What Is Happening is Not Normal.

 

What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal.

 

David Brooks.  Conservative columnist. NYT. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/opinion/trump-harvard-law-firms.html?

  

Come Saturday, We Should Reclaim the American Revolution

Come Saturday, We Should Reclaim the American Revolution: Today on TAP: The 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord is a good time to resist mad kings old and new.

RS Seminar- Economic Crisis: Fighting Oligarchy in Folsom.

RS Seminar- Economic Crisis: Fighting Oligarchy in Folsom.:   Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Folsom RSVP today to say you'll join Bernie and AOC in Folsom on Tues...

36,000 Join Sanders and AOC in Los Angeles Today; Fight Oligarchy Tour

 This movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests; it's about class solidarity.

It is about the thousands of people who came out in Los Angeles today to stand together and say our lives deserve dignity and our work deserves respect.

We can either have extreme wealth inequality with the toxic division and corruption that it requires to survive—or we can have a fair economy that guarantees health care to all, for working people, along with a democracy and freedoms that uphold it.

Oligarchy or democracy, but we cannot have both. I've made my choice.

We must fight the oligarchy that has created this nightmare. And that is why I have never taken money from lobbyists or corporations, and it's why I never will.   AOC. 

Venue Change: Sanders and AOC in Folsom California

TPlease be advised that there is a venue change: we will now be at the Folsom Lake College Athletic Track in Folsom, CA.

Here's everything you need to know:

Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Folsom
With Special Guest Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Tuesday, April 15
3:30pm PDT Doors Open
6:00pm PDT Speaking Program Starts
Folsom Lake College Athletic Track

10 College Pkwy, Folsom, CA 95630 

Tariffs, Schmariffs

Tariffs, Schmariffs: Today on TAP: Trump rewards the real offshorers with trillions in tax cuts.

Trump tax give aways to the rich.

Bernie and AOC Coming to Auburn California- Tuesday.

Bernie’s coming to Auburn on Tuesday, April 15, and you’re invited! He’ll be speaking alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about how our movement can come together to take on the Oligarchy and demand a government that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few.

This is going to be a great event, and we’d love to see you there. So, can you make it? Here’s everything you need to know:

Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here with Bernie Sanders in Auburn
With Special Guest Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Tuesday, April 15
3:30pm PDT Doors Open
6:00pm PDT Speaking Program Starts
Gold Country Fairgrounds and Event Center

209 Fairgate Road, Auburn, CA 95603 

AOC and Oligarchy

I am here to remind you all: we are not powerless in this moment.

People are starting to put the pieces together, 

And that’s important, because the same billionaires that are taking a wrecking ball to our country specialize in getting working people to turn on one another.

I understand that this disdain for working people, by some of the most powerful people in this country, doesn’t just come from them not being raised right.

There’s a word for this kind of thing: corruption.

I understand what it feels like to watch all of this stack up. When the system is stacked against you, it’s hard to feel like anything you do matters.

I can tell you: when I was waitressing, and struggling to put food on the table, for a while there, I tried to keep my head down, work my shifts, and accept that this is just how things are.

But that’s no way to live.

The Resistance Shows Its Strength -Sacramento

 

Today, millions of Americans flooded the streets to demand an end to Trump’s authoritarian power grab. We expected hundreds of thousands. But at virtually every single event, the crowds eclipsed our estimates. And it’s not over -- people are still marching in some West Coast cities and heading to events in Alaska and Hawaii.  This is the largest day of protest since Trump retook office. And in many small towns and cities, activists are reporting the biggest protests their communities have ever seen as everyday people send a clear, unmistakable message to Trump and Musk: Hands off our healthcare, hands off our civil rights, hands off our schools, our freedoms, and our democracy.  There've been protests in red states, blue states, purple states, DC, and US territories. Outside the United States, too, with protesters showing solidarity in the UK, Portugal, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands. A glimpse of what we’re seeing at a few of the 1,300+ protests across the country:  Boston, MA For many, many more #HandsOff photos, check out our Instagram and Blueskyaccounts.  The Trump administration has spent its first 75 days in office trying to overwhelm us, to make us feel powerless, so that we will fall in line, accept the ransacking of our government, the raiding of our social safety net, and the dismantling of our democracy.  And too often, the response from our leaders and those in positions to resist has been abject cowardice. Compliance. Obeying in advance.  But not today. Today we've demonstrated a different path forward. We've modeled the courage and action that we want to see from our leaders, and showed all those who’ve been standing on the sidelines who share our values that they are not alone.  Even more important than the message we’ve sent to Trump, Musk, and MAGA is the signal we’re sending to those who agree with us but have spent the last few months feeling shaken, hopeless, and afraid: The fight for our democracy isn’t over -- it’s just getting going. And whoever they are, wherever they are, we need their voice to win. Today, hundreds of thousands of people attended their first protest of the new Trump era. Hundreds of millions more are going to see coverage of the events or hear about it from your social media posts and want to know how they can get involved. Our ask for you: Tell them. (And if you’re looking to step up your involvement, here’s how YOU can do that, too):  We are stronger when we organize together. Now is the moment for folks to join their local Indivisible group. Indivisible exists to support local organizing. If there’s a part of this country without an Indivisible group -- or if the nearest group isn’t being responsive -- anyone can start a new one. You don’t need to be an expert to get involved. But for anyone looking for a clear “how to” on fighting Trump’s authoritarian vision, we wrote the Indivisible Guide. With Congressional recess coming up and MAGA Republicans plotting to gut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich, where going to need a LOT more people showing up in their communities to say “hands off!” Anyone interested in joining this next fight can add their names here. Thank you to everyone who showed up today, hosted an event, or joined us online. This has been the culmination of a lot of hard work, but also the beginning of something much, much bigger.   In solidarity, Indivisible Team   Seeking photos from Sacramento.

Showing Up on April 5.

 

This Saturday is already going to be BIG, but we’re counting on everyone to grab some poster boards, some friends, and a few snacks so they can turn out to make it HISTORICALLY HUGE. The moment could not be bigger or more timely:

1️⃣ The crackdown on peaceful protest is coming. We all know Trump, Musk, and their MAGA enablers will come after peaceful protesters if they can carry on unopposed much longer. And when that crackdown comes, it needs to be alien, inexcusable, indefensible, and untenable.

We’re showing up on April 5 because, if we don’t, it will be so much harder to do so on May 5, June 5, or beyond. Tomorrow is when we set the tone that peaceful protests against this administration are widespread, unstoppable, and only getting bigger.

2️⃣ Our leaders and institutions won’t fight unless we demand it. If anyone expected the powers that be to save us from the fascistic Musk-Trump power grab, they’ve been proven very wrong, very quickly.

Too many institutions -- from law firms to academia to corporations and the media -- have chosen to meekly bow down to Trump and Musk’s demands. Too many congressional Democrats have chosen complicity over bold resistance.

Cory Booker made clear during his historic marathon speech on the Senate floor that he was responding to pressure from his constituents to do more.

The message we send Saturday is aimed at those who share our values as much as it is at Trump and Musk. Together, we’re demanding they do more and fight harder -- knowing that hundreds of thousands of their constituents have their backs if they do.

3️⃣ We have Elon Musk on the ropes. His approval rating is in the toilet. His bid to buy Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race failed spectacularly. And now Donald Trump’s privately admitting it may be time to show DOGE the door.

By peacefully protesting the Musk-Trump Coup and educating voters about its danger to their pocketbooks and our democracy, Indivisibles and our allies have turned Elon Musk into a political pariah everywhere outside the Oval Office -- and now it’s time to turn up the heat even further.

All Out for April 5 Demonstrations : Hands Off Protest

 Here are some ways you can take action.

• Sat, Apr 19 @ 1pm
  April 19 Protest Rally and March 1-3pm ›
• Sun, Apr 13 @ 2pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento
  A Pint of Politics and Doing Something Second Sundays ›
• Tue, Apr 15 @ 7pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento
  INDIVISIBLE Sacramento Monthly Meeting: APRIL 2025 ›
• Sat, Apr 5 @ 9am · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento
  Hands Off: Protest & Picnic at the Capitol ›
• Fri, Apr 4 @ 4pm · INDIVISIBLE Sacramento
  Freeway Overpass BANNER TEAMS! ›
• Sat, Apr 5 @ 11am · El Dorado Progressives - Indivisible El Dorado
  Sacramento 50501 / INDIVISIBLE Hands Off April 5 Capitol Picnic Protest ›

All times Pacific

Excellent guide. 

How to protest safely in Trump’s America

A friend sent me this. She's  worried about taking her daughter on Sat.

https://open.substack.com/pub/loricorbetmann/p/how-to-protest-safely-in-trumps-america?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

A Blueprint for Resisting Trump Education Cuts? Chicago Teachers Reach "...

Trump’s and MAGA’s Own Identity Politics: White, Preferably Racist

Trump’s and MAGA’s Own Identity Politics: White, Preferably Racist: Today on TAP: The ‘race-centered’ Smithsonian exhibits are bad, but there’s nothing race-centered in restoring Confederate statuary.

Trump Rule

 Sunday’s Bulwark essay by JVL – Jonathan V. Last: 

“America is ruled by a regime which is attempting to create a dictatorship. Part of its strategy is to maintain strategic ambiguity about the state of our democracy. They want to send strong signals to various institutions that democracy no longer exists and that the rule of law is now rule by law. The point of these signals is to demand submission to their autocratic rule and consolidate non-electoral power.

At the same time, this regime wants to maintain the plausibility that it might be overthrown via normal democratic processes. The point of this second signal is to keep the institutions (and people) which have not yet been subdued docile and deactivated. The strategic ambiguity about whether or not we live in an autocracy is designed to preserve maximum maneuverability for the regime until such time as they have full control and no longer need to maneuver.”