ICYMI: Clean Water, 2026 Conference
Nov. 17th – ICYMI, during our 11/16 meeting, the United States Pirate Party officially adopted Clean Water to our platform.
The issue of clean water first came up on March 4th when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot limit sewage discharge into water, leaving the door open for cities to dump even more sewage into bodies of water.
Soon after, we released Pirates for Water, an entry of the Through the Spyglass series reaffirming the Pirate commitment to clean water.
As of yesterday’s meeting, it has officially been added to our platform. Pirates for water indeed.
Also of note: the 2026 Pirate National Conference will take place on June 6th, 2026, a date which marks 20 years of the US Pirate Party.
Instead of simply picking a location and choosing it, supporters have had the chance to suggest cities that would be brought to a wider vote.
After weeks of voting, we are finally down to twelve picks. This next week, supporters will vote in the first round to see who will face the Top Four seeds next week.
We have fun here.
Boston, MA, Providence, RI, Portland, OR and Vicksburg, MS are currently the standout choices and the cities who have received a first round bye.
If you are interested in being apart of the process, join our Discord server and make your voice heard.
It’ll be a on a boat, regardless of location.
uspirates.org/icymi-clean-wate…
Marion County Record settlement: A step toward accountability
Dear Friend of Press Freedom,
Rümeysa Öztürk has been facing deportation for 234 days for co-writing an op-ed the government didn’t like. As we’ll discuss during an online panel next Tuesday, the government hasn’t stopped targeting journalists for removal. Read on for news from Kansas, Ohio, and more.
Kansas county pays $3M for forgetting the First Amendment
Press freedom just scored a $3 million win in Kansas. The county that participated in an illegal raid on the Marion County Record in 2023 is cutting big checks to journalists and a city councilor to settle their lawsuits.
As part of the settlement, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office also made a statement of “regret” for the raid, saying, “This likely would not have happened if established law had been reviewed and applied prior to the execution of the warrants.”
Ya think? FPF Senior Advocacy Adviser Caitlin Vogus broke down the flashing red lights any judge or cop should heed before storming a newsroom. Read her article here. And check out our March interview with Record publisher Eric Meyer.
No, journalists don’t need permission to cover immigration courts
Last month, we wrote to the Hyattsville immigration court in Maryland to express our alarm over a report that two journalists from Capital News Service had been expelled for not seeking express permission from the federal government to cover immigration proceedings.
That expulsion was contrary not only to the Constitution but also to the Executive Office of Immigration Review’s own guidance. But we noticed another problem with their fact sheet. It said reporters “must” check in upon arriving at immigration court. We’d been hearing anecdotes for some time about journalists being asked to “check in” at lobbies of immigration courts in other parts of the country. The fact sheet confirmed it.
In response, EOIR clarified that journalists are not required to either coordinate visits with the government in advance or check in upon arrival. And it issued an amended fact sheet to remove any doubt. We posted the fact sheet and email exchange on our site so any reporters given wrong information can have them handy. Read more here.
Secrecy and the midterms
The midterm elections are a year away, and it is essential to ensure that they are free and fair. Transparency is key, specifically surrounding the Department of Homeland Security’s election integrity unit and the Justice Department’s attempts to access voter data and equipment.
DHS’s election integrity unit is particularly secretive. For example, President Donald Trump appointed prominent election denier Heather Honey to lead the effort, but very little is known about what she’s doing with her newfound power. FPF’s Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper has more about our efforts to hold the unit accountable. Subscribe to The Classifieds for more secrecy news.
Charges dropped against Cincinnati journalist
Charges have finally been dropped against CityBeat reporter Madeline Fening, who was arrested while covering a protest at the Roebling Bridge in northern Kentucky in July. Congratulations to the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and their legal partners on the important win.
We led two letters in support of Fening and CityBeat intern Lucas Griffith. After the first, felony charges against the two were dropped. The second led prosecutors to admit to a reporter that they’d offered to drop charges in exchange for the journalists waiving their right to sue — a likely violation of both the Constitution and attorney ethics rules.
Now, both cases are over, but Griffith was found guilty of failure to disperse and fined $50. That may not sound like much, but the constitutional violation is still significant – journalists are not required to disperse along with protesters because they need to be free to cover the aftermath of protests. Read CityBeat’s coverage here.
What we’re reading
Trump vs. the BBC: What hurdles might the president’s legal argument face? (BBC). Trump “doesn’t care” if he wins the lawsuits he’s filed against newsrooms he doesn’t like, FPF’’sbsky.app/profile/did:plc:sabyz…Advocacy Director Seth Stern told BBC. “The point is to intimidate and punish those he views as critical (of) him.”
When reporting is a crime (Inquest). “Prison journalism should not be illegal. It should not be starved, stifled, or silenced. ... laws need to change.” Readbsky.app/profile/did:plc:yvl5j…Inquest’s article featuring FPF columnist Jeremy Busby’s account of how his own journalism, and that of outside reporters wanting to tell his story, is stifled by prison authorities. And watch our video featuring journalist Daniel Moritz-Rabson discussing the guide to reporting on prisons that he wrote for FPF.
The FCC’s news distortion policy should be rescinded (Protect Democracy). Thanks to our friends atbsky.app/profile/did:plc:4fvbd…Protect Democracy for furthering the fight against Brendan Carr’s censorial FCC. Carr’s selective enforcement of the policy to characterize any coverage Trump doesn’t like as “distortion” shows why the policy shouldn’t exist in the first place.
Larry Wilson: Stop shooting at the press while we do our jobs (Los Angeles Daily News). “Cops are banned from shooting non-violent people with deadly projectiles — whether they’re protesters or journalists. Because it’s illegal,” said First Amendment lawyer Susan Seager.
I tried to deliver aid to Gaza. Israel kidnapped and tortured me (The Nation). Journalist and human rights lawyer Thomas Becker writes about his treatment while detained by Israel. Watch our online discussion last week, in partnership with Defending Rights & Dissent, with three U.S. journalists who reported similar experiences after being abducted from aid flotillas.
freedom.press/issues/marion-co…
Are EU Austerity Cuts Adding To The Inequalities?
Europe stands at perhaps the most difficult crossroads of recent times, a tough call to make between social welfare and stabilizing fiscal balance. On 4 November 2025, the IMF issued a warning, citing the deep fiscal troubles the EU is facing and how the situation is likely to worsen if immediate and more decisive steps are not taken. The rising debt levels, which could double to 140% by 2040, as suggested by the IMF, pose an imminent threat to disturbing the existing fragile balance between revenue and expenditure. Funding various social schemes, including pensions, unemployment benefits, healthcare, and education, has long been a mainstay of government policies across the EU. Now, the IMF calls for a re-evaluation of those spending policies. The message is clear: harsh measures are crucial now to have a better future. Across Europe, governments have already joined the austerity drive. For the last 18 months, the EU has been experimenting with various ideas as part of a strict fiscal policy aimed at restoring the budgetary balance. Below is a list of measures adopted across the EU countries:
Raising the statutory retirement age.
Freezing or delaying pension indexation.
Limiting the duration of unemployment benefits.
Reducing public-sector wage growth or hiring.
Cutting healthcare and education budgets.
Phasing out early-retirement schemes.
Increasing consumption or environmental taxes.
Reducing energy or transport subsidies.
Capping family and housing support payments.
Restricting public investment spending.
These measures have either been implemented/approved, or are currently under parliamentary debate. As policymakers adjust the policy machinery to cope with an impending economic peril, implementations are faced with a formidable opposition from the affected groups. In fact, over the last two months, a wave of rising resentment has been evident. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and more have all witnessed nationwide strikes, and many more are likely to follow.
Although cutting public spending might seem like a straightforward solution to rectify the current fiscal imbalance from the government’s perspective, the situation is not entirely linear. Cutting public funding, such as pensions, social benefits, or unemployment funds, reduces the disposable income of the impacted groups. Low disposable income means lower consumer demand. With demand spiraling downward, supply needs to be downsized as well, following a fundamental economic principle that matches market demand. As a result, businesses respond with layoffs, further reducing tax revenues and pushing up unemployment levels. In short, economies can face a self-perpetuating cycle that widens inequality and, even worse, triggers an economic recession (something the world witnessed in the 1930s – The Great Depression).
Furthermore, a reduction in expenditure on human infrastructure, whether in health or education, has a long-term negative impact on the economy. The immediate effect could be a robust balance sheet and good fiscal ratios. In the longer run, it weakens the foundation for sustainable growth, something which the EU stands for and identifies with. Decline in human capital, lack of innovation and global competitiveness, brain drain, social inequality, and other issues are a few notable consequences. Excessively rigid austerity measures, in a way, can undermine growth and social cohesion.
The IMF’s warning, therefore, should not be examined in a single dimension. Instead of treating it as a call to cut, it can be perceived as an invitation to rethink how Europe balances its books while safeguarding its people.
The solution lies in achieving a balance:
According to Friedrich Ebert Stiftung’s “Alternative to Austerity”, if fiscal strategies are growth-oriented, rather than simply focusing on cutting expenditure, a balance can be reinstated without impacting the welfare. Budgetary discipline will have to be achieved through the use of a balanced mix of responsible budgeting and investing public funds wisely. Pumping investments into areas such as infrastructure, education, and green technology can help countries build strong and sustainable economies, as well as secure their futures. These investments can help create more jobs, improve skills, and support long-term growth. It also calls for a fairer tax system where the wealthy and large companies contribute more, reducing the pressure on working families.
The problem the EU is facing at this moment goes beyond the budget. The challenge is about protecting fairness and dignity. Financial discipline should always go hand-in-hand with social justice.
The goal should not be to weaken the social support systems people depend on, but to strengthen and make them more sustainable, so that growth and fairness work together, rather than against each other.
Reference Links:
politico.eu/article/police-cla… | archive.ph/pYghC
euronews.com/2025/09/24/french… | archive.ph/JetNb
berlintoday.com/public-sector-… | archive.ph/8ZdCM
european-pirateparty.eu/are-eu…
