thisfinecrew | Recent Entries

It's February 2025, Trump is two weeks into his second term and in full swing on implementing Project 2025, working to dismantle the federal government and enrich his cronies, working on crashing the economy and destroying relations with a range of countries.

This community was created to encourage political and social action in the U.S. following Trump's election in 2016, a place of solidarity and information-sharing. While the United States recovered somewhat under Biden's term, Trump is now speed running his fascist, oligarchic agenda, aided and abetted by the Republican party.

Our community will continue its work, sharing links to information and actions you can take to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic", defend the federal government and its normal operations, and support public policy that helps people rather than hurts them. We stand with Black Lives Matter, Native Americans, Immigrants, Minority populations, LGBTQA+, Women's groups, the Unemployed, the millions upon millions of people who need Universal Healthcare, and everyone else who needs social and political support to improve their lives. Absolutely no hate-speech will be tolerated.

We also value self-care. Worrying about each issue can be daunting and overwhelming. It's okay to take a step back when you need to, and also to prioritize one or two issues that are close to you over spreading yourself thin on everything and burning out. Change is a marathon and a relay both.

Your mods are

tassosss and

tanaqui. We won't be as proactive as we have been (e.g. with the regular check in posts) but we are still here for this amazing community. Drop us a line via PM or on this post if you need anything.

We have a sister community

thissterlingcrew run by

tanaqui for taking political and social action in the UK.

What you can post to this community
1. Links to organizations, news articles, relevant posts elsewhere on the internet, etc. (mods will add tags/clean-up tags)
2. Links to action items and actions you are taking - called your representatives? great, maybe it'll inspire the next person to do the same
3. Celebration posts - let's take joy in the victories!
4. Community suggestions for posts or activities - they can be their own post or you can drop them in the comments of this post

Tagging: Please use available tags when possible. If you need a new one or have a tagging question please contact

redbird who is our tag guru.

Community name and title from:

"As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship, this fine crew. Never give up... and never surrender." -- Jason Nesmith, Galaxy Quest

fabrisse

From today's Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/uss-abraham-lincoln-overboard-extended-deployment

While sea duty is often 48 months or more, there are liberties, leave -- including places where family can come to share that leave (Hawaii was popular for that during Vietnam, and not just for the Navy). It is also common for two ships to spell each other in a direct war zone, so that the crew has time to decompress. [My knowledge of that last is from the second Iraq war where I knew a married couple, both officers, assigned to ships. She was a nurse on a medical ship, and he was a helicopter pilot. They were assigned to different ships, but they were able to schedule leave together and neither was continuously in the war zone.) During WWII, especially the war in the Pacific, there were long, long Naval deployments, but the Navy provided regular resupplies with fresh fruits and vegetables. There was even, per President Roosevelt's orders, a ship that would provide ice cream and, later, ice cream makers and supplies as a way to keep morale high.

This is an unusual circumstance with no resupplies and no ability to put in for necessary repairs.

Sample Letter:

In today's Guardian there is an article about the morale and mental health problems on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.

The Navy has always had it harder than Army or Air Force deployments. The company is far more limited. The meals are the same week after week. If something on board breaks, it creates a widespread hardship until it touches every single life on the ship. The description of broken toilets, unrepaired laundry machines, and food rationing is unconscionable.

They have touched land for a grand total of two days in a deployment of 250 days. Where are the leaves they are owed? Where are the tenders with supplies? Most importantly, where is the next ship in the rotation? They have been away from land long enough for a pregnancy to come to term. While naval sea tours can be up to 48 months long, leave is accrued and issued during that tour of duty. There are regular meals, clean uniforms, and toilets that flush.

It should not be left to a foreign newspaper to document a mental health crisis among our sailors. There should not be a high rate of documented suicide attempts. At the very least, there should be some way to address their mental health under this unusual level of stress.

Thank you for your time.

otter

I learned today that this exists.

https://www.disabilitypolicyfoundry.org/about-us

"The Disability Policy Foundry aims to democratize policy research, writing, and publication. Disabled people are already making policy change. We give them a platform to amplify their ideas.

We exist to build something that has been missing: infrastructure for disabled people to lead policy conversations, shape ideas, and move them into action.

Policy doesn’t only live in specific professional or academic spaces. It lives in people’s daily experiences navigating health care, education, employment, housing, public benefits, and more. Disabled people are already analyzing these systems every day. The Foundry exists to make that expertise visible, supported, and actionable."

fabrisse

Does anyone know:

a reputable organization which is fighting what the executive branch is trying to do by federalizing elections

whether this is even a concern that I can take to my congress critters (i.e. do they have any real power to stop what's being attempted)

are there any lawsuits being filed over this in any state but especially Georgia

is this an issue which can be brought as an emergency suit to the Supreme Court even though it's out of session

Thank you.

petra

Writeup on Tumblr about an OMB rule update whose comment period closes today (7/13/26) that would require all federal grant recipients to deny that trans people exist and end all diversity programs by employers who recognize trans people.

Comment form.

( A friend's draft comment )

petra

Housing and Urban Development is considering a rule change that would require people to prove their sex to receive benefits.

TransEquality.org has a form where you can work on a comment to be submitted (anonymously, if you wish) to the Federal Register. The comment period closes tomorrow, 6/29.

A friend of mine wrote up this comment and submitted it anonymously:

( Opposing sex and gender discrimination in HUD programs )

petra

Opinion piece from the Guardian: Congress wants to tie the United States to Israel with this new legislation. It’s a trap

A friend shared what they wrote to their representatives. Take any part of it that is helpful to you.

( Brief letter to Congress )

sathari

This is an amazingly important piece, IMO, on the role of child development in democracy by Dr. Stacey Patton: "You Can't Raise Children To Obey and Expect Them To Defend Democracy"

(Notes: I edited this post a couple of times because parts of it appear to have gone missing; also, I used "trans rights" as a tag because it's discussed in the piece though not the whole focus, and "strategy" because it's laying the foundations for a very long-term strategy indeed for raising citizens of a democracy.)

fabrisse

On June 11, 1970 Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth Hoisington were the first women in the U.S. military to be promoted to Brigadier General.

Yesterday, Pete Hegseth removed all women from the promotions lists. He also decided that some men had too much melanin and took them off the list, too, but it wasn't every man of color who was removed.

If you grew up in the military, if you know a veteran -- especially if it's a female veteran -- call, write, or email their congressperson and your own. Bonus points if the congress critter is on one of the armed services committees. [ https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/ lists the senate committee, https://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.htm lists the house committee members]

After 28.5 years in the Army, my father retired and became a professor. Many of the kids he taught were ROTC -- as he had been -- and a large percentage went into the regular military rather than the reserves. About eight months before he died, we got a letter from one of his students who had just retired as a Rear Admiral thanking him for his guidance and example. Dad was so proud of this woman. When he entered the service, most WACS and WAVES were nurses or secretaries. Now, he was being honored by a student who had been promoted to a higher rank than he'd held for her work in Computer Systems.

Several years before her promotion, when I was five, I was privileged to meet Colonel Hoisington. I swear I heard Dad's spine snap as she was introduced to us by a mutual friend. On our way home that evening, he told me to remember her because it was predicted that she'd be the first woman general.

As a sample, I would like to suggest:

It is appalling that a Secretary of Defense has removed all women and many men of color from the Naval promotions list. At a time when we have hotspots around the world, it is crippling to morale to see that hard work and honorable service has been deemed unworthy of further advancement. Nurses, doctors, logistical and other support personnel are as essential to our ability to operate as helicopter pilots or gunners. Good officers should be promoted.

If you or the veterans you know have any personal story to share, please do so.

I grew up in the military. I hate what's being done by our current president in the Middle East, Venezuela, and, potentially, Cuba. But that doesn't mean that I don't value military service. It's time that Congress demonstrated that it, too, values the voluntary service of our military.

flamingsword

With many thanks to S. Baum and Erin in the Morning for their words and timely reportage:

Today, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the FCC would be seeking comment on whether the TV Parental Guidelines rating system needs to be changed to address shows with transgender or nonbinary characters.

If you, like me, trust Trump’s FCC chairman no farther than you can throw him, then please feel free to register your dissent.

The public comment period is open now through May 22, 2026. Anyone can submit comments opposing this effort through the FCC's Comment Filing System under MB Docket No. 19-41. LGBTQ+ organizations, parents, animators, and allies are encouraged to make their voices heard—the FCC is required to consider all comments submitted during the period.

redbird

There were seven posts in the community in the last two months.

On February 3, rydra_wong posted a link to Naomi Kritzer's Bluesky thread about ways to donate and otherwise help people in Minneapolis, Springfield, OH, or wherever else ICE invades

On February 14, petra posted about public comments about gender-affirming care for minors

On February 20, lyr posted about [reporting GoFundMe pages that help the murderers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti]{https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/324071.html)

On February 28, chestnutpod posted about logging in Oregon's old growth forests

On March 7, sathari posted about a global women's general strike

On March 9, petra posted about mandatory conversion therapy for trans immates

On March 11, flamingsword posted about protecting LGBTQ kids from a proposed change in HHS policy

Please use this poll, or leave a comment, to let us know what you’ve been up to, or are planning.

Poll #34452 April check-in poll

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

View Respondents

In the last couple of months, I...

View Answers

called one or both of my senators
8 (40.0%)

called my member of Congress
6 (30.0%)

called my governor
1 (5.0%)

called my mayor, state representative, or other local official
3 (15.0%)

voted
4 (20.0%)

did get-out-the-vote work, such as postcarding or phone banking
3 (15.0%)

sent a postcard/letter/email/fax to a government official or agency
8 (40.0%)

went to a protest
8 (40.0%)

attended an in-person activist group
6 (30.0%)

went to a town hall
1 (5.0%)

participated in phone or online training
0 (0.0%)

participated in community mutual aid
6 (30.0%)

donated money to a cause
11 (55.0%)

worked for a campaign
2 (10.0%)

did text banking or phone banking
0 (0.0%)

took care of myself
13 (65.0%)

not a US citizen or resident, but worked in solidarity in my community
1 (5.0%)

committed to action in the current month
2 (10.0%)

did something else--tell us in comments
2 (10.0%)

As usual, you can comment on the pinned post or DM me if you want a tag added or other help with the community.

flamingsword

Because Biden told HHS that they couldn't stick kids with people who would make them more likely to be bullied into self harming, and Trump hates everything that Biden stands for including protecting kids from people like him, Trump is trying to stick LGBTQ kids with unsupportive "traditionally Christian" families. He's getting his stooge, RFK Jr., to propose scrapping protections for LGBTQ+ kids in foster care.

The Trumpist regime is trying to sneak another shortened comment period by us too quickly for people to protest. If you want to register a comment about how much these people hate children, etc, here is where to do so. And if you want to read the whole weasel-worded decision, you can do so here.

petra

A friend let me know about a new Bureau of Prisons guideline for treatment of inmates with gender dysphoria, which you can read in its entirety here. The short form is that they're denying trans inmates gender-affirming care despite medical consensus, and substituting conversion therapy, which has been proven to be harmful and does not in any way "cure" gender dysphoria.

( My friend's letter, posted with permission )

sathari

On March 9, there's a global women's general strike--- more information on the range of activities can be found here. (I tagged for a lot of different types of actions, accordingly, but there may be more ways to participate that I didn't see.)

chestnut_pod

The BLM has announced a plan to log to the "maximum" in some of the last old-growth forests on the West Coast. A period of public comment is open.

Here is a long explainer on why these lands are important, and why the proposal is ineffective in its stated aim of fire-prevention and destructive to human communities and the whole surrounding ecosystem.

This is the project number: DOI-BLM-ORWA-0000-2026-0001-RMP-EIS

Here is the notice of intent.

Public comment is open for 26 more days.

lyr

If you have a bit of time to spare, you can help Ultraviolet with the whack-a-mole fun of reporting GoFundMe pages trying to raise money for the killers of Pretti and Good in MN. I have been doing the reporting side of things, and there's just something soothing about watching the pages come down.

Here is a link to a round-up of the pages spotters have collected which handily also includes a link to instructions on how to report: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PqG-bKig3Z8BbHMN7HTrYwWrIoPkQbrM6QboRP_z4mg/edit?gid=86617038#gid=86617038

petra

The public comment period is open until 2/17/26 on two regulations. One would prohibit use of public funds for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, and the other would prohibit the use of Medicaid or CHIP funds for gender-affirming care for minors.

As people of conscience, we should speak out in defense of the young people who cannot vote against this.

Federal Register Comment Area 1 re: hospitals.

Federal Register Comment Area 2 re: Medicaid and CHIP.

I have a standing offer in my journal to write for people who make donations to food banks, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Stand With Minnesota. I am adding in a drabble or limerick per comment on these topics because it's urgent.

( My comments, for reference )

rydra_wong

Via Naomi Kritzer on Bsky, this thread of ways to donate or volunteer:

https://bsky.app/profile/leeceelee.bsky.social/post/3mduanvydvs2q

redbird

After a very quiet couple of months on this community, there were 16 posts in January. I’m not posting a round-up: this is a check-in poll, including space in the comments to discuss reither what you’ve done recently, or what you’re planning to do.

Also, I just noticed the comment from a month ago that we would probably need a Venezuela tag. If you need a tag added, please DM me.

Poll #34160 February check-in

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

View Respondents

In the last couple of months, I

View Answers

called one or both of my senators
18 (64.3%)

called my member of Congress
14 (50.0%)

called my governor
10 (35.7%)

called my mayor, state representative, or other local official
3 (10.7%)

voted
3 (10.7%)

did get-out-the-vote work, such as postcarding or phone banking
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/letter/email/fax to a government official or agency
14 (50.0%)

went to a protest
11 (39.3%)

attended an in-person activist group
4 (14.3%)

went to a town hall
0 (0.0%)

participated in phone or online training
4 (14.3%)

participated in community mutual aid
9 (32.1%)

donated money to a cause
19 (67.9%)

worked for a campaign
0 (0.0%)

did text banking or phone banking
0 (0.0%)

took care of myself
14 (50.0%)

not a US citizen, but worked in solidarity in my community
3 (10.7%)

committed to action in the current month
10 (35.7%)

did something else--tell us in comments
6 (21.4%)

As usual, you can comment on the pinned post or DM me if you want a tag added or other help with the community.

rydra_wong

https://www.tumblr.com/leebrontide/806670334696767488/actually-im-gonna-disagree-a-smidge-with-ops

With magnificent advice if your senator is a Republican:

Actually, I’m gonna disagree a smidge with OPs excellent post here.

I ALSO want those of you in red states screaming at your Senators. And I want you to pretend to be a lifelong republican when you do it. Yell about community and what-about-the-children and “this isn’t what I voted for why are spending billions on this when eggs still cost a million dollars” and yell about shooting a mom on the way from school one week and a nurse who treats veterans the next. About kidnapping a little boy right off the school bus and disappearing him across state lines. About ICE harassing police and law abiding citizens. About how they kidnap 3000 with no warrant and almost all of them are citizens. Call ICE agents every variant of “thug” and “lawless” that you can think of. Tell them you saw the videos and know ICE is lying and think you’re all too stupid to notice. Say you don’t want your government smashing peoples windows and carrying people off and saying they don’t need warrants. About gassing a minivan full of kids and an infant in the hospital.

If they tell you it’s fake you tell them your aunt lives here and is seeing it and has given up the Republican Party forever.

Tell them you didn’t want to believe what those Democrats said about Republicans and feel mad and ashamed and betrayed to see this.

Cause even Republicans here are PISSED OFF.

And every Republican elected in MN knows their party is fuuuuucked as far as MN goes. You can see even many of them posting begging for this to be over.

Your job is to put that fear into YOUR Republicans before this comes to your door.

Remember, you can call after hours to leave a message, and you can email if the phone is too much.

Please encourage others to join you.

aurumcalendula

House Concurrent Resolution 70 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 26 were introduced on January 15th by Representative Khanna (D - CA) and Senator Gallego (D - AZ).

I think it might be a good idea to ask congresspeople to support them.

https://congress.gov/bill/119-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/70

https://congress.gov/bill/119-congress/senate-concurrent-resolution/26

( the main text of both under the cut )

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Never Give Up, Never Surrender

August 2026

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Page Summary

tanaqui - Welcome to Making the World a Better Place
fabrisse - Military Mental Health: a specific circumstance
otter - Sharing info
fabrisse - Questions:
petra - Public comment - last day - OMB wants to require transphobia
petra - Comment on HUD's new rule excluding trans and intersex people by tomorrow 6/29
petra - Guardian Opinion Piece - Integrating the US and Israeli militaries more thoroughly
sathari - Spot-on essay
fabrisse - Navy Promotion List
flamingsword - Trans characters are not adult-oriented entertainment
redbird - April check-in poll
flamingsword - protecting LGBTQ kids
petra - Conversion therapy mandated for trans inmates in federal prisons
sathari - Global Women's General Strike
chestnut_pod - Resist logging in Oregon's old-growth forests
lyr - Reporting GoFundMe pages
petra - Be Trans Kids' Valentine - Public comments on gender-affirmation bans
rydra_wong - Springfield, Ohio is up next
redbird - February check-in poll
rydra_wong - Call your senators to oppose ICE funding
aurumcalendula - H.Con.Res. 70 and S.Con.Res. 26 regarding Greenland

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Page generated Aug. 27th, 2026 05:33 pm

Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Links and Positive Action for the next Four Years

Recent Entries

Sticky: Welcome to Making the World a Better Place

Military Mental Health: a specific circumstance

Sharing info

Questions:

Public comment - last day - OMB wants to require transphobia

Comment on HUD's new rule excluding trans and intersex people by tomorrow 6/29

Guardian Opinion Piece - Integrating the US and Israeli militaries more thoroughly

Spot-on essay

Navy Promotion List

Trans characters are not adult-oriented entertainment

April check-in poll

protecting LGBTQ kids

Conversion therapy mandated for trans inmates in federal prisons

Global Women's General Strike

Resist logging in Oregon's old-growth forests

Reporting GoFundMe pages

Be Trans Kids' Valentine - Public comments on gender-affirmation bans

Springfield, Ohio is up next

February check-in poll

Call your senators to oppose ICE funding

H.Con.Res. 70 and S.Con.Res. 26 regarding Greenland

Profile

August 2026

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