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Hey friends,
Americans are fighting back everywhere—from the Indiana Statehouse [ [link removed] ], where JD Vance was fiercely booed this week, to Cold Spring, New York, where residents gather every week, rain or shine, to rally for democracy. These are just regular citizens, holding signs, waving flags, and reminding anyone driving by that democracy matters. No big national organization behind it. No fancy event planners. Just neighbors who care enough to give up part of their weekend to stand up for what they believe in.
This is exactly what it looks like when people take their citizenship seriously. Democracy isn’t a spectator sport—it’s something you participate in, in big ways and small. It’s showing up. It’s making noise. It’s reminding the rest of us that freedom isn’t free, and it sure isn’t guaranteed. The folks in Indiana and Cold Spring understand that, and they’re doing their part. The rest of us should take note.
So here’s my challenge to you—next Saturday, don’t just scroll past stories like this. Be the story. Stand on the corner. Hold the sign. Wave the flag. Because if we don’t fight for our democracy right now, we damn well might lose it.
Joe
In Today's Issue
The Social Briefing: Heroes of the Week
Good Reads for This Week
What Can You Do?
The Social Share
The Social Soundboard
This Past Week
SUBSTACK LIVE: Open to all subscribers, unless noted. Don’t miss it!
Sunday with Jon Tester & Maritsa Georgiou [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
Monday with Royce Dorazio [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
Tuesday with [ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]Lev Parnas [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
Wednesday [ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]with [ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]Qasim Rashid [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
Thursday with Edwin Eisendrath [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
“Welcome to the Party, Pal!” with Mike Nellis [ [link removed] ] (click if you missed it!)
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!
Amid all the bad [ [link removed] ], awful [ [link removed] ], dumb [ [link removed] ], stupid [ [link removed] ], absurd [ [link removed] ], insane [ [link removed] ], sickening [ [link removed] ], despicable [ [link removed] ], cruel [ [link removed] ], sad [ [link removed] ], embarrassing [ [link removed] ], irresponsible [ [link removed] ], demoralizing [ [link removed] ], infuriating [ [link removed] ], outrageous [ [link removed] ], terrible [ [link removed] ], horrible [ [link removed] ], Constitution-defying [ [link removed] ] news of the past week, we have to acknowledge the TOP FIVE HEROES among us. The list is growing, as more and more of us are standing up to the tyrant. Courage is infectious. Be brave!
THE TEXAS DEMOCRATS. [ [link removed] ] Keep on fighting [ [link removed] ]! We’re with you.
NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL. [ [link removed] ] She gets it. Fight fire with fire [ [link removed] ].
NEBRASKA TOWN HALL ATTENDEES. [ [link removed] ] That’s the way to do it!
ZOHRAN MAMDANI. [ [link removed] ] For calling out Andrew Cuomo [ [link removed] ]. Well done.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY. [ [link removed] ] But to be fair, he’s always a hero.
HONORABLE MENTION: Mike Pence. [ [link removed] ] No one who supports Donald Trump is a hero. Period. But we have to give credit where credit is due.
Did we miss anyone? Send your heroes our way [ mailto:[email protected] ]!
Good Reads for This Week
The Autopsy of the Authoritarian Personality [ [link removed] ] —The Rational League
The Intensified Assault on Factual Reality [ [link removed] ] —America America
Why Debating Republicans (Almost) Never Works—And What to Do Instead [ [link removed] ] —The Smart Politics Way
What Fear Looks Like: GOP Hypocrisy, Democratic Momentum, and the Power of Showing Up [ [link removed] ] —The Rocha Revolution
Shame on the Liberals: They Let This Happen [ [link removed] ] —Evelyn Quartz
The Democratic Party Is Losing Without Even Trying [ [link removed] ] —American Opposition
The Democratic Image Is Underwater—But They’re Not Losing [ [link removed] ] —Strength in Numbers
Reclaiming Lost Ground [ [link removed] ] —With All Due Respect
Three Magic Words for Democrats [ [link removed] ] —Word Salad
Most Americans Still Believe in Democracy [ [link removed] ] —Anchor Light Publications
What Can You Do?
BLACKOUT THE SYSTEM! If you are able, join this national strike, coming up on September 16-20…
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 [ [link removed] ] 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!
To get yours, visit oneflaginitiative.org [ [link removed] ], or become a Social Contract Founding Member [ [link removed] ], 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.
I continue to believe the cruelty of the Trump Administration will ultimately help defeat MAGA. Most Americans are not cruel. Keep spreading the word. And share [ mailto:[email protected] ] the stories and videos you find with us.
Couple Who Fled Putin’s Russia Seeking Asylum in NYC Grabbed by ICE in Trump Crackdown [ [link removed] ] —New York Daily News
ICE: Houston-Area Trump-Themed Burger Joint Owner Now Facing Deportation [ [link removed] ] —KHOU
A Korean University Student and Daughter of a Priest Was Detained by ICE. Faith Leaders Are Now Standing Behind Her [ [link removed] ] —CNN
Former Irish Republican Army Soldier Self-Deports, Afraid He’d Die in an ICE Holding Cell [ [link removed] ] —The Marshall Project
Pacoima Tamales Vendor Suffers a Heart Attack During ICE Raid [ [link removed] ] —The San Fernando Valley Sun
ICE Follows Starkly Different Playbooks in How It’s Arresting Immigrants in Red and Blue States, Data Shows [ [link removed] ] —CNN
FIGHTING BACK!
Icy Roads Ahead: The Creative—and Controversial—Ways People Are Warning of Immigration Raids [ [link removed] ] —CNN
Auschwitz Calls out California Governor Candidate's ‘Disturbing Display of Insensitivity’ [ [link removed] ] —Your Central Valley
Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Center [ [link removed] ] —AP News
‘South Park’ Stuns DHS Into Silence With ICE Barbie Takedown [ [link removed] ] —The Daily Beast
Amid Trump’s ICE Crackdown, Pope Leo Meets with California Bishops in Rome [ [link removed] ] —Letters from Leo
In MAGA West Virginia, a Catholic Bishop Takes on Trump’s Immigration Crackdown [ [link removed] ] —Letters from Leo
Here’s what some of you are thinking about this week…
Hi Joe,
I saw a couple of podcasts this morning that got me to thinking. I know that can be really bad, just kidding. The first podcast was discussing that today was the anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. I have vivid memories of seeing things reported on TV that went on in the South at that time. From a California perspective, it was absolutely appalling.
I never thought I would see law enforcement officials attacking people with fire hoses, etc. It looks like the people may have to go back to that time again and fight back against that kind of brutality only in a broader scope. By that, I mean not just in the South but the entire country.
The podcast was also talking about how the South was hindering the advancement, to be polite, of Black people historically and even to this day. I grew up in California, and my family judged people by their attitude not the color of their skin or religion. In hindsight, we may have been an anomaly, even in California.
I remember a situation that came to light regarding our local school district in 1956-57. The officials running the district decided that children who lived where I lived would have to attend a particular junior high school. At that time, kids walked to school. It was difficult to get to and from our location due to the way the streets were configured at the time (lots of dead ends). There was also an area that was subject to deep flooding in the winter. My father got involved with a local organization that was fighting back.
In the process of dealing with that situation, my father found out that the school district had different teaching criteria for different schools. There were schools that had a predominately white population and schools that had a predominately Black population. He was totally pissed off when he learned that the school district was teaching the students of the schools with mostly Black students differently than the schools with mostly white students. The district claimed, erroneously I might add, that Black students couldn’t learn the way white students could. This was in CALIFORNIA.
The situation was further brought out when they started bussing students to schools outside their areas. The Black students who had been getting straight A’s and were on the Honor Rolls suddenly were getting C’s. Due to my father’s and this organization’s work, the school district was forced to change their method of teaching.
I do not want these excuses for human beings to be allowed to take us back to those days. —Nancy West
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