View this post on the web at [link removed]

On Thursday, the League of Women Voters (LWV) released a statement declaring that the United States is in a constitutional crisis. The LWV prides itself on remaining nonpartisan and is careful about the stances they take on issues. Those stances are usually limited to issues around voting rights, and the League also works to keep voters informed [ [link removed] ]. Their statement is not a declaration of partisan angst, but of grave concern over the attack on foundational principles:
“It has now been 87 days since the start of the Trump administration. From the flagrant disregard for congressional authority and governmental checks and balances to defying Supreme Court orders to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home, one thing is abundantly clear: our country is in a constitutional crisis.
"We the people must fight back. That is why the League of Women Voters is launching a powerful new initiative, Unite and Rise 8.5.
"Unite and Rise 8.5 will engage and mobilize 8.5 million voters between now and November 2026 to protect and preserve our democratic institutions.
Here in Minot, North Dakota, on the day before Christians around the world celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead, we rose in defense of the Constitution. I was asked to say a few words to the crowd assembled at Minot City Hall. Despite having been a politician, I think I kept it to something that could be called “a few”:
Martin O’Malley recently said of the current administration that they want to wreck it so they can rob it.
So, on this day before Easter, we rise up.
We rise up in defense of the Constitution and our country’s ideals of freedom, equality, and the rule of law.
We rise up against a careless, cruel, corrupt, and incompetent government.
We rise up against those who would wreck it in order to rob it and billionaires who will never have enough.
We rise up because we care where they are careless:
DOGE was careless when they made math errors we wouldn’t accept from a sixth grader.
They were careless when they fired workers critical to public health and nuclear security and had to rush to hire them back.
They carelessly and corruptly tried to take credit for canceling contracts that had already expired.
The National Security adviser carelessly invited a journalist to a national security discussion on a third-party app. He corruptly set messages in that group chat to self-delete in violation of the Federal Records Act.
In that same chat, the Secretary of Defense was careless with classified information and the lives of our men and women in uniform.
In any other administration, the National Security Adviser, Secretary of Defense, and Director of National Intelligence would have resigned when the story broke. That they did not proves their corruption and lack of conscience.
We rise up because Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security carelessly and corruptly deported people to a cruel El Salvadoran prison without due process and continues to lie about a man they have admitted was deported in error.
Elon Musk responds to scientists whose life work he has derailed and people whose lives he has upended with a laugh-cry emoji on social media. The White House responds to a post about the man they mistakenly deported with cruel and dishonest mockery.
We stand here because our Congressional delegation lacks the courage to stand up to the abuse of power or even stand in front of us to answer questions. We stand here because they are more worried about losing their seats then doing their jobs, and because they don’t care about those who can’t make large political contributions.
We stand here so others will have the courage to join us the next time, and the time after that.
We stand here because we love this country.
I wish you all a happy and blessed Easter. Don’t eat too many jelly beans (the black ones are the best), dark chocolate mini eggs, or marshmallow treats.
Thank you for reading.

Unsubscribe [link removed]?