15 Conversations: No Kings and what I learned in Conway
This is how grassroots campaigns are won. One person and one conversation at a time. And while it’s definitely a lot harder than blowing two million bucks on paid posts on social media and television ads, it’s the only kind of campaign that can guarantee a voice for working people in Washington.
News Alert: Meta and YouTube lose social media addiction case
Many of us have watched incredulously as Congress turns a blind eye to the public health crisis unfolding across our country. How can it be possible that lawmakers can’t reach a consensus on something that is blatantly obvious to anyone who has spent more than five minutes with a child over the age of 10?
Well, here’s your answer: Meta alone spent over $25 million lobbying Congress in 2025. And to make matters worse, our politicians are as addicted to social media as the rest of us… maybe even more!
15 Conversations: What I Learned in Wolfeboro
I came up to Wolfeboro this weekend to meet with some of my volunteer leaders in Carroll and Belknap County. We gathered in Wolfeboro in tribute to the grassroots effort here that resulted in a 56% voter turnout and a huge flip for the District 7 State Rep seat. We met with some of the organizers for Bobbi Boudman’s huge win and discussed takeaways for our campaign and successful political organizing in general. One of the clear lessons that I learned was the importance of offering voters a wide variety of opportunities to engage, not just during election season, but year-round.
KEVINMD Blog: Violence against health care workers: the silence must end
We must find a way to replace silence and silencing with transparency, publishing assault statistics and protecting whistleblowers, as well as ensuring accountability at every level. It should be the responsibility of policymakers to ensure health care workers (nurses, EMTs, PAs, doctors) are not suffering in silence or told their experiences are simply part of the job.
After We Abolish ICE: A roadmap for just immigration reform
ICE is not a broken agency that needs fixing. It is an agency whose design produces the outcomes we are now witnessing. When an institution is built to enforce a broken system without due process protections, without meaningful accountability, and with a culture that has consistently shielded agents from consequences for misconduct and killing, reform is insufficient. The institution must be replaced.
Abolishing ICE means replacing a failed institution with one that is built from the ground up with civil rights protections, democratic accountability, and a mission that’s oriented toward a functional immigration system rather than fear and punishment.
16,000 Miles and chocolate chip cookies for dinner
On Thursday morning, I joined Jeff Chidester on WFEA Manchester to talk about Maple syrup season, why childcare costs way more than $3 a day and a pack of Oreos, our beloved tri-pawed, Rali, and the chocolate chip cookies I ate for dinner the last two nights.
15 Conversations: What I Learned in Seabrook
Seabrook has a reputation for being one of the most Trump-friendly towns in NH. I can speak from experience having canvassed for state and federal candidates in Seabrook that it’s reputation is certainly well-deserved. That said, the current enthusiasm for Trump in the town belies the rich history of direct action and community-centered organizing that has defined the town for generations.
Fifteen Conversations
Why else do I stay? Because after the speeches are over and the questions are answered, there is that rare opportunity to affirm a common purpose and the determination to finally see the changes we’ve been awaiting for so long. When I stay, we can celebrate what we have accomplished together, and discern what we need to do next. This process can’t just be about winning votes—it has to be about something bigger than that. It has to be about building communities strong enough for the hard work ahead.
Carleigh’s Interview with NextGen’s Executive Director Sumit Sharma
How often do you realize you can’t pay for parking, get into a movie, or do some basic task without your phone? We’ve gotten to the point where it feels like our lives are beholden and secondary to the priorities and profits of these corporations, and we never had a say in it. I want to see much stronger privacy protections for minors, including limits on data collection, and real investments in our schools and families so that they can thrive. Kids’ health should always be prioritized over profits. And I want to enforce anti-monopoly laws against these companies. They have amassed so much political and cultural power by virtue of their sheer size, which helps shield them from accountability for the harm their platforms cause.
Our Budget Failed - Here’s Why
Our budget failed. For the second time in four years, our neighbors came out and told us that their property taxes were already too high, and that they weren’t ready to invest a penny more to ensure the services our town provides continue and that we make necessary investments in our future. As I have said time and time again on the campaign trail, the problem is not with the people, it is with our leaders. Specifically, our leaders in Washington and Concord who do more to help themselves and protect their power than they do to help people in communities like mine.
It’s Town Meeting Day!
I am hoping that our town will come together today to affirm that our community does not want to collaborate with the Trump Administration in its unlawful and immoral immigration crackdown here in Hampton.
On Beauty and Connection
Earlier this year, I invited the community to join me for a social media-free February. A month of human connection and meaningful and messy conversations. 28 days to be together and see what happens when we’re not constantly curating a version of our lives for mass consumption.
“We need to tell our children these stories.”
Oliver-Velez exhorted us to share our stories and the stories of others who have fought, and sometimes died, for justice with our children. We must continue to connect, to build, and to move towards more healing, community, and justice in the world. In her words: “We have no excuse.”
Op-Ed: Property taxes are crushing NH families and it doesn’t have to be this way
What we need now is a federal delegation with the courage to bring this same innovative and evidence-based approach to their work in Washington. You want to talk about property tax relief? Here are two ways the federal government could help lower your property taxes, now.
Op-Ed: Nobody voted for war
I have spent my career studying the consequences of U.S. military action. I teach about international conflict and diplomacy. I have lived in communities still scarred by the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing. I do not romanticize war or underestimate how quickly “major combat operations” can become a global catastrophe.
Honoring Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day
Today is Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day in the Marshall Islands, honoring the victims of U.S. nuclear testing there. The U.S. must continue to ensure survivors receive the support and health care they need. We must also work to end nuclear testing once and for all and work to rid the world of the existential threat of nuclear war.
Carleigh’s Statement on Trump’s Attack on Iran
Earlier today, President Trump ordered another strike on Iran in conjunction with Israel. Trump has characterized the attacks as “major combat operations” and referred to the possibility of American “casualties that often happens in war.” This situation could escalate quickly into a vast conflict with deadly consequences for our soldiers and civilians throughout the region. Congress must act immediately to constrain Trump and hold him accountable for these dangerous and unconstitutional strikes.
Future Hindsight Podcast: The Offline Candidate
My students looked at me, and they said: ‘what is this country?’ This is so different than the America they were promised. I’m a Millenial, and I can count on one hand the number of friends who can afford to have kids because the cost of daycare is so impossible. That’s crazy. That’s not what we thought our lives would be like. I think there’s a level of cynicism that young people bring to politics because they don’t feel like their experiences are being taken seriously.
Good News: Merrimack Detention Facility Canceled!
This victory shows the power of a mobilized and unified community that not only opposes the reprehensible actions of ICE and DHS, but also envisions and fights for a more just immigration system.