Democracy Out Loud #219: the Coup

What exactly is happening, and what should we do?

Dear friends,

Thank you to everyone who showed up on Tuesday for the protest at the Federal Building in Raleigh, and thank you to everyone who showed up all over the country (including in Raleigh) to protest this week. These were beautiful, peaceful, and in some cases massive expressions of our first amendment rights and our constitutional right of redress. They must continue.

Thank you to everyone who called and wrote emails to Congress. One Senator said that instead of the usual 40 calls a minute to Congress, there were 1,400 calls an hour. Yay! Keep it going. 5 calls is one way to do this that we all need to know about.

Find out who your US Representative is at this link, then click on their name and scroll down on their website for contact information.

If you are unclear about what to say when you call, check out the newsletters of Quasim Rashid, Michael Moore, or Robert Hubbell.

Some Democratic Senators are making a heroic effort to fight against Russell Vought. Many Democratic Representatives are joining protests and speaking out forcefully with great courage. We need to call and email all of our US Representatives and Senators and demand that they join what is so far a small vocal opposition. Any way we can, we have to support the Democratic Senators who are trying to derail nominations.

The Senate confirmation vote on Russell Vought will reportedly be tonight, Wednesday, at 7 pm. “Russell Vought is an extremist who will betray working families, will betray your family, and there’s simply no other way to put it,” said Nevada senator Jacky Rosen this morning. “After all, he was the main architect behind [the] Project 2025 agenda.”

Why do we call it a coup? US Representatives have been locked out of US Government buildings, and a private citizen (Elon Musk) has seized control of the US Treasury. We are opposing Russell Vought because all of this will be just fine with him as leader of the Office of Management and Budget if he is confirmed, and he will fully operationalize Project 2025.

Already Musk’s seizure has had devastating consequences for people we know. From Lib: The Haw River Assembly has lost over $55,000 because they had a grant with the APA. World Relief lost $250,000 when refugee resettlement money was cut off. I know some of you work with this agency, and this money is urgently needed for refugees who have already arrived.

Trump’s completely insane Gaza proposal as well as his threatened tariffs are a distraction from the seizure of our federal government treasury by a billionaire who would like nothing more than to line his pockets with taxpayer money.

(below, a meme of the Presidents of Canada and Mexico)

Meanwhile, we are in the midst of our own coup of sorts in North Carolina. Judge Griffins’ attempt to steal the NC Supreme Court election from Justice Alison Riggs is ongoing. Make sure you have registered with Common Cause to stay up to date on this, and check to see if you are among the 60,000 people whose votes Griffin wants to steal. Join phonebooks to contact these challenged voters. Sign up to pack the court tomorrow, Friday February 7, at the Wake County Courthouse at 10 am.

Cliff sent this important piece by Eric Holder, former US Attorney General from the New York Times, “The Courts Must Stop this Judge from Stealing an Election.” The whole thing is worth reading (gift article). It ends, “We all have an obligation to defend the founding principles of our nation, and the courts have a sacred responsibility to uphold voting rights. North Carolinians — all Americans — should be watching closely to ensure justice is done here. Four years after America survived a brazen attempt to overturn an election, we must again stand firm, protect every ballot and demand that the will of the people prevails.”

By all means, plan to join us at one of the actions the weekend of February 15-17 (below). You can get specific information at this link.

Bull City Indivisible is an exciting new action-oriented group which meets in person on weekends. The next meetings are Sunday February 9 and 23 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm and you can sign up at this link.

The Southeastern Indigenous Coalition Environmental Conference is happening March 7 and 8. You can get more information about this and other important events at this link.

TONIGHT February 6 at 6 pm, there is an important statewide zoom call with Siembra. You can find out more at this link (from Elena) and register here.

There will be a rally to defend immigrant rights in Durham at CCB Plaza (201 N Corcoran St) on Sunday, February 9 at 4 pm.

If you are feeling angry, frustrated, confused, sad, scared, or tempted to check out, please know that you are not alone. The way we will get through this is together. Everyone is invited to join our zoom call this Tuesday February 11 and every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. This week we are opening doors at 10:30 am instead of 11:15 am for the “pre-show” because we have a lot of things to debrief; also now that the group is larger there needs to be more space for people to share.

If you need the zoom link, which is not public, please email Jewel at democracyoutloud@gmail.com and tell her in a sentence or two why you want to join us. Our meditation every Thursday at 10 am, also at that same zoom link, is helping some of us feel grounded and protected right now, and you are welcome to come try it.

There is so much going on that we can’t see. May we keep showing up in whatever way we can, for ourselves and for each other. Wise people are telling me that the way is clear, and that we will get through this to a better place. I believe them. Hang in there.

love, Karen

Below, Route 4 in New Jersey on February 4.

“Trump is holding all the nation’s hospitals and vital services hostage to seize power from Congress and hand it over to billionaires. We must state the truth: this is a constitutional crisis. It’s a massive, illegal power grab that the House and the Senate have a sworn duty to stop.” - Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

People are finding such beautiful ways to connect with each other and develop resilience and resistance. Rinah told our Thursday meditation group about the mixed quilt of resistance and resilience that her SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) Durham Gear up Group did last weekend with local community folks. Check this group and its events out at this link.

She says, “Here are the prompts we used. Feel free to share♥️.”

How do you show your love and care?

How do you protect those you love from harm and keep them safe?

How do you stay resilient (strong and brave)? What will you do to resist injustice?

What are you doing to create a better world?

What is your superpower?