Reposted by Bruce LesleyMayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 09/10/2026I am angry tonight. Because tonight ICE shot a New Yorker. They shot a New Yorker while his five year old child was in the car. ICE makes this city less safe. We want them out. Now. 11675218313585
Reposted by Bruce LesleyRuthless @arrogate2013.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Court erases Hope Florida grand jury report after shutting out anyone who would defend it open.substack.com/pub/jcbruce/...open.substack.comCourt erases Hope Florida grand jury report after shutting out anyone who would defend itWhile an appeals court has ordered the secret report expunged, this is a bell that can’t be un-rung 012
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Trump Is Tearing Down the Kennedy Legacy brucelesley.substack.com/p/trump-is-t... Is there ever a point where RFK Jr. decides to do something about it?brucelesley.substack.comTrump Is Tearing Down the Kennedy LegacyAt what point is the Trump Administration simply trolling their own Cabinet Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 02/10/2026After Cornell: Protecting Survivors of Sexual Assault at Every Age brucelesley.substack.com/p/after-corn...brucelesley.substack.comAfter Cornell: Protecting Survivors of Sexual Assault at Every AgeChildren deserve the same commitment to prevention, investigation, and accountability, and Congress has legislation ready to act on. 011
Reposted by Bruce LesleyUnion of Concerned Scientists @ucs.org · 30/09/2026Today, UCS and @enviroprotnet.bsky.social led a coalition of over 75 children's environmental health experts and organizations, including the @ameracadpeds.bsky.social and @nrdc.org in calling on the EPA and RFK, Jr. to protect children nationwide.ucs-documents.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com 11616
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 29/09/2026America.gov answers to recent child poverty trends. 000
Reposted by Bruce LesleyGoldy @goldy.horsesass.org · 29/09/2026In 2027 Seattle's minimum wage will be $22.14 per hour. That's more than THREE TIMES the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour—a rate that hasn't been raised since 2009. And yet somehow we're not the jobless wasteland orthodox economics would predict. Weird.seattletimes.comSeattle announces 2027 minimum wageThe minimum wage in Seattle will increase 3.9% next year. 10038761151
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Scotland Has a Child Poverty Target. Why Doesn't America? brucelesley.substack.com/p/scotland-h...brucelesley.substack.comScotland Has a Child Poverty Target. Why Doesn't America?Scotland is making progress on child poverty, and this week its Parliament doubled down on doing more. In the United States, the child poverty target hasn't even been reintroduced. 022
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Changing Head Start Rules Would Rob Kids of Skills They Need for School and Life www.the74million.org/zero2eight/c...the74million.orgChanging Head Start Rules Would Rob Kids of Skills They Need for School and LifePosamentier & Adams: The result could be more chaotic kindergarten classes and diminished social readiness that will extend to HS and beyond. 021
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 26/09/2026‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...nytimes.com‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific MissionThe agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control. 032
Reposted by Bruce LesleyTexas Tribune @texastribune.org · 24/09/2026In El Paso, The Texas Tribune has been closely reporting on the expansion and oversight of immigration detention facilities, including Camp East Montana, the country’s largest ICE detention center. www.texastribune.org/2026/05/30/t...texastribune.orgICE sued over “inhumane” conditions at Camp East MontanaThe El Paso tent camp has seen at least three detainee deaths, a measles outbreak and nearly 50 detention standards violations in less than a year of operation. 761667956
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Congress Once Had a Dedicated Voice for Children and Families. It’s Long Past Time to Bring It Back. brucelesley.substack.com/p/congress-o... It is past time to bring back the House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.brucelesley.substack.comCongress Once Had a Dedicated Voice for Children and Families. It’s Long Past Time to Bring It Back.Every year, Congress devotes dedicated resources and sustained attention to veterans, to older Americans, to Native Americans, to small businesses, and to other constituencies with committee resources... 000
Reposted by Bruce LesleyChildren and Young People's Commissioner Scotland @cypcs.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Today marks two years since the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 came into force, enshrining children’s rights in law and giving our office new powers. Head of Legal, Nick Hobbs, explains how we’re using them, what has changed and why children’s rights need defending. Read: bit.ly/4vS2bI5 053
Reposted by Bruce LesleyJoan Alker @joanalker1.bsky.social · 23/09/2026A heartfelt thank you to @brucelesley.bsky.social and Jenny Rudisill for so thoroughly explaining why efforts to deny or ignore this Medicaid decline is just plain wrong. 042
Reposted by Bruce Lesleydougsteiger.bsky.social @dougsteiger.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Seconding Edwin's post. @brucelesley.bsky.social does an excellent job responding to the partisan hacks at Paragon. 021
Reposted by Bruce LesleyLorren 🇺🇦 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️🦩 @lorren13.bsky.social · 24/09/2026👇👇👇 and many changes are happening in 2027, conveniently after the mid-terms. The worst is truly yet to come 001
Reposted by Bruce Lesley🗽LOLGOP🗽 @lolgop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026"In what universe is it beneficial to anybody for a child not to have health insurance?" 14013
Reposted by Bruce LesleyEdwin Park @edwincpark.bsky.social · 23/09/2026From @brucelesley.bsky.social a comprehensive dismantling of the Paragon Institute's attempt to explain away a well over 2 million decline in #Medicaid and CHIP enrollment among children since the start of the Trump Administration even before most of H.R. 1's massive Medicaid cuts take effect. 095
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 23/09/2026When 2.3 Million Children Disappear from Medicaid, Ask Why brucelesley.substack.com/p/when-23-mi...brucelesley.substack.comWhen 2.3 Million Children Disappear from Medicaid, Ask WhyMedicaid and CHIP enrollment has fallen by 2.3 million children. Georgetown is asking what happened to them. The Trump Administration and its defenders are hoping you ignore the evidence. 03715
Reposted by Bruce LesleyCarole King @carolekingofficial.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Thank you, thank you to all of you who are showing up to defend The Kennedy Center! @officialtkc 481942449
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 20/09/2026For the Children, Why Washington State Voters Should Vote NO on Initiative 001 brucelesley.substack.com/p/for-the-ch...brucelesley.substack.comFor the Children, Why Washington State Voters Should Vote NO on Initiative 001The debate is framed as parents versus government. But the children whose safety, privacy, and health are at stake are too often missing from the picture. 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 09/09/2026If You Care About Children, We Are Your Advocates brucelesley.substack.com/p/if-you-car... My latest blog on why child advocacy is so desperately needed.brucelesley.substack.comIf You Care About Children, We Are Your AdvocatesWhat First Focus on Children does, why this work is personal to me, and why children need someone watching the decisions made in their name. 110
Reposted by Bruce LesleyMary Kelly Persyn @marykellypersyn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Read First Focus on Children's press release at the link below. It links to our brief at the end. #KidsFirst #ProtectChildren #AllMeansAll @brucelesley.bsky.social firstfocus.org/news/first-f...firstfocus.orgFirst Focus on Children files amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court to protect Colorado childrenBrief argues banning transgender, LGBTQ+-family children from universal pre-K is illegal, harmful to children First Focus on Children has filed 023
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 03/09/2026She was influential in many of the changes in federal, state, and local laws that have improved gender equality. Her legacy will never be forgotten. RIP Gloria Steinem. (3) 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Steinem advocated for fundamentally important women’s rights issues, including equal pay for women, child care, family medical leave, health care, the creation of women’s shelters, the ability for women to get credit cards/mortgages, and reproductive rights. (2) 100
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I had the pleasure of meeting Gloria Steinem when I was a child way back in 1974, when my mother, Bonnie Lesley, invited her to a fundraiser for the El Paso Women’s Political Caucus. Here is a picture from that dinner with my mom sitting to her left. (1) 230
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 02/09/2026A Child’s Citizenship Does Not Depend on a Parent’s Paperwork brucelesley.substack.com/p/a-childs-c... Here we go again. The Administration is proposing to gut birthright citizenship from another angle. Enough already.brucelesley.substack.comA Child’s Citizenship Does Not Depend on a Parent’s PaperworkAfter losing its effort to restrict birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court, the Trump Administration is seeking to restrict passports to children and to make them citizenship permission slips. 021
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 31/08/2026The Hidden Congressional Clawback brucelesley.substack.com/p/the-hidden... There is a program that you have probably never heard of, costing state governments $23.2 billion that they do not control, direct, operate, or even supervise. It is referred to as the Medicare prescription drug clawback.brucelesley.substack.comThe Hidden Congressional ClawbackHow a 2003 Medicare formula is costing states a record $23.2 billion this coming year and shortchanging children’s programs. 121
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 27/08/2026When ‘Parental Rights’ Means Letting a Child Die brucelesley.substack.com/p/when-paren...brucelesley.substack.comWhen 'Parental Rights' Means Letting a Child DieIn a new investigative report, ProPublica has identified at least 15 babies and children in Idaho who died between 2015 and 2025 from conditions doctors say were treatable, such as pneumonia, sepsis, ... 041
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 25/08/2026A Medicare Buy-In Might Make Sense for Some, but Just Not Kids brucelesley.substack.com/p/a-medicare... There is increasing talk about a Medicare buy-in option. Here is why that won't work for kids.brucelesley.substack.comA Medicare Buy-In Might Make Sense for Some, but Just Not KidsKrugman and Waldman have the right diagnosis but wrong prescription. 110
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 23/08/2026AI-Powered Surveillance Is Turning the United States into a Digital Police State. Now is the Time to Stop It. - ACLU of Massachusetts www.aclum.org/publications... 021
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 19/08/2026A Wake-up Call for the Country firstfocusonchildren.substack.com/p/a-wake-up-... A terrific post by Joan Lombardi.firstfocusonchildren.substack.comA Wake-up Call for the CountryAs a nation we can do so much better for young children and families. 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Parental Rights Bills Forgot Children Have Rights, Too brucelesley.substack.com/p/parental-r... A useful principle should be simple: parental rights do not give one group of parents authority over everybody else’s kids, and parental authority cannot mean that children themselves have no rights.brucelesley.substack.comParental Rights Bills Forgot Children Have Rights, TooAnd if parental rights are fundamental, they should not stop being fundamental the moment other parents disagree with the parental rights movement leaders. 020
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Whose Freedom? Trump's New Vaccine Order Leaves Children With Less Protection from Disease brucelesley.substack.com/p/whose-free...brucelesley.substack.comWhose Freedom? Trump's New Vaccine Order Leaves Children With Less Protection from DiseaseA court already blocked this rollback once. The new version calls itself freedom, but only for the adults making the choice and not the children left unprotected. 001
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 11/08/2026The Supreme Court’s Judicial Blindness to Children in OT 2025 | ACS www.acslaw.org/expertforum/...acslaw.orgThe Supreme Court’s Judicial Blindness to Children in OT 2025 | ACSAugust 11, 2026 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Children in Single-Parent Households Need Equitable Policies, Not Blame and Shame brucelesley.substack.com/p/children-i...brucelesley.substack.comChildren in Single-Parent Households Need Equitable Policies, Not Blame and ShameMillions of children in single-parent households begin life with disadvantages that are not of their making. 000
Reposted by Bruce LesleyChildren Thrive Action Network @letkidsthrive.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Thank you to @brucelesley.bsky.social at @firstfocus.bsky.social for this great commentary on the Trump admin's latest attack on babies/unborn children. "Apply the One Question — “is it good for the children?” — and the first executive order fails immediately, on its own terms." 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Birthright Citizenship Is Under Attack Again: What Today's Executive Orders Actually Try To Do brucelesley.substack.com/p/birthright... Here we go again... 🤦♂️brucelesley.substack.comBirthright Citizenship Is Under Attack Again: What Today's Executive Orders Actually Try To DoAnd the false history the White House used to try to sell them. 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Texas Republican Platform: Leaving Children Uninsured, Underserved, Unheard, and Unprotected brucelesley.substack.com/p/texas-repu... Texas has 1 in 10 of the nation’s children, which is why the Texas Republican Party platform should concern all of us.brucelesley.substack.comTexas Republican Platform: Leaving Children Uninsured, Underserved, Unheard, and UnprotectedThere is far more to what happened at the Texas GOP Convention than the story about the elephant peeing all over the convention floor. 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 04/08/20263 Months Until Election Day: 10 Questions Candidates Should Answer for America’s Children open.substack.com/pub/bruceles... Today is 3 months from the mid-term elections. Here are 10 things to push candidates to support for children. #VoteKidsopen.substack.com3 Months Until Election Day: 10 Questions Candidates Should Answer for America’s ChildrenTen things to ask any politician who wants your vote this November — for Congress, for governor, or for your state legislature. 011
Reposted by Bruce LesleyJeff Waid @jeffwaid.bsky.social · 02/08/2026Standardized testing. Why DO we still run schools around it? Why we shouldn, from Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social .open.substack.comMost Adults Don't Want Standardized Testing and Neither Do Kids: So, Why Do We Still Run Schools Around It?Start with what nearly everyone in this fight agrees on. 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 01/08/2026What the Washington Post Gets Wrong About MediKids open.substack.com/pub/bruceles... The uninsured rate for children is rising rapidly. We should get our country back on the path to covering all kids. Senator Andy Kim's MediKids bill would do just that.open.substack.comWhat the Washington Post Gets Wrong About MediKidsA response to the Washington Post's editorial against covering every child and the question the Post’s editorial board seems shockingly unconcerned about: what happens to the kids left uncovered? 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Most Adults Don't Want Standardized Testing and Neither Do Kids: So, Why Do We Still Run Schools Around It? open.substack.com/pub/bruceles... #EndTestingMadnessopen.substack.comMost Adults Don't Want Standardized Testing and Neither Do Kids: So, Why Do We Still Run Schools Around It?Start with what nearly everyone in this fight agrees on. 000
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 23/07/2026MediKids: Sen. Kim’s Vision to Cover All Kids open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...open.substack.comMediKids: Sen. Kim’s Vision to Cover All KidsThe American people do not believe that children should be sick, in pain, or without preventive care like vaccinations and annual check-ups based on the wealth of a child’s parents, their zip code, th... 000
Reposted by Bruce LesleySenator Andy Kim @kim.senate.gov · 22/07/2026I want to guarantee healthcare coverage for every child in America. MediKids does that. 718858
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 22/07/2026At @firstfocus.bsky.social, we are pleased to host an important Capitol briefing, Collateral Damage: show H.R. 1’s “Adult” Medicaid Cuts Are Impacting Children and Families One Year In, with our partners at @ameracadpeds.bsky.social @clasp.org @familiesusa.bsky.social @georgetownccf.bsky.social. 011
Bruce Lesley @brucelesley.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Thousands of Private Schools Take Public Money, Operate With Little Scrutiny — ProPublica www.propublica.org/article/priv...propublica.orgBarns, Go-Karts and Strip Malls: The Wild West of Private Schools That Collect Taxpayer DollarsAs private schools proliferate, states are choosing a hands-off approach to regulating them. The backgrounds of school founders — sometimes with criminal histories — often don’t matter 011