41 Comments
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Ann Panda's avatar

My rethug congressman still has a note on his fb page that he's tending to a "family emergency" but he has time to be calling for Obama's imprisonment.

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Cheryl Johnson's avatar

Call him out! Who is it?

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Ann Panda's avatar

From Facebook: Rep. Van Orden is tending to a family emergency and will be temporarily unavailable.

We respectfully ask for privacy during this time.

- Congressman Van Orden Staff

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Susan Fernbach's avatar

🥺

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Trina's avatar

Just called Schiff's and Padilla's offices, asking about town halls in August. Asked why they're following the GOP's playbook of never holding town halls. Schiff's staffer said they're getting a lot of calls about this.

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Carol's avatar

Wow! I’m in CA, too. Where do you call that someone answers the phone? (Truly would love to know!)

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Trina's avatar

My Dem. Congressman's office always answers right away.

Schiff's never does. Padilla's does sometimes.

So for them I stay on hold, and if/when I get to the "thanks for calling...everyone's too busy...please leave message" message, I hang up and call back. Sometimes I call back several times before getting through to a staffer. I'm retired and have the privilege of time to do that.

In order to keep my patience during that process it has helped to have something to work on while on hold (postcards, folding laundry, knitting, stationery bike, etc.)

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Carol's avatar

Yes, that’s my experience, too. My House member’s office is very responsive. I have never gotten a human at Schiff or Padilla’s office, even when I call their various local offices. Thanks for your input! I’m retired, too, so I can try that!

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Kathy's avatar

At Florida Indivisible Zoom this week they encouraged us to keep calling out contractors. HCR shared this story/link today.

“The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday announced that Virginia-based company Acquisition Logistics LLC was given nearly $232 million up front to build and run the 5,000-bed tent camp. The federal agency said the facility is expected to open by September 2027.”

I clicked on the link for Acquisition and then the logo.This appears to be a home in Virginia and NO other info available on the company that has no experience running detention centers.Let’s flood them with postcards!

✍️🛑

The Acquisition Logistics Company

 502 Branway Drive. Richmond, Virginia 23229

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/23/texas-migrant-detention-tent-camp-fort-bliss-el-paso/

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maggie towne's avatar

Is This one they’re gonna build in El Paso? Because I would definitely go after them because I live in New Mexico El Paso really is in New Mexico, but don’t tell Texas that.

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Deborah K Davis's avatar

Good suggestion about postcards. I managed to send emails to several contractors listed a few days ago. Acquisition Logistics requires an ID and password. No thank you.

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Catherine K's avatar

I'm beginning to feel like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up a steep hill.. *sigh*

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Trina's avatar

Yes, me too, but he was alone with that rock. We're not. I'm looking forward to the huge morale boost of going to a protest this weekend.

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Brenda McDonald's avatar

I’m for sure not pedaling up the hill. I’m pushing an increasingly heavy bike with a huge backpack strapped over my shoulders.

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Susan's avatar

I've been doing weekly protests on bridges with a Visibility Brigade! We put up big letter messages that face traffic. Our messages on Monday were "GRAB HIM BY THE EPSTEIN FILES" and "HONK 4 COLBERT!" Here's our IG https://www.instagram.com/kalamazoovisibilitybrigade/

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Sophie Verlaine's avatar

Yes so much to be concerned about that I am sorry to add this : the future of the USPS is in dire trouble with the Trump recent nomination of two MAGA donors John LaValle,and Anthony Lomangino to complete the MAGA driven insane idea of privatization of this NON PROFIT Government SERVICE tthat every address has free of cost. 800,000 employees jobs are at risk. Please demand that these two do not get approved.

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Andy's avatar

Keep them 🍁 Elbows UP! 🏒

The next big national protest this summer is TOMORROW:

Families First

Saturday July 26th

https://www.familiesfirstnow.org/?utm_source=moveon

Trump is destroying America, turning it into something people believed couldn't possibly exist.

A fourth world junkyard nation.

Make your voices heard.

Nationwide Anti-Trump 'Families First' Protest Planned for July 26

https://www.newsweek.com/nationwide-anti-trump-families-first-protest-planned-july-26-2100685

Lean On Me - Music Travel Love (Iligan City, Philippines) Bill Withers Cover

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MiQoz_YYNg8

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Juzzie Smith - SUPERHEROS Offical Video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=37J2vb81Z8o

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Keep protests peaceful.

Don't kill anyone.

Here are resistance related guides from around the world:

🇺🇸 Fundamentals of physical surveillance: a guide for uniformed and plainclothes personnel

https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofph0000silj

The RCMP has its own publications including:

🇨🇦 GCPSG-022 (2025) - Threat and Risk Assessment Guide

GCPSG-010 (2022) - Operational Physical Security Guide

🇨🇦 GCPSG-019 (2023) - Protection, Detection, Response, and Recovery Guide

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/physec-secmat/pubs/index-eng.htm

The non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation also has excellent guides on:

🇺🇸 Street Level Surveillance

https://sls.eff.org

🇺🇸 Surveillance Self-Defense

https://ssd.eff.org/

🇪🇺 🇸🇪⚠️ Resistance Operating Concept

https://jsou.edu/Press/PublicationDashboard/25

🇺🇦 🇺🇲 Radio Free Ukraine Resistance Manual

https://radiofreeukraine.com/3d-flip-book/resistance-manual/

⚠️ John Hopkins University:

Assessing Revolutionary And Insurgent Strategies (ARIS) Studies

This one is used a lot by ICE, so the Trump Regime keeps suppressing it. Here are alternate links as it keeps getting moved around by the good guys:

Small Wars Journal

Assessing Revolutionary and Insurgent Strategies (ARIS) Project

https://archive.smallwarsjournal.com/blog/assessing-revolutionary-and-insurgent-strategies-aris-project

Author's website:

On Resistance, Revolutions, and Insurgencies

https://zimmerer.typepad.com/resistance/

Free PDF download of the book from the original author:

Casebook on Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare, Volume II 1962 - 2009

http://zimmerer.typepad.com/Documents/ARIS%20Casebook%20Vol%202%202012%20s.pdf

⚠️ Civilian-Based Defense: A Post-Military Weapons System

https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/civilian-based-defense-a-post-military-weapons-system/

🏁 Simple Sabotage Field Manual by United States Office of Strategic Services

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184?ref=404media.co

⚠️ Library of Congress

Revelations from the Russian archives: documents in English translation

https://www.loc.gov/item/96024752

🏁 Robert Reich/Resistance School

Communicating Across Difference

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaT8gjnOmQl3dguy0_E0vVCL5ZYEyCTzu

🏁 Bernie Sanders:

https://m.youtube.com/@BernieSanders

🏁 CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists:

Safety Kit

https://cpj.org/safety-kit/

🏁 Activist Handbook:

https://activisthandbook.org/introduction

(⚠️ These are USA sponsered websites. Some publications may have been removed by the Trump regime)

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Jane D's avatar

Please see WHITE HOUSE EXECUTIVE ORDER July 24, 2025 regarding homelessness: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/

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Trina's avatar

So, they're spelling out their plans to kidnap thousands and thousands more of us into their for-profit concentration camps.

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Kathy's avatar

Florida is the test state for Project 2025.…Labor for all those deported migrants?

“An organization led by a wealthy Republican donor helped write a controversial new state law meant to force homeless people across Florida into state-sanctioned camps, according to records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/jasongarcia/p/sixty-days-in-jail-and-forced-psychiatric?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Jan M. Flynn's avatar

YOU BET that I made those calls. Voice mails all, but I left all my contact info and specifically requested a response. Grrr.

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Barbara Grinell's avatar

I will postcard to GeorgiaI. I will my senators and representatives.

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Jean Tesoriero's avatar

Hello, Barbara. Can you please point me in the direction of the "postcard to Georgia" campaign? I checked the Fair Fight link and don't see it there. It may well be right in front of me, which happens a lot these days. ;(

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maggie towne's avatar

Try field team 6

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Jean Tesoriero's avatar

Thanks, Maggie. Checking out the field team 6 website.

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Janice Defilipi's avatar

We can only hope and pray that the majority of American citizens vote for democracy and not for the oligarchs. Our lives are at stake, no matter what state you’re from.

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GenuineImpulse's avatar

We need a way to wake up people who don’t follow politics to all that’s being done.

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Cheryl Johnson's avatar

Our local Indivisible chapter has been hosting pop-up visibility rallies all around town at high traffic intersections at morning and/or evening peaks plus a few on Saturday morning or Sunday early afternoon. They are calling it Visibility CLT. (CLT is the airport code for Charlotte and our chapter is Indivisible CLT).

These protests are usually spread out thoughout the week, but last week all the weekday protests were on Thursday in honor of John Lewis. Plus they added a few extra ones - last week there were 25 separate protests; this week there are "only" 17. I think they started out in April or May with just a handful of locations.

Some don't have a huge number of protesters - the smallest I have attended was 6 people (including myself), but the times and locations are strategically selected to garner a LOT of eye balls.

I am also working on several postcarding campaigns in VA with the intent of waking up the voters of VA. I discuss some of the various postcard campaigns here: https://substack.com/@cj277/note/c-138869218

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Sheryl Oliver's avatar

Thank you so much for working so hard to keep us informed and for providing call scripts. I copied and posted your script regarding Fema Aid being denied to Blue states and the private meeting with G. Maxwell to Resistbot. Here is a link if anyone cares to send this letter. https://resist.bot/petitions/PPQWUA

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jennifer b's avatar

Jessica- you are a hero. Thank you so very much for your dogged dedication to saving our failing Democracy under this administration. I use ResistBot, make the phone calls and so APPRECIATE you

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Stephen Strum, MD, FACP's avatar

I'm 83 in a few months, have been outspoken about Trump since 2015, and will continue to voice my outrage on the replacement of Democracy by a Fascist regime, with a cabinet that are subservient to Trump. Bondi and the others in the DOJ are Trump's personal attorneys. The mainstream media should speak loud and frequently to this reality. All of you will find it of interest to read The New Republic (TNR) article from today about Senator Wyden from Oregon (my state) and his disclosure about Epstein: Trump’s Epstein Fiasco Takes Darker Turn as Dem Senator Drops New Bomb | The New Republic

https://newrepublic.com/article/198247/trump-epstein-fiasco-ron-wyden?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_ticker_rss

I will be sending this article to many people in my contacts. What I find, however, is the same apparent apathy that led to the shitstorm we now are in. I say "apparent" because for years I have felt like "where is everyone else?" and "why am I one of the few outspoken people about the flagrant violation of the Constitution and the vulgarity of Trump & cohorts?" It was not until the NO KINGS demonstration that I realized the vast numbers of people who feel as I do.

I have not heard anything about the March for Integrity this Sunday, July 27, until Jess's message. I wonder if there will be a march here in Medford, Oregon?

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Cheryl Johnson's avatar

⬆️"I have not heard anything about the March for Integrity this Sunday, July 27, until Jess's message. I wonder if there will be a march here in Medford, Oregon?"

The link that Jess included had a link to find an event on Mobilize:

https://www.mobilize.us/moneyoutofpolitics/

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Stephen Strum, MD, FACP's avatar

Cheryl, very helpful. Thanks. That link spells it out clearly. Why has this had such a low profile? Why are the Democrats in Congress not in alignment with these key issues that apply to those so critical of the DNP? If the Congressional Democrats were to speak out on these issues when interviewed by major networks, it would enhance the Public understanding of key issues:

• A Ban on Lobbyist Gifts: Prohibiting all direct or indirect financial incentives from lobbyists to members of Congress. (e.g., Elon Musk, others ???)

• The End of Congressional Stock Trading: Preventing elected officials from using privileged information to benefit personally. (e.g., Kathy Loeffler, others ???)

• The Overturning of Citizens United: Eliminating unlimited corporate campaign contributions and restoring limits on political spending.

• A Constitutional Amendment to Keep Money Out of Politics: Ensuring that future generations do not face the same corruption and undue influence in government. (e.g., Elon Musk, Others ???).

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Gail Bienstock's avatar

I'm concerned that the multi-issue calls may be getting less attention than single issue ones where the aides know what and how to code the voice-mail, which is what most of us reach in these calls I know that it takes a bit longer, but wonder if we'd get farther by recalling with the second issue, and remaining calmly assertive rather than raging, which doesn't get recorded. I"m basing this on info passed down from folks working in the House and Senate, but am happy to be disabused of these ideas if there is better info out there. Thanks for considering.

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ISOequanimity's avatar

This substack is so helpful with concrete actions we can take. Parents in Gaza would give anything for the 500 tons of emergency food targeted to be incinerated here in America. Is there anything we can do?https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/07/usaid-emergency-food-incinerate-trump/683532/

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