I had hard time keeping the faith this week. I keep asking what is going to take for the American people to wake up. Because I am convinced that trump will go as far as the American people allow him to go. I don’t believe he can take or hold this country by force. But, what is going to is it going to take for people to realize that what he doing. He stealing the American dream away from us. And people are sleep walking. But, at the end of the day I am going to keep fighting and keep working. I don’t trump is going to win ultimately but what is going to left after we get him out.
Some of the American people seem to be waking up. I'm wondering what it will take for anyone with action-capability to wake up and take action to remove this cancer.
Some people are waking up. Last Friday I attended an anti-Trump rally in a VERY red congressional district where 800 people showed up. This is in an area that 50 years ago believed escaped enslaved people were guilty of theft as they were stealing property (themselves) from their owners. Eight hundred people may not look like much in New York City, but it is huge for here. If only politicians were lagging from the noise people are making.
"what is going to take for the American people to wake up."
Indicators of people waking up -- for me -- are when they realize our constitution contains ALL the tools we need to get us out of this nightmare. It is our foundation, and the fact that lesser men and women have failed to uphold it is not a slam on the constitution itself.
Thank you for your vociferous defense of the flag! I have several left-leaning friends who have hung the Star Wars rebel flag, but I think this is red meat to the MAGA folks. I will copy your paragraph about the flag and send it to them.
Seriously. To allow my nerd side free reign for a moment: I know portraying them as the Empire and ourselves as the rebels is a tempting, if somewhat self-indulgent, thought. But listening to that impulse would just lead to them leaning into it and allowing them to paint us all like the Partisans.
I have tried multiple times to donate to the link provided both from my Mac and from my phone. I keep getting a message that reads, "hang tight, thanks for your patience and almost done" but nothing ever happens. Anyone else having this difficulty?
Sometimes the links do not work if you open them from your email directly. I find that often I will have to open the substack in my browser then open the link.
Good morning, all. My state senator here in NJ spoke out last week about the executive order closing the Dept. of Education. I immediately sent this info out to my groups and encouraged them to call/write and thank him. This is just what's needed! (Sen. Gopal is the first Indian American elected to the NJ State Senate.)
I am alarmed at the deportations & imprisonments - apparently, another planeload left yesterday for El Salvador? I look forward to today's discussion and would like to hear some information on actions we can take to stop this horror.
Gave to Susan Crawford, making my phone calls and postcarding this evening. My brother attended the Fighting the Oligarchy rally in Greeley this weekend. He is a first-time rally goer/marcher, and he waited 5 hours so he could be in the front rows! This gave me hope, people are "doing something."
Give your brother a communal congrats from the Hopium community. We must remind ourselves that every act of one of us -- your phone calls, your brother's attendance, your and my postcards and calls and donations -- each action strengthens us. This knowledge makes the cowardice of law firms like Paul Weiss so infuriating. Partners at Paul Weiss make over $6 million a year and they fear that losing the 3% of their business that requires a security clearance will threaten the vitality of their firm. That's a lie and a cowardly one at that. The rich won't save us. And thanks Simon for reminding us to keep the pressure up even in red districts and states. It is easy to be frustrated by the idiotic responses, if any, that we get from Republicans, that disregard what we are saying and show that they don't understand at all what is going on.
I attended my first rally on Sunday in support of the postal workers. (I have been making all my calls and have been writing postcards and vote Forward letters in support of Susan Crawford).
The friend that invited me to the protest texted afterwards that she thought that there were about 80 people in attendance. We all spread out along the busy road in front of the post office waving signs and shouting slogans. Lots of drivers honking horns and waving. I wore my Indivisible t-shirt and it herlped start several good discussions about activism. I also talked to several postal workers who had driven in from the surrounding red counties about the critical importance of the rural letter carriers. Lots of seniors and disabled people are dependent of the USPS to deliver their medications.
I have already signed up for a protest rally on Sat., April 5th and have been emailing and texted my friends to sign up too! (several of them responded that they were already signed up). Check here to find an event near you: https://handsoff2025.com/
The point is not how the portrait looks. The point is that the so-called "president" is focused on a portrait while his regime is destroying America. He is demented. Invading our neighbor (war crime) because it will look "great on a map." These are not the priorities of a sane adult. Canada's borders are "arbitrary" -- all borders are arbitrary. A photograph of earth from space shows that.
Well maybe insane or maybe supremely traitorous. To dismantle our democracy and become king of the America’s so Putin can have Europe and xi China. Rather simplistic but one way to rule the world.
Lyn, I just ordered a bunch of 11"x18" prints of this painting (from Staples online) to take with us to Washington DC for the April 5th rally. We will try to put these up, with additional written messages, as close to the White House as we can get. I will also mail some to Rep. Gabe Evans' offices.
Modest donation to Susan and Ben just now, via Hopium. Attended a Tesla Boycott rally on Friday in Raleigh, NC, which was lovely. Will make my 5Calls today. We are hoping against hope that former Gov. Roy Cooper will announce in a couple of months that he's throwing his hat into the race against Sen. Thom Tillis. He can win. Thanks for your continued work.
I also hope Cooper gets in the race! Were you aware that Field Team 6 (www.fieldteam6.org) has launched a voter registration postcard campaign in NC using Thom Tillis' lack of action in protecting us against Elon and Trump cutting essential services to pay for billionaire tax cuts? Now that I've finished up my postcards and letters to Wisconsin (today is the last day to mail those), I will start in writing the FT6 postcards.
I am also waiting on specific postcards so that I can write postcards into VA for their state legislature races (https://postcards4va.com/).
I’m calling Warren and Markey and thanking them for being leaders. BUT I am demanding (and asking why it’s not happening) that the entire Dem senate isn’t rising up and calling this horror a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. I’m asking them to get united, louder, and say it like it is- especially since Schumer is NOT.
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S.: DEMOCRATS (AND PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE) NEED TO HAVE “TOWN HALLS” IN REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS - ASAP. YOUR OPPONENTS HAVE WILLINGLY CONCEDED THE FIELD.
P.P.P.S.: Simon has often mentioned the earnest six-million patriots from the last cycle. This is a large pool of thoughtful energy/talent. SO, DEMOCRATS SHOULD ALLOW VETTED-VOLUNTEERS TO AUGMENT THEIR PAID OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS IN ORDER TO COVER THE INCOMING TSUNAMI OF COMMUNICATIONS (AND OTHER CONCERNS) FROM CITIZENS IN GENERAL AND CONSTITUENTS IN PARTICULAR!!
Is anyone else getting pushback when they call their GOP rep? This is the second time the person who picked up the phone at Boebert's office argued with me. I finally asked him today if he is taking my message or just arguing with me and he said "I guess a little of both." According to him, green card holders only get to stay if they obey the law because they are guests. I pointed out that talking negatively about the president is not against the law...yet.
When I called Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper (both dems) I asked if they have any pull with the congresswoman's office, to tell them to knock off the arguing with callers. Then I asked them to start resisting as a group with all Dem senators. And do a daily press briefing.
So is this arguing with callers strategy just Boebert's idea or is this a new GOP strategy to get us to stop calling? It's not going to work on me.
I may be a bit twisted but embrace the argument. You will win on the facts.
During the 2013 shutdown I called my then representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ). His staffer threw all the typical talking points at me about the ACA, which I quickly discarded as, among other things, not relevant to the cruelty of the shutdown. She finally admitted Lance just didn’t want to be primaried. I then posted the substance of my conversation on Facebook and noted elected officials are not entitled to their seats. They are elected to them by the voters. A primary is part of the process.
Using our elected representatives' words against them is a smart strategy. I've used several responses from my Senators in my LTE to our local newspaper. At least in my opinion, it exposes their simplemindedness, hypocrisy, and general avoidance of the subjects we are trying to get them to address.
That staffer and Boebert, like all public employees, work for you. It is wholly inappropriate for anyone answering the phone there to be arguing with you. Their job is to record input from constituents like yourself. It's irrelevant whether your facts are correct (they are) or your position is morally defensible (it is!).
Describing the treatment you're getting from your rep's office is a fine subject for a letter to the editor.
About a couple of weeks ago, I called the offices of both Ted Cruz and Monica de la Cruz and spoke with their staffers. Both of them gave me some B.S. about their bosses not being able to file criminal referrals against Musk/DOGE and needing "proof" that what Musk is doing is illegal. I nearly lost it with both of them, telling one of them, "If you have to ask [for proof of Musk's illegality], then you're in the wrong job." I didn't want their arguments or their B.S.; I wanted them to relay the messages, no questions asked.
In all my calls to my 3 GOP members of Congress, only once has an aide attempted to dispute my reason for the call. That was about a month ago, when the House was first setting up the preliminary areas of the budget which ultimately would become the Continuing Resolution signed two weeks ago.
I asked the aide whether his boss, the total slime Rep. Miller-Meeks (IA-1st district) was in favor of hundreds of billions of dollars being cut to Medicaid, as was being reported at the time. The aide was arrogant and dismissive, stating that no budget details were under discussion. I replied that I understood that he was technically correct, but that in fact the broad areas of the future budget were being decided on, and asked whether his boss stood by the GOP plan to cut $880 Billion from the agency overseeing Medicaid, which in fact could only be implemented through Medicaid cuts. Unable to budge him from his obfuscation and talking points, I ultimately just told him to pass on to the congresswoman the reason for my call.
Other than that one example, every other aide has simply said that my concerns would be relayed (although at least half the time I just talk to an answering machine, so who knows)
I have been calling my US Rep. Angie Criag frequently and sometimes have been highly critical of the “actions” Craig is taking for the simple reason that she is mostly focused on introducing good legislation - which will go exactly nowhere this year, rather than leading on issues that need every voice and effort in this critical moment - the economy, DOGE’S illegal searching of SS, cutting Medicaid and so much more. She is acting as if it’s as usual.
Despite my criticism, the pushback I receive is mild. And from Craig and both my US Senators, I get email letters that tell me their positions on the issues I raised with the staffer which is an excellent indicator that my call was recorded the right way.
Boebert’s staffer pushing back that hard means that they are on the defensive - and that is good news. Keep pushing. Hard and frequently. And write letters to the editor with your criticism. Don’t let them off the hook.
Great work - thank you for pushing hard in a Red district.
Yes, Simon! 100% to what you wrote! Yes, this is an illegitimate regime and people talking about 4 more years of this are delusional. This is already not America and it must stop. That is the point I made in my version of Letter to America cataloging the abuses and usurpations, attached below for those who may not have read it. It is my assessment that an election has been turned into a coup.
I know when I’m on the Substack app on my phone, notifications for Live events come up and I’ve just clicked on them to see the live video. Not sure how it works on a computer, but I assume if we’re on the site we can click on notifications there.
I don't know sir, I think you're just about home with that 'sketch.' My only thought is that the start of the fourth paragraph somehow feels like only half a sentence. Maybe replace "which" with "this?"
Preparing for National Day of Action April 5. Rally Protests—organizing with Indivisible; 50501 and other pro-Democracy groups. Check your area. Spread the word and organize.
Today’s hopium: A shout out to Bernie Sanders who is representing the very best of us and our country by listening to thousands of people share their stories of suffering at the hands of Trump/MAGA/GOP. He’s drawn large crowds everywhere, ending in Denver with 34,000 attendees. His barnstorming tour with an able assist from AOC has been heartening and inspiring to this Dem. Onward ho!
A, Before anyone gets carried away, I feel obligated to point out that's a crowd the equivalent of just under 0.9% of Colorado's total registered voters, and that in Colorado, that's about as hard as going to Denver.
B, I also feel obligated to remind everyone that historically, the support of the sort of people that Bernie draws in has been, to put it very mildly, less than steadfast.
All I'm saying is, we really should treat any support coming from him or his ilk with a dose of healthy skepticism, because they have burned us before.
What on earth? It's easy to draw unprecedented crowds? OK. And I'm more moderate than either Bernie or AOC. But I don't see Chuck Schumer galvanizing people. Instead, I see him telling us that his duty is to maintain American support for a foreign government and temporizing blandly on Meet the Press. Is Bernie a dogmatic, one-issue guy? Sure. But he's responding to the moment, which is more than can be said about the people who represent me at the municpal, state, and federal levels in an allegedly "blue state"!
All I'm saying is, we should really thank anyone who's trying to respond to the rising tide of oligarchy in America.
You do you. I don't think an ideological purity test is really in anyone's interest at this point. FWIW, I live in a closed primary state. So I am registered D by necessity. The institutional party has done very little during my voting life to earn loyalty or trust.
I did get an email from my county machine to notify me of its endorsement of (the manifestly unfit) Andrew Cuomo for mayor. The party's reputation is through the floor right now...and it's not just because of fascist agitprop on TV and social media. There are lots of places in the country (like Greeley, where they drew 10K) where we might have more success confronting kakistocracy and fascism if we didn't insist that the alternative had a D next to their name.
And, yes, I very much resented Bernie's presumption in running in 2020. I'd be just as happy if Bennett and Hickenlooper were running the tour...but they aren't.
I had hard time keeping the faith this week. I keep asking what is going to take for the American people to wake up. Because I am convinced that trump will go as far as the American people allow him to go. I don’t believe he can take or hold this country by force. But, what is going to is it going to take for people to realize that what he doing. He stealing the American dream away from us. And people are sleep walking. But, at the end of the day I am going to keep fighting and keep working. I don’t trump is going to win ultimately but what is going to left after we get him out.
ACTIONS BY EVERYONE GROWS FREEDOM
How to Prevent "GOP MASS PSYCHOSIS - How an Entire Population Becomes MENTALLY ILL"
❤️ Discredit totalitarian propaganda everywhere
🤣 Mock GOP worship of dictators
❤️ Grow joyful unifying structures
❤️ c 1st 📈
Watch video to Oppose Totalitarianism
https://youtu.be/09maaUaRT4M
What ir will take is losing their jobs.
Some of the American people seem to be waking up. I'm wondering what it will take for anyone with action-capability to wake up and take action to remove this cancer.
Some people are waking up. Last Friday I attended an anti-Trump rally in a VERY red congressional district where 800 people showed up. This is in an area that 50 years ago believed escaped enslaved people were guilty of theft as they were stealing property (themselves) from their owners. Eight hundred people may not look like much in New York City, but it is huge for here. If only politicians were lagging from the noise people are making.
"what is going to take for the American people to wake up."
Indicators of people waking up -- for me -- are when they realize our constitution contains ALL the tools we need to get us out of this nightmare. It is our foundation, and the fact that lesser men and women have failed to uphold it is not a slam on the constitution itself.
Thank you for your vociferous defense of the flag! I have several left-leaning friends who have hung the Star Wars rebel flag, but I think this is red meat to the MAGA folks. I will copy your paragraph about the flag and send it to them.
Seriously. To allow my nerd side free reign for a moment: I know portraying them as the Empire and ourselves as the rebels is a tempting, if somewhat self-indulgent, thought. But listening to that impulse would just lead to them leaning into it and allowing them to paint us all like the Partisans.
I have tried multiple times to donate to the link provided both from my Mac and from my phone. I keep getting a message that reads, "hang tight, thanks for your patience and almost done" but nothing ever happens. Anyone else having this difficulty?
The first one? Working okay for my laptop.
Sometimes the links do not work if you open them from your email directly. I find that often I will have to open the substack in my browser then open the link.
Good morning, all. My state senator here in NJ spoke out last week about the executive order closing the Dept. of Education. I immediately sent this info out to my groups and encouraged them to call/write and thank him. This is just what's needed! (Sen. Gopal is the first Indian American elected to the NJ State Senate.)
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/asbury-park/sections/education/articles/gopal-blasts-trump-executive-order-to-dismantle-u-s-department-of-education
I am alarmed at the deportations & imprisonments - apparently, another planeload left yesterday for El Salvador? I look forward to today's discussion and would like to hear some information on actions we can take to stop this horror.
Gave to Susan Crawford, making my phone calls and postcarding this evening. My brother attended the Fighting the Oligarchy rally in Greeley this weekend. He is a first-time rally goer/marcher, and he waited 5 hours so he could be in the front rows! This gave me hope, people are "doing something."
I love that!
Give your brother a communal congrats from the Hopium community. We must remind ourselves that every act of one of us -- your phone calls, your brother's attendance, your and my postcards and calls and donations -- each action strengthens us. This knowledge makes the cowardice of law firms like Paul Weiss so infuriating. Partners at Paul Weiss make over $6 million a year and they fear that losing the 3% of their business that requires a security clearance will threaten the vitality of their firm. That's a lie and a cowardly one at that. The rich won't save us. And thanks Simon for reminding us to keep the pressure up even in red districts and states. It is easy to be frustrated by the idiotic responses, if any, that we get from Republicans, that disregard what we are saying and show that they don't understand at all what is going on.
I attended my first rally on Sunday in support of the postal workers. (I have been making all my calls and have been writing postcards and vote Forward letters in support of Susan Crawford).
The friend that invited me to the protest texted afterwards that she thought that there were about 80 people in attendance. We all spread out along the busy road in front of the post office waving signs and shouting slogans. Lots of drivers honking horns and waving. I wore my Indivisible t-shirt and it herlped start several good discussions about activism. I also talked to several postal workers who had driven in from the surrounding red counties about the critical importance of the rural letter carriers. Lots of seniors and disabled people are dependent of the USPS to deliver their medications.
I have already signed up for a protest rally on Sat., April 5th and have been emailing and texted my friends to sign up too! (several of them responded that they were already signed up). Check here to find an event near you: https://handsoff2025.com/
This Saturday is the Global day of action for Tesla Takedown. You can find an event near you here: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/teslatakedown
More proof that he is a weak, baby-man: https://www.denverpost.com/2025/03/24/trump-portrait-colorado-capitol/
In some fairness: looking at that portrait, I honestly can't blame him. He looks like Alec Baldwin with a mouth full of bees.
How about this one from 2018? https://www.denverpost.com/2018/08/17/democrat-sneaks-putin-portrait-into-capitol/
...Touché.
Even more life-like!
Damn it, why didn't I think of that? It was right there...
The point is not how the portrait looks. The point is that the so-called "president" is focused on a portrait while his regime is destroying America. He is demented. Invading our neighbor (war crime) because it will look "great on a map." These are not the priorities of a sane adult. Canada's borders are "arbitrary" -- all borders are arbitrary. A photograph of earth from space shows that.
I agree with everything you said, and I wasn't trying to diminish that. I was just trying to take a cheap shot at him/the portrait.
Well maybe insane or maybe supremely traitorous. To dismantle our democracy and become king of the America’s so Putin can have Europe and xi China. Rather simplistic but one way to rule the world.
To me, this is proof that he is insane
Lyn, I just ordered a bunch of 11"x18" prints of this painting (from Staples online) to take with us to Washington DC for the April 5th rally. We will try to put these up, with additional written messages, as close to the White House as we can get. I will also mail some to Rep. Gabe Evans' offices.
Which painting?
The painting is in the article. Here is the Denver Post gift article link: https://www.denverpost.com/2025/03/24/trump-portrait-colorado-capitol/?share=otta2ccsoothreatwccw
Keep up the good work in Montana, Doc!
Thanks Dr. DEK, I was making a lame joke about the earlier 2018 portrait. I'll try and restrain my twisted sense of humor.
Good move, Dr. Kolva!
My first reaction was he should be grateful that he didn't get the Goya treatment like in his family portrait of Charles IV: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/goya-carlos-iv-of-spain-and-his-family-facts-2439315?amp=1
Modest donation to Susan and Ben just now, via Hopium. Attended a Tesla Boycott rally on Friday in Raleigh, NC, which was lovely. Will make my 5Calls today. We are hoping against hope that former Gov. Roy Cooper will announce in a couple of months that he's throwing his hat into the race against Sen. Thom Tillis. He can win. Thanks for your continued work.
Keep us posted if Roy Cooper throws his hat in the race! That would be great news.
Hey Cat,
I also hope Cooper gets in the race! Were you aware that Field Team 6 (www.fieldteam6.org) has launched a voter registration postcard campaign in NC using Thom Tillis' lack of action in protecting us against Elon and Trump cutting essential services to pay for billionaire tax cuts? Now that I've finished up my postcards and letters to Wisconsin (today is the last day to mail those), I will start in writing the FT6 postcards.
I am also waiting on specific postcards so that I can write postcards into VA for their state legislature races (https://postcards4va.com/).
I’m calling Warren and Markey and thanking them for being leaders. BUT I am demanding (and asking why it’s not happening) that the entire Dem senate isn’t rising up and calling this horror a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS. I’m asking them to get united, louder, and say it like it is- especially since Schumer is NOT.
Kate have you seen this article?
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/schumer-didnt-know-the-can-of-whoop-ass-he-was-opening
The NETWORK STATE - For the best synopsis of the objectives of the “Tech Lords”, please listen to this 45-minute podcast and share widely (these folks are going to leave a huge blast radius - if we let them): https://www.thenerdreich.com/the-nerd-reich-podcast-episode-1-the-network-state-2/.
Project 2025 Trackers:
https://www.project2025.observer .
https://substack.com/@project2025progress .
https://substack.com/@ahmedbaba/p-158109308 .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPElaGebGPc (timestamps 13:10 and 55:07).
Simon et al.:
Vlad Vexler has another amazing analysis of the bond between Dolos and the Tsar with a simple portrait (timestamp 3:30): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_uKZjCIPV0&list=TLPQMjMwMzIwMjUBmZtdxaoHVg . I also think that he and the Canadian scholar, Michael Ignatieff, have a perfect name for what we are currently witnessing as a country: VANDALISM! So, the perpetrators (formally known as Republicans) should be called “VANDALS” (note the fall of Rome): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8zLqO3V3Yo . The world is certainly watching, and here is some history on the fall of Rome: https://www.history.com/articles/8-reasons-why-rome-fell .
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S.: DEMOCRATS (AND PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE) NEED TO HAVE “TOWN HALLS” IN REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS - ASAP. YOUR OPPONENTS HAVE WILLINGLY CONCEDED THE FIELD.
P.P.P.S.: Simon has often mentioned the earnest six-million patriots from the last cycle. This is a large pool of thoughtful energy/talent. SO, DEMOCRATS SHOULD ALLOW VETTED-VOLUNTEERS TO AUGMENT THEIR PAID OFFICE STAFF MEMBERS IN ORDER TO COVER THE INCOMING TSUNAMI OF COMMUNICATIONS (AND OTHER CONCERNS) FROM CITIZENS IN GENERAL AND CONSTITUENTS IN PARTICULAR!!
Hi team!
Is anyone else getting pushback when they call their GOP rep? This is the second time the person who picked up the phone at Boebert's office argued with me. I finally asked him today if he is taking my message or just arguing with me and he said "I guess a little of both." According to him, green card holders only get to stay if they obey the law because they are guests. I pointed out that talking negatively about the president is not against the law...yet.
When I called Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper (both dems) I asked if they have any pull with the congresswoman's office, to tell them to knock off the arguing with callers. Then I asked them to start resisting as a group with all Dem senators. And do a daily press briefing.
So is this arguing with callers strategy just Boebert's idea or is this a new GOP strategy to get us to stop calling? It's not going to work on me.
I may be a bit twisted but embrace the argument. You will win on the facts.
During the 2013 shutdown I called my then representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ). His staffer threw all the typical talking points at me about the ACA, which I quickly discarded as, among other things, not relevant to the cruelty of the shutdown. She finally admitted Lance just didn’t want to be primaried. I then posted the substance of my conversation on Facebook and noted elected officials are not entitled to their seats. They are elected to them by the voters. A primary is part of the process.
Seconded, but then I live for this kind of stuff, so maybe don't listen to me.
Using our elected representatives' words against them is a smart strategy. I've used several responses from my Senators in my LTE to our local newspaper. At least in my opinion, it exposes their simplemindedness, hypocrisy, and general avoidance of the subjects we are trying to get them to address.
That staffer and Boebert, like all public employees, work for you. It is wholly inappropriate for anyone answering the phone there to be arguing with you. Their job is to record input from constituents like yourself. It's irrelevant whether your facts are correct (they are) or your position is morally defensible (it is!).
Describing the treatment you're getting from your rep's office is a fine subject for a letter to the editor.
Great idea!
About a couple of weeks ago, I called the offices of both Ted Cruz and Monica de la Cruz and spoke with their staffers. Both of them gave me some B.S. about their bosses not being able to file criminal referrals against Musk/DOGE and needing "proof" that what Musk is doing is illegal. I nearly lost it with both of them, telling one of them, "If you have to ask [for proof of Musk's illegality], then you're in the wrong job." I didn't want their arguments or their B.S.; I wanted them to relay the messages, no questions asked.
In all my calls to my 3 GOP members of Congress, only once has an aide attempted to dispute my reason for the call. That was about a month ago, when the House was first setting up the preliminary areas of the budget which ultimately would become the Continuing Resolution signed two weeks ago.
I asked the aide whether his boss, the total slime Rep. Miller-Meeks (IA-1st district) was in favor of hundreds of billions of dollars being cut to Medicaid, as was being reported at the time. The aide was arrogant and dismissive, stating that no budget details were under discussion. I replied that I understood that he was technically correct, but that in fact the broad areas of the future budget were being decided on, and asked whether his boss stood by the GOP plan to cut $880 Billion from the agency overseeing Medicaid, which in fact could only be implemented through Medicaid cuts. Unable to budge him from his obfuscation and talking points, I ultimately just told him to pass on to the congresswoman the reason for my call.
Other than that one example, every other aide has simply said that my concerns would be relayed (although at least half the time I just talk to an answering machine, so who knows)
Arggh, Miller-Meeks is my Congressperson, too. I have not (yet) had a staffer argue with me when I call. Let's oust her in '26!
I have been calling my US Rep. Angie Criag frequently and sometimes have been highly critical of the “actions” Craig is taking for the simple reason that she is mostly focused on introducing good legislation - which will go exactly nowhere this year, rather than leading on issues that need every voice and effort in this critical moment - the economy, DOGE’S illegal searching of SS, cutting Medicaid and so much more. She is acting as if it’s as usual.
Despite my criticism, the pushback I receive is mild. And from Craig and both my US Senators, I get email letters that tell me their positions on the issues I raised with the staffer which is an excellent indicator that my call was recorded the right way.
Boebert’s staffer pushing back that hard means that they are on the defensive - and that is good news. Keep pushing. Hard and frequently. And write letters to the editor with your criticism. Don’t let them off the hook.
Great work - thank you for pushing hard in a Red district.
Seems like arguing with people is the only way the6 know how to communicate. If they open their mouths, they’re arguing.
Yes, Simon! 100% to what you wrote! Yes, this is an illegitimate regime and people talking about 4 more years of this are delusional. This is already not America and it must stop. That is the point I made in my version of Letter to America cataloging the abuses and usurpations, attached below for those who may not have read it. It is my assessment that an election has been turned into a coup.
https://moralitymademeanatheist.substack.com/p/declaration-2025?r=9xdq6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
As far as your "working thesis"on immigratiin, the first amendnent and disappearance, "illegimate" is way too mild.
"Illegal, dictatorial, criminal, unconstitutional" are mo betta.
On the David Leopold discussion, it's not clear to me where we are supposed to find the link at 4 pm -- is it on the web page or in an email?
I know when I’m on the Substack app on my phone, notifications for Live events come up and I’ve just clicked on them to see the live video. Not sure how it works on a computer, but I assume if we’re on the site we can click on notifications there.
I don't know sir, I think you're just about home with that 'sketch.' My only thought is that the start of the fourth paragraph somehow feels like only half a sentence. Maybe replace "which" with "this?"
Preparing for National Day of Action April 5. Rally Protests—organizing with Indivisible; 50501 and other pro-Democracy groups. Check your area. Spread the word and organize.
https://indivisible.org/
Today’s hopium: A shout out to Bernie Sanders who is representing the very best of us and our country by listening to thousands of people share their stories of suffering at the hands of Trump/MAGA/GOP. He’s drawn large crowds everywhere, ending in Denver with 34,000 attendees. His barnstorming tour with an able assist from AOC has been heartening and inspiring to this Dem. Onward ho!
A, Before anyone gets carried away, I feel obligated to point out that's a crowd the equivalent of just under 0.9% of Colorado's total registered voters, and that in Colorado, that's about as hard as going to Denver.
B, I also feel obligated to remind everyone that historically, the support of the sort of people that Bernie draws in has been, to put it very mildly, less than steadfast.
All I'm saying is, we really should treat any support coming from him or his ilk with a dose of healthy skepticism, because they have burned us before.
What on earth? It's easy to draw unprecedented crowds? OK. And I'm more moderate than either Bernie or AOC. But I don't see Chuck Schumer galvanizing people. Instead, I see him telling us that his duty is to maintain American support for a foreign government and temporizing blandly on Meet the Press. Is Bernie a dogmatic, one-issue guy? Sure. But he's responding to the moment, which is more than can be said about the people who represent me at the municpal, state, and federal levels in an allegedly "blue state"!
All I'm saying is, we should really thank anyone who's trying to respond to the rising tide of oligarchy in America.
A, Colorado is both very blue and very population concentrated in a small area, so that makes drawing crowds somewhat easier.
B, Sanders is a con artist of the highest order. (https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/bernie-sanderss-bad-idea-left-should-quit-democratic-party.html) He's certainly galvanizing people, but not for us, against us. I'm certainly not giving a snake credit for biting us.
You do you. I don't think an ideological purity test is really in anyone's interest at this point. FWIW, I live in a closed primary state. So I am registered D by necessity. The institutional party has done very little during my voting life to earn loyalty or trust.
I did get an email from my county machine to notify me of its endorsement of (the manifestly unfit) Andrew Cuomo for mayor. The party's reputation is through the floor right now...and it's not just because of fascist agitprop on TV and social media. There are lots of places in the country (like Greeley, where they drew 10K) where we might have more success confronting kakistocracy and fascism if we didn't insist that the alternative had a D next to their name.
And, yes, I very much resented Bernie's presumption in running in 2020. I'd be just as happy if Bennett and Hickenlooper were running the tour...but they aren't.
Ideological purity tests? Us? That's the Bernie crowd's thing, not ours.
Also, just my two cents, but I fail to see why the party always has to earn our loyalty, and never the other way around.