Sunday Hopium - Can Bring Needed Change, Leaning Hard Into The Terrible Tariffs, Standing With Ukraine Not Putin
Hosting 2 live events this week - Lincoln Square's Stuart Stevens Monday 1230pm ET, TX Dem Chair Kendall Scudder Wednesday Noon ET
Happy Sunday all. We are in the midst of a glorious stretch of weather here in DC. Low humidity, lots of sun, 80s not 90s. Enjoy these photos of some of our roses this morning. They are loving the weather!
This past week we explored some important emerging themes - Dems finding a higher gear; the need for us to be perceived as strong enough to “bring needed change”; creating a clearer and more powerful rallying cry for our politics; Standing with Ukraine, not Putin.
In yesterday’s post I offered up a new, concise four-part agenda for our collective consideration, something to animate and guide our work, together:
I stand for Ukraine, for Europe and freedom
I stand for rolling back Trump’s dangerous and destructive tariffs
I stand for preventing the creation of an unaccountable domestic political police force
I stand for science, for higher education, for freedom of speech and thought and for public health
While it’s recess here in DC we need to be loud this week, very, very loud. Make the case for our our emerging four part agenda, and demand your Senators and Rep 1) Stand with Ukraine and work to block Trump’s selling out of the West to Putin 2) Roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs 3) Block the expansion of ICE 4) End the war on science, higher education and the public health of the American people. We need to be very, very loud this week all.
I shared this data from the 2024 exit polls several times this week. It is data we must learn from as we work to make our pro-democracy movement stronger:
This week we also got hear from Nathan Heller on the “Ambiance of Information” and former RNC Chairman Michael Steele on “Winning in More Red States and Red Places.” I also strongly recommend my recent conversations with Professor Leah Litman on the corrupt Roberts Court and historian Anne Applebaum on Trump’s dictatorial aspirations and his illicit relationship with Putin.
All of our discussions can be found on under the Podcast tab on the main Hopium site and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify too.
We have a busy week ahead with two live events now scheduled:
Lincoln Square’s Stuart Stevens joins us live tomorrow at 1230pm ET to talk Trump and Russia, Epstein and more. Click here at 1230pm ET to join us.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder joins us live at Noon ET to give us the latest from battleground Texas. Link forthcoming.
Hopium Paid Subscribers gather at our usual time this week, Wednesday at 7pm ET. Hopium Founding Members will get together on Friday at 1pm ET.
Looking further ahead I will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday, August 22nd for a fundraiser for the great grassroots organization, BlueCD2 New Mexico. Will share additional details tomorrow. I will be in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, September 17th for a fundraiser for the Minnesota Democratic Party (DFL). You can find links to all of our upcoming events under the Events tab on the main Hopium site.
Our friends at Stand Up For Science have launched a new 31 Days of Action campaign to lobby Congress this August. As they write:
The Trump administration – aided and abetted by a compliant Congress – just spent seven months dismantling a world of American science it took 80 years to build. Let’s spend the rest of this summer making it an August our US Senators and Representatives will never forget.
Learn more, take action through the link above and be sure to watch my recent interview with two leaders of this great organization, Dr. Jeremy Berg and Colette Delawalla.
Finally, Hopium community member Deborah Potter sent in this exciting update on our Resolutions Project this morning…..
…….Hopium has 61 resolutions passed or moving now in 19 states -- NM, AZ, WA, NJ, NC, MA, CA, MN, IA, GA, PA, CO, NY, OR, MO, IL, CT, MD, TN!!!!
California is leading the pack with 18 resolutions. Focus ranges from a specific issue like immigration to defense of Our U.S. Constitution and Separation of Powers. Jurisdictions include town, city, county, state legislature and Congressional District. Boston’s resolution was read at a Good Trouble event. There has been resolution coverage on social media and in local newspapers. Even AI stories have been posted on the Internet (citizenportal.ai).
Passed: City of Boston, City of St. Paul, Santa Fe Co. NM, Bernalillo Co. NM
Scheduled for Aug/Sep meeting: Stow MA Select Board, City of Tucson, Doña Ana Co. NM
Also submitted to Board: Pima Co. AZ, Monterey Co. CA, Santa Clara Co. CA, Sacramento Co. CA
Here’s a great write up about the passage of the Boston, MA resolution on the city’s official website.
More Shout-outs to Hopium members: Rachel Poliner, Tim Wegener, John Payne, Randy Gold, Michael G. Baer, Nancy Zweng, Mark Roberts, Rebecca E; and to Susan Pfeifer, Bobbie, Anny Why, Matt Greenwolfe, Sarah Marshall, MAE, Judy Grant, Dana Supplee, Karen Meneghin, Deb Rosenthal, Learn About Beads, Anne Fitzpatrick, Ann H, Kati Kertesz, Cecilia Siino, Victor Hasting, Pam Stoesser, J Thompson, Eric Johnson, BeeBee in NYC, Mary CFM, Nancy Bruski, Miriam Defant, Judy Corbett, Jean R, John, Stephen Sepaniak, Lauren, Patricia, Rodica Stoicoiu, CC Befana, and anyone not previously mentioned for their resolutions.
Please let us know where you are working on a new resolution and whether your planned resolution has progressed to drafted, submitted or passed. Updates can be shared in the public chat for resolutions or by email to resolutions@hopiumchronicles.com. Great work everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, Let’s Get To Work People!
Support Hopium’s Priority Candidates And Party Committees - A reminder that Election Day, 2025 is a little less than three months away and early voting starts in Virginia in less than six weeks - September 19th!
As background learn about 1) our big recommendations to the family coming out of the 2024 elections 2) the many important wins we had together last cycle 3) my latest thinking on where we are and the path forward for the Hopium community.
Donate, volunteer, learn more about our candidates and opportunities here. I consider all these options must dos for anyone serious about winning this year and next year...
Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $48k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Rep. Sherrill
Abigail Spanberger VA Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $162k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Abigail Spanberger
Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $25,000 Labor Day goal, $250,000 goal, $19,000 raised- Donate | Learn More | Volunteer
Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $46k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer
Hopium House 7 (2026) - $250,000 goal, $179k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer, Watch My Interviews With Our Great Members
Our updated fundraising goals are now for the end of the year, December 31st, except for the 2025 races, which are now for Election Day, 2025.
Our Recommended Actions - We are prioritizing three actions today. You can get our full list of recommended actions here. Let’s get to it:
1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - While it is recess we need to be loud this week, very, very loud. Make the case for our our emerging four part agenda, and demand they 1) Stand with Ukraine and work to block Trump’s selling out of the West to Putin 2) Roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs 3) Block the expansion of ICE 4) End the war on science, higher education and the public health of the American people.
2 - Bring “Resolutions Of Condemnation” To Your Community - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders learn about how Hopium members are advancing “Resolutions of Condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town.
Remarkably, members of this community are now advancing 61 (!!!!) resolutions projects in 19 states. Can we get to all 50 states by the fall election?
Our newly updated Resolutions page includes a new chat for folks to report in on their progress or seek counsel from those interested in launching a resolutions project in their community. This is one way to fight back against Trump’s unprecedented abandonment of our Constitutional order.
3 - Grow Hopium And This Wonderful Community Of Proud, Plucky, Patriots - We’ve set a goal of trying to grow the Hopium community from the 152,000 we are now to 175,000 by Election Day, 2025. Do what you can to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to become a summer subscriber to Hopium, free or paid. If each current paid subscriber brings in just one new subscriber this summer and fall we will hit our goal.
To encourage the growth of our community annual paid subscriptions are 10% off through Labor Day. Use that link to buy gift or group subscriptions, and join our new referral rewards program too. A further note - if you want to up your support of Hopium a powerful way to do it is to buy group or gift subscriptions for others.
Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Been impressive to see how many of you remain involved in local, in person protests of all kinds in your communities. Keep it up!!!
Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you, and a fight it truly is - Simon
I am thinking about Simon's reference this week to Frost's "the best way out is always through."
The full quote, which comes from Frost's terrifying and haunting "A Servant to Servants" published in North of Boston, is:
"He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through--"
The "He" in the poem is Len, the speaker's husband. The speaker is talking to someone who camps on their land, perhaps hired help. She knows him enough to confide in him how exhausted she is with her work, how she's suffering emotionally.
The point, then, of these lines is that the way out of the exhaustion, the emotional strain, is to get through it. There's no alternative. The woman in the poem is too burdened with work to be able to take any kind of rejuvenating break from it.
Frost is a poet who writes a lot about the unbalanced. He seems like a nice old New England poet-farmer, but scratch beneath the surface and you find he is dealing with some very troubling themes.
In a political context, I will take this quote to mean that there is no way to escape the political madness we're burdened to live through except by working it directly in whatever way we can. Yet, at the same time, I'm aware that many of us are privileged to take periodic breaks from the work and the burden. We ought to. We need balance. We need to remind ourselves of the good in life that we're fighting for.
I find it a remarkable lack of rigor that no mainstream media are reporting Putin is considered a criminal by the International Criminal Court. Now we are permitting him onto American soil? Here's what the ICC has to say:
Allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).