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ArcticStones's avatar

Update: Noem Visited Biohazard Lab Before Hospitalization

Yesterday, Kristi Noem was hospitalized for an allergic reaction – one day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared a photo of himself alongside Noem visiting a biosafety lab that was temporarily shut down due to safety concerns.

https://politicalwire.com/2025/06/18/noem-visited-biohazard-lab-before-hospitalization/

Yup, RFK Jr is "Making America Healthy Again" – starting with Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem!

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Diane Romino's avatar

🤣🤣🤣

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Patrick's avatar

I prefer the reaction to botox injections theory.

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Michael G Baer's avatar

Maybe the remaining shred of her soul is conducting civil war in her psyche... or god is calling... and she's pissed.

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BeeBeeinNYC's avatar

How much synthetic crap can your body hold before rebelling against it?

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Michael G Baer's avatar

Do you think she was allergic to something toxic at the biolab, or just the proximity to Kennedy himself? I hope she gets so sick she has to resign.

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ArcticStones's avatar

I suspect Kristi Noem is allergic to Reality itself – for as we know, Reality has a Liberal bias.

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CC Befana's avatar

This is the best news of the day...karma is a bitch! Stupid is as stupid does. I guess they wanted to prove to their nonsensical followers that BIOHAZARD signs are fake news???? What a couple of lunkheads!

Thank you. I've been quite wound up this afternoon about the Senate budget. I feel a bit more peaceful now.

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Millie Polli Haskell's avatar

Good Evening, I just finished sending my report. It included some of the wording from the script, plus my own. I added Sen. Scott "YOU are a Billionaire!"It's disgraceful that You and Sen. Thune and Sen. CRAPO called for DEEPER CUTS?? What The Fuck?? Shame on All of You!! Something else I was thinking about: Trump walks into one room in the White House, comes out with nothing of importance. Goes back tries again, still nothing, because he is the most Unintelligent Man in the World! What if we send Him two 100lb. Cartons of Fortune Cookies? He can go Crazy looking through them to see what decisions He can make! It will definitely keep Him busy till the Mid-Terms!

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ArcticStones's avatar

That’s a hilarious suggestion!

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Patrick's avatar

A "biosafety lab" that was temporarily shut down due to... safety concerns? Someone needs to explain that.

That sounds like something RFK Jr would be in charge of.

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ArcticStones's avatar

Bingo!

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Faith Wilson's avatar

I assumed it was because she somehow encountered facts

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ArcticStones's avatar

Facts are indeed toxic to the MAGA universe.

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Deborah Hemenway's avatar

I don't know about you all, but I am sick and tired of Democrats being harassed and put in handcuffs or arrested for asking questions or doing their oversight jobs and running a courtroom. The brown shirts aka ICE are out of control. Also, from what I understand 1 billion over budget already and running out of money. I believe in appropriate immigration enforcement. This is not it. It is cruel and dangerous and has Stephen Miller's, the minister of hate and cruelty, hands all over it. Poor Kristi Noem but not a word about the legislators attacked in Minn. What is with Sen. Lee anyway. He sounds like he has screw loose.

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WA's avatar

Self report from WI several separate Calls are in to Republican members of congress regarding Tariffs/bill, attack on science and academia, ICE and Putin/ Ukraine and Middle East.

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Michael G Baer's avatar

I read this morning's substack by Lucas Kunce, who faced off against Hawley in the 2024 Missouri Senate race and lost by a few points. He was a Marine and had a stint as a joint chiefs staffer on nuclear non proliferation team and so has hands on expertise and insight into Iran, its nuclear capabilities, and the state of negotiations at the moment Trump 1.0 withdrew from the treaty.

I took the opportunity to riff in his comment section related to expanding the call base on the Well We Are All Gonna Die Bill. As others here have shared their messages to Reps, please feel free to use any part of this to promote expanded calling. I will be using some version of this message on every substack I'm following.

"Like everyone else, I have no special insight into his mind..."

Let me help you with that. Trump is insane. He is a megalomaniac in cognitive decline. He is non-strategic, acting on the whims of his current thoughtline or whisperings of his favored advisor of the moment, most often Stephen Miller. He lives for only three things; Power, Money, and Adulation. As his "policies" are ever exposed as complete failures and his adulation wanes, he acts out his anger, fear and contempt with retribution. He is boxed in and down to his last card... fear and intimidation. We the People demonstrated our absolute disdain and courage this weekend... with 6-10 million out on the streets and parks throughout the land. His only move is to double down on the last card. He is at his most vulnerable, and his most dangerous; both are true in this moment.

We have shown our disapproval with No Kings... now we must continue to demonstrate our courage and our resolve, and build on the momentum.

What we can do besides the next action on the street is hit the phonelines to our Senators about the kill the killer bill, i.e the reconcilliation bill before the Senate, which will gut healthcare for tens of millions and balloon the deficit, among other really bad things for everyday Americans.

There is a great and simple website, 5calls.org which will give you the phone numbers and suggested talking points for your Senators, simply by putting in your zipcode. Many thousands of citizens are calling their Senators weekly, some daily. But we need hundreds of thousands more in the last half of June. Calling works. Senators say so. Political insiders and former staffers says so. It's easy and takes little time and makes a huge difference.

Let's do this.. WE are the PEOPLE. We have agency. Its our country and our government.

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Michael G Baer's avatar

Ben Wikler agrees with me this morning on the Contrarian. SPREAD THE WORD ~ Make those calls!!!

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/coffee-with-contrarians-featuring-ff2?utm_source=live-stream-redirect&triedRedirect=true

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kitkatmia's avatar

i have found the easiest way to make the calls (all repub for me so really no fun)

is to use resist bot on my phone. you text resist and/or 50409. it's all done by text with prompts. i speak into my phone. use short sentences. they do everything else. i select congress and email. its quick and done. and i make shit up as i go along! it's a purging of sorts.

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Michael G Baer's avatar

Understood. That sounds like a cool App.

So now you have more time to call organizations to urge them to get their constituents and supporters to call congress to kill the killer bill?

I get to leave messages of support for Alex Padilla on his voice mail. Today I thanked him for his speech on the Senate floor yesterday. Yesterday I encouraged him to sue DHS and Noem, personally for what happened, as well as rally his Senate colleagues to take consequential actions against the illegal violence. As it turns out, I was calling just around the time he was doing that very thing. I also asked him how we can have his back, and he answered it in the Senate the next day.. Hit the streets, people!!!

So it's a little different in blue land. I also am calling AG Bonta daily urging action against DHS and Noem (and FBI ?) for the assault on our Senator and our immigrants.

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Eric Johnson's avatar

My topic for today's calls to rep and senators was to remind them that Trump doesn't have authority to attack Iran. There are letters pointing this out that can be signed in the House (from Thomas Massie [!]) and Senate (Tim Kaine). The House letter is bipartisan; I don't know details on the Senate letter.

Ask your Legislators to sign on.

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Deborah Potter's avatar

Here's more info about the bipartisan War Powers Resolution to restrict dt.

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/trump-iran-israel-war-congress-massie-khanna

The text of the joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives is posted here by Senator Kaine. https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-announces-the-filing-of-a-war-powers-resolution-to-prevent-war-with-iran

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Kate O'Shea's avatar

Thank you so much Deborah for this level of detail! I have called my New Mexico representatives!

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Deborah Potter's avatar

I just sent you a direct message via Substack.

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Jayne M's avatar

Thank you for posting. Just called my 2 DEM Senators asking they sign it.

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David E.'s avatar

I don't know if this has been posted elsewhere, but here's a link to the House resolution:

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hconres38ih

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Deborah Potter's avatar

Thanks, David. I only found the joint resolution of Senate and House, so this may be preceeding.

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gerri caldarola's avatar

Have called my Senators to demand censure of Mike Lee for his remarks re: murders in MN; to reject the Senate reconciliation bill; to put their bodies on the line at ICE detention centers in WA state

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Catherine Giovannoni's avatar

Thanks, Simon, for the great summary.

I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to express my opposition to the Trump budget, especially the selling off of our national parks and wilderness. That land belongs to all Americans, including future Americans. How dare they?

I'm writing postcards to North Carolina voters today.

Virginia's primary elections were yesterday. Along with Abigail Spanberger, Democrats will be working to elect Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor and Jay Jones for Attorney General. It's a strong team.

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Lisa Iannucci's avatar

Jones was interviewed on the DNC daily livestream today!

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Lisa Iannucci's avatar

Again, such a great discussion with Adam Klasfeld! Thank you.

Attended a fantastic town hall w Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ12) last evening. She was forthright, honest and inspiring. So nice to hear from an actual congressperson in a district that has been all but abandoned by Chris Smith (Traitor-NJ04). She shared the same marching orders we always receive here at Hopium:

Contact legislators daily

Stay engaged

Support local/state party and candidates

Grassroots activism

Wrote our county Dem chair, told her about the daily DNC livestream and Substack and told her to please push those out to membership. Also told her about Chair Martin's plans for outreach and mobilization going forward. Urged her to reach out to state party chair to push him to message to county and municipal Dems about the national initiatives: partisan registration, funding, training, which to date we've heard NOTHING about. Local, county and state Dems are feeling demoralized bc we are being drowned out by the R propaganda machine and billionaires funding it. Chair Martin has a plan but our chair does nothing other than a monthly newsletter that NO ONE READS. UGH. Simon, any help you could give us from the top down (help from Vice Chair Kleeb?) would be of great help.

Other activities aside from the daily calls: upcoming meeting of local Dem working group (planners of Asbury Park No Kings), postcards to VA and NJ, phone banking for state assembly candidates.

Keep Going!

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J Laughlin's avatar

Excellent collaboration! Keep ‘em coming

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Catherine Giovannoni's avatar

Here's a great interview with Jay Jones, the Democrats' candidate for Attorney General in Virginia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAIdVHBPr40

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Deborah Potter's avatar

Self report. Today I am thanking Senators Heinrich and Lujan for these efforts:

Heinrich, Luján, Senate Democrats Press Trump Administration to Resume Processing DACA Applications https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-lujan-senate-democrats-press-trump-administration-to-resume-processing-daca-applications

Heinrich, Luján, Senate Democrats Demand Trump Withdraw Military Forces from Los Angeles

https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-lujan-senate-democrats-demand-trump-withdraw-military-forces-from-los-angeles

I'm also letting both Senators know about the hearing on Tuesday for resolution Defending our U.S. Constitution and Separation of Powers: portions of both Senate Districts and all three House Districts in NM are included in the three Counties where these resolutions are being introduced.

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Rachel Poliner's avatar

On the topic of Resolutions / reminding the country that July 4 is about demanding democracy and breaking from a mad king...

I've been working on a Resolution with my Boston City Councilor and his team that is still going through revisions so isn't shareable yet, but we're expecting to post it on Monday, then he'll give a speech and present it for a vote at the Council meeting on Wednesday. We're tying it to history (thank you Deborah and Mark for sharing how you did that in Bernalillo County and Stow) and name impacts on our city. I'll share it when it's ready.

If anybody else has resolutions, articles of dissent, or other format to share, please do! Did the Tucson draft progress? Durham NC? Thanks in advance for any drafts.

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Rachel Poliner's avatar

Adding: sitting with an activist colleague tonight to participate in Rep Jayapal's Resistance Lab 2.0 (which was great), my workshop partner had the great idea of reading the resolution at the next big event on July 17, Good Trouble Lives On.

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Anne's avatar

MAGA = Morons Are Governing America

Thats a hat we all can wear!!

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Randy Schutt's avatar

Chant heard at the Huntington Beach, CA No Kings Day demonstration:

"Never Again Republican."

This would be particularly juicy if it was chanted by older people who were formerly Republicans (which doesn't seem too unlikely given that Orange County used to be a Republican stronghold. And this chant might be useful elsewhere. :)

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Emily H's avatar

I live a small hop from Yosemite and an even smaller hop from Sonora Pass in national forest land in Northern California. The attempted Grab of Our Federal Lands in the Senate’s bumbling, bashing, braggadocio bill rewrite is receiving my undivided attention this morning. Especially given that Sen Padilla is clearly on the side of angels with respect to everything immigration related, not to mention Get-the-military-out-of-L.A. related, and Senator Schiff is the angels’ spokesperson.

Our MAGAstooge Rep McClintock (who is a disgusting mouthpiece for Republican Party Poppycock Manure) shall be reminded that effecting the closure of our regional hospitals will clearly fail to endear him to his constituents.

Our DCC is crafting various memoranda about local issues, but also to condemn sending our youth off to be canon fodder (several have kin in the military). We’re voting on wording and document deployment today.

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John Payne's avatar

That's great Emily. It's funny, when push comes to shove, I really don't think the red-hatted hunters, ORVers, ranchers, etc., that have access to the wide open spaces represented by federal lands in the west, want those lands privatized. Some of them might be allies on this one if they can expand their viewpoint a bit.

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Laura Camp's avatar

Good point. Raising awareness on this is my new goal!

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Laura Camp's avatar

Thank you, Emily. I agree we must raise the profile of the proposed public land grab and prevent it.

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Punkette's avatar

Excellent conversation, Simon and Adam! Thank you, thank you. 💙 I am continuing to celebrate our wins, especially on No Kings Day!

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