My ResistBot letter for Jan 26:After the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, the Senate must withhold DHS funding unless ICE is brought under real legal constraints. Congress cannot continue financing an agency that violates the Constitution and uses deadly force without accountability. Use this link to send letters to your members of Congress.
Used your words as a template for my calls. First time I've had full mailboxes for one Senator and my Congressman. Taking this as a good sign for public engagement.
Emailed my R senators (OH) re: ICE abuses, the administration's lying about the 2 deaths, and the administration's apparent goal of defining anyone who resists its policies and tactics as a "domestic terrorist." Encouraged NO vote on increase in funding. Perhaps Sen. Husted may be influenceable?? Just a hunch; no concrete evidence to support this other than the tone of his office's email replies to me indicates he understands what is happening in MN is not right.
No. From Sen Moreno’s office, I always receive a boilerplate response within 30 mins thanking me for my input, stating his favorite part of his day is reviewing input from constituents…. It is always the same message. There is never any reference to the topic of my message. It’s unclear what his process for review of constituent input is. I get replies from Sen. Husted’s office that do address the topic, and no replies on immigration related messages have referenced Pres Biden’s record.
I made 32 calls to Republican senators & congressional reps this morning… plus posted that & other concerns regarding the recent murders of Renee Good & Alex Pretti… plus invading sovereign countries… I only spoke to one live person, who said they are “still looking into the situations”… I said they will not be re-elected…
Dems should introduce legislation defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave MN. One sentence bill. Demand immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding (or other) bills until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
I'd also like to see Dems reintroduce the immigration bill they negotiated w/ Rs last year that Trump then told Rs to not even vote on. Make the Rs refuse, here before the midterms, to pass legislation that would clean up our immigration system.
Chris Madel’s exit from from the Minnesota governor’s race is a big damn deal – but the Republican’s stated reasons for exiting (quoted above by Simon) are more than just new cracks. They constitute a political earthquake!
As soon as I read his statement, I thought the dam is breaking. R's must be scared with the country's pushback against the cruelty that anyone with eyes can see.
As a former attorney and director for a legal malpractice insurance company, I’m smelling the intense fear of what could happen to some holding law licenses. The other side isn’t immune.
First thing I did when I woke up was call both senators and my congressman (all Rs) and tell them no more money for DHS until there are enforceable meaningful rules to rain in ice and make them act like a real law-enforcement agency in a civilized democratic society. And then I sent out a text to 100 people who live in my area and asked them to do the same. I live in Nebraska, lots of Republicans, and I’m telling you… This situation is hitting different. Give ‘em hell everybody! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch this wonderful seven minute speech from our candidate for governor in Florida, David Jolly. Passion and conviction are starting to spread like a virus to our political class, and it’s only gonna grow this year. There are dark times ahead, but my faith in the American people has grown even larger in the past year than my fear of the Trump regime. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
You can call any of their district offices, not just the DC one. The district ones usually get fewer calls. The senator's official website will have numbers for all offices.
I've found that the local offices often answer with a real person, who conveys what I have to say to the elected that I'm calling. I also like to email, because then it's IN WRITING.
"Bill of Wrongs" – Powerful post by Timothy Snyder
Here is a small taste of Snyder’s cutting satire. Worth reading the whole piece:
"1. Congress shall make no law denying the Cult of all-wise Trump, or limiting the exercise thereof; or abridging His sole Freedom to define Truth, which includes his Self-Given Power to defraud, slander, and censor…"
What sickens me in all this is the reason some of them are calling for change is because they are being damaged politically, not because innocent people standing up for their rights are being killed. Maybe they'll find their backbones, but they'll never find their souls.
Agree! I guess we should celebrate any R who expresses even the slightest reservations about what DHS is doing. But it would be refreshing if they did so because what DHS is doing is so WRONG, unconstitutional and illegal--and NOT just because DHS's killing of American citizens is causing Rs political problems!!
I agree, KBH! But I take heart that it’s causing political problems for these despicable politicians because so many Americans are telling them that’s it’s WRONG, unconstitutional, and illegal.
If the people lead, the leaders will eventually follow, right?
Yes, the people will and must lead. We're a democratic republic, and our representatives are supposed to pay attention to what we think and want. It would be nice if Rs followed because they gave a damn about what we thought or about their oath of office instead of just caring that our expressed opinions and needs might boot them out of office. But as noted in my original post, I'll take any R conversion we can get--no matter how crass or contrived.
I continue to work with WAWU-UAW, the union local that represents students on campus. A call to support HB 1570, which would facilitate forming a bargaining team for operational workers, went out to 4200 Indivisible members.
On Sunday, I made many calls to new members of our Indivisible Bellingham. The final total of new members last week was 90. The previous week it was 118. We're getting flooded.
I signed in pro for two ICE-related bills in the legislature. I will say more about these two important bills below.
I will call my members of Congress later today.
I will attend a vigil for the victims of ICE on campus this afternoon.
I will continue to work on my remarks for the County Council, which meets on Tuesday. I'll be speaking to next steps following the resolution they passed on January 13.
Washington Indivisible Legislative Action describes it this way:
"This bill strengthens our current laws and affirms our constitutional rights to hold ICE and CPB accountable for their actions during immigration stops, raids, and arrests. It will allow for the ability to sue them in civil court when they violate constitutional rights during immigration enforcement actions. In addition it holds WA law enforcement accountable if they violate the Keep WA Working bill.
"A similar bill was recently signed into law in Illinois. And, there are proposals working their way through other state legislatures in OR, CO, MN, and CA.
"The Supreme Court has consistently held that federal employees do not have immunity from complying with state laws merely because they are federal employees. This law builds on that foundation and maintains that, in WA state, there is the right to file a civil lawsuit against a federal employee in any court for constitutional rights violations committed by the federal employee during an immigration investigation, questioning, stop, arrest, transfer, detention, and/or removal for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration law."
Washington Indivisible Legislative Action describes it this way:
"This bill declares that ICE officers hired after Jan 20, 2025 cannot be hired in the future by law enforcement agencies anywhere in Washington state."
Simon, your discussion on the Contrarian was wonderful!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to ask them to get much more aggressive about ICE. No funding is a start, but they need to do much more. I want Noem impeached because that will damage Trump. Or, Trump might decide to throw her under the bus to prevent her impeachment and try to save himself. Either way.
I also said that every Dem, every time they speak about any topic, needs to bring up the fact that Trump is actually demented and can't stay in office. He must step down, be removed via the 25th Amendment, or be impeached. Getting this into the national consciousness requires disciplined messaging and constant repetition. Most Americans don't hear his whole speeches or read all of his social media posts. We counted on people to know he was terrible in 2024 and that didn't work. We need to regularly message that he's too insane to stay in office. Plus, as Lyndon Johnson once said, "I want to hear the SOB deny it."
Catherine. THis is great. I'm going to use your script. Terrific. I've been screaming about ICE these last few days but before that I always ended my message with "he's mentally ill AND has dementia. He must step down".
My ResistBot letter for Jan 26:After the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, the Senate must withhold DHS funding unless ICE is brought under real legal constraints. Congress cannot continue financing an agency that violates the Constitution and uses deadly force without accountability. Use this link to send letters to your members of Congress.
Text SIGN PGBRKX to 50409 or go to: https://resist.bot/petitions/PGBRKX
thanks, I'm on it!
Used your words as a template for my calls. First time I've had full mailboxes for one Senator and my Congressman. Taking this as a good sign for public engagement.
Thanks for your daily ResistBot letters! I do them almost every day, often coming from Jess Craven's substack.
Emailed my R senators (OH) re: ICE abuses, the administration's lying about the 2 deaths, and the administration's apparent goal of defining anyone who resists its policies and tactics as a "domestic terrorist." Encouraged NO vote on increase in funding. Perhaps Sen. Husted may be influenceable?? Just a hunch; no concrete evidence to support this other than the tone of his office's email replies to me indicates he understands what is happening in MN is not right.
I need to do the same.
Did you get a boilerplate "bUt bIdEn lEt tHeM iN?" this time?
No. From Sen Moreno’s office, I always receive a boilerplate response within 30 mins thanking me for my input, stating his favorite part of his day is reviewing input from constituents…. It is always the same message. There is never any reference to the topic of my message. It’s unclear what his process for review of constituent input is. I get replies from Sen. Husted’s office that do address the topic, and no replies on immigration related messages have referenced Pres Biden’s record.
Good to know. Maybe I'm confusing it with my House Rep.
You can also leave a message at the White House comment line 1(202)456-1111
I made 32 calls to Republican senators & congressional reps this morning… plus posted that & other concerns regarding the recent murders of Renee Good & Alex Pretti… plus invading sovereign countries… I only spoke to one live person, who said they are “still looking into the situations”… I said they will not be re-elected…
I emailed all the Dems who ended the shutdown last time, also Schumer/Jeffries/Booker and Collins/Murkowski.
So eone told me that was useless because if I'm not their constituent they have to ignore it. I thought speaking up was still useful.
Thoughts?
I saw this post from Bill Kristol. Perhaps it is unrealistic but I thought I would share:
Bill Kristol Y @BillKristol
X.com
Dems should introduce legislation defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave MN. One sentence bill. Demand immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding (or other) bills until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
8:48 AM • 1/25/26 • 60K Views
I'd also like to see Dems reintroduce the immigration bill they negotiated w/ Rs last year that Trump then told Rs to not even vote on. Make the Rs refuse, here before the midterms, to pass legislation that would clean up our immigration system.
Oooh good one. Now they see what Trump wanted and how were reacting.
Absolutely introduce that same bill that was agreed to!
Such a transparent move by Trump
Just
Chris Madel’s exit from from the Minnesota governor’s race is a big damn deal – but the Republican’s stated reasons for exiting (quoted above by Simon) are more than just new cracks. They constitute a political earthquake!
As soon as I read his statement, I thought the dam is breaking. R's must be scared with the country's pushback against the cruelty that anyone with eyes can see.
Totally! And Madel's reasons for stepping down show his humanity and good sense, unlike his congressional counterparts. Good for him (and for MN).
As a former attorney and director for a legal malpractice insurance company, I’m smelling the intense fear of what could happen to some holding law licenses. The other side isn’t immune.
Any chance you could detail that a bit? I’m very interested.
First thing I did when I woke up was call both senators and my congressman (all Rs) and tell them no more money for DHS until there are enforceable meaningful rules to rain in ice and make them act like a real law-enforcement agency in a civilized democratic society. And then I sent out a text to 100 people who live in my area and asked them to do the same. I live in Nebraska, lots of Republicans, and I’m telling you… This situation is hitting different. Give ‘em hell everybody! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch this wonderful seven minute speech from our candidate for governor in Florida, David Jolly. Passion and conviction are starting to spread like a virus to our political class, and it’s only gonna grow this year. There are dark times ahead, but my faith in the American people has grown even larger in the past year than my fear of the Trump regime. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
https://youtu.be/_9DG-1SIpPo?si=lNklC2UbRieY5x3-
Thank you, PianoMan. Wanted to see this.
A friend of mine from TX who ran as a 1st time candidate for Congress (and lost) in 2024 just emailed me and said "The dam is starting to break."
Wow!
thx for this. giving jolly $$ today.
Absolutely incredible! We need to be hearing this from every politician.
Wow. Just wow. Thank you for sharing.
I have loved David Jolly since I first saw him on MSNBC years ago. So happy he's running; thanks for the video!
That was fantastic! Thank you for sharing--just what I needed today.
Is Susan Collins concerned? Please Susan, write a stern email, recognizing that trump has learned his lesson
...looking into it.
Just called my Ohio senators. Got voicemail boxes that were both full. KEEP CALLING!!!
Senator Markey's vm was full too. I am writing on their websites
I'll do that! I don't have much hope they'll care since they're up Trump's rear, but that's good to hear.
You can call any of their district offices, not just the DC one. The district ones usually get fewer calls. The senator's official website will have numbers for all offices.
I've found that the local offices often answer with a real person, who conveys what I have to say to the elected that I'm calling. I also like to email, because then it's IN WRITING.
I like to do both, same idea
Another movement to track: The NRA and the pro-gun lobby have stood up for Alex Pretti. Second Amendment. Strange bedfellows, but I'll take them!
Here's what CNN reported about it. https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/politics/second-amendment-minneapolis-trump-pretti-shooting-nra
"Bill of Wrongs" – Powerful post by Timothy Snyder
Here is a small taste of Snyder’s cutting satire. Worth reading the whole piece:
"1. Congress shall make no law denying the Cult of all-wise Trump, or limiting the exercise thereof; or abridging His sole Freedom to define Truth, which includes his Self-Given Power to defraud, slander, and censor…"
https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-bill-of-wrongs
Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for what you shared!
Unfortunately, the comment line is closed, they say because of inclement weather, but I don't know why one can't leave a message.
Because they don't want to hear it.
They know the storm is headed their way, and I’m not talking about the weather, either
Bombarding Repubs is the best hope for change.
What sickens me in all this is the reason some of them are calling for change is because they are being damaged politically, not because innocent people standing up for their rights are being killed. Maybe they'll find their backbones, but they'll never find their souls.
Agree! I guess we should celebrate any R who expresses even the slightest reservations about what DHS is doing. But it would be refreshing if they did so because what DHS is doing is so WRONG, unconstitutional and illegal--and NOT just because DHS's killing of American citizens is causing Rs political problems!!
I agree, KBH! But I take heart that it’s causing political problems for these despicable politicians because so many Americans are telling them that’s it’s WRONG, unconstitutional, and illegal.
If the people lead, the leaders will eventually follow, right?
Yes, the people will and must lead. We're a democratic republic, and our representatives are supposed to pay attention to what we think and want. It would be nice if Rs followed because they gave a damn about what we thought or about their oath of office instead of just caring that our expressed opinions and needs might boot them out of office. But as noted in my original post, I'll take any R conversion we can get--no matter how crass or contrived.
Yes but being damaged versus riding high on what everyone thought was a MAGA mandate in November... I'll take it.
What I'm doing:
I continue to work with WAWU-UAW, the union local that represents students on campus. A call to support HB 1570, which would facilitate forming a bargaining team for operational workers, went out to 4200 Indivisible members.
On Sunday, I made many calls to new members of our Indivisible Bellingham. The final total of new members last week was 90. The previous week it was 118. We're getting flooded.
I signed in pro for two ICE-related bills in the legislature. I will say more about these two important bills below.
I will call my members of Congress later today.
I will attend a vigil for the victims of ICE on campus this afternoon.
I will continue to work on my remarks for the County Council, which meets on Tuesday. I'll be speaking to next steps following the resolution they passed on January 13.
The two bills below are under consideration in the House of Representatives for the Free State of Washington:
The first concerns HB 2597:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2597&Initiative=False&Year=2025
Washington Indivisible Legislative Action describes it this way:
"This bill strengthens our current laws and affirms our constitutional rights to hold ICE and CPB accountable for their actions during immigration stops, raids, and arrests. It will allow for the ability to sue them in civil court when they violate constitutional rights during immigration enforcement actions. In addition it holds WA law enforcement accountable if they violate the Keep WA Working bill.
"A similar bill was recently signed into law in Illinois. And, there are proposals working their way through other state legislatures in OR, CO, MN, and CA.
"The Supreme Court has consistently held that federal employees do not have immunity from complying with state laws merely because they are federal employees. This law builds on that foundation and maintains that, in WA state, there is the right to file a civil lawsuit against a federal employee in any court for constitutional rights violations committed by the federal employee during an immigration investigation, questioning, stop, arrest, transfer, detention, and/or removal for the purpose of enforcing civil immigration law."
The second bill concerns HB 2641:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=2641&Year=2025&Initiative=false
Washington Indivisible Legislative Action describes it this way:
"This bill declares that ICE officers hired after Jan 20, 2025 cannot be hired in the future by law enforcement agencies anywhere in Washington state."
Simon, your discussion on the Contrarian was wonderful!
I called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to ask them to get much more aggressive about ICE. No funding is a start, but they need to do much more. I want Noem impeached because that will damage Trump. Or, Trump might decide to throw her under the bus to prevent her impeachment and try to save himself. Either way.
I also said that every Dem, every time they speak about any topic, needs to bring up the fact that Trump is actually demented and can't stay in office. He must step down, be removed via the 25th Amendment, or be impeached. Getting this into the national consciousness requires disciplined messaging and constant repetition. Most Americans don't hear his whole speeches or read all of his social media posts. We counted on people to know he was terrible in 2024 and that didn't work. We need to regularly message that he's too insane to stay in office. Plus, as Lyndon Johnson once said, "I want to hear the SOB deny it."
I'm working on my postcards to NC today.
Catherine. THis is great. I'm going to use your script. Terrific. I've been screaming about ICE these last few days but before that I always ended my message with "he's mentally ill AND has dementia. He must step down".
Here's one time when Kristi Noem has told the truth: ICE agents are acting in accordance with their training.
Ding ding. This is part of the angle I plan to take with my R Senators. That these agents are running wild, have no training and no accountability.
Exactly!
I called all 3 legislators this morning. No one was answering the phones, so I left firm and clear messages not to fund DHS or ICE!
Here is a NYT article about the beautiful soul Alex Pretti was
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/us/alex-pretti-minneapolis-shooting.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share