Democracy Out Loud #420: Act now

Call, email, talk to people, show up

Dear friends,

The takeover of our government by authoritarian forces is bigger than we are, and began decades ago. We can’t stop it by ourselves (see Elie Mystal: The courts can’t stop the Trump-Musk Coup), but if enough of us take consistent action, we can at least slow it down and block some of the worst effects.

First, Find your elected officials and put them on speed dial. This means both federal and state local officials as well as, if possible, local ones. Let them know you expect them to fight for democracy, economic and environmental justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and whatever else you are passionate about. One call for each issue.

It may be that we are most effective in the area of state politics. Join NC Dems for an urgent virtual briefing on the state of the North Carolina Supreme Court race, Republican power grabs at the federal and state levels and how we fight back on Sunday February 16 at 7:00 pm (below). Hear from Justice Allison Riggs, US Congresswoman Deb Ross, NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton and more. Register at this link.

Defending Alison Riggs is our most important task if we live in North Carolina, because if Republicans succeed in their outrageous attempt to steal this election, they will keep stealing every important election they can. This fight is also important because Justice Riggs was elected to the NC Supreme Court as only one of two Democrats, and the other one is Justice Anita Earls, who has been under attack from the five Republicans for years. And finally, it is important because by 2031 when the new maps are drawn, our only hope for the restoration of democracy in North Carolina is Democrats controlling the NC Supreme Court.

From home, we can join the Carolina Federation and Down Home NC for phonebanks on 2/13, 2/14, 2/15, and 2/16. We can sign up here to help with Durham County Democrats phone banks.

We can sign up here to knock doors in Fuquay-Varina (Wake County) Friday, Saturday, or Sunday with the NC Democratic Party.

If you haven’t already done this, add your name to Common Cause NC’s action alert. You can find out if you are on the list of voters that Griffin wants to disenfranchise (and find out a lot more) at this link.

On Friday you can join the Disenfranchised Disco at Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw celebrating the 60,000 disenfranchised voters. You can sign up at this link.

Above all, find out where there is a rally near you in the next several days and join it. Sign up for Hillsborough at 4 pm on Monday, in Apex on Saturday at 3 pm, and Raleigh at noon on Monday. See this link for more information about the fourteen additional rallies in the Triad and both Western and Eastern NC.

If you are coming to Raleigh and can volunteer to help, sign up at this link.

There will be another large national grassroots protest in Raleigh (like the 50501 protest) on Monday from 3 to 5 pm. (This article explains a few things about that protest last week.)

Thank you, Mark, for keeping track of legislation in the NC General Assembly (NCGA), and for compiling this list of proposed bills which concern us. You can subscribe to the NCGA calendar at this link.

We plan to join the NC Democratic Party to pack the rally at the NCGA on Wednesday February 19 at noon. Sign up at this link.

We are really excited about the new progressive caucus in the NCGA, called Progress Now. Check out their new website and the first bills they have introduced NC HB 78 and NC HB 80, as well their explanation of these bills, “The case for limited immigration enforcement on farms, construction sites, places of worship, hospitals, and schools.”  When you talk to your legislator, find out if they are a member of this caucus and if not, encourage them to join it as well as to support this legislation.

(below, seen in New York, Chicago, Washington DC and other cities this week)

WILPF (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) Triangle will hold weekly vigils Thursdays 12-1 at Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin Street, Chapel Hill through March. The hope is that this will be a place to build community, share information, network. Signs will be available - feel free to bring your own too. Everyone is welcome.

If you haven’t read the Indivisible guide yet, now might be a good time to do that.

See our last newsletter for information about our book group, which is open to all.

Many thanks to Jeff W for curating our crowd-sourced list of news sources and commentary. As the legacy media continues to fail us, independent media is more important than ever.

If you are just joining us, welcome. We meet every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm on zoom, and if you are new please come early so we can welcome you. “Doors open” at 10:45 am.

There is so much more going on than we can see. There is a massive shift in human consciousness, among other things, and we can lean into that by cultivating kindness, patience, beauty, and joy. Practices of being in nature, meditation, prayer, and celebration in community are so important now. Have faith. Whatever you are doing to hang in there and stay afloat is important.

love, Karen

“Authoritarianism, at its core, is about restricting or eliminating the rights of the many and giving vast new liberties to the very few. It is about depriving the population of the rights of assembly, free speech, reproductive freedom, and the right to live without state persecution regardless of your race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or gender and sexual identity. It rearranges government so that the rich can become even richer: it removes regulations and other obstacles against plundering and exploiting the workforce, the environment, natural resources, and much more.” - Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Substack, Out of Chaos and Corruption, a Revelation and a Reckoning.

“To overcome or even slow the momentum of the forces arrayed against us will require our resolve, and an ecosystem of resistance – litigation, activism, organizing, direct action, communications, political pressure, and our voices raised to speak truth to power. We may not be able to score a knock-out punch, but we can score a series of technical knockouts against our opponents to reduce the intensity of their efforts. This will take all of us, committing to do what we can.” - Sherrilyn Ifil, Substack, Democracy is Crumbling. Is anybody doing anything?

“As in Russia, we have let local newspapers and local media die. As in Russia, their place was taken by a few commercial operations. As in Russia, the media are owned by oligarchs, who then become close to government or submit to it (not all of the media in America, of course, are submitting, but far too many are). As in Russia, our daily lives are flooded by such a rushing river of contradictory lies that we have trouble knowing where we are, let alone what we should do. As in Russia, a president supported by oligarchs and their media power is trying to humiliate the other branches of government. The executive is seeking to marginalize the legislature — forever — by ruling without passing laws. The executive is seeking to marginalize the judiciary — forever — by ignoring court rulings. Those things, of course, have already happened in Russia.

“The Russian government rejoices in such changes in the U.S., and has a hand in them. But the problem is not Russia. The problem is us. It is as though we have boarded a train without thinking about the destination. The windows are shaded, and the conductors have purposes of their own, which have nothing to do with our dignity, rights, or humanity. I worry that we will not see that line approaching, that no one will get out, that no one will stop the train.” - Timothy Snyder, Substack, Crossing a Line: Borders between one kind of life and another