Democracy Out Loud #441:Pushing back

A police state has now been fully funded. Meanwhile, we are gathering strength.

Dear friends,

Between the passage of the big genocidal police state bill in Congress last week and the floods in Texas and North Carolina, many of us feel enraged, overcome with grief, afraid, or all of the above. No matter what you are feeling, you are not alone.

Still, our resolve is not floundering. There are now over 2500 Indivisible groups around the country, and many other organizations of resistance are growing in strength. We are going to have to learn to take breaks and rest, yet at the same time we are all pressing forward, understanding that we must increase the size and complexity of our effort and strategy.

There are trainings and calls every week with the founders of Indivisible; you can sign up at this link. I learned yesterday that the term for what is happening to our country is authoritarian or autocratic “breakthrough.” Trump & Co have now fully funded the largest federal enforcement agency in history, and we have to interrupt anticipatory obedience and 1) create mass, visible, and sustained defiance, 2) pressure the pillars of support for the regime, and 3) build our capacity for strategic non-cooperation.

Indivisible is offering a training to help us do that (below). I truly hope we all sign up at this link, and spread the word.

There are many ways you can help those who were flooded here in North Carolina, notably Triangle Mutual Aid, which is organizing volunteers and donations.

Massive flood deaths can be directly attributed to climate change at a time when the budget bill which just passed Congress kills clean energy initiatives and gives obscene additional money to Big Oil.

We continue to learn what is in the budget bill passed last week by Congress. The Guardian offers a helpful educational quiz.

A very important action to take right now is to call Senator Tillis (202) 224-6342, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee, and urge him to vote against the lifetime appointment of Trump’s personal lawyer Emil Bove to a federal judgeship on the Federal Court of Appeals. Bove is known to have defied court orders regarding unconstitutional deportations.

Marci and I are getting very interested in the #DisappearedInAmerica campaign. You can view a planning document at this link and hear more about it on Tuesday.

Please do boycott Amazon and Etsy, which continues along with the GOP to sell “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise. The roots of this racist trope are just as horrible as the concentration camp and the unspeakable cruelty it represents.

Karen Attiah’s fall course, “Race, Media, and International Affairs 101” was cancelled by Columbia University, so she decided to offer it free online. It’s full with over 500 registrants, but you can sign up for the waiting list and take it next time it is offered.

Consider the anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) laws in the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA), in light of the classroom sign that sparked a controversy and a teacher’s resignation. The sign (below) has now been banned by law in Idaho by Idaho HB 41, which says that it is “part of an ideological/social movement.” Meanwhile, NC HB 244, the deceptively named “Depoliticize Government Property Act” has been referred to the Rules committee.

This is why our Legislative Response Team is gathering strength and numbers. Mark has compiled a detailed list of the terrible bills that the Republicans in the NCGA have proposed or passed. There is much work to do to educate ourselves and our legislators and pressure them to uphold the Governor’s vetoes. If you would like to join this team, email Mark at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com.

NC HB 958 is another monster voter suppression bill which will force the firing of 1/3 of the members of the nonpartisan State Elections Board, to be replaced by handpicked partisan members of the GOP. This is an emergency. Call whoever represents you in the General Assembly, and if you can, call and email the sponsors of this bill and the members of the Judiciary 2 Committee.

Our next book discussion will be Wednesday, August 20 at 3:30 pm on zoom, led by Marci. The book is This Is An Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the 21st Century by Mark Engler and Paul Engler. If you want to join the book group, email Marci at DemocracyOutLoud@gmail.com.

I am spending half my time these days working with Peace Hill on a public talk by Lama Rod Owens in Durham on July 24 at 7 pm. Cost is $15 and you can register at this link. Lama Rod has been my meditation teacher for the past eight years, and speaks directly to practices and points of view that can support activists right now. Can you help me spread the word about this?

Substack is telling me I am near the length limit, so I will just end by saying thank you to everyone who is stepping up and showing up. Everyone is welcome to our Tuesday zoom and Thursday meditation, and you can find an event in memory of John Lewis, “Good Trouble Lives On” on July 17 at this link. For more events coming up this week, consult the Triangle Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom newsletter, and Mobilize.

Do whatever you feel drawn to and able to do. When you feel overwhelmed, take a break or a nap if you can, or just do something simple until the feeling passes. Know that there are millions of people all over the world right along with us, fighting for freedom and democracy and a future for our earth. The more we do this work, the more we find these people, our community, and they are amazing.

love, Karen

“Thanks to Congressional passage of the Brutal & Bellicose Bill (BBB), ICE is poised to be funded more lavishly than the entire militaries of Brazil, Israel, Italy, and other countries. This level of investment, coming so early in Donald Trump’s time in office, makes clear ICE’s key role in a developing infrastructure of repression. What they are ‘enforcing’ are racist ideologies of national purity.” - Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Substack, July 6, 2025

(below, a flag that Amy made for July 4. Photo by Lisa.)