[1]Powered By People

Dear John,

This past week, culminating in the ruthless ambush of Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky by President Trump and Vice President Vance in the Oval
Office, makes clear the stakes and terms of the fight we’re in. Even more
reason to do all we can with what we have where we are. Here are three
ideas for this week:

Support democracy over tyranny

Trump turns our foreign policy towards Russia as he turns his back on 80
years of U.S. global leadership. We can speculate on his motives, but the
result so far has been an almost nihilistic destruction of our traditional
alliances with fellow democracies, a near-fatal weakening of Ukraine (the
front line of our common defense against tyranny in Europe), and an
invitation to other authoritarian powers to invade and seize desirable
territory on or near their borders (e.g. Taiwan). Left unchecked, this
will destroy the world order that we have built, and which has
disproportionately benefited the United States. It will strengthen our
enemies and unleash chaos and war at an unprecedented scale.

If there are silver linings in the shameful attack that Trump and Vance
launched against Zelensky on Friday, they are the following:

* We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt where Trump’s interests and
sympathies lie. Not only did he openly ridicule and demean Zelensky in
an attempt to humiliate him on the global stage, he also repeatedly
echoed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s talking points about the war.
And then, perhaps more bizarrely, he ranted about his and Putin’s
shared persecution at the hands of Joe and Hunter Biden. Trump is
clearly personally aligned with Putin and now he seeks to align our
country with him as well (if we needed any more official proof, the
United States voted with Russia against Ukraine and all of our
democratic allies last week as the United Nations sought to condemn
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine). This clarity should give us renewed
purpose and perspective in our fight against this administration. No
one can now pretend it is anything other than what it is. The lines
are drawn, the choice is crystal clear.
* The European democracies have begun to rally in earnest around
Ukraine. The reaction across the Atlantic to Trump’s behavior has been
forceful and unified. The Europeans understand that Ukraine is the
frontline in the fight against authoritarianism and further Russian
territorial expansion. Now that the U.S. is the least reliable partner
in the alliance, they will step up defense spending and the intensity
of their resistance to Russia. They should have done this long before,
but in the breach they have finally found their resolve.
* Everyday Americans, Republican and Democrat, are galvanized and will
do what they can to support Ukraine and stop Trump’s mad march into
Russia’s arms. They will push on their elected representatives, they
will threaten political consequence at the ballot box, and they will
provide the backbone missing from so many in Congress today.

To that end, here are two things we can all do:

 1. From the excellent Tim Snyder (whose recent article on this issue you
should read here
([ [link removed] ][link removed]): “If you are
thinking today about how to help Ukrainians, here are some
possibilities: [ [link removed] ]Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that supports
soldiers on the battlefield and veterans; [ [link removed] ]United 24, the Ukrainian
state platform for donations, with many excellent projects); [ [link removed] ]RAZOM,
an American NGO, tax-deductible for US citizens, which cooperates with
Ukrainian NGOS to support civilians; and [ [link removed] ]BlueCheck Ukraine, which
aims for efficient cooperation with Ukrainian groups and is also
tax-deductible.” Amy and I have made donations, and I hope you will
too.
 2. Call your member of Congress. Demand that we stay true to our
democratic values and to our allies who are fighting for their lives
right now. 202-224-2131

Protect Kids from Measles

There is an out-of-control measles outbreak in Texas and surrounding
states. Unvaccinated kids are getting sick and one has tragically died.

The response from America’s Health and Human Services Secretary? Don’t
worry about it, this kind of thing happens all the time. (Except, this is
the first death of a child in America due to measles in more than 20
years.)

The response from the Governor of Texas? Crickets. Maybe too scared of the
“MAHA” movement to show the leadership that the moment requires.

So, in the absence of any kind of responsibility from those in positions
of power and public trust, let’s all of us spread the word.

With only rare exceptions, every child should get the MMR vaccine against
measles. It’s safe, it’s effective, and it’s necessary not only for your
child’s health but the health of other children and vulnerable people in
your community.

If you live in the South Plains of Texas (the epicenter of this outbreak)
or know people who do, here are some community resources: [ [link removed] ]United,
Market Street pharmacies to offer MRR vaccine amid growing Texas measles
cases

I interviewed one of the leading virologists and immunologists in the
world, Dr. Paul Offit on these issues last week, please feel free to share
our conversation [ [link removed] ]here.

Volunteer on the ground with us

We had a big volunteer gathering last week, lots of people signing up to
register voters, stay in touch with those targeted for suppression and
intimidation and hold our elected leaders accountable.

Sign up to become a Powered By People volunteer if you haven’t already. We
believe in person-to-person organizing — meaning, human physical presence
where young and low-propensity voters are. It’s not too soon to begin the
work for the 2026, 2028 or 2030 elections. In fact, it is absolutely
necessary that we start now.

Here is the link: [ [link removed] ][link removed]

Action is the key to victory and the antidote to despair. See you out
there.

Beto


 




This email was sent to [email protected]. Email is the most important way for us to reach you about opportunities to act. If you need to remove yourself from our email list, click here to unsubscribe: [link removed]

PAID FOR BY POWERED BY PEOPLE