Indivisibles,
Welcome back!
If you haven’t read Becca Good’s short statement about her wife – https://bsky.app/profile/josie.zone/post/3mbywrtgjxk2g – it’s something we all should take the time to read. It’s beautiful, heartwrenching, enraging, and inspiring. You probably already knew that Renee was a Minneapolis mom who had just dropped off her kid at school. But you might not have known that she sparkled — that “Renee was made of sunshine.”
This regime shot Renee and then labeled her a domestic terrorist. They didn’t do it because they’re strong. They did it because they’re weak, and they’re scared. “We had whistles. They had guns,” wrote Becca Good. This regime is terrified of our whistles, of our signal groups, of our know your rights trainings, of our frog and unicorn costumes, of our dance circles and funny signs — of our outrage and our historic, fast-spreading protests. They’re terrified that we’ll realize we’re not alone, and that we’ll show other people they’re not alone either.
People who do not consider themselves political or activists or organizers see what this regime is doing, and they’re pissed.
And we have a clear demand: Rein in this violent, lawless agency. (If you aren’t already signed up for our February 10th public meeting, be sure to do so here: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisibleknoxville/event/881475/
The weekend’s protests serve two purposes:
1. We’re preventing the regime’s propaganda from becoming accepted reality. When we show our outrage, other community members understand they should be outraged too.
2. We send a message to the political class that they need to act. Republicans are noticeably fracturing over this. Now is the time to remind them they WILL have to face the repercussions of their actions and decisions on the other side of this.
But doing our job well requires more than one weekend of outrage.
**GOOD NEWS**
Things are pretty rough out there right now, but there was genuine good news last week, too — developments that show Trump’s authoritarian grip continues to weaken. Our activism is having a real, tangible impact. A few highlights:
- Venezuela War Powers: On Thursday, the Senate voted to advance a bill that would pump the brakes on Trump’s war with Venezuela. Five Republicans (Paul, Murkowski, Collins, Hawley, and Young) defied Trump and voted with every Democrat to move the bill forward.
- ACA Subsidies: Last year, Trump shut down the whole-ass government because he refused to extend healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, but last week SEVENTEEN House Republicans backed a Dem bill that’d restore the subsidies and help bring down skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans. This bill passed despite loud opposition from Trump and Speaker Johnson. Constituent pressure truly made a difference — and now we need to keep it up to overcome continued intransigence from Senate Republicans.
- Avelo Airlines: After massive grassroots pressure on Avelo Airlines, the carrier announced it would cease running deportation flights for the Trump regime. No further action needed here, folks. This is a major win!
- Spotify: After another major grassroots campaign involving widespread boycotts, Spotify announced last week that ICE ads are no longer running on its platform. The company’s statement was a little vague on the particulars, so we’re urging its new leaders to clarify if it will refuse to run ICE propaganda for good. For now, the main demand of our campaign has been met. Major thanks to everyone who took action and spoke out to help build pressure — look out for more corporate pressure campaigns to come against companies supporting Trump’s deportation machine.
Each and every one of us plays an important role in this work, and when we come together, we can move mountains.
Your weekly to-dos:
1. Tell your Senators: Rein in ICE NOW. The coalition behind ICE Out For Good is following our historic weekend of action by flooding Congress with calls demanding that they use the upcoming Homeland Security funding bill to rein in ICE. https://indivisible.org/ice-out-senate
2. After calling your senators, use this link to call your representative. https://indivisible.org/ice-out-house
3. Send an email to your senators demanding they restore healthcare subsidies NOW. Last week, the House voted to restore the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Trump made lapse last year, leading to skyrocketing healthcare premiums for millions of Americans. Now the Senate must do the same. https://act.indivisible.org/sign/tell-your-senators-act-now-lower-healthcare-costs
3. Keep demanding your senators vote to stop Trump’s war on Venezuela. Last week, the Senate advanced a War Powers Resolution to pump the brakes on Trump’s war with Venezuela. Soon that resolution will come up for a final vote in the Senate. Let’s make sure it passes. https://indivisible.org/resource/call-now-demand-your-senators-stop-trumps-war-venezuela
4. Next, send an email to all your Members of Congress demanding action to stop Trump’s war of aggression. We have to make sure our opposition to Trump’s global gangsterism is loud, constant, and everywhere. After placing calls to your senators, please also use our tools to send emails to all of your Members of Congress, in the Senate and in the House (where they’ll have another War Powers vote soon). https://act.indivisible.org/sign/stop-trumps-war-in-venezuela
5. Tuesday Evening: Livestreamed ICE Out For Good rally at CBP (5pm ET) With Indivisible, MoveOn Civic Action, Public Citizen, Movimiento Migrante DC, ACLU, Interfaith Alliance and more, Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Maxwell Frost will headline a rally and vigil outside of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters on Tuesday, January 13 at 5pm to build momentum for reining in the abuses of President Trump’s reckless and violent immigration enforcement agency and for kicking ICE out of Minnesota and our communities nationwide. https://www.youtube.com/live/4JAGj5BcxGA
There’s still a lot of work to be done in combating the scourge of corporate compliance with fascism, but you’ve just proved that, together, we’re up to the task. And, because of you, the next time a business gets a chance to become a regime puppet, they’re likely to think twice. Congratulations!!
We all know this year is starting worse than any before, but the tides are changing. Their overt and brazen actions are exactly what is going to bring them down … and WE are going to be the ones to do it.
So onward, Indivisibles!