Although we haven’t had a Balloon Juice fundraiser for a few weeks, that doesn’t mean we’ve been standing by or standing down (so to speak). We’ve been in regular contact with most of our partner organizations for updates on their activities and to identify opportunities to assist them in efforts that match our goals.
We have a fantastic new opportunity with The Civics Center. The Civics Center, you will recall, is on a mission to register (or pre-register) High School students on the cusp of reaching voting age. We helped them expand their Fall 2024 registration drive to several metropolitan area high schools in swing states. Right now, the Civics Center is in the midst of their “Cap, Gown and Ballot” Spring voter registration drive. For more on the organization watch the two really 1-minute YouTube videos below, or click here.
The Civics Center is implementing a pilot plan in Pittsburgh (city) High Schools (plural) to inspire and empower youth voters and encourage greater participation in the political process.
We want to help fund this registration and engagement drive in Pittsburgh for this cycle.
This is an investment in the future – both in youth registration in general but in particular with an eye sharply-trained on the November 2025 Pennsylvania Supreme Court judicial retention election. Not to mention the 2026 midterms and 2028 general elections!
Like Wisconsin, PA is a critical swing state, and this PA Supreme Court judicial retention election is every bit as important as the Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 1.
What does this entail?
Part 1.
With the help of The Civics Center and its partners, the students are holding candidate forums in their schools for the Pittsburgh mayoral race. These have been wildly successful, and have received local news coverage. The students feel heard and engaged.
Part 2.
This involves voter registration drives in those same schools, starting now and continuing into June (up to and including graduation week). The timing is especially important. Why?
There will be a retention election for THREE DEMOCRATIC justices on the seven-member Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
All of this sets the state for Part 3.
What The Civics Center is doing in this Pittsburgh and Allegheny County is a pilot program. Then they’ll be “taking it on the road.”
In summary, they are:
- Working in and helping to build a coalition of state and local groups
- Training students and educators in how to hold voter registration drives
- Providing data to illustrate the discrepancy, motivate stakeholders and track progress
- Creating an internship program for high school student leaders
- Deploying multiple opportunities for educators to get trained and involved in shaping their students’ civic futures.
Founder Laura Brill has already found $15,000 in external matches, and is hot on the trail of an additional donor to match our $25,000 goal.
The Civics Center is a 401 (c) 3 organization for those of you with potential employer matches.
For more on The Civics Center and the Pittsburgh push, you can check out Laura’s substack.
Can we do this? Are you guys up for this?
.
WaterGirl
We have an external match of $15,000!
To be matched, please tell us about your donation in the comments or by email to WaterGirl.
*hoping for more external matching, but this is what we have at the moment
lowtechcyclist
Tossed in $100.
Almost Retired
I’m in for $50! PA Supreme Court is critical!
Kristine
I’m in for $50.
To my utter shock, my tax refund showed up in my account on Friday, only 5 days after I filed. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t good, so one pleasant surprise to start the week.
Ol_Froth
FWIW, judges almost never lose retention elections in PA. However, there will also be local government and school board races this year, and of course, getting young people involved is a key to the future.
WaterGirl
@Ol_Froth: I don’t know if you are aware of this in PA, but the Rs are already organizing around this, and they see this as a BIG opportunity to get the majority on the court.
So this isn’t going to be just any old retention election. This is going to be a hard-fought battle.
*They are sure to have funding from the likes of Musk, just like they did in Wisconsin. They want to own the courts, which at this point appear to be the last bastion of democracy.
WaterGirl
@lowtechcyclist: @Almost Retired: @Kristine:
Thank you for your donations right out of the gate! It always feels good to get started!
frosty
My refund came fast too so I’m tossing $50 into the pot. PA Supreme Court is the reason our Congressional districts got ungerrymandered. We have to keep it.
Dmkingto
In for $100
suzanne
This is cool! THX for sharing it!
FYI, I looked this up, because I was confused: there is no Pittsburgh City High School. This is happening at all of the PPS high schools!
Almost Retired
@suzanne: Ah. I think she meant high schools in the city of Pittsburgh. That photo was from the Obama Academy HS, for example.
WaterGirl
@frosty: Yep. The Rs are going to fight hard to undo the un-gerrymandering.
Thank you. I think we have a whole bunch of PA peeps here on Balloon Juice, don’t we?
Avalie
In for $100. This kind of stuff matters!
WaterGirl
@suzanne: @Almost Retired: Yes, that should have been plural up top. I just edited to hopefully clarify that!.
WaterGirl
@Dmkingto: @Avalie: Thank you!
We have to hold the ground we’ve got, and gain more ground wherever we can. We can’t afford to lose any of the ground we’ve got.
suzanne
@Almost Retired: PPS is Pittsburgh Public Schools, so yes, this is all of the public high schools in the city.
It’s confusing because there is a City High School, which is a charter.
StringOnAStick
In for $25.
rikyrah
Trump Administration Draft Order Calls for Drastic Overhaul of State Department
The draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues.
April 20, 2025
A draft of a Trump administration executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department that includes eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent, according to American officials and a copy of the document.
The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy and human rights concerns.
It was not immediately clear who had compiled the document or what stage of internal debates over a restructuring of the State Department it reflected. It is one of several recent documents proposing changes to the department, and internal administration conversations take place daily on possible actions.
Some of the ideas have been debated among U.S. officials in recent weeks, though it is unclear to what degree they would be adopted or how active the draft is, officials said.
Elements of the draft executive order could change before final White House review or before President Trump signs it, if he decides to do so.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a short comment on social media after this article was published, calling it “fake news.” There are no indications that Mr. Rubio or his top aides have signed off on the document, though they have been working on a reorganization of the State Department.
Neither the State Department nor the White House National Security Council replied to requests for comment early Sunday before this article was published, including a question asking whether Mr. Trump would sign such an executive order.
The purpose of the executive order is to impose “a disciplined reorganization” of the State Department and “streamline mission delivery” while cutting “waste, fraud and abuse,” according to a copy of the draft order obtained by The New York Times. The order says the department is supposed to make the changes by Oct. 1.
Some of the proposed changes outlined in the draft document would require congressional notification and no doubt be challenged by lawmakers, including mass closures of diplomatic missions and headquarters bureaus, as well as an overhaul of the diplomatic corps. Substantial parts, if officials tried to enact them, would likely face lawsuits.
On Sunday afternoon, Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a social media post: “Whether parts of this draft EO ever reach Trump’s desk, it’s already clear this administration is determined to gut the @StateDept and run American diplomacy and development capabilities into the ground.”
A White House official said the same afternoon that the proposals were not true and that the White House was not considering them.
The document began circulating among current and former U.S. diplomats and other officials on Saturday.
Major structural changes to the State Department would be accompanied by efforts to lay off both career diplomats, known as foreign service officers, and civil service employees, who usually work in the department’s headquarters in Washington, said current and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans. The department would begin putting large numbers of workers on paid leave and sending out notices of termination, they said.
The draft executive order calls for ending the foreign service exam for aspiring diplomats, and it lays out new hiring criteria that includes “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.”
The draft says the department must greatly expand its use of artificial intelligence to help draft documents, and to undertake “policy development and review” and “operational planning.”
The proposed reorganization would get rid of regional bureaus that help make and enact policy in large parts of the globe.
Instead, the draft says, those functions would fall under four “corps”: Eurasia Corps, consisting of Europe, Russia and Central Asia; Mid-East Corps, consisting of Arab nations, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan; Latin America Corps, consisting of Central America, South America and the Caribbean; and Indo-Pacific Corps, consisting of East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
……………………………………………………………
The draft order also calls for narrowing Fulbright scholarships so that they are given only to students doing master’s level studies in national security matters.
And it says the department will end its contract with Howard University, a historically Black institution, to recruit candidates for the Rangel and Pickering fellowships, which are to be terminated. The goal of those fellowships has been to help students from underrepresented groups get a chance at entering the Foreign Service soon after graduation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/trump-state-department-overhaul.html?smid=url-share
Joy in FL
I put $15 in the thermometer a couple hours ago. I didn’t know about the match till now. Thanks, BJ Angel : )
rikyrah
Chris D. Jackson
@ChrisDJackson
Funny how the guys who screamed about Biden when gas jumped 50 cents go silent as Trump’s mouth costs Americans thousands in the stock market.
Turns out it was never about the economy—it was always about the faux outrage.
https://x.com/ChrisDJackson/status/1914344246003277971
They Call Me Noni
$25 here. Go Young People!!
rikyrah
EJW (@TedWilcox7) posted at 7:12 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
America’s First ‘Cultural Revolution’
Halligan’s job: “remove improper ideology”
She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He’s ordered her to do it. https://t.co/bokCfVO8GC https://t.co/Dyeoaymi8o
(https://x.com/TedWilcox7/status/1914291039017275844?t=pV0G5PCLUNAzkFhMnV8AIA&s=03)
Wolvesvalley
In for $100! It looks like a great initiative. And many thanks to the external matcher!
rikyrah
NewsOne (@newsone) posted at 11:25 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:![]()
#SinnersMovie
As the Ryan Coogler vampire thriller ‘Sinners’ hits theaters, we look at some of the best Black bloodsuckers ever in film and television. Which one is your favorite?
https://t.co/HJjjIZwY8F
(https://x.com/newsone/status/1914354698271826113?t=75ATxtUnsH5KxBbVNAUG4A&s=03)
rikyrah
What is this sudden emphasis on disabled people not paying taxes ( which is a lie) ?
(https://x.com/Smiley_Keke/status/1914055473613193637?s=03)
rikyrah
Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) posted at 11:02 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
Ryan Coogler’s ‘SINNERS’ officially opens at #1 at the domestic box office with $48M.
The biggest opening for an original film post-COVID. https://t.co/e0tuiM3mrm
(https://x.com/FilmUpdates/status/1914349045943865505?t=ISYEA9lgf8wcIaiDExB78Q&s=03)
rikyrah
Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) posted at 11:09 AM on Sun, Apr 20, 2025:
When I said that a 54-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by ICE, MAGA said no big deal.
Then, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was erroneously deported, and MAGA says “you always pick one person.”
It’s not one person. We learn about someone new practically everyday at this point. https://t.co/YMYMrsr4r5
(https://x.com/JessicaTarlov/status/1913988329793888663?t=CrPmfWR2oYkp-lE_y5F56g&s=03)
rikyrah
ron insana (@rinsana) posted at 10:55 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
The loss of safe haven status for U.S. assets is happening rapidly, right before our eyes. Gold, topping $3,400 per ounce, more than any other asset, is regaining its historic role. This should be disturbing to anyone owning financial assets in America.
(https://x.com/rinsana/status/1914347223497789702?t=KF6nW–7MZu_j4SmJvsiAQ&s=03)
rikyrah
Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) posted at 9:03 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
By design, some of biggest winners from clean energy investments have been coal towns that were crumbling because of competition with natural gas, and now have new lifelines with massive projects that can sustain the community for generations.
Repealing them will be crushing. https://t.co/JPobxV15cf
(https://x.com/JesseCharlesLee/status/1914319127906340955?t=M58ksfM3pqZuCqvWxnAkrw&s=03)
scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) posted at 9:07 AM on Mon, Apr 21, 2025:
While Trump’s minions stamp their feet in front of the cameras about the need for new manufacturing jobs that will compete in the future, they are cutting the knees out from the entire “green” economy at the behest of their oil/gas donor overlords. Media is silent.
(https://x.com/scarylawyerguy/status/1914320024459677772?t=L3WAOrogOHv4G54QFfcfgQ&s=03)
geg6
In for $50. An incredibly important race here. We’ll need all the help we can get.
Trapped Lurker
In for $50.00. Thank you for doing this!, Watergirl!
Jackie
And then this… seems sharing classified information with one’s wife, brother and personal lawyer is a bridge too far?
I’m beginning to think the leaker in DoD is the Secretary himself.
Geminid
@Jackie: Don Bacon was a general in the Air Force when he retired around 12 years ago. His district includes Omaha and Offutt Air Force Base, which I think is the home of Stfategic Air Command. I have a hunch Bacon will retire again after this term, but who knows?
Josie
In for $25.00.
Kayla Rudbek
In for $25
No One You Know
In for $10. Wish it were more.