Democracy Out Loud #421:Just in time

It is very very bad. And, mass protests have started, boycotts are planned. There are things we can do.

It will take quite a while for people who voted for Trump to understand who he really is and what he is doing; meanwhile Elon Musk and his minions are “vacuuming up data” and destroying entire agencies. Meanwhile the destruction of our social fabric and restructuring of the world order in favor of the autocrats is accelerating.

To see the extent of the damage so far, check out, “So this is how Democracy Dies: Making sense of Trump’s first three weeks,” by Christina Pagel on Substack. She painstakingly devised this brilliant and deeply disturbing Venn diagram. In the source document, you can zoom in to read the fine print.

We are watching as the Trump administration sells us out to our enemies and deeply betrays our friends, especially (but not only) Ukraine.

Timothy Snyder writes, “Three possible framings of the Russian-American talks emerge. First, the Americans sincerely want peace but are just stunningly incompetent. Second, the incompetence is by design; the game is rigged to generate an agreement between Russia and the U.S. that is unacceptable to Ukraine. Third, Putin and Trump have already worked out common plans for the colonial domination of Ukraine, and the talks just provide cover.”

The Vice President of the United States is spewing Putin propaganda and undermining Western democracy. Hegseth is a predictable disaster as Defense Secretary, one that Senator Tillis will have to own (see the New York Times, As Trump threatened a primary, a GOP holdout on Hegseth flipped).

What we are doing:

This is such a powerful moment. Here in North Carolina, rallies for Justice Allison Riggs were large and resolute. All over the country this week, massive protests filled the streets, and they are gathering momentum. Some people are protesting for the first time in their lives, and not a moment too soon. Mass protests are an important tactic, and they need to continue to grow.

The Guardian reports that one quarter of US shoppers have already stopped supporting stores because of their political stance. A general strike is coming; you can sign up to get updates at this link. There is also the movement 315 shutdown.

We have to keep calling our US Senators and Representatives. I finally downloaded the 5 calls app, and can’t say enough about how easy it makes these calls. We need to flood Congress with calls which express the urgency of our situation. Urge your Democratic US Representatives NOT to compromise on the debt ceiling and the budget. If they participate, they will help the other side. Tell them to call for a general strike, and to speak to the Press about how this Administration’s actions are destroying our country.

For actions which are specific to North Carolina, see the very helpful summary in Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Craven and Marilyn Hartman.

If you enjoy writing postcards, there is an opportunity to flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court; early voting starts on March 18. You can order postcards and stamps at Blue Wave Postcards.

On Thursday, February 20 at 6:30 pm, Representative Valerie Foushee is hosting a Immigration Rights Webinar. You can get more information and sign up at this link.

You can learn about Red Cards, and print your own, to help in the effort to protect undocumented people at this link.

Mark is leading the Legislative Response Team for Democracy Out Loud which tracks and leads responses to legislation under consideration at the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA). He has compiled a list of bills we are worried about; you can review it at this link. If you would like to join this group, email Mark at democracyoutloud@gmail.com.

Diane sent this article, “North Carolina is Ground Zero in the Fight for Democracy.” This concerns NC SB 58, which is yet another GOP attempt to limit the NC Attorney General’s power, in this case to file legislation related to illegal and unconstitutional actions by the President.

Check out “Thirty lonely but beautiful actions you can take right now which probably won't magically catalyze a mass movement against Trump but that are still wildly important.” These are great.

The Stonewall Inn, site of the uprising which began the gay rights movement, is a federal landmark. This week, the National Park Service removed transpeople from its webpages. For the full story, see this New York Times gift article.

“This isn't just some culture war skirmish. This is the federal government systematically working to eliminate an entire group of people from public life — from healthcare, from schools, from sports, from the military, from official documents, and now, most chillingly, from our own history.” - Parker Molloy, Substack, February 14, 2025, The Federal Government is literally erasing Trans people from American History.

(below, marching from Union Square to Washington Square in New York on Monday.)

Meanwhile, during this Black history month, mentions of Black people are being scrubbed from some federal websites as well. “Musk is clearly trying to do more with his DOGE-groep than strip our government down to its studs. I believe he is going for nothing short of neo-apartheid in the US. He’s trying to end the ability of Black Americans to have fair access to employment opportunities, while pushing the false and debunked white supremacist narrative that every white man is preternaturally more qualified for any job than any woman, trans person, or non-white man.” - Elie Mystal, The Nation, Elon Musk’s vision is coming into focus - and it looks a lot like Neo-Aparatheid.

Films to watch: Tony recommends a Netflix series about a Palestinian refugee, “Mo.” Elena recommends a film currently showing at area theaters, “No Other Land”; she met some of these Palestinians fighting expulsion from their land when she was in the West Bank. yh recommends “From Ground Zero,” stories from 22 filmmakers in Gaza. Elena also reminded us of the important documentary on Netflix, “13th” about the 13th amendment.

On March 4th at 6 pm, the Catalyst Project is presenting a panel on zoom, “Indigenous Resistance to Colonial Domination.” You can register at this link.

Everyone is welcome to join us every Tuesday from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm for our zoom meeting; doors open at 11:15 am, and if you are new please come early, at 10:45, so we can welcome you. Everyone is also welcome to join us for our 7 Homecomings meditation every Thursday morning at 10 am. For the zoom link for each these, write to Jewel at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com.

We are all stretching to take in the magnitude of what is happening right now. One thing I know for sure is that taking action, especially with others, helps ourselves and also everyone else. No action is too small.

Thank you so much for reading this. I hope you will be very kind to yourself.

love, Karen

“We are not going to give up…. We’re gonna fight back. We’re gonna continue ‘til we are a free nation. I gave 50 years for that and I’m gonna give the rest of my life. They have not broke me. I am not broken.” - Leonard Pelletier, 2025

“I want to say in the words of my ancestors, slave ancestors. Walk together, children, and don’t you get weary. Walk together, children, and don’t you get weary. I said, walk together, children, and don’t you get weary. Because there is light on the other side of darkness. I want you to know today that there is hope on the other side of what seems hopeless, and there is victory on the other side of all of this oppression and exploitation. Walk together. Walk together. Walk together. Victory will ultimately be ours. ” - Rev. Dr. Nelson N. Johnson (1943-2025)

You can watch the clip of Rev. Johnson delivering this speech at this link. His funeral will be Friday at 1 pm at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 408 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Greensboro, NC 27406. Livestream here.

(below, photo by Greg Stewart, at the SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice) action in Hillsborough, NC on February 1)