Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to the Minnesota DFL fundraiser! We are overwhelmed by the support and are so grateful that everyone sees the fight we are fighting here in MN. These funds are going to enable us to teach other state parties the lessons we are learning in MN and it will allow us to keep fighting for every Minnesotan against this campaign of retribution. Thank you, all!
We stand with Minnesota--and with all the other states led by Democrats that have been or will be subjected to the same illegal activity and intimidation you are currently facing. And we stand with cities like Memphis, TN and Washington, DC that are experiencing the same but don't have Democratic governors to help resist. It's democracy vs dictatorship; it's that simple. And we know which side we're on. You're with DFL, so you know the old union song, "Which Side Are You On?" At Hopium, we answer that question every day.
I donated early when only a few thousand dollars had been raised. Woke up this morning to see the new campaign over its goal - fantastic. Bravo to this amazing community. While no longer living in MN, I was born and raised there and still have family there. My roots and heart are in MN - the stories I hear and how folks are feeling beyond what’s in the news. But I also discovered something disturbing about ActBlue. After I forwarded Simon’s post about this campaign to about 50 friends and family, discovered that my daughter who lives abroad can no longer donate through ActBlue even though it’s legal for her to make donations. This is terrible! Means that’s happening to a large number of people who for one reason or another are expats. It hurts them and the causes they want to support. I read it has to do with trump investigation of ActBlue. Did ActBlue actually do anything illegal- or did they just cave? Simon - have you thought of using another platform for donations that doesn’t have this problem? Is there another good platform? Please consider.
Does she still have a US bank account? If so, she may be able to use a VPN to spoof to a US IP address. If not, they may just blanket ban foreign bank accounts, in which case there's probably not much you can do.
Thank you very much for this suggestion. Beyond my daughter, there are roughly 2.8 million eligible voters in the expat community. So, this “shortcoming” of ActBlue affects many people, candidates/campaigns and organizations. It strikes me as some weird inverse of taxation without representation.
Isn't that just the most wonderful feeling, starting out dubious and waking up to victory - I sent what I could, it's the "loaves and fishes" model (everyone bring what we can) to feed the multitudes! Trump gets all the negative press 24/7/365, but multitudes are out here doing what we can.
And yes, alternate platforms for donations must be initiated - fight the power!
I suggest that EVERYONE in Minnesota wear a full face covering/mask when outside and that guardians of the good use big black cars to help others afraid to venture out move around the city.
Can you explain the Democrats’ options in upcoming budget negotiations, whether they have any power to alter ICE funding. Isn't the agency funded through the falsely named big beautiful Bill and therefore not part of upcoming negotiations?
It’s appropriations. The BS Bill designated the $, appropriations allocate it. I know, convoluted. I grew up in DC, so unfortunately know stuff like this lol. 🤪
Thank you, clarifying. My confusion began when I heard earlier in the week that there had been bipartisan support for science funding and wondered how that had been accomplished. Much appreciated.
Gave money to the Minnesota campaign earlier this AM and have started sending it out to friends and family, urging them to do the same (Simon, I assume the campaign is still accepting donations?).
Whenever someone says anything remotely supportive of DHS or ICE, I send them this, posted by the official DHS X account on New Year's Eve:
If you don't have an X account or haven't already seen it, it's an image of a serene beach captioned "America after 100 million deportations"
Who are these 100 million Americans, I wonder? Are they the 100 million Americans who were here before the first European arrived?
Also, the image was created by a Japanese artist and used without permission. Which is a crime. So doesn't this mean DHS should be deporting itself? And good riddance?
I was up late last night, and I listened to someone talking about the Insurrection Act (I'm forgetting where I listened to this, but it was someone who knew their business, and was referencing someone who had researched the Act several decades ago).
Based on what he said, one accepted cause for invoking the Insurrection Act would be if officials in a state are interfering with federal law enforcement, or with federal laws more generally. The other would be if a state requested federal support when it is unable to restore order.
For the former, school integration in the 1960's, Eisenhower and Kennedy used it. Kennedy used it when James Meredith was admitted to U. Mississippi, and even the state government was resisting.
For the latter, the Rodney King riots are an example. FDR used it in Detroit race riots (I did find an article below for reference).
I think that the GJ investigation might be a predicate (if Trump is getting legal advice about this from someone who knows what he/she is doing... so probably not Pamela Jo) to invoking the Insurrection Act. If the regime can make the case that Frey and Walz are obstructing federal law enforcement, then a court would view invoking the Insurrection Act favorably.
I don't see how they actually make that case (not a lawyer), but I think that must be the game.
Thanks everyone who donated. Here is an article that looked relatively good on the history:
SO happy to see the goal reached already for Minnesota and I hope they know we are all Minnesotans at this moment. Also thrilled to see the preliminary injunction on ICE - we have to keep plugging away in the courts and Congress. It is stunning that we have a bipartisan Congressional envoy traveling to a foreign country and basically telling them not to believe what our President is saying. This is so far beyond the point that the 25th Amendment should have been invoked, except that he has idiots and sycophants as Cabinet members. Keep fighting friends.
As part of the upcoming budget negotiations with Republicans please work to restore rule of law in Minnesota, rein in ICE’s lawlessness, and roll back the funding increase the agency received in the big ugly and wildly unpopular bill.
What ICE is doing is wrong, illiberal, dangerous, and un-American. The courts keep ruling against DHS/ICE again and again for what they are doing is so obviously illegal. Rolling back funding for DHS/ICE is crucial because what is happening in Minnesota seems to be practice for Stephen Miller to perfect his efforts to bring these terror tactics to other states and cities in the months ahead.
So pleased to report that plans for a demonstration downtown Chicago on Friday as well as a demonstration in Springfield, IL are proceeding apace! IF Indivisible Evanston, Indivisible Chicago, and Indivisible Illinois are granted a meeting with Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth’s offices during this week and they both agree to pledge publicly not to vote “YES” on appropriations for DHS without specific limitations on ICE behavior, it’s possible that the demonstration might not happen…my guess is we won’t receive those assurances, however…I’d be happy to be proven wrong, though! So anyone who is able to come downtown Chicago to Federal Plaza on Friday, please put it on your calendars…detailed info about time will be available at Indivisible Evanston, Chicago, or Illinois’ websites within the next couple of days…
Amazing to see how fast this happened! Grateful to be part of this community of hard working patriots.
Trump backed off on his Insurrection Act threat to send troops to MN. Seems private poll numbers scared the hell out them. His advisors saw the numbers and got a jolt of truth for now.
Note: I posted the Simon's video interview with the DFL Democratic Chair to Bluesky and Threads. I have to say I'm seeing a lot of nasty stuff showing up in my comments now on Bluesky. Mostly likely trolls and bots. Very discouraging since I was hoping it would be a safer place to go after Twitter became a fire dump. Now changing my moderation tool on Bluesky to those I follow and who follow me as the only people who can respond to my posts. Don't need to waste time on those who want to pick a fight.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff should declare that any military action directed at invading Greenland is illegal; they will not carry out any such order without Congressional declaration of war.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to the Minnesota DFL fundraiser! We are overwhelmed by the support and are so grateful that everyone sees the fight we are fighting here in MN. These funds are going to enable us to teach other state parties the lessons we are learning in MN and it will allow us to keep fighting for every Minnesotan against this campaign of retribution. Thank you, all!
That’s fantastic, Tim! We need a handbook like Indivisible did for communicating w electeds.
1000 times this!!!
We want to be fighting with you Tim. Let us know what else we can do from afar.
We stand with Minnesota--and with all the other states led by Democrats that have been or will be subjected to the same illegal activity and intimidation you are currently facing. And we stand with cities like Memphis, TN and Washington, DC that are experiencing the same but don't have Democratic governors to help resist. It's democracy vs dictatorship; it's that simple. And we know which side we're on. You're with DFL, so you know the old union song, "Which Side Are You On?" At Hopium, we answer that question every day.
I donated early when only a few thousand dollars had been raised. Woke up this morning to see the new campaign over its goal - fantastic. Bravo to this amazing community. While no longer living in MN, I was born and raised there and still have family there. My roots and heart are in MN - the stories I hear and how folks are feeling beyond what’s in the news. But I also discovered something disturbing about ActBlue. After I forwarded Simon’s post about this campaign to about 50 friends and family, discovered that my daughter who lives abroad can no longer donate through ActBlue even though it’s legal for her to make donations. This is terrible! Means that’s happening to a large number of people who for one reason or another are expats. It hurts them and the causes they want to support. I read it has to do with trump investigation of ActBlue. Did ActBlue actually do anything illegal- or did they just cave? Simon - have you thought of using another platform for donations that doesn’t have this problem? Is there another good platform? Please consider.
Does she still have a US bank account? If so, she may be able to use a VPN to spoof to a US IP address. If not, they may just blanket ban foreign bank accounts, in which case there's probably not much you can do.
Thank you very much for this suggestion. Beyond my daughter, there are roughly 2.8 million eligible voters in the expat community. So, this “shortcoming” of ActBlue affects many people, candidates/campaigns and organizations. It strikes me as some weird inverse of taxation without representation.
How do I donate?
Go to Simon's column yesterday, "A New Campaign To Support The Courageous People Of Minnesota", and Simon provided links to donate.
There’s a link early in today’s newsletter. There was a notice last night that’s also on Substack.
Isn't that just the most wonderful feeling, starting out dubious and waking up to victory - I sent what I could, it's the "loaves and fishes" model (everyone bring what we can) to feed the multitudes! Trump gets all the negative press 24/7/365, but multitudes are out here doing what we can.
And yes, alternate platforms for donations must be initiated - fight the power!
I suggest that EVERYONE in Minnesota wear a full face covering/mask when outside and that guardians of the good use big black cars to help others afraid to venture out move around the city.
Can you explain the Democrats’ options in upcoming budget negotiations, whether they have any power to alter ICE funding. Isn't the agency funded through the falsely named big beautiful Bill and therefore not part of upcoming negotiations?
It’s appropriations. The BS Bill designated the $, appropriations allocate it. I know, convoluted. I grew up in DC, so unfortunately know stuff like this lol. 🤪
OK. so the Democrats could reduce the spending. I thought I had heard otherwise.
I think this article is a good summary of the difference between reconciliation and appropriations, and how the Dems have power here. It’s something Simon has mentioned a number of times but the federal budget process is truly byzantine. https://open.substack.com/pub/statuskuo/p/democrats-can-stop-or-slow-down-ice?r=2ia0gw&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
Thank you, clarifying. My confusion began when I heard earlier in the week that there had been bipartisan support for science funding and wondered how that had been accomplished. Much appreciated.
Gave money to the Minnesota campaign earlier this AM and have started sending it out to friends and family, urging them to do the same (Simon, I assume the campaign is still accepting donations?).
Whenever someone says anything remotely supportive of DHS or ICE, I send them this, posted by the official DHS X account on New Year's Eve:
https://x.com/i/status/2006472108222853298
If you don't have an X account or haven't already seen it, it's an image of a serene beach captioned "America after 100 million deportations"
Who are these 100 million Americans, I wonder? Are they the 100 million Americans who were here before the first European arrived?
Also, the image was created by a Japanese artist and used without permission. Which is a crime. So doesn't this mean DHS should be deporting itself? And good riddance?
I was up late last night, and I listened to someone talking about the Insurrection Act (I'm forgetting where I listened to this, but it was someone who knew their business, and was referencing someone who had researched the Act several decades ago).
Based on what he said, one accepted cause for invoking the Insurrection Act would be if officials in a state are interfering with federal law enforcement, or with federal laws more generally. The other would be if a state requested federal support when it is unable to restore order.
For the former, school integration in the 1960's, Eisenhower and Kennedy used it. Kennedy used it when James Meredith was admitted to U. Mississippi, and even the state government was resisting.
For the latter, the Rodney King riots are an example. FDR used it in Detroit race riots (I did find an article below for reference).
I think that the GJ investigation might be a predicate (if Trump is getting legal advice about this from someone who knows what he/she is doing... so probably not Pamela Jo) to invoking the Insurrection Act. If the regime can make the case that Frey and Walz are obstructing federal law enforcement, then a court would view invoking the Insurrection Act favorably.
I don't see how they actually make that case (not a lawyer), but I think that must be the game.
Thanks everyone who donated. Here is an article that looked relatively good on the history:
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2026/01/16/insurrection-act-how-its-been-used-and-what-trump-wants-do-it.html
I think that was former Orange admin advisor Miles Taylor. He has an excellent Substack.
Yeah I think you are right. I was only kinda paying attention.
SO happy to see the goal reached already for Minnesota and I hope they know we are all Minnesotans at this moment. Also thrilled to see the preliminary injunction on ICE - we have to keep plugging away in the courts and Congress. It is stunning that we have a bipartisan Congressional envoy traveling to a foreign country and basically telling them not to believe what our President is saying. This is so far beyond the point that the 25th Amendment should have been invoked, except that he has idiots and sycophants as Cabinet members. Keep fighting friends.
If Trump is so focused on Greenland, why doesn't he negotiate a long-term mineral lease agreement and pay market value for those rights?
Because he's a crook and a bully.
See, e.g., account in Qatar with $500 million in extorted Venezuelan oil money
Saw this post saying in effect Greenland should say they have the Epstein files and use it as leverage.
Contacted MI Senators:
Dear Senator:
As part of the upcoming budget negotiations with Republicans please work to restore rule of law in Minnesota, rein in ICE’s lawlessness, and roll back the funding increase the agency received in the big ugly and wildly unpopular bill.
What ICE is doing is wrong, illiberal, dangerous, and un-American. The courts keep ruling against DHS/ICE again and again for what they are doing is so obviously illegal. Rolling back funding for DHS/ICE is crucial because what is happening in Minnesota seems to be practice for Stephen Miller to perfect his efforts to bring these terror tactics to other states and cities in the months ahead.
Thank you for your efforts.
Way to go, everyone! Great community!
Walz and Frey should ignore the subpoenas. ICE is breaking the law; they DONT have immunity, and States have the right to prosecute ICE.
So pleased to report that plans for a demonstration downtown Chicago on Friday as well as a demonstration in Springfield, IL are proceeding apace! IF Indivisible Evanston, Indivisible Chicago, and Indivisible Illinois are granted a meeting with Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth’s offices during this week and they both agree to pledge publicly not to vote “YES” on appropriations for DHS without specific limitations on ICE behavior, it’s possible that the demonstration might not happen…my guess is we won’t receive those assurances, however…I’d be happy to be proven wrong, though! So anyone who is able to come downtown Chicago to Federal Plaza on Friday, please put it on your calendars…detailed info about time will be available at Indivisible Evanston, Chicago, or Illinois’ websites within the next couple of days…
Amazing to see how fast this happened! Grateful to be part of this community of hard working patriots.
Trump backed off on his Insurrection Act threat to send troops to MN. Seems private poll numbers scared the hell out them. His advisors saw the numbers and got a jolt of truth for now.
Note: I posted the Simon's video interview with the DFL Democratic Chair to Bluesky and Threads. I have to say I'm seeing a lot of nasty stuff showing up in my comments now on Bluesky. Mostly likely trolls and bots. Very discouraging since I was hoping it would be a safer place to go after Twitter became a fire dump. Now changing my moderation tool on Bluesky to those I follow and who follow me as the only people who can respond to my posts. Don't need to waste time on those who want to pick a fight.
Glad to have so pointed a goal to contribute to.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff should declare that any military action directed at invading Greenland is illegal; they will not carry out any such order without Congressional declaration of war.
How do I contribute?
Go to last night's post and follow the link in the first paragraph.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopium4mncourage
I dearly love Hopium.
Spanberger is giving a speech right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37GWc0YEu-8.
I don't know if she's been inaugurated yet, but I just wanted to watch this, the first female governor of Virginia!