Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
I just put on my big girl pants and made my first phone calls today after choosing to chicken out and email before. It was fun especially this one:
I just called my republican representative Mr. Doug LaMalfa, northern California and talked to his office staff about supporting the CFPB and who the heck elected Musk anyway, and after I said my piece his person asked me a question about did I support something that Biden had done and I said I’m not here to talk about President Biden‘s actions and she promptly hung up on me. at least I got my two cents in!
Kate
Thank you Jess for giving me the nudge to be braver!
Good job!! That representative and his staff work for **you.** They are paid with your tax dollars and are there to represent all constituents, not just the ones they like or the ones that keep quiet. Don't forget it!
Maybe you should call back and ask to speak to that staffer's supervisor 😁
The Indivisible group I just joined was scrambling (and succeeding!) the day of my first meeting to hold all of us too! In the end, they had to section off three meetings (some simultaneous) due to the sudden boost of interest. They even had to add a second week for the new members meeting, since registration filled so quickly! It's a good problem to have, and reassuring to see so much activism firing up.
I'm in Washington. It's the Snohomish County group. Apparently they kept it running during Biden with just a few going for coffee regularly, then really ramped up activity after the election.
Thank you, it is good to hear about the rapid response team etc. I think what also needs to be established is a ‘Project Democracy’ as a long term vision response to Project 2025. This shouldn’t necessarily be ‘owned’ by the Democrats, more like a coalition for democracy. It is very clear that there needs to be a relentless defense of and strategic offense to promote and sustain democracy in the country.
Thats kind of you to say! I have a feeling it isnt an original idea, not that I have read about it elsewhere, just that I cant be the only one thinking it. One hopes that *someone* of influence/power/situation, like in a pro-democratic think tank is already talking about something to the effect. In a way, I like that it is a bigger concept than Project 2025, which itself literally is just about a single year (albeit a crazy one so far) as if it points to the founders of the project short-sightedness. Democracy *is* dynamic, it is alive and so we cannot ride on laurels, I think that was forgotten and now it is getting a very harsh reality check. I hope someone picks up the idea and runs with it!
is there anybody here who thinks that a professional group, dedicated to working every day, creating videos that are accessible and enjoyable for the general public, taking the 20 or 30 main areas of disinformation and putting clear, reliable facts out there - would be an incredible resource?
I've copied Nicholas Kristof's recent masterful defense of USAID (he and his wife and worked with the organization's support in Africa and Asia for years) along with other factual evidence.
And I'll tell you - a surprising number of those who bought Trump et al's lies have really been forced to take a second look. Kristof in particular is SO sincere that it comes across in his writings quite forcefully.
At present, I have absolutely NOWHERE to send people when they repeat lies about DEI and the FAA, about FEMA (whose workers literally risked their lives when they helped out here in and around Asheville after Hurricane Helene), and so on.
When I called my rep's office (Daniel Webster, R, Florida 11th district) the staffer on the line said that USAID is under a 90 day review, it hasn't been cancelled. I said well it should not have been put under review to begin with.
What would be a skillful reply I could have when I call next time?
I would simply say "is the Congressmember comfortable with the number of babies who are dying every day as a result? I believe in Sudan alone it's 300." Let them chew on that.
USAID is one of the highest returns of our government funds (less than 1% of the budget)in terms of “soft power” and good will that China will now fill. It helps eradicate diseases saving millions of lives, which in turn, save lives in the US by keeping these diseases from entering our country. It feeds millions of starving children (which benefits the American farmer) and helps eradicate malaria and prevent HIV AIDs from being passed along to babies and from mutating which keeps us safer too. This program also helps countries remain stable which prevents wars and acts of terrorism from erupting, which is a side effect of disease and starvation.
Also, in that 90 days, China could have already filled the void we left. Once they create a port in Western Africa, they aren’t leaving. It’s so much harder to start over here flow up again than it is to stop it. And what about the millions and millions of dollars in food that is just rotting?
I would like suggestions, too. Thank you for the info about Kristof's article. I re-subscribed a few days ago since the NYT seems to be finding a few of its vertebrae, so here's a gift link to the article. This fact shouldn't have surprised me, but it's shocking... "Just since Donald Trump’s election, Musk’s personal net worth has grown by far more than the entire annual budget of U.S.A.I.D"
As Jess or another person here said last week, we need to be contacting our banks/credit unions to put pressure on them about how they're responding to the coup and what they're doing to protect our accounts.
Yesterday my credit union sent me a boiler-plate form to opt-out of third-party sharing.
I wrote this to them:
I'd like an answer to the question I called about last week.
Given the on-going intrusion of Musk's people (unvetted and without government security clearances) into Treasury's computer systems, which house the personal financial, tax, and identity information of each one of us, what exactly is _____ doing to protect our accounts and our funds from these unprecedented threats?
I've been a [credit union/bank] [member/customer] for decades.
I'd like specific answers to my questions, and also the email contact info for [the CEO], [the president of Board of Directors], and the other members of the Board of Directors.
Do not send me the form letter info about your privacy policy. You already sent that, thank you, and I've already opted out of third-party sharing.
The threats posed by what is going at Treasury are something entirely different and new.
I want to know from the leadership of __________ what they are doing about these new threats.
Virginia Senators Kaine and Warner held a telephone town hall last night. 55K people on the line. They gave great information and answered questions for 45 minutes. I feel much better as I now know what the Democrats are trying to do. However, if the Republicans won't cross the aisle, because they are scared of being primaried, there isn't much collaboration to do.
Our power will be when they try to raise the debt ceiling and finalize a budget. I am hopeful but still calling every damn day!
Just a note on the cancelling of appointments for the medical aspect of gender-affirming care coming from a pediatrician...most of these clinics rely on federal funding to stay up and running. Many are opting to pause on medical therapy in the interest of continuing to provide mental health care to their patients, and many others fall under the umbrella of Adolescent Medicine clinics that serve all adolescents and also rely on federal funding to survive, so they are unable to stay open to provide mental health care for these patients without federal funding. This is true at many children's hospitals/academic centers across the country, so bombarding the CHLA patient relations people is unlikely to make a signficant difference. We need to continue to ensure that we are bombarding Congress who should hold the power of the purse.
Apologies if you have seen this before, but one more thing we can do is to promote a way to fight back that was on substack a while back by Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny). And Robert Hubbell a couple days ago.
The Democrats clearly must get louder to respond forcefully to the administration blitz. To do so, we can form form a Democratic People's Cabinet, our best folks fighting, calling out illegalities, and presenting an alternative vision. Please repost and sign this petition, we have over 6.5K signers so far!
Regarding snowflakes: Yes, each snowflake is beautiful, unique AND fragile. BUT, enough of them (us) sticking together can form a huge SNOWBANK that can stop a truck (illegal government take-over)!
Indivisible Rockland! I graduated from Clarkstown High School in 1969 -- the last year there was only the one. And while I no longer have any financial interest in the county, I am thrilled to learn that the folks in Nyack have stood up for justice.
Thank you to all for what it being done to light fires everywhere and get this country moving to normality. Enough of those beasts and their lip spittle. We are not toads!
Question: Can you get it out in the newsletters (and anywhere else) approx. how much each American contributes to USAID yearly? If I heard correct on MSNBC it's something like 6 cents per person a year. That is shocking low. Can this be true? How can anyone crow about 6 cents a year to do so much good in other countries??? Please help with this information. Thanks.
Hi Jess. Just completed today's tasks. I'm upset about Google's recent dismantling of DEI commitments as well as their recent map update in capitulation to the ridiculous renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. So far, it's still the Gulf of Mexico on Apple Maps. Google has also, as you likely know, dropped its pledge to not use AI in weapons systems or surveillance tools. If you have received any guidance in how best to contact Google and complain, I'd love to see that in an upcoming newsletter. The main number is just a bot and it's very difficult to get through to a person. Thank you so much.
I call all offices, DC and field offices of all my reps. They are keeping track of how many calls and what we are asking them to address.
There is NO limit to the number of times. While I leave my information each time, they do not have time to look to say that I called too many times so they should ignore me.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
MTN medias mighty Michael popock
Adam Kinzinger
Thank you, Mr. McGinty. You may want to consider adding Judd Legum to your list. See his Popular Information and Musk Watch sites.
Thank you!
Let’s add Jasmine Crockett to this list. And thank you for starting it!
Jessica, Larry and Troops,
The work that everyone is doing is amazing. You are amazing.
Below I offer a link to my most recent post that offers resources and strategies to help us all cope with stress.
Please take care of yourselves.
https://longcovidjourney2wellness.substack.com/p/finding-anchors-in-the-face-of-stress
I just put on my big girl pants and made my first phone calls today after choosing to chicken out and email before. It was fun especially this one:
I just called my republican representative Mr. Doug LaMalfa, northern California and talked to his office staff about supporting the CFPB and who the heck elected Musk anyway, and after I said my piece his person asked me a question about did I support something that Biden had done and I said I’m not here to talk about President Biden‘s actions and she promptly hung up on me. at least I got my two cents in!
Kate
Thank you Jess for giving me the nudge to be braver!
Wow. GOOD FOR YOU! Thank you! I hope you call again tomorrow!
Thank you!
Good job!! That representative and his staff work for **you.** They are paid with your tax dollars and are there to represent all constituents, not just the ones they like or the ones that keep quiet. Don't forget it!
Maybe you should call back and ask to speak to that staffer's supervisor 😁
You go,Kate !!
Wow! I’ve never experienced rudeness from a staffer! So unprofessional! Thank you for calling!
Way to go, Kate!!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 My fellow Californian!
Good for you!!! I, too, am chicken about phone calls but am pushing myself (since I’m calling at night, right now mostly getting voicemail…$
The Indivisible group I just joined was scrambling (and succeeding!) the day of my first meeting to hold all of us too! In the end, they had to section off three meetings (some simultaneous) due to the sudden boost of interest. They even had to add a second week for the new members meeting, since registration filled so quickly! It's a good problem to have, and reassuring to see so much activism firing up.
That's AMAZING! What state?
I'm in Washington. It's the Snohomish County group. Apparently they kept it running during Biden with just a few going for coffee regularly, then really ramped up activity after the election.
California
Thank you, it is good to hear about the rapid response team etc. I think what also needs to be established is a ‘Project Democracy’ as a long term vision response to Project 2025. This shouldn’t necessarily be ‘owned’ by the Democrats, more like a coalition for democracy. It is very clear that there needs to be a relentless defense of and strategic offense to promote and sustain democracy in the country.
I think that is an excellent idea, Tina!
Thats kind of you to say! I have a feeling it isnt an original idea, not that I have read about it elsewhere, just that I cant be the only one thinking it. One hopes that *someone* of influence/power/situation, like in a pro-democratic think tank is already talking about something to the effect. In a way, I like that it is a bigger concept than Project 2025, which itself literally is just about a single year (albeit a crazy one so far) as if it points to the founders of the project short-sightedness. Democracy *is* dynamic, it is alive and so we cannot ride on laurels, I think that was forgotten and now it is getting a very harsh reality check. I hope someone picks up the idea and runs with it!
is there anybody here who thinks that a professional group, dedicated to working every day, creating videos that are accessible and enjoyable for the general public, taking the 20 or 30 main areas of disinformation and putting clear, reliable facts out there - would be an incredible resource?
I've copied Nicholas Kristof's recent masterful defense of USAID (he and his wife and worked with the organization's support in Africa and Asia for years) along with other factual evidence.
And I'll tell you - a surprising number of those who bought Trump et al's lies have really been forced to take a second look. Kristof in particular is SO sincere that it comes across in his writings quite forcefully.
At present, I have absolutely NOWHERE to send people when they repeat lies about DEI and the FAA, about FEMA (whose workers literally risked their lives when they helped out here in and around Asheville after Hurricane Helene), and so on.
Any suggestions?
When I called my rep's office (Daniel Webster, R, Florida 11th district) the staffer on the line said that USAID is under a 90 day review, it hasn't been cancelled. I said well it should not have been put under review to begin with.
What would be a skillful reply I could have when I call next time?
I would simply say "is the Congressmember comfortable with the number of babies who are dying every day as a result? I believe in Sudan alone it's 300." Let them chew on that.
Oh yes - put the reality right on the line! It’s heartbreaking and makes me very angry that they spin it so falsely. 😵💫😆
USAID is one of the highest returns of our government funds (less than 1% of the budget)in terms of “soft power” and good will that China will now fill. It helps eradicate diseases saving millions of lives, which in turn, save lives in the US by keeping these diseases from entering our country. It feeds millions of starving children (which benefits the American farmer) and helps eradicate malaria and prevent HIV AIDs from being passed along to babies and from mutating which keeps us safer too. This program also helps countries remain stable which prevents wars and acts of terrorism from erupting, which is a side effect of disease and starvation.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/09/usaid-worker-details-dangers-chaos-00203104?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Also, in that 90 days, China could have already filled the void we left. Once they create a port in Western Africa, they aren’t leaving. It’s so much harder to start over here flow up again than it is to stop it. And what about the millions and millions of dollars in food that is just rotting?
I would like suggestions, too. Thank you for the info about Kristof's article. I re-subscribed a few days ago since the NYT seems to be finding a few of its vertebrae, so here's a gift link to the article. This fact shouldn't have surprised me, but it's shocking... "Just since Donald Trump’s election, Musk’s personal net worth has grown by far more than the entire annual budget of U.S.A.I.D"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/opinion/usaid-spending-trump-musk.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wE4.on5j.OfL9QGCXIFYB&smid=url-share
As Jess or another person here said last week, we need to be contacting our banks/credit unions to put pressure on them about how they're responding to the coup and what they're doing to protect our accounts.
Yesterday my credit union sent me a boiler-plate form to opt-out of third-party sharing.
I wrote this to them:
I'd like an answer to the question I called about last week.
Given the on-going intrusion of Musk's people (unvetted and without government security clearances) into Treasury's computer systems, which house the personal financial, tax, and identity information of each one of us, what exactly is _____ doing to protect our accounts and our funds from these unprecedented threats?
I've been a [credit union/bank] [member/customer] for decades.
I'd like specific answers to my questions, and also the email contact info for [the CEO], [the president of Board of Directors], and the other members of the Board of Directors.
Do not send me the form letter info about your privacy policy. You already sent that, thank you, and I've already opted out of third-party sharing.
The threats posed by what is going at Treasury are something entirely different and new.
I want to know from the leadership of __________ what they are doing about these new threats.
So good!
Another great idea and I will do the same with my credit union. Thank you!
Virginia Senators Kaine and Warner held a telephone town hall last night. 55K people on the line. They gave great information and answered questions for 45 minutes. I feel much better as I now know what the Democrats are trying to do. However, if the Republicans won't cross the aisle, because they are scared of being primaried, there isn't much collaboration to do.
Our power will be when they try to raise the debt ceiling and finalize a budget. I am hopeful but still calling every damn day!
WOW! 55K?? That's unreal!! Thanks for sharing! Tha one's going in Extra! Extra!
Senators VanHollen & Alsobrooks (MD) have their call tonight.
Just a note on the cancelling of appointments for the medical aspect of gender-affirming care coming from a pediatrician...most of these clinics rely on federal funding to stay up and running. Many are opting to pause on medical therapy in the interest of continuing to provide mental health care to their patients, and many others fall under the umbrella of Adolescent Medicine clinics that serve all adolescents and also rely on federal funding to survive, so they are unable to stay open to provide mental health care for these patients without federal funding. This is true at many children's hospitals/academic centers across the country, so bombarding the CHLA patient relations people is unlikely to make a signficant difference. We need to continue to ensure that we are bombarding Congress who should hold the power of the purse.
Great point--I have had scripts here before to call our reps about this and I certainly will again. Thanks!
Apologies if you have seen this before, but one more thing we can do is to promote a way to fight back that was on substack a while back by Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny). And Robert Hubbell a couple days ago.
The Democrats clearly must get louder to respond forcefully to the administration blitz. To do so, we can form form a Democratic People's Cabinet, our best folks fighting, calling out illegalities, and presenting an alternative vision. Please repost and sign this petition, we have over 6.5K signers so far!
www.change.org/shadowcabinet
see https://snyder.substack.com/p/shadow-cabinet
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/we-are-not-sheep-get-louder-take
Regarding snowflakes: Yes, each snowflake is beautiful, unique AND fragile. BUT, enough of them (us) sticking together can form a huge SNOWBANK that can stop a truck (illegal government take-over)!
Thank you for doing this. I made my calls today and I HATE IT, but it was a little easier today because of your script. Thank you.
It gets easier over time :) Like brushing your teeth…
Indivisible Rockland! I graduated from Clarkstown High School in 1969 -- the last year there was only the one. And while I no longer have any financial interest in the county, I am thrilled to learn that the folks in Nyack have stood up for justice.
Thank you to all for what it being done to light fires everywhere and get this country moving to normality. Enough of those beasts and their lip spittle. We are not toads!
Question: Can you get it out in the newsletters (and anywhere else) approx. how much each American contributes to USAID yearly? If I heard correct on MSNBC it's something like 6 cents per person a year. That is shocking low. Can this be true? How can anyone crow about 6 cents a year to do so much good in other countries??? Please help with this information. Thanks.
Try googling this to get info.
Hi Jess. Just completed today's tasks. I'm upset about Google's recent dismantling of DEI commitments as well as their recent map update in capitulation to the ridiculous renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. So far, it's still the Gulf of Mexico on Apple Maps. Google has also, as you likely know, dropped its pledge to not use AI in weapons systems or surveillance tools. If you have received any guidance in how best to contact Google and complain, I'd love to see that in an upcoming newsletter. The main number is just a bot and it's very difficult to get through to a person. Thank you so much.
My daughter deleted Google Maps today for that reason.
thank you Jess! The rapid response team is essential- Thank you for you!
I'm using the 5 Calls app, which i love, but how many times a day can you call the same office without being like a stalker?
I call all offices, DC and field offices of all my reps. They are keeping track of how many calls and what we are asking them to address.
There is NO limit to the number of times. While I leave my information each time, they do not have time to look to say that I called too many times so they should ignore me.
As I just sent my seventh and eighth emails today I wondered the same thing.