Here is the call to action I wrote this morning. Please share.
While I don't think the US will exterminate the people of Iran tonight, I do think that we must take it seriously and let Congress know that these posts are not ok. And God forbid, if administration is actually serious, they need to make that decision knowing that "WE," the America people, are OPPOSED.
I know, I don't want to look back and wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent mass murder, so I'm asking everyone that reads this to call their House & Senate Representatives today. I'm also asking you to post and share it far and wide. This is not a partisan issue. This is simply us standing up for the right to life of civilians- children, elderly, farmers, fishermen, people just trying to make a living right & provide for their families.
To make it easier, I wrote a basic, nonpartisan script. Feel free to use it as is or edit it as you like to reflect your personal views- JUST PLEASE CALL.
CONGRESSIONAL SWITCH BOARD:
HI. I’M CALLING TO EXPRESS MY OUTRAGE OVER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S POSTS THREATENING CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE & THE LIVES OF THE ENTIRE IRANIAN POPULATION. THESE ARE NOT AN ACCEPTABLE NEGOTIATION STRATEGY, THEY ARE PREMEDITATED WAR CRIMES. IT IS PAST TIME FOR CONGRESS TAKE BACK THEIR WAR POWERS. ANYONE THAT REFUSES TO ACT WILL BE COMPLICIT ANY WAR CRIMES COMMITTED. THE BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS.
please also aks all dem politicians to create impromptu protests in their districts and try and LEAD on this...let's see if ANY dem politicians take to the streets.....YELL AT THEM AND TELL THEM TO GET OFF THEIR FAT ASSES AND ONTO THE STREETS....
email and phone your reps.
i do mine...and they just stay in their comfy ivory towers clutching their pearls and wallets...
dem politicians have no balls either...shame on them....
@ Raven, My Senator’s in MI are already speaking out against this. But there is an election coming up to replace Senator Peters, any suggestions on what I can do to help keep his seat Blue? Appreciate for all the work you’re doing 🤗
Brave enough?! Like you said it's doubtful but maybe if you pump up the "glory" & patriotic defiance part it might appeal to their ego. I mean who wouldn't want to go down as the three brave individuals who helped save our democracy & get that mealy-mouthed sycophant, Mike Johnson, out!
how to make it more than just a dream? Like: is it useful to call these reps, perhaps send them Miles' article, if we're not actually their constituents? And if not: is anyone working on a coordinated phonebank or postcard effort to reach their constituents & convince them to call/email their own reps on the issue? cuz this seems like such an easy ask, maybe the shortest possible distance to a quick fix which seems actually obtainable. I'd love to help the idea spread! 🤘🐸‼️
Actually there are post card groups. I'll pass along this suggestion by Miles to it with the 3 names.
I write & call my reps all the time. They are all Dems, but I also write to Republicans. The letter may not make it to the addressee but someone in the office has to read it if only to rule out a threat, which I would never do, but they don't know that.
I'm sure this hasn't done any good but I even wrote to the Chief Justice 3 times to remind him what happened to judges at Nuremberg. Of course no one responds except for my reps.
I don't even get responses to letters that I send to other Dems around the country to show my support & they never respond either.
There was one time that I did receive a response. After trump was elected the first time I wrote to Senator John McCain to ask him to stand up to trump & to keep fighting against him & I actually received a very nice response from him. At first I thought it was probably someone in the office that wrote the letter but, no, sure enough his initials & the typists initials were on the letter as well as his signature. He thanked me for my letter &:said he would work to protect the country. There aren't any like him anymore!
It is NOT about switching sides. It is and always has been about supporting and defending our constitutional republic, first and foremost. Regardless of whichever political party we choose to identify as our own.
May our constitutional republic be restored. May our country have a new birth of freedom.
"It is and always has been about supporting and defending our constitutional republic..."
No, it hasn't. It stopped being that when Trump scored the nomination and the Republicans saw their ticket to complete domination of America materialize in him. They care not a whit about any of that high-minded stuff. Their minds and world view is very small, the RNC has been on a concerted campaign to clone that in to the entire party ever since Nixon.
Here's what's new, though. Americans, in greater numbers than ever, see this.
It could happen. I'm afraid, though, that the since the days of Gingrich and Norquist, and the injections of apocalyptic Christianity and big money, the GOP has been almost completely reconstituted as a phalanx of moronic loons. Almost all of them are who they seem to be. The few others are terrified. None should ever have been elected as national leaders. That's on American education.
But, no, Donny hasn't done enough yet. He really wants to do something splashy and extra-special. Tactical nukes. Slaughter 2,000 American protesters with plenty of video. Round up and imprison judges and "Democrats", invade Canada.
He's playing 5-dimensional chess in his mind with the chaos, but it's all just minute-to-minute whims. He'll rush to the edge and stop, he's a toddler having fun frightening his parents. But he really, really wants the big score. The Thing that will ensure his name will be remembered for a millenium.
Every time we've said "he won't do that", he has. So we adjust our expectations and wait. Who can say what it would take?
isn't that the wrong order? Shouldn't it be impeach, remove, convict, imprison? I thought a sitting president can't be convicted so first they need to be impeached & removed, or am I confused about something here? 🤷🏻♀️
While you describe an implausible, not impossible, scenario, I ask that you and your readers consider another, one that is even less implausible and less impossible than the one just described. Trump has clearly reached the level of narcissistic egomania where he isn't going to let anything stand in his way of seizing dictatorial power, no matter what's going on in the House. He now has a private army (ICE) that works for him; they are armed, they are organized, they've been trained enough to be dangerous; they have the entire Justice Dept protecting them; they have the authority to arrest and they have access to a network of detention/prison camps. They have demonstrated that they are ready---maybe eager is a better word!---to kill. Defiance.org needs to be addressing these very real facts and the very plausible, very possible outcome to which they could lead.
I fully agree with your suppositions, but I'm not really sure what considering this alternate scenario accomplishes... Is there some action you are suggesting, other than more discussion on the topic? Because I think most here are pretty aware of the dangers of that scenario, and some groups are working actively to prevent it. Is there some particular angle you think might be addressed by team defiance, to more effectively lead to preparedness or solution? 🤷🏻♀️ thanks! 🙏🏻‼️
Surely out of 217 people there are three--THREE--who would rather be celebrated than reviled in the long view of history. Would they really rather slink off to their shameful, if lucrative, retirements and be instantly forgotten? I would think ego alone might inspire such a change of "heart."
I've called my representatives this morning and expressed my overwhelming concern with Trump's posts and planned actions for later today. This is not what ANY of us voted for; I believe no Trump voters wanted a war like this either. The cowardice among Republicans, more concerned about keeping their positions and finances gained via being in office, Is beyond the pale.
"Trump is not as powerful as he wants you to believe. He is unpopular. His political standing is eroding. Yes, he can issue executive orders, and the Department of Justice will do his bidding. But courts will strike down those orders, and we have proven we can defeat the DOJ. Trump's true power — what he relies upon more than anything else — is convincing us that the fight is already lost, that resistance is futile, and that his army of election deniers is too powerful to overcome. If there is one message I try to deliver — in my writing, in the media, and to individual voters — it is this: Refuse to give him that victory. That matters because Trump's strategy depends on the illusion of inevitability. He needs his opponents to believe that fighting back is pointless, that institutions are fully under his control, and that anyone who stands up to him will be crushed.
Donald Trump is a president who treats the Constitution as an obstacle rather than a cornerstone of American democracy. He demands complete loyalty from his political allies — whether they are the governor of Florida or the secretary of state of Idaho. His aim is to demonize and intimidate his opponents. When it comes to elections, he wants to set the rules and control the results." D.D.ORG He is a chicken SH*T PEDO PIG KING T.A.C.O.
I totally agree with you and it 's seems so simple. But that MAGA pull is tough! It's actually looking pretty silly anymore. Because, since he's been in office he's done NOTHING to Make America Great Again. Instead we are the bane of the world trying to conquer places that have never been conquered since the dawn of time. "HE" has way too much power, and if he does what he says he will the Hague will convict he and his mini me of warm crimes. And that is not under the immunity clause. Because it's not what POTUS' do in the real world where we aren't living currently.
We feel if Republicans do not flip they will have much blood on their hands, including that of US Service members. How could they possibly have a clear conscience and profess to be spiritual?
Another way to say it: At moments of extreme polarization, the stability of a system does not depend on unanimity—it depends on whether a small number of people are willing to act in defense of the system itself.
The current margins in the House make it mathematically possible, though politically difficult, for a small number of members to shift control. That fact alone is not an argument for doing so. But it is a reminder of how much responsibility can rest, at times, on very few shoulders.
History tends not to remember those who followed incentives. It remembers those who understood the difference between party loyalty and institutional duty—and acted accordingly.
Any such decision would come with real cost: reputational, relational, and professional. That should not be minimized. But neither should the possibility that, in certain moments, preserving the credibility of governing institutions may require choices that transcend normal political alignment.
The question is not whether such an action is likely. It is whether, if the moment demanded it, anyone would recognize it—and be willing to act.
I liked your newsletter and, for purposes of conveying the same idea to a maga hardliner, I edited it a little bit. The syntax is part of the message, no?
Here is the call to action I wrote this morning. Please share.
While I don't think the US will exterminate the people of Iran tonight, I do think that we must take it seriously and let Congress know that these posts are not ok. And God forbid, if administration is actually serious, they need to make that decision knowing that "WE," the America people, are OPPOSED.
I know, I don't want to look back and wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent mass murder, so I'm asking everyone that reads this to call their House & Senate Representatives today. I'm also asking you to post and share it far and wide. This is not a partisan issue. This is simply us standing up for the right to life of civilians- children, elderly, farmers, fishermen, people just trying to make a living right & provide for their families.
To make it easier, I wrote a basic, nonpartisan script. Feel free to use it as is or edit it as you like to reflect your personal views- JUST PLEASE CALL.
CONGRESSIONAL SWITCH BOARD:
HI. I’M CALLING TO EXPRESS MY OUTRAGE OVER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S POSTS THREATENING CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE & THE LIVES OF THE ENTIRE IRANIAN POPULATION. THESE ARE NOT AN ACCEPTABLE NEGOTIATION STRATEGY, THEY ARE PREMEDITATED WAR CRIMES. IT IS PAST TIME FOR CONGRESS TAKE BACK THEIR WAR POWERS. ANYONE THAT REFUSES TO ACT WILL BE COMPLICIT ANY WAR CRIMES COMMITTED. THE BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS.
"PREMEDITATED WAR CRIMES" thanks for this phrase, Raven. i used it my recorded msg to the White House.
@Raven: thank you so much for this! What a concise & powerful script. I will share it around 🙏🏻❤️🔥⚖️‼️
Thanks. I write them a lot for voicemails because my Senators never answer a call and 5calls.org script are usually too long.
Raven, thank you for the script. I called my two Dem Senators and R Rep yesterday, and will again today.I'll use your excellent words.
please also aks all dem politicians to create impromptu protests in their districts and try and LEAD on this...let's see if ANY dem politicians take to the streets.....YELL AT THEM AND TELL THEM TO GET OFF THEIR FAT ASSES AND ONTO THE STREETS....
email and phone your reps.
i do mine...and they just stay in their comfy ivory towers clutching their pearls and wallets...
dem politicians have no balls either...shame on them....
@ Raven, My Senator’s in MI are already speaking out against this. But there is an election coming up to replace Senator Peters, any suggestions on what I can do to help keep his seat Blue? Appreciate for all the work you’re doing 🤗
Thank you. I will proceed accordingly.
PLEASE CALL WH AND WH PRESS!! THE WORLD IS BEGGING YOU FOR THE 25th!!! 🙏❤️
This is insanity folks!!!!
Brave enough?! Like you said it's doubtful but maybe if you pump up the "glory" & patriotic defiance part it might appeal to their ego. I mean who wouldn't want to go down as the three brave individuals who helped save our democracy & get that mealy-mouthed sycophant, Mike Johnson, out!
Something to dream about!
how to make it more than just a dream? Like: is it useful to call these reps, perhaps send them Miles' article, if we're not actually their constituents? And if not: is anyone working on a coordinated phonebank or postcard effort to reach their constituents & convince them to call/email their own reps on the issue? cuz this seems like such an easy ask, maybe the shortest possible distance to a quick fix which seems actually obtainable. I'd love to help the idea spread! 🤘🐸‼️
Actually there are post card groups. I'll pass along this suggestion by Miles to it with the 3 names.
I write & call my reps all the time. They are all Dems, but I also write to Republicans. The letter may not make it to the addressee but someone in the office has to read it if only to rule out a threat, which I would never do, but they don't know that.
I'm sure this hasn't done any good but I even wrote to the Chief Justice 3 times to remind him what happened to judges at Nuremberg. Of course no one responds except for my reps.
I don't even get responses to letters that I send to other Dems around the country to show my support & they never respond either.
There was one time that I did receive a response. After trump was elected the first time I wrote to Senator John McCain to ask him to stand up to trump & to keep fighting against him & I actually received a very nice response from him. At first I thought it was probably someone in the office that wrote the letter but, no, sure enough his initials & the typists initials were on the letter as well as his signature. He thanked me for my letter &:said he would work to protect the country. There aren't any like him anymore!
Republicans have no moral compass
It is NOT about switching sides. It is and always has been about supporting and defending our constitutional republic, first and foremost. Regardless of whichever political party we choose to identify as our own.
May our constitutional republic be restored. May our country have a new birth of freedom.
"It is and always has been about supporting and defending our constitutional republic..."
No, it hasn't. It stopped being that when Trump scored the nomination and the Republicans saw their ticket to complete domination of America materialize in him. They care not a whit about any of that high-minded stuff. Their minds and world view is very small, the RNC has been on a concerted campaign to clone that in to the entire party ever since Nixon.
Here's what's new, though. Americans, in greater numbers than ever, see this.
It could happen. I'm afraid, though, that the since the days of Gingrich and Norquist, and the injections of apocalyptic Christianity and big money, the GOP has been almost completely reconstituted as a phalanx of moronic loons. Almost all of them are who they seem to be. The few others are terrified. None should ever have been elected as national leaders. That's on American education.
Sir, we need to march on Washington and demand the removal of the Trump regime.
Torches and pitchforks?
You mock.
But, no, Donny hasn't done enough yet. He really wants to do something splashy and extra-special. Tactical nukes. Slaughter 2,000 American protesters with plenty of video. Round up and imprison judges and "Democrats", invade Canada.
He's playing 5-dimensional chess in his mind with the chaos, but it's all just minute-to-minute whims. He'll rush to the edge and stop, he's a toddler having fun frightening his parents. But he really, really wants the big score. The Thing that will ensure his name will be remembered for a millenium.
Every time we've said "he won't do that", he has. So we adjust our expectations and wait. Who can say what it would take?
Good start to then flipping the 20 republicans in class II to give us 67 in the senate.
Impeach Convict Remove Imprison
Just googled it
Simple Majority of House votes to Impeach
Trial in the Senate where need 2/3 votes to Convict and Remove.
Senate removes immediately if convicted
And May by simple majority vote they can disqualify from ever holding future federal office
isn't that the wrong order? Shouldn't it be impeach, remove, convict, imprison? I thought a sitting president can't be convicted so first they need to be impeached & removed, or am I confused about something here? 🤷🏻♀️
I thought conviction was the senate vote
And then they say what happens next.
I could be wrong…
While you describe an implausible, not impossible, scenario, I ask that you and your readers consider another, one that is even less implausible and less impossible than the one just described. Trump has clearly reached the level of narcissistic egomania where he isn't going to let anything stand in his way of seizing dictatorial power, no matter what's going on in the House. He now has a private army (ICE) that works for him; they are armed, they are organized, they've been trained enough to be dangerous; they have the entire Justice Dept protecting them; they have the authority to arrest and they have access to a network of detention/prison camps. They have demonstrated that they are ready---maybe eager is a better word!---to kill. Defiance.org needs to be addressing these very real facts and the very plausible, very possible outcome to which they could lead.
I fully agree with your suppositions, but I'm not really sure what considering this alternate scenario accomplishes... Is there some action you are suggesting, other than more discussion on the topic? Because I think most here are pretty aware of the dangers of that scenario, and some groups are working actively to prevent it. Is there some particular angle you think might be addressed by team defiance, to more effectively lead to preparedness or solution? 🤷🏻♀️ thanks! 🙏🏻‼️
Surely out of 217 people there are three--THREE--who would rather be celebrated than reviled in the long view of history. Would they really rather slink off to their shameful, if lucrative, retirements and be instantly forgotten? I would think ego alone might inspire such a change of "heart."
I've called my representatives this morning and expressed my overwhelming concern with Trump's posts and planned actions for later today. This is not what ANY of us voted for; I believe no Trump voters wanted a war like this either. The cowardice among Republicans, more concerned about keeping their positions and finances gained via being in office, Is beyond the pale.
ALOHA. From the COCONUT WIRELESS.....
"Trump is not as powerful as he wants you to believe. He is unpopular. His political standing is eroding. Yes, he can issue executive orders, and the Department of Justice will do his bidding. But courts will strike down those orders, and we have proven we can defeat the DOJ. Trump's true power — what he relies upon more than anything else — is convincing us that the fight is already lost, that resistance is futile, and that his army of election deniers is too powerful to overcome. If there is one message I try to deliver — in my writing, in the media, and to individual voters — it is this: Refuse to give him that victory. That matters because Trump's strategy depends on the illusion of inevitability. He needs his opponents to believe that fighting back is pointless, that institutions are fully under his control, and that anyone who stands up to him will be crushed.
Donald Trump is a president who treats the Constitution as an obstacle rather than a cornerstone of American democracy. He demands complete loyalty from his political allies — whether they are the governor of Florida or the secretary of state of Idaho. His aim is to demonize and intimidate his opponents. When it comes to elections, he wants to set the rules and control the results." D.D.ORG He is a chicken SH*T PEDO PIG KING T.A.C.O.
I totally agree with you and it 's seems so simple. But that MAGA pull is tough! It's actually looking pretty silly anymore. Because, since he's been in office he's done NOTHING to Make America Great Again. Instead we are the bane of the world trying to conquer places that have never been conquered since the dawn of time. "HE" has way too much power, and if he does what he says he will the Hague will convict he and his mini me of warm crimes. And that is not under the immunity clause. Because it's not what POTUS' do in the real world where we aren't living currently.
We feel if Republicans do not flip they will have much blood on their hands, including that of US Service members. How could they possibly have a clear conscience and profess to be spiritual?
Another way to say it: At moments of extreme polarization, the stability of a system does not depend on unanimity—it depends on whether a small number of people are willing to act in defense of the system itself.
The current margins in the House make it mathematically possible, though politically difficult, for a small number of members to shift control. That fact alone is not an argument for doing so. But it is a reminder of how much responsibility can rest, at times, on very few shoulders.
History tends not to remember those who followed incentives. It remembers those who understood the difference between party loyalty and institutional duty—and acted accordingly.
Any such decision would come with real cost: reputational, relational, and professional. That should not be minimized. But neither should the possibility that, in certain moments, preserving the credibility of governing institutions may require choices that transcend normal political alignment.
The question is not whether such an action is likely. It is whether, if the moment demanded it, anyone would recognize it—and be willing to act.
I liked your newsletter and, for purposes of conveying the same idea to a maga hardliner, I edited it a little bit. The syntax is part of the message, no?
It won't happen. There is no longer sufficient courage remaining in the entire Congress and cabinet...nor the military either.