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mxcatmoonWe Have Work to Do!
Cliff Cash is a comedian who has taken up the cause and is posting short videos about protests and other events that are going on. He was at the February 5th protest (in his state of North Carolina). I found his video in the link above helped turn my discouraged mood into a renewed energy to fight. He talks about not letting fear get the best of us, and that this presidency is not strong, it's only using fear to pretend it is. Also, in the description he added a list of actions and resources, including the following:
Boycott the companies that support fascism. Use “goodsuniteus” app.
Sign up for the general strike at generalstrikeus.com
Get prepared for a weeklong economic strike where we don’t spend any money.
I hope this is helpful. If not, mods are free to delete.
Sign up for the general strike at generalstrikeus.com
Cliff Cash is a comedian who has taken up the cause and is posting short videos about protests and other events that are going on. He was at the February 5th protest (in his state of North Carolina). I found his video in the link above helped turn my discouraged mood into a renewed energy to fight. He talks about not letting fear get the best of us, and that this presidency is not strong, it's only using fear to pretend it is. Also, in the description he added a list of actions and resources, including the following:
Boycott the companies that support fascism. Use “goodsuniteus” app.
Sign up for the general strike at generalstrikeus.com
Get prepared for a weeklong economic strike where we don’t spend any money.
I hope this is helpful. If not, mods are free to delete.
Sign up for the general strike at generalstrikeus.com
ICE may be gaming the search engines
Feb. 6th, 2025 12:50 pmredbirdApparently, a lot of the seemingly recent reports of ICE raids are years old, reposted as "updated" in the last week or two.
They want us to panic, and press releases and gaming search engines are cheap.
There's a lot bad going on out there, but they've also announced that they're trying to upset and confuse people.
They want us to panic, and press releases and gaming search engines are cheap.
There's a lot bad going on out there, but they've also announced that they're trying to upset and confuse people.
Good Legal Analysis
Feb. 6th, 2025 09:24 amexecutrixThe law firm Cozen O'Connor (which sounds like an order to con a Supreme Court justice but isn't) published a good article about which specific illegalities are in progress: https://www.cozen.com/news-resources/publications/2025/cozen-currents-how-trump-trumps
NLRB and EEOC Members
Feb. 5th, 2025 11:58 amexecutrixTrump has fired the General Counsels of the NLRB and EEOC, which he is legally allowed to do. He has also fired a member of the NLRB and an EEOC commissioner, which he is probably legally not allowed to do. (Nobody ever tried because, well, basic Washington civility and respect for law.)
However, this may turn out to be Worst Than a Crime, An Error. Because now both the NLRB and EEOC have only two members. Without a quorum--three members--the agencies aren't allowed to take any significant actions. Considering what we're going to think about any actions agencies led by Trumpanzees would take, he should want a quorum ASAP, and we should want a quorum...never. I haven't seen a lot of discussion of this outside employment law blogs, but I think there should be campaigns to warn Senators against confirming anybody nominated by Trump for these posts. (Well, I think they should be singing "we will never, ever, ever, ever vote to confirm any of your nomineees" anyway.)
However, this may turn out to be Worst Than a Crime, An Error. Because now both the NLRB and EEOC have only two members. Without a quorum--three members--the agencies aren't allowed to take any significant actions. Considering what we're going to think about any actions agencies led by Trumpanzees would take, he should want a quorum ASAP, and we should want a quorum...never. I haven't seen a lot of discussion of this outside employment law blogs, but I think there should be campaigns to warn Senators against confirming anybody nominated by Trump for these posts. (Well, I think they should be singing "we will never, ever, ever, ever vote to confirm any of your nomineees" anyway.)
State officials
Feb. 4th, 2025 01:25 pmmagidI've been calling my US senators and representative, and realized that I shouldn't ignore my state-level folks either. Obviously, they can't change federal anything, but I can ask them to make state policies/laws/guidelines that will help mitigate the awful of (insert whichever federal issue here).
I started by calling my state rep, and got an actual person, who seemed rather surprised to get a constituent call (?), recommending that I email the representative so she could see my concerns directly. OK, then.
(Not sure who yours are? This site will tell you if you put in your mailing address.)
( what I focused on today )
I started by calling my state rep, and got an actual person, who seemed rather surprised to get a constituent call (?), recommending that I email the representative so she could see my concerns directly. OK, then.
(Not sure who yours are? This site will tell you if you put in your mailing address.)
( what I focused on today )
chestnut_podMyCivicWorkout.com (which I recommend generally as an excellent source of no-frills SMART tasks) has a call guide for those of you whose Congresspeople are probably not usually swayable, but may be moveable on restoring foreign aid. In particular, it has short call scripts for electeds who are usually anti-immigration, defense hawks, big on the private sector, and/or genuine free-trade neoliberals, which frame USAID as helpful to those causes.
The scripts are here.
The scripts are here.
threats to Lutheran charities
Feb. 3rd, 2025 10:06 amloligoIf you happen to live in a Republican district in the following states, Elon Musk just gave you a superb talking point for a phone call to your representative: AZ, FL, IL, NC, NE, OH, OR, PA, SD, TX, WI.
See a screen shot of Musk & Mike Flynn trashing Lutheran nonprofits in those states as "illegal money laundering", and Musk saying that he will be stopping their government payments, here at a Lutheran blog.
Look up to see if any of those organizations operate in your district. (LSSI provides vital child welfare services in mine.) Call your rep to ask "Why is Elon Musk attacking [local Lutheran nonprofit]? He says he's stopping their payments - how are you going to prevent that? We need [whatever service they provide]!"
It just makes the phone call somewhat less uncomfortable when the thing that you're supporting is something that your Republican representative was probably supporting too, just a few days ago, until everything went crazypants.
See a screen shot of Musk & Mike Flynn trashing Lutheran nonprofits in those states as "illegal money laundering", and Musk saying that he will be stopping their government payments, here at a Lutheran blog.
Look up to see if any of those organizations operate in your district. (LSSI provides vital child welfare services in mine.) Call your rep to ask "Why is Elon Musk attacking [local Lutheran nonprofit]? He says he's stopping their payments - how are you going to prevent that? We need [whatever service they provide]!"
It just makes the phone call somewhat less uncomfortable when the thing that you're supporting is something that your Republican representative was probably supporting too, just a few days ago, until everything went crazypants.
chestnut_podIndivisible has call and email scripts loaded to ask senators to oppose the nominations of Kash Patel, RFK, Jr., Russell Vought, and Tulsi Gabbard to important executive positions.
Find them here. Both emailing and calling are very easy; Indivisible has a good UI. Once you have called and/or emailed, they provide social media chips for posting elsewhere, if desired.
I spent this morning working down the list and feel just slightly better.
Find them here. Both emailing and calling are very easy; Indivisible has a good UI. Once you have called and/or emailed, they provide social media chips for posting elsewhere, if desired.
I spent this morning working down the list and feel just slightly better.
Welcome to Making the World a Better Place
Feb. 3rd, 2025 11:59 amtanaquiIt'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 aretassosss 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![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
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 contactredbird 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
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
tanaquiredbird added a new tag for department of government efficiency — many thanks, redbird!I just added tags for:
- office of personnel management
- federal hiring freeze/firing
- communication freeze
- us treasury (Muskrat is reportedly now using his access to US Treasury systems to freeze funding on federal contracts — except for his companies, of course — and has gained access to privileged information on his rivals' contracts with the federal govt)
- dei diversity equality inclusion
- tariffs
- foreign relations
- panama
- greenland
- canada
Added based on suggestions:
- federal funding
I'm strongly tempted to just add a tag for Trump 2025 WTFery!
More seriously, please suggest any more tags you think we'll need given the current onslaught on the normal operation of the US federal government, the economy and foreign relations that we're seeing.
tanaquihttps://drrubin.substack.com/
Dr Rubin is a double board-certified physician who has a substack blog. From his first post about tracking FDA Recalls/Drug Shortages:
You can sign up to his mailing list to get his posts sent to you daily.
Dr Rubin is a double board-certified physician who has a substack blog. From his first post about tracking FDA Recalls/Drug Shortages:
This was not a topic that I was initially planning on writing about, but because the federal government has recently put a pause on communications coming out of federal health agencies such as the CDC and FDA, I am going to regularly update you on what the FDA has listed in their recall list.
This is a matter of safety for the general public. Normally, you can sign up for alerts directly from the FDA. I have these alerts in my email inbox, but these communications are non-existent currently. Therefore, until the communications come back online, I will check the list and write quick summaries here.
You can sign up to his mailing list to get his posts sent to you daily.
petraFor everyone who is trying to figure out what to do about the Department of Government Efficiency getting Treasury data access, I have two suggestions.
I was inspired by![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
qqueenofhades to write to my AG. I used that user's suggested template, which is available here or below:
( Qqueenofhades's template for writing to your AG )
( What I wrote to my representative & senators, which is separate )
Mods, can we get a "department of government efficiency" tag? Thank you!
I was inspired by
( Qqueenofhades's template for writing to your AG )
( What I wrote to my representative & senators, which is separate )
Mods, can we get a "department of government efficiency" tag? Thank you!
Call script for federal funding
Jan. 28th, 2025 11:39 amchestnut_pod5Calls is always a good resource for calling down the usual suspects on a given issue. They provide scripts and call numbers given your address.
Today I spent about 7 minutes calling my senators and my House rep about the federal funding freeze, and you can too here.
Today I spent about 7 minutes calling my senators and my House rep about the federal funding freeze, and you can too here.
(no subject)
Jan. 24th, 2025 05:13 pmredbirdRep. Ayanna Pressley sent out information about what to know and do in case you're confronted by police or immigration agents.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: IF CONFRONTED BY POLICE OR IMMIGRATION AGENTS
Steps to take in event of immigration raids:
Gather all your important documents
Let a trusted family members know where to find them
Talk with your family about what to do if you or someone in the family is detained by ICE
Give your child's school a list of trusted adults who can pick up your child if you are detained by ICE
Consult with an immigration attorney
What should you do if ICE comes to your door?
Don't open the door without a valid warrant signed by a judge
Remain silent! You have the right to not speak
Ensure everyone in the home remains calm and don't attempt to interfere with an ICE officer
Don't sign anything without speaking to an attorney
Call your attorney or seek legal help at (617) 988-0606
What happens if ICE comes to your work?
Don't provide false documents and don't carry them with you
Don't attempt to interfere with an ICE officer
Tell them you'd like to speak to your attorney and don't sign anything without speaking to one
Keep important numbers with you
If ICE detains you while at work and you have children at home, make sure you inform ICE
There's also a Spanish version, and both are available as PDF infographics. The phone number above is for a Massachusetts legal help line.
PDFs behind a cut because they're big
( Read more... )
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: IF CONFRONTED BY POLICE OR IMMIGRATION AGENTS
Steps to take in event of immigration raids:
Gather all your important documents
Let a trusted family members know where to find them
Talk with your family about what to do if you or someone in the family is detained by ICE
Give your child's school a list of trusted adults who can pick up your child if you are detained by ICE
Consult with an immigration attorney
What should you do if ICE comes to your door?
Don't open the door without a valid warrant signed by a judge
Remain silent! You have the right to not speak
Ensure everyone in the home remains calm and don't attempt to interfere with an ICE officer
Don't sign anything without speaking to an attorney
Call your attorney or seek legal help at (617) 988-0606
What happens if ICE comes to your work?
Don't provide false documents and don't carry them with you
Don't attempt to interfere with an ICE officer
Tell them you'd like to speak to your attorney and don't sign anything without speaking to one
Keep important numbers with you
If ICE detains you while at work and you have children at home, make sure you inform ICE
There's also a Spanish version, and both are available as PDF infographics. The phone number above is for a Massachusetts legal help line.
PDFs behind a cut because they're big
( Read more... )
What next for @thisfinecrew?
Dec. 1st, 2024 02:33 pmtanaquiFirstly, apologies that it's taken me so long to get around to writing this post.
Second,thisfinecrew is not going anywhere! It will still be open for you to share actions and information.
However, for self-care reasons, I need to dial back on the work I do modding the comm. Admittedly it's not much — you are a lovely, thoughtful and polite bunch! — but the main change is that I'll no longer be putting up the monthly check-in posts. If anyone wants to take over doing those (or, in general, take over modding the comm), I'd love to hear from you!
I'd like to thanktassosss for starting the comm, redbird for tirelessly tagging posts and all our members for building this wonderful community, encouraging each other do more, and helping each other become more effective activists.
Second,
thisfinecrew is not going anywhere! It will still be open for you to share actions and information. However, for self-care reasons, I need to dial back on the work I do modding the comm. Admittedly it's not much — you are a lovely, thoughtful and polite bunch! — but the main change is that I'll no longer be putting up the monthly check-in posts. If anyone wants to take over doing those (or, in general, take over modding the comm), I'd love to hear from you!
I'd like to thank
tassosss for starting the comm, redbird for tirelessly tagging posts and all our members for building this wonderful community, encouraging each other do more, and helping each other become more effective activists.rydra_wongThis is the bill that would allow the Secretary of the Treasury to unilaterally strip non-profit status from any organization they want to label as "terrorist supporting" -- with no requirement for evidence, and no recourse other than organizations getting 90 days to somehow prove their innocence (proving a negative always being a fun game), so basically any non-profit they want to kill:
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/hr-9495-bill-threatening-nonprofits-passes-house/
https://www.rightsanddissent.org/news/defending-rights-dissent-condemns-passage-of-h-r-9495-charity-killer/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/house-bill-trump-power-target-nonprofits-1235161151/
The vague language in the bill could be used against nonprofits that support Palestinian rights, reproductive rights, and environmental protections.
“The danger is much broader than just groups that work on foreign policy,” Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, told The Intercept. “It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups.”
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
The ACLU have a script if you want something to borrow from:
https://action.aclu.org/send-message/dissent
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/hr-9495-bill-threatening-nonprofits-passes-house/
https://www.rightsanddissent.org/news/defending-rights-dissent-condemns-passage-of-h-r-9495-charity-killer/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/house-bill-trump-power-target-nonprofits-1235161151/
The vague language in the bill could be used against nonprofits that support Palestinian rights, reproductive rights, and environmental protections.
“The danger is much broader than just groups that work on foreign policy,” Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, told The Intercept. “It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups.”
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
The ACLU have a script if you want something to borrow from:
https://action.aclu.org/send-message/dissent
toastykittenA few notes:
Jewish Voice for Peace script for calling
- The Joint Resolutions of Disapproval for offensive arms sales to Israel is happening tomorrow - the following Senators support/co-sponsor it: - Sen Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen
- This vote is expected to fail. The question is how many Democratic Senators are on the fence about arms sales to Israel and can be persuaded otherwise.
- It is worrying enough to the Biden administration is campaigning against the resolutions
Jewish Voice for Peace script for calling
tanaqui(This was unabashedly copied from whoever posted over at FFA. Thank you for making that post, anon. If you see this and ever want to cross-post here, we'd love to have you.)
Call your Democratic senators and urge them to push Schumer on appointing judges before Trump takes office.
When Obama stepped down for Trump in 2016, there were over 150 judge positions for Trump to fill, because Obama could not push any appointments past McConnal. The democrats would be idiots to let this slip by- pressure them as much as you can.
Celeste Pewter on Bluesky, a former Dem staffer, has provided two scripts to use in calls and emails- one for general Dem senators, and one specifically for New Yorkers whose senate rep is Schumer.
https://bsky.app/profile/celestepewter.bsky.social/post/3lal6chuevc23
( general script )
( Schumer script for New Yorkers: )
Call your Democratic senators and urge them to push Schumer on appointing judges before Trump takes office.
When Obama stepped down for Trump in 2016, there were over 150 judge positions for Trump to fill, because Obama could not push any appointments past McConnal. The democrats would be idiots to let this slip by- pressure them as much as you can.
Celeste Pewter on Bluesky, a former Dem staffer, has provided two scripts to use in calls and emails- one for general Dem senators, and one specifically for New Yorkers whose senate rep is Schumer.
https://bsky.app/profile/celestepewter.bsky.social/post/3lal6chuevc23
( general script )
( Schumer script for New Yorkers: )
