Democracy Out Loud #424:Corruption vs Care

As Musk and Trump destroy our government in order to sell taxpayer money and US assets to the highest bidder, people are waking up and standing up.

Mar 13, 2025

As the bad news escalates, we must keep learning how to ground ourselves and connect to our hearts and to each other. Whatever you are feeling about what is going on right now, you are not alone. As usual I am going to suggest some actions to take, and taking action helps a lot. Meanwhile, let’s figure out how to balance the doing with being completely present for each precious moment of this life. Deep breath.

Heather Cox Richardson does a great summary today of Trump’s tariffs and most recent corruption.

Joy Reid offers a complete rundown on the budget bill that has been approved by the US House and is headed to the Senate in her Substack today, “The Government is Already Shut Down.” We have to call both Democratic and Republican Senators to urge a NO vote.

(below, part of the huge crowd at the DOGE rally yesterday; photo by Greg Stewart)

Mark and the Legislative Response Team are showing us how to do effective work with the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA). This week, both Mark and Calile testified at a committee meeting regarding the fast-tracked NC SB 261, which gives a free pass to Duke Energy, as usual, at the expense of the rest of us. Mark was quoted in NC Newsline (they gave him the last word!); Calile was quoted in Inside Climate News. Friends, it doesn’t get any better than that! We can’t stop most of what the GOP is doing in our state, but we can give them a fight, and we can amplify the opposition.

This week, we need your help with NC HB 5, also known as the “NC Constitutional Carry Act,” and NC SB 50 “Freedom to Carry,” both which would remove the permit requirement for concealed carry, allowing any legal adult over 18 to carry a firearm without a permit. This bill will be up before the House Judiciary Committee next week. Law enforcement officers will play a pivotal role in helping to prevent these bills from passing. Find your local sheriff at this link.and urge them to help defeat this dangerous bill.

Please check out this awesome and stunningly complete report by Mark on the legislation he and his team are watching. You can scroll down for messaging guidance for sheriffs. Call your NC Representatives and Senators and urge them to vote against both of these bills. (You can find who represents you at this link.)

We are hard at work planning Empty Chair Town Halls for Brad Knott (R-13) and Richard Hudson (R-9). Please email democracyoutloud@gmail.com if you are in one of these districts, and stay tuned for updates.

At least three Senator Tillis empty chair town halls are being planned, including one in Raleigh on Friday March 21 and in Greensboro on Monday March 17.

(Below, the puppets at the NC Dems DOGE rally. Photo by Greg Stewart)

There is another protest at the Tesla dealership in Raleigh on Friday from 4 to 6 pm. You can get more information and sign up at this link.

Remember that all of these cuts, in the states and in the federal government, are for the sake of tax cuts for extremely wealthy people. The cruelty and corruption is staggering. The USDA just cut a billion dollars from a program that delivers food from farmers and ranchers to food banks and children in schools. WTF????

The US Department of Education has laid off half of its workforce; the goal is to dismantle it entirely. This will have a devastating effect of students with disabilities and millions of other children and young people.

Thom Hartmann has a handle on the plans to privatize Social Security.

Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian student with a green card (permanent US residency) who was picked up by ICE in NYC for exercising his first amendment right to protest has not been allowed to talk privately with his lawyers and remains in custody. We will keep following this; in the meantime we can sign a letter demanding his immediate release. Let us know what else you find out about how we can support Mr. Khalil. Jen Rubin writes about the first amendment issues.

(Below, protest in NYC, photo by Jenny Warburg, used by permission)

Representative Jamie Raskin is making it possible for us all to join him in filing a formal request to DOGE for access to the personal data it has accessed. You can find out the details and take this action here at his website.

Everyone is welcome to join us every Tuesday on zoom from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm; if you need the zoom link, email Jewel at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com. If you are new, come early so we can welcome you. “Doors open” at 10:45 am.

Everyone is also welcome to our guided meditation on zoom every Thursday at 10 am. Jewel can send you the link to that, too (see above).

“The foreign flag that became your flag” by Viktor Kravchuk really got to me. I’ve never been big on flags, but I see I have to get a Ukrainian one.

(United For Ukraine rally in NYC, photo by Jenny Warburg, used by permission)

We have learned all our life to ignore the suffering of human beings who we perceive to be far away from us. Now we are realizing that we are connected to that suffering, and it is coming closer and closer to home. The only thing to do is let our hearts break, allow ourselves to feel the grief. So much unnecessary suffering is escalating, and we can do very little about it. But we can do small things and this connects us powerfully to people all over the world who are standing up with so much love and courage.

We can do this. We must do this. We no longer have a choice.

love, Karen