Join something.

Doesn’t matter what it is. Doesn’t need to be political, but it can be.

Just join something. Join a book club. Join a knitting group. Join a kickball league, or a gardening club, or a climate action group. Just join something.

Fascists want you isolated, disconnected and despondent. Your main goal in life for the next 4 years (and possibly beyond) is to do the opposite of what fascists want you to do.

They are better prepared than they were last time but so are we. We know who they are and what they want to do. We can prepare ourselves and our communities for it, but only if we actually have communities.

If you do want to get engaged in politics, do it at the local level.

If you live in a blue area, you need to fight to keep it that way. Talk to your local representatives and make sure they are doing everything in their power to enact protections against Project 2025.

If you live in a red area, fight to change that. Work on city council campaigns, and state congressional campaigns. Keep an eye on local legislation and bring attention to all the universally unpopular policies republicans are going to push through.

Fascism only wins if we do nothing. Fascism wins if we throw up our hands and throw in the towel. Fascism win if we make it easy for them to win.

Don’t make it easy.

The governor's little, free symbol foreshadowed a big, free policy change. In May, Walz signed a Minnesota law "banning K-12 schools, colleges, and public libraries from complying with [book] removal requests... based solely on the viewpoint, content, message, idea, or opinion conveyed." The act meaningfully protects LGBTQ+ books from the crosshairs of conservative censors.

While unveiling the Little Free Library, Walz affirmed his commitment to free reading. "In Minnesota, we are focused on investing in education, our future, and children and families across the state. We're not in the business of taking books away from kids and schools and we certainly don't believe in banning books that tell our history," he told reporters.

Transcription - Kamala Harris: "How many of you guys, college students, had to have a drill during high school or middle school or elementary school, or even in college, where you learned about how you need to hide in a closet or crouch in a corner in the event that there is a mass shooter roaming the hallways of your schools?" [Most of the crowd raises their hands] "Look at that. Look at that. And here's the thing - it terrorized you! It is traumatizing! I don't want that any of our children should have to sit in class, when you should be paying attention to what is happening in the front of the classroom, letting your mind open up to the wonders of science, math, or art or whatever, and instead have to be worried about who's going to come banging through the door carrying some kind of weapon. Leaders should be leading on this issue. And so I'm telling you, if Congress fails to act -- I'll give them 100 days to get bill on my desk for signature, and if they do not do it, I will put it in place by executive action, a comprehensive background check requirement, and a ban on assault weapons and importation of assault weapons into our country. I'm done." [TikTok sound]

Yes, thank you, please. We can do this!

Vote.org to register to vote or check your registration.

(You can also Google search for your state and "voter registration".)

Reminder: They Actually Are Planning a Dictatorship

I’ve been having as much fun as anyone this week watching Trump and the GOP knocked off-kilter by Kamala Harris’ entrance into the presidential race, and I’m certainly guilty of adding to the stack of “Couchfucker Vance” memes out there in the world, but while we’re having fun, please do remember that Trump and his friends really absolutely 100% intend to end participatory democracy in the United…

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i'm sure people can make up elaborate ways to read this as something else, but i think it actually just means what it says.

The actual quote:

Tonight, speaking to Christians at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump made his plans to become a strongman clear: “Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”

This chilling statement comes after Trump praised autocratic Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in his speech at the Republican National Convention last week and then publicly praised China’s president Xi Jinping for being “brilliant” because he “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.” It should also be read against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decision in Donald J. Trump v. United States that a president cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed as part of his “official duties.”

(from Dr. Cox’s Letters from an American summation of the speech)

”When someone tells you who they are, believe them.”

Whatever happens, two things remain true: 1. Trump might be distancing himself from Project 2025, but his Agenda 47, which is on his website, is basically the same thing. 2. Third party voting is useless without ranked choice voting; it's mathematically impossible to elect a third party candidate. DO NOT SPLIT THE VOTE.

Splitting the vote is what got him the white house in 2016. Russians helped with propaganda here and on social media. This has been proven.

Anyone discouraging you from voting is actively trying to suppress your vote. Don't fall for that shit.

Not voting is not boycotting. Boycotting requires preventing income, like boycotting Starbucks because they support Israel. Voting is your power, and by not using it you are giving up your power.

Republicans ALWAYS vote. They know if democrats always vote, there will be no republican wins, so they do whatever it takes to keep democrats from winning. That means removing people from the voting registry, reducing the number and places to vote, removing and reducing rhe number of ballot dropboxes, fake ballot dropboxes, propaganda, and even violence.

Vote blue! Yeah, no matter who. All the way down the ballot.

Folks, this is really ominous. If you live in a swing state, please document your vote so these fuckers can’t stage a coup by claiming they won when they didn’t.

it’s not ominous, it’s abjectly terrifying. and i don’t know what to do to get around these fuckers.

I understand the impulse to “document your vote,” but doing that in any way that would actually constitute proof is illegal in every state, so far as I can tell. And quite intentionally - if you can prove how you voted, you can SELL your vote, proving to the buyer that he got what he paid for. So doing anything like photographing your ballot is illegal, and rightly so. So DON’T .

Don’t worry too much about them actually rigging the election. Rigging elections is way harder than they think it is - that’s why Republicans keep getting caught doing it. They’ve convinced themselves that we’re doing it all the time…and we’re obviously incompetent…so THEY should have an even easier time doing it. And then when they try, they get caught. What we can actually do to combat the after-the-election legal challenges, refusal to certify, and whatever other dirty tricks they have planned is to vote in such numbers that it isn’t close. So that anyone challenging the results is CLEARLY nuts. That won’t stop them, of course, but it will make it an uphill battle for them to produce results. And second, when they DO pull those ridiculous challenges, we need to protest. In massive numbers. If you can, be prepared to leave your deep-blue districts and drive out to the rural red hinterlands where these election deniers are hiding. Bring along a full vehicle’s worth of friends. Can’t do that? Find out where the state election officials have offices, too - those’ll be in the capitol city. And in the meantime, when’s the last time you went to your county’s monthly Board of Elections meeting? I bet they’re public. Just show up. You don’t have to speak, you don’t have to protest. Just show up and listen. Just knowing the public is paying attention matters.

Michael de Adder, Halifax Chronicle Herald

* * * *

Trump promises to eliminate future elections

July 29, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

Last Friday, Trump told Christian rally-goers that “You won’t have to vote any more” if they elect Trump in 2024.

Let that sink in. A presidential candidate promised to eliminate future elections.

The media yawned.

Actually, the media ignored the story (except for The Guardian) until commentators on social media and the Harris Campaign shamed journalists into acknowledging Trump's antidemocratic threat—which they did in a dismissive, begrudging manner.

It is tiresome to highlight the media’s failings, but this incident is so egregious that it is important on many levels. Most importantly, it underscores that Democrats cannot relent in their effort to warn the American people that Trump hopes to end fundamental democratic norms—like the peaceful, regular transfer of power as prescribed by the Constitution.

Among the issues that should drive voters to the polls in 2024, Trump’s repeated promises to end democracy should be the most alarming. But concepts like “democracy” and “tyranny” strike many voters as “abstract.” Taking away the right to vote is not abstract; doing so would render all other rights illusory.

Let’s turn this incident against Trump by convincing voters that Trump really, truly wants to eliminate the right to vote after 2024. And we must not let him (or his surrogates) weasel out of the plain meaning of his words.

What did Trump say?

 At a rally in Florida on Friday, Trump said,

See The Guardian, Trump tells supporters they won’t have to vote in the future: ‘It’ll be fixed!’.

Like most of Trump's statements, it is simultaneously inscrutable and blazingly obvious. He is promising the end of democracy if he is elected. “In four years, you won’t have to vote again.”

The same words uttered by most other politicians might be susceptible to innocent interpretations. But those words uttered by this president can mean only one thing: He wants to eliminate elections in America. He tried to override the will of the people in 2020 by canceling their votes through coup and insurrection. He says he will do so again if he is re-elected. We should believe him.

To repeat: A presidential candidate has promised that 2024 will be the last time that Americans will vote because “everything will be fixed.” That is the equivalent of a five-alarm fire for democracy.

How did the GOP, the media, and the Harris campaign respond? You can probably predict their responses, but let’s look for ourselves.

The GOP response

In typical GOP fashion, the GOP response was (a) he didn’t mean what he said, (b) he said the opposite of what you think you heard, and (c) Trump says weird things all the time, so chill out!

The typical Republican response was delivered by New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who laughed off the statement by saying, (a) it was “hyperbolic,” (b) Trump was trying to make the point that “We want everyone to vote in all elections,” and (c) it was a classic “Trumpism.”

Saying that the statement was hyperbolic and “a Trumpism” are. not serious responses because they do not address the substance of what Trump actually said. Trump incited an insurrection by telling people to “Fight like hell” moments before the attack on the Capitol.” We are long past claiming that Trump's words should not be taken seriously and literally.

Claiming that Trump's statement means the exact opposite of what Trump said is depraved. Sununu’s interpretation of “We want everyone to vote in all elections” vs. Trump's “You’re not gonna have to vote again” is depraved. The depravity of Sununu’s perverse interpretation is not diminished because Sununu delivered the lie with a hearty laugh.

Other Trump apologists (on social media) argued that Trump was saying only that Republicans would not need Christian evangelical votes after 2024 because Trump would do such a great job of fixing all problems in America, “you’re not gonna have to vote.” That explanation makes no sense; even if Trump “fixed” all the problems in America in the next four years, the Constitution still requires an election in 2028.

There is simply no reasonable interpretation of Trump's words other than his declaration that in four years, he intends to eliminate elections (if he can).

The media’s response

As noted above, The Guardian gave serious coverage to Trump's statement. US media outlets, not so much. See, for example, Lucian K. Truscott IV’s description of the NYTimes’ pathetic response. As Truscott notes in his Substack, the Times relegated the statements to “a few lines in a wrap-up piece about what’s happening in the presidential campaign . . . and they buried it on the Times website.” The Times then breezily moved on to pedestrian coverage of the campaigns as if they were reporting the details of an itinerary rather than one of the most shocking statements ever by a major-party candidate for the presidency.

Perhaps even worse was the pathetic interview of Chris Sununu by Martha Raddatz on ABC. Raddatz asked Sununu, “What the heck did he [Trump] mean there [in the statement]?” As noted above, Sununu responded,

Sununu’s pathetic response was enough to satisfy Radattz, whose follow-up question was, “Ok. Let's turn to President Biden and Kamala Harris.”

I won’t pick on Raddatz (much). Almost every journalist on mainstream media is as pathetic as Raddatz. The inability to ask follow-up questions to ludicrous rationalizations of attacks on democracy is staggering. Most are entertainers, not journalists. Their presence on “news” shows is insulting to their viewers.

Raddatz’s failure to challenge Sununu’s answer and her immediate transition to a question about President Biden and Kamala Harris demonstrates the media’s dangerous addiction to mindless “balance” and false equivalency. Nothing Kamala Harris did over the weekend deserves to be in the same news block as a story about a presidential candidate promising to end the need for elections. Nothing.

Having watched the media fail miserably for seven years with Trump, nothing should surprise us. But the guy tried to overturn one election already and is saying he will do it again. What will it take for the media to realize that Trump is a unique threat to democracy who deserves coverage that applies only to aspiring dictators?

Even if the Times and Raddatz believed that Trump's remarks had a benign explanation, they failed to acknowledge the more plausible, malign interpretation. Instead, they were willing to assume that Trump's remarks were harmless “Trumpisms.” They are not. We saw what happened after Trump told his followers on January 6, 2021: “We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.”

So, continue writing those letters to the editor and comments to stories highlighting the media’s failings. And become a messenger for Harris by amplifying her campaign’s messaging. Read on!

The Harris Campaign’s response

Kamala Harris’s campaign organization has been reacting to Trump's missteps and threats like a rapid response force to each. Early Saturday morning, the Harris campaign posted a clip of Trump's comments and attached the following statement:

The Harris campaign’s statement is spot-on for several reasons. First, the campaign issued the statement just after noon on Saturday morning, showing a willingness and ability to rebut Trump quickly. By responding within the same news cycle, the Harris campaign shaped the social media response, which ultimately prodded the major media to acknowledge Trump's threat.

Second, the Harris campaign identified Trump's threats in plain language, including

Dangerous threats demand plain language. The Harris campaign rose to the challenge.

The campaign’s statement was strong in another respect: In identifying Trump as a threat to democracy, it identified Kamala Harris as the point of unity to stop Trump. A very smart move! Kamala Harris is giving Democrats the antidote to Trump's cult of personality. The campaign is fashioning Kamala Harris as a champion of democracy. And it is working!

Concluding Thoughts

Trump's threats present a dilemma. Should we take them seriously? Or does our attention give them credence and heft they do not carry on their own? As with most things in life, there is tension in truth. We must take Trump's threats literally and seriously. But we must not ascribe superpowers to Trump or self-executing inevitability to his threats. By taking his threats seriously, we can prevent them from coming to fruition. So, do not despair or cower in fear. Raise the alarm as we work to defeat Trump and stop his dark plans.

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to rally around Kamala Harris. She held her first fundraiser in Pittsfield, MA at the Colonial Theatre. The event was sold out, with an overflow crowd in front of the theater. Kamala Harris spoke after an all-star warm-up that included former Governor Deval Patrick, Senators Warren and Markey, Rep. Neal, and Heather Cox Richardson.

According to those in attendance, the evening was “electric.” The crowd was so enthusiastic, Kamala Harris had difficulty quieting the cheers so she could say “Thank you.” She gave a great speech and pumped up the crowd even further.

In eight short days, Kamala Harris has unified and inspired Democrats in a way that has defied expectations of pundits and career politicians. She is doing so at the precise moment that Trump's veneer of invincibility is cracking. We need to sustain the wave of enthusiasm for Kamala Harris and spread it to others—so that we can push Trump’s downward trajectory past the tipping point of no return. We can do that!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

"House Speaker Mike Johnson today allowed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to expire, leaving military veterans, former uranium workers and victims of nuclear weapons detonations at the Nevada test site without access to health screenings or financial reimbursement for medical debt from radiation-related illnesses."

I'm just attaching this because I feel it's related, I actually made a post about this before, and because I have a deep personal dislike for mike johnson because of how often he dips his hands in blood by refusing to even put things up for a vote

Beginning with Obama, the Republican strategy has been "our government or no government, and damn the consequences."

They long ago lost sight of the purpose of government. They are not public servants; they are public enemies.

Every single on of those registrations was a single person deciding to register. When you think you're just "lil ol me" and your voice doesn't matter that much: Remember this. Your actions have impact, your voice and your vote matter.

Get Registered and VOTE

Find out where/when/how at:

VOTE.ORG

If all voters aged 18 - 30 voted, Republicans would lose every seat they have. There's a reason they are terrified of young voters. There is nothing more punk than voting.

Putting some positivity out there about the election

Feel free to add more things on this thread, but the most important thing is to get out there and VOTE

Vote for President

Vote for Senators

Vote for Congresspeople

Vote in your local elections

Vote Blue down ballot

If you want to work to help things along, here are some things you can do:

Postcards To Voters. Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast. You can either make postcards or buy them, but the messages have to be handwritten. Postcards To Voters gives you specific things that have to be on the postcard to support specific candidates.

Vote Forward. Vote Forward’s volunteers write personal, heartfelt letters to potential voters with an easy-to-use online platform. The majority of our letter-writing campaigns are nonpartisan campaigns, which focus on mobilizing potential voters in communities that have historically been marginalized in the political process—such as people of color, women, and young voters. They also support partisan campaigns to encourage likely-Democratic voters to turn out in strategic states and districts. Vote Forward gives you letters that you print out, and then add about a paragraph of personalized hand-written stuff about why you personally vote. They've done research and their letters boost voter turnout (and specifically left-leaning voter turnout) by up to 3.4%.

Postcards to Swing States. A part of the Progressive Turnout Project, which is committed to updating the Democratic playbook and testing new ways to reach more voters that traditional canvassing can’t reach. That includes recruiting and training new organizers, funding grassroots voter contact groups, and empowering volunteers to write millions of postcards to swing state voters.

Markers For Democracy. Markers For Democracy is a group of grassroots activists working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot all over the United States. They have written hundreds of thousands of postcards to notify voters about special elections, vote-by-mail deadlines, early voting, Democratic candidates running in close elections, and voter registration drives in regions of high voter suppression.

Oh my God I'm so grateful for this addition. I want to help, but talking on the phone takes so many spoons. Postcards? Now that I can do!

shoutout to my dash and the Democratic Party as a whole right now for being like

Since folks are exhausted from hearing about Project 2025 and Agenda 47, here are some reasons to feel hopeful about Harris

(It would be wonderful if folks could reblog this, a lot of people are feeling very discouraged right now and could use the morale boost!)

Every single on of those registrations was a single person deciding to register. When you think you're just "lil ol me" and your voice doesn't matter that much: Remember this. Your actions have impact, your voice and your vote matter.

Get Registered and VOTE

VOTE.ORG