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Dear Friends,
As we celebrate this Fourth of July, let’s remember that this country was built on the blood, sweat, and tears of people who were not afraid to fight for what they believed in. The Founders didn’t have it easy. They faced impossible odds. But they didn’t give up, and neither should we.
Right now, many of us are feeling discouraged, frustrated, and downright pissed off. And we have every right to. Because we love our country. And the very thing our Founders feared most is sitting in our White House.
But I want you to remember this: America has always been at its best when we’ve faced adversity head-on. And while these times are undoubtedly tough, we’ve got that same spirit of resilience in us. We’ve got the power to make change, to push through, and to do what’s right. It’s the essence of being an American.
So, let’s use this Independence Day to remind ourselves of what makes this country great—no, not some slogan on a red hat—truly great. It’s us. The American people. Our determination and our willingness to keep fighting for a better future will always be our greatest strength.
Stay strong. Stay engaged. And as always, be brave.
Happy Independence Day!
Joe
In Today’s Issue
The Social Briefing: Heroes of the Week
Good Reads for This Week
What’s Your Take?
What Can You Do?
The Social Calendar
The Social Soundboard
This Week
SUBSTACK LIVE: Nothing this week, because my schedule was too erratic. I’ll see you next week. Thanks for your understanding!
CONVERSATIONS OF THE WEEK: No new convos this week, but if you’ve missed any of our past discussions, they’re all archived in Conversations with Joe. Check them out!
FOUNDING MEMBERS: Sorry I had to postpone our June Zoom! We’ll be in touch next week with a rescheduled date and time. (Do you want to join us, but you’re not a Founding Member? Upgrade now!)
SUPPORT OUR MISSION: If you enjoy this Substack and want to help me and my small, but fiercely pro-democracy team reach more Americans with our message, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thank you!
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Amid all the bad, awful, dumb, stupid, absurd, insane, sickening, despicable, embarrassing, irresponsible, demoralizing, infuriating, outrageous, terrible, horrible, Constitution-defying news of the past week, we have to acknowledge the heroes among us. The list is growing, as more and more of us are standing up to the tyrant. Courage is infectious. Be brave!
JUDGES. Specifically, Judge Randolph D. Moss, who ruled that the Trump Administration cannot deny asylum claims from people crossing the southern border. Also Judge Melissa DuBose, who blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from implementing mass layoffs and overhauling some of its sub-agencies. And finally, retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, who publicly criticized Chief Justice John Roberts for his “unforgivable reticence” about Donald Trump.
DOWNWINDERS AT RISK. A coalition of advocacy groups, local governments, nonprofits, and tribes is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over the termination of an environmental grant program. They argue that ending the program by defunding it is unlawful because “it violates bedrock separation-of-powers principles by effectively repealing a congressional enactment and impounding funds.”
MARC MARON. The comedian called out “anti-woke” comics who normalized Trump and helped pave the way for American authoritarianism.
THIS LADY. I don’t know who she is, but damn, she sure told it like it is.
REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED ‘NO’: Thanks to Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Thom Tillis, and Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Thomas Massie for voting against the big ugly bill. At least you tried.
Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way!
Good Reads for This Week
I’m the Daughter of Immigrants. This Fourth of July, I'm Reclaiming the American Flag —The Next Move
Mr. Abrego’s Account of Torture at CECOT in El Salvador —The Breakdown
Who Cracked the Latino Working Class Code: Mamdani or Gallego? —The Great Transformation with Mike Madrid
Is Zohran Mamdani a Sign of America’s Future? —America, America
Cave Men —The Dispatch
The Road to Smurfdom —The Dispatch
Trump Insults America—Again —The Atlantic
The America She Offered Was Rejected for a Monster —Freedom Line by Viktor Kravchuk
Fishing for the Right Message —Democracy Moneyball
Get Angry and Get Busy —The Daily
What’s Your Take?
I believe that most Americans are better than what’s happening in our country right now. The cruelty of both the big ugly bill that passed this week and the treatment of immigrants will have a profound impact on voters and lead to big Democratic victories in the midterm elections, much like we saw in 2018.
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What Can You Do?
GET OUT THERE AND PROTEST! There is another protest opportunity coming up. Help organize in your area and join if you are able!
JULY 17: “Good Trouble” protests will take place in every state in the country. More details here.
WRITE A LETTER! Send your thoughts about the state of our nation to the editor at your local paper. If you get published, send us a link, and we’ll include it here.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS! Flood the phones and inboxes at your representative’s and senators’ offices with calls and emails. Get your friends and neighbors to do it too. Tell them you are one of the 75 million people who didn’t vote for a king (or one of the 77 million who voted for Trump and now feel like an idiot). We have to let them know we’re out here every day. Use this really helpful tool from one of our readers. Thanks, Megan Rothery!
JOIN THE #NOKINGS COMMUNITY! Let’s build a community of Americans who rally around and identify with this basic truth: we don’t have kings in America. I’ve changed all my profile pictures to #NOKINGS, and you can too. Grab a #NOKINGS graphic at www.oneflaginitiative.org for instructions on how to change your profile pics.
SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY PROUDLY! Let the world know you stand with the No Kings movement with a #NOKINGS shirt!
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To get yours, visit oneflaginitiative.org, or become a Social Contract Founding Member, and we’ll send you one for FREE (plus you’ll get an invite to a once-a-month Zoom with me and other special VIP events), with our thanks.
#NOKINGS merchandise sales directly support Conversations with Joe, my personal effort to restore the social contract across America.
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THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEWS & QUOTES
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Here’s what some of you are thinking about this week…
Just caught your latest podcast about Independence Day. Thank you for speaking out. I continue to speak out on social media, while I worry that someday I might be banned from boarding a plane, because I have heard it’s a development in progress.
My adult children continue to introduce me to more news sources, where news flows freely, while mainstream news networks spend half their time reporting on gratuitous crap, and completely ignore real news of the day.
I push friends in my age group (over 60) to turn to the best independent news sources, in technologies some never heard of, because otherwise the propaganda stuffs them full of ignorance.
I will probably contemplate Independence Day this year rather than celebrate.
God help us all, and thank you. —Margaret T.
Several days ago, as you were describing the atrocities of ICE, you said many times, “This is not who we are.” No, it is exactly who we are. Coach Parcells said, “We are exactly what our record shows.” I think a better approach is to tell what fascism brings.
Fascism brings cruelty. Every fascistic country is cruel. They must be to keep the population under them. Think Nazi Germany, Russia, and ICE.
Fascism has made our country weaker and sicker. That is because people in power are chosen because of loyalty not expertise. Think Hegseth and Kennedy, who are spectacularly unqualified. (We have a strong military, but weaker than 6 months ago.)
Fascism brings poverty. That’s because the rule of law is weakened, and corruption siphons the wealth. Russia should be one of the richest countries, but it’s one of the poorest.
Fascism makes us stupid, because we must believe in distorted history and distorted reality, because our beliefs must fit the fascists’ beliefs. We must believe what the witch doctor says. We cannot judge propaganda to be false or misleading.
I hope warning what fascism brings might wake up some. You are more articulate and persuasive than most and me.
I appreciate your honesty and your work. —Steven L. Schultz
Hey, I want to hear from you! Want to host a conversation with Joe in your town? Want to send us a 600-word op-ed or video clip on how we can mend our frayed social contract and rebuild an America that works? Want to appear with Joe on Substack Live? Just need to vent? Send it our way!
Tell us your story and share your feedback about our Substack community by emailing our editor at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
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