their ability to put aside personal interests for the greater good. Collective good is the essence of public service. Courage is required.

Let's not waste this opportunity. Our nation is counting on our elected leaders.


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Immigration Crackdowns Are Breaking the Food System

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Photo provided by WALatinoNews

Immigration Crackdowns Are Breaking the Food System

In using immigration to target Farm and food chain workers, as well as other essential industries like carework, cleaning, and food chains, our federal government is committing us to a food system in danger.

A food system where Farmworkers, meat packers, and other food chain workers are threatened with violence is not a system that will keep families healthy and fed. It is not a system that the soils and waterways of our planet can sustain, and it is not a system that will support us in surviving climate change. We each have a role to take in moving toward a food system free of exploitation.

The threat of immigration enforcement, which has always been hand in hand with racism, makes all workers vulnerable. This form of abuse from employers, landlords, and law enforcement is used to threaten and remove workers who organize against their exploitation. This is true even in places like Washington State, where laws like the Keep Washington Working Act which prohibits local law enforcement agencies from giving any non public information to Federal Immigration officers for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement , and the recently passed HB 2165 banning mask use by law enforcement offer some kind of protection.

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Trump’s Iran Debacle Is a Reminder of Why Democracy Matters on Issues of War and Peace

Residents sit amid debris in a residential building that was hit in an airstrike earlier this morning on March 30, 2026 in the west of Tehran, Iran. The United States and Israel have continued their joint attack on Iran that began on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. allies in the region, while also effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route.

(Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Trump’s Iran Debacle Is a Reminder of Why Democracy Matters on Issues of War and Peace

More than a month into Donald Trump’s war with Iran, he still seems not to know why we are there or how we will get out. When, on February 28, President Trump launched a war of choice in Iran, he did so without consulting Congress or the American people.

The decision to start the war was his alone. Polls suggest that the public does not support Trump’s war.

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Moonshot hope amid despair of Trump’s Iran war

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Moonshot hope amid despair of Trump’s Iran war

On Wednesday evening, two historic things happened, almost simultaneously.

First, four courageous astronauts successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center aboard Artemis II, which will attempt the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

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A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worker screens passengers and airport employees at O'Hare International Airport on January 07, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. TSA employees are currently working under the threat of not receiving their next paychecks, scheduled for January 11, because of the partial government shutdown now in its third week.

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Nope. Nevermind. Some DHS agencies still shut down.

House Republicans reject clean bill to open shut-down DHS agencies (March 28 update)

House Republicans (and three Democrats) rejected the Senate's clean bill to end the shutdown late Friday night. Instead, the House passed a different bill that fully funds every agency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but for only 60 days with the knowledge that this short-term continuing resolution will not pass in the Senate.

Both chambers are out until April 13 so the shutdown is expected to last until then at least. Hope that no major weather disasters occur before then because FEMA is one of the DHS agencies out of commission (though some of its employees may be working without pay). It's possible that air travel security lines won't get worse since the President signed an Executive Order authorizing DHS to pay TSA workers. New DHS Secretary Mullin says paychecks will start to go out as early as Monday. How long can this approach continue? Unknown. Leaving aside the questionable legality of repurposing funds in this way, DHS may not be willing to keep paying TSA from these other funds long-term.

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