Has the trump campaign violated the Hatch and the Logan Act?

8/2 1939 – U.S. President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act. The act prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns.

Be it enacted, That it shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or to attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives at any election….

SEC. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person employed in any administrative position by the United States, or by any department, independent agency, or other agency of the United States (including any corporation controlled by the United States or any agency thereof, and any corporation all of the capital stock of which is owned by the United States or any agency thereof ), to use his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting the election or the nomination of any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential electors Member of the Senate, or Member of the House of Representatives, Delegates or Commissioners from the Territories and insular possessions.

SEC. 3. It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to promise any employment, position, work, compensation, or other benefit, provided for or made possible ill whole or in part by any Act of Congress, to give consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in any election.

SEC. 4. Except as may be required by the provisions of subsection (b), section 9 of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any persons to deprive, attempt to deprive, or threaten to deprive, by any means, any person of any employment, position, work, compensation, or other benefit provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating funds for work relief or relief purposes, on account of race, creed, color, or any political activity, support of, or opposition to any candidate or any political party in any election.

SEC. 5. It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or receive or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving any assessment, subscription, or contribution for any political purpose whatever from any person known by him to be entitled to or receiving compensation, employment, or other benefit provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating funds for work relief or relief purposes.

SEC. 6. It shall be unlawful for any person I for political purposes to furnish or to disclose, or to aid or assist in furnishing or disclosing, any list or names of persons receiving compensation, employment, or benefits provided for or made possible by any Act of Congress appropriating, or authorizing the appropriation of, funds for work relief or relief purposes, to a political candidate, committee, campaign manager, or to any person for delivery to a political candidate, committee, or campaign manager, and it shall be unlawful for any person to receive any such list or names for political purposes.

SEC. 7. No part of any appropriation made by any Act, heretofore or hereafter enacted making appropriations for work relief, relief, or otherwise to increase employment by providing loans and grants for public-works projects, shall be used for the purpose of, and no authority conferred by any such Act upon any person shall be exercised or administered for the purpose of, interfering with, restraining, or coercing any individual in the exercise of his right to vote at any election.

SEC. 8. Any person who violates any of the foregoing provisions of this Act upon convict; on thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

SEC. 9. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person employed in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any agency or department thereof, to use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof. No officer or employee in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any agency or department thereof, shall take any active part in political management or in political campaigns. All such persons shall retain the right to vote as they may choose and to express their opinions on all political subjects. For the purposes of this section the term “officer” or “employee” shall not be construe to include

(1) the President and the Vice Presdent of the United States;

(2) persons whose compensation is paid from the appropriation for the office of the President;

(l) heads and assistant heads of executive departments; (4) officers who are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who determine policies to be pursued by the United States in its relations with foreign powers or in the Nation-wide administration of Federal laws.

(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be immediately removed from the position or office held by him, and thereafter no part of the funds appropriated by any Act of Congress for such position or office shall be used to pay the compensation of such person.

SEC. 9A. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person employed in any capacity by any agency of the Federal Government, whose compensation, or any part thereof, is paid from funds authorized or appropriated by any Act of Congress, to have membership in any political party or organization which advocates the overthrow of our constitutional form of government in the United States.

(2) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be immediately removed from the position or office held by him, and thereafter no part of the funds appropriated by any Act of Congress for such position or office shall be used to pay the compensation of such person.

SEC. 10. All provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, not in substitution for, existing law.

SEC. 11. If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

resource: historycentral.com

The Bristol Bay Protection Act is a U.S. federal bill introduced in 2024 (H.R. 8193) by Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK) to prohibit and restrict certain actions in the Bristol Bay watershed to protect its salmon resources and ecological integrity  While the bill has not yet been enacted into law, it is part of the broader legislative and legal fight over the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska.

Purpose and Scope

The Act:

• Prohibits the specification of the Pebble Mine project area as a disposal site under the Clean Water Act.
• Restricts actions that could discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, in the Bristol Bay watershed.
• Addresses the EPA’s 2023 veto of the Pebble Mine, which cited unacceptable adverse effects on salmon streams, wetlands, and fisheries 

Key Environmental Concerns

The bill’s findings highlight:

• Loss of ~8.5 miles of documented anadromous fish streams.
• Loss of ~91 miles of additional streams supporting salmon.
• Loss of ~2,108 acres of wetlands and other waters supporting salmon.
• Adverse impacts on ~29 miles of salmon streams from greater than 20% changes in streamflow

Legislative and Legal Context

• Introduced: May 1, 2024, in the House, referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
• Not enacted: As of now, the bill remains in the legislative process and has not passed both chambers or been signed into law
• Parallel legal action: The Pebble Mine case (Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. v. EPA) is ongoing in federal court, with a major DOJ response deadline in February 2026 and oral arguments in June 2026 
• Alaska Legislature: In Juneau, lawmakers are also debating the Bristol Bay Forever Act, which aims to provide permanent protections for the watershed 

Why It Matters

The Bristol Bay watershed is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run and is central to Alaska Native cultures. The Act and related measures seek to prevent irreversible damage from mining-related discharges, which could threaten salmon populations, municipal water supplies, shellfish beds, and subsistence livelihoods 

In summary: The Bristol Bay Protection Act of 2026 is not yet law, but it is a key legislative tool in the ongoing battle to protect Bristol Bay’s salmon and ecosystems from the Pebble Mine. Its fate will depend on congressional action, while the federal court case could set a precedent regarding the EPA’s authority to block such projects.

Sources: Congress.gov, GovTrack.us, MidCurrent

The Declaration of Independence

We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. July 4, 1776, represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.

But July 4, 1776 wasn’t the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776).

It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution, either (that had happened back in April 1775).

And it wasn’t the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence ( June of 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn’t happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).

So what did happen on July 4, 1776?

The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They’d been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.

July 4, 1776, became the date included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was the date they remembered.

In contrast, we celebrate Constitution Day on September 17th of each year, the anniversary of the date the Constitution was signed, not the anniversary of the date it was approved. If we’d followed this same approach for the Declaration of Independence, we would be celebrating Independence Day on August 2nd of each year, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed!

How did the Fourth of July become a national holiday?

For the first 15 or 20 years after the Declaration was written, people didn’t celebrate it much on any date. It was too new, and too much else was happening in the young nation. By the 1790s, a time of bitter partisan conflicts, the Declaration had become controversial. One party, the Democratic-Republicans, admired Jefferson and the Declaration. The other party, the Federalists, thought the Declaration was too French and anti-British, which went against their current policies.

By 1817, John Adams complained in a letter that America seemed uninterested in its past. But that would soon change.

After the War of 1812, the Federalist party began to come apart and the new parties of the 1820s and 1830s all considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. Printed copies of the Declaration began to circulate again, all with the date July 4, 1776, listed at the top. The deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on July 4, 1826, may even have helped to promote the idea of July 4 as an important date to be celebrated.

Celebrations of the Fourth of July became more common as the years went by. In 1870, almost a hundred years after the Declaration was written, Congress first declared July 4  a national holiday as part of a bill to officially recognize several holidays, including Christmas. Further legislation about national holidays, including July 4, was passed in 1939 and 1941.

** USDA and Foodborne illness when ordering takeout or home delivery foods … usda.gov

**FDA issues emergency use generic OTC drug treatment for New World ScrewWorm for dogs and cats https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-emergency-use-authorization-generic-over-counter-drug-treat-new-world-screwworm-dogs-and

** USDA Launches Great American Cotton Plan

Secretary Brooke L. Rollins today announced the Great American Cotton Plan, a comprehensive USDA initiative to strengthen the cotton farm economy.

** Five Star brand oysters recalled in Canada because of Salmonella

Certain Five Star Shellfish Inc. brand oysters are being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella. The recall was triggered by Canadian Food Inspection Agency test results.  There have

By News Desk 

** TNVitamins expands recall of moringa powder products

Total Nutrition Inc. of Deer Park, NY, has expanded a recall to now include TNVitamins 100% Organic Moringa 1,200 mg Capsules and 100% Organic Moringa Powder following a supplier-

By News Desk 

** Concerns voiced after Listeria found in chicken supplied to hospitals; withdrawal initiated

Health officials in the United Kingdom have opened an investigation after Listeria was found in chicken supplied to hospitals. Chicken products imported by Foodbridge EU and Foodbridge UK from Brazil

By Joe Whitworth 

• July 1: American Zoo Day, Early Bird Day, International Chicken Wing Day, International Joke Day, National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day, National Financial Freedom Day, National Postal Workers Day, National Television Heritage Day
• July 2: I Forgot Day, Made In The USA Day, National Disco Day, National Report Military Fraud Day, World Sports Journalists Day, World UFO Day
• July 3: Air Conditioning Appreciation Day, International Drop a Rock Day, International Plastic Bag Free Day, National Chocolate Wafer Day, National Eat Your Beans Day, National Independent Beer Run Day, National Fried Clam Day, National Stay Out of the Sun Day
• July 4: Independence Day, Alice in Wonderland Day, Comic Sans Day, Independence From Meat Day, Indivisible Day, Invisible Day, National Barbecued Spareribs Day, National Caesar Salad Day, National Hillbilly Day, Sidewalk Egg Frying Day
• July 5: Ashura (begins at sundown), Hop A Park Day, Mechanical Pencil Day, National Apple Turnover Day, National Bikini Day, National Graham Cracker Day, National Hawaii Day, Work Without Your Hands Day, International Cherry Pit Spitting Day
• July 6: Build A Scarecrow Day, International Day of Cooperatives, International Kissing Day, National Air Traffic Control Day, National Fried Chicken Day
• July 7: Global Forgiveness Day, International Peace & Love Day, National Day of Rock ‘n’ Roll, National Dive Bar Day, National Macaroni Day, National Strawberry Sundae Day, Tell the Truth Day, World Chocolate Day
• July 8: Be a Kid Again Day, National Blueberry Day, National Freezer Pop Day, National Ice Cream Sundae Day, National Love Your Skin Day, National Video Game Day,
• July 9: Fashion Day, National Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Omelet Day, National Sugar Cookie Day
• July 10: Don’t Step On A Bee Day, Global Energy Independence Day, National Kitten Day, National Piña Colada Day, Teddy Bear Picnic Day, Pick Bluberries Day
• July 11: All American Pet Photo Day, Cheer Up the Lonely Day, Free Slurpee Day, International Essential Oils Day, National 7-Eleven Day, National Blueberry Muffin Day, National Mojito Day, National French Fry Day, National State Fair Food Day, National Swimming Pool Day, World Kebab Day, World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day, World Population Day
• July 12: Etch A Sketch Day, Malala Day, National Eat Your Jello Day, National Pecan Pie Day, National Simplicity Day, New Conversations Day, Paper Bag Day
• July 13: Embrace Your Geekness Day, Fool’s Paradise Day, Gruntled Workers Day, National Barbershop Music Appreciation Day, National Rock Day
• July 14: Bastille Day, International Non-Binary Peoples Day, National Be Nice to Bugs Day, National Break Free From the Big Three Day, National Mac and Cheese Day, National Nude Day, National Tape Measure Day, Pandemonium Day, Shark Awareness Day
• July 15: Celebration of the Horse Day, Global Hug Your Kids Day, National Be A Dork Day, National Clean Beauty Day, National Give Something Away Day, National Pet Fire Safety Day, National Tapioca Pudding Day, Orange Chicken Day
• July 16: Fresh Spinach Day, Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, National Cherry Day, National Corn Fritters Day, National Hot Dog Day, National Wedding Invitation Day, Take Your Poet to Work Day, World Snake Day
• July 17: National Lottery Day, National Peach Ice Cream Day, National Tattoo Day, World Day for International Justice, World Emoji Day
• July 18: National Caviar Day, National Sour Candy Day, Nelson Mandela Day, World Listening Day
• July 19: Flight Attendant Safety Professionals’ Day, International Retainer Day, National Daiquiri Day, National Football Day, National Urban Beekeeping Day
• July 20: Moon Day, National Fortune Cookie Day, National Ice Cream Day, National Lollipop Day, Women’s Union Establishment Day, International Chess Day, World Jump Day
• July 21: Global Hug Your Kids Day, Invite an Alien to Live with You Day, National Be Someone Day, National Craft for your Local Shelters Day, National Junk Food Day
• July 22: Mango Day, National Hammock Day, World Brain Day
• July 23: Hot Enough For Ya Day, National Sprinkle Day, National Vanilla Ice Cream Day, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day, National Gorgeous Grandma Day
• July 24: Amelia Earhart Day, International Self-Care Day, National Cousins Day, National Drive-Thru Day, National Tequila Day, Tell An Old Joke Day
• July 25: National Chili Dog Day, National Hot Fudge Sundae Day, National Intern Day, National Merry-Go-Round Day, National Thread the Needle Day, National Wine and Cheese Day, Puerto Rico Constitution Day, World Drowning Prevention Day
• July 26: Auntie’s Day, National All or Nothing Day, National Aunt and Uncle Day, National Disability Independence Day, National Day of the Cowboy, National Dog Photography Day, One Voice Day, World Tofu Day
• July 27: Bagpipe Appreciation Day, National Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, National Chicken Finger Day, National Creme Brûlée Day, National Love Is Kind Day, National Scotch Day, National Sleepy Head Day, National Tree Day, National Parents’ Day, Take Your Houseplant for A Walk Day, Reek Sunday
• July 28: National Milk Chocolate Day, National Soccer Day, National Waterpark Day, World Hepatitis Day, World Nature Conservation Day
• July 29: International Tiger Day, National Lasagna Day, National Lipstick Day, National Wing Day, Rain Day
• July 30: International Day of Friendship, National Cheesecake Day, National Father-in-Law Day, National Support Public Education Day, Paperback Book Day, Share a Hug Day, World Snorkeling Day
• July 31: Harry Potter’s Birthday Day, Lifeguard Appreciation Day, National Chili Dog Day, National Avocado Day, National Jump for Jelly Beans Day, National Mutt Day, National Intern Day, National Raspberry Cake Day, Shredded Wheat Day, World Ranger Day

Macie Reynolds

Assistant Editor

Macie Reynolds is the assistant editor of E-Commerce and SEO for The Pioneer Woman.

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