Friends,

Trump's flood the zone strategy is exhausting. It's easy to lose track of important storylines and to feel psychologically overwhelmed. That's the goal. (It is also an indication of something very important: his policies are not popular!) Trump wants you — all of us — staying frenetic and ungrounded.

As folks are gearing into motion (more on that below), we want to help all of us steady ourselves for the times ahead. Whether you've been in rapid motion or completely frozen — join with us on Wednesdays at 12:53pm for a one-minute moment of silence.

We call it: a Minute of US — a moment of silence to catch our breaths and reflect, pray, meditate, or just honor the hurt and suffering due to the current administration and the damage they are causing to this country and around the globe.

We suggest you gather with some others — online or in-person. You may want to connect it to a bold street action, or as a chance to share with friends you know haven't taken any action yet.

Minute Of US: Every Wednesday at 12:53. A picture of various people, ages, sizes, races, all holding hands

You can sign up to get reminders, and a social media share toolkit over at http://minuteof.us/

(Why 12:53pm? Because this is when the January 6th protestors, now pardoned, first crossed the police barricades and when the three richest people in the world — Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg — all were seated for Donald Trump's inauguration.)

The timing is right because things are heating up. As we drafted this email, folks were outside at USAID. People — and, finally, some elected officials — are powerfully refusing to comply with Trump's intent to shutdown USAID. In desperation, he just tapped Marc Rubio as acting director who immediately talked of the “insubordination" at USAID. Insubordination. What a good word.

Trump's foreign funding freeze has killed over 100,000 global jobs and halted dozens of public health programs fighting AIDS, cancer, and bioterrorism. It's halted funding against narcotics in Colombia, protection of food stores in Mogadishu, and freezing pay for security guards overseeing ISIS militants. Chaotic messes.

The USAID protest joins the energy of thousands in Los Angeles shut-down the freeway in protest. Protests are now popping up all over the country — here's one thread if you're looking for some to join. Indivisible and friends just put together an excellent guide for pressuring elected officials. If you're in DC, join the 5pm rally at the Treasury Building.

The energy is so uplifting and inspiring. We continue to honor the many levels of resistance happening — workers rejecting Musk's offer to quit, parents teaching their kids to have big hearts, and individuals telling their bosses they won't remove DEI "just because it makes them a target."

No single action will make the difference. No single event. No single march or strike. It's the community resistance from the collective that will. Every act of resistance you do matters.

And while you do, take care of yourself and join our community moment of silence. We made a toolkit to help you amplify this action and your reflections on social media. Please take a few minutes to share the toolkit with your networks.

Find center with that feeling of connection with all of us each Wednesday 12:53pm.

Warmly,

- Choose Democracy

ps: Thanks for all the ideas about other noncooperation tactics! It looks like there may be a crew of folks interested in exploring tax resistance. If you have energy to help coordinate that crew, email us.

[Had this forward to you? Sign-up to the Choose Democracy list here.]