The DHS secretary and his deputy got their jobs unlawfully, a government watchdog finds

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( August 14, 2020 On this day in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, establishing a social safety net in the midst of the Great Depression. In addition to setting up unemployment and disability insurance, the law created the Social Security fund, which people contribute to while they're working and withdraw from when they're retired. In 1965, the act was amended to establish Medicare and Medicaid, insurance programs for Americans 65 and older and those living in poverty. These are all essential facets of a welfare system consistent with the notion that a modern industrial nation should care for its populace—its sick, its injured, its children, its elderly. Everyone. If you're currently employed, take a look at your latest paystub. If you don't want to pay an outrageous sum on Tax Day, you'll probably see a line showing the federal income taxes that have been deducted from your paycheck, and another for state income taxes. You'll also see lines for Social Security tax and Medicare tax. That's what you're saving for your old age, because FDR, Frances Perkins, and co. were smart enough to figure out how to make the Social Security fund work. That's what President Trump wants [to get rid of]( when he promises to eliminate the payroll tax. Trump has repeatedly said he's done more for Americans—particularly Black Americans—than any president since Abraham Lincoln. Fortunately, dismantling FDR's legacy is [easier said than done](. Enjoy your weekend! —Abigail Weinberg [Earth Justice]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The DHS Secretary and His Deputy Got Their Jobs Unlawfully, a Government Watchdog Finds]( Both were appointed through an "invalid order of succession." BY NOAH LANARD SPONSORED POST [Sponsored Content]( [Resilient Farmers Weather the Pandemic, But Unprecedented Challenges Await]( With a bit of help, small-scale farmers can protect their livelihoods and feed us through the crisis. THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [HEIFER INTERNATIONAL](. [Trending] [COVID killed the Atlanta drug trade—for a time. This photographer captured the lull.]( BY JAMILAH KING · PHOTOS BY WILLIS AKA "TRAPLANTA" [How anti-abortion advocates are co-opting and twisting calls for racial justice]( BY BECCA ANDREWS ["We know how to lead": Rep. Barbara Lee on Kamala Harris and the unifying power of Black women]( BY MOLLY SCHWARTZ AND JAMILAH KING [After the pandemic, medical schools will never be the same. That could be a good thing.]( BY WILL PEISCHEL [Earth Justice]( [Weekend Reads] [Special Feature]( [The Self-Destruction of Donald J. Trump]( Thousands of Americans are dying because Trump can't even help himself. BY DAVID CORN [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [A Galaxy Eerily Like Our Own Has Been Found 12 Billion Light-Years Away. Without a Single Trump Hotel.]( In a study published Wednesday in the journal [Nature](, scientists shared telescope images of a galaxy so many light-years away, and similar enough to our own, that its finding challenges prevailing theories of galaxy formation. The bombshell discovery “represents a breakthrough” that shows how “structures in nearby spiral galaxies and in our Milky Way were already in place 12 billion years ago,” [said]( Francesca Rizzo of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. Nowhere in the study is there indication of any evidence, direct or indirect, of Trump hotels, steakhouses, golf courses, or resorts. But the galaxy, named SPT0418-47, does include a rotating disk structure similar to ours. Its mass is also similar to the Milky Way’s, and it’s the earliest ever found with a galactic bulge. Catch the telescope images [here](, and enjoy a weekend free of the fear that galaxies can’t exist without a particular brand of hotels and golf clubs. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755