Fighting Fascism in the U.S.A.

On Tyranny.  Lesson 18.  Be Calm When the Unthinkable Arrives. 
 

In this week's newsletter: Ezra recaps this weekend's massive ICE Out For Good mobilization, and then we've got some critical to-dos on reining in ICE, important campaign updates (some good news!), and more. Hey Paul, Welcome back! Every week for the last year or so, I spend Sunday night to Monday morning writing up this newsletter intro with the help of Indivisible’s other co-executive director (and my spouse) Leah. We aim to do more than inform -- we want to help you take meaningful action. We continue those conversations on Bluesky (Leah here, me here), and in our weekly Thursday What’s the Plan live chats (next one here). I’m sorry to say it's clear to me that 2026 is going to get worse before it gets better -- but we’re going to make it better together. So let’s link arms and jump in.  Focusing while in the direct line of a fascist fire hose. This week I can’t help but think of a quote from the criminally-snubbed-at-the-Golden-Globes work of resistance art, Andor: “The pace of oppression outstrips our ability to understand…It's easier to hide behind forty atrocities than a single incident.” So bear with me, because while we're working on all of these issues at Indivisible and have action items for many below, for this intro I'm not going to to focus on Venezuela, or Greenland, or Iran, or the federal reserve, or the Epstein files, or much of the rest of the firehose of fascism coming at us from this regime. Instead I’m going to focus on a single incident: the murder of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis last week.  We’re going to need more whistles. If you haven’t read Becca Good’s short statement about her wife, I’d like you to close this email and read it. 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. That’s why we -- together with an incredible coalition of organizations -- called for nationwide vigils and actions to remember Renee, all the victims of ICE violence, and call for action. And you answered the call, with nearly 1,200 events across the country. Leah was out in Montgomery County, and I was out in Alexandria, and you all were out everywhere else in force with a clear demand: Rein in this violent, lawless agency. The strategic logic of protest. If you were out there this weekend, you might sense like I do that we’re at an inflection point with ICE. People who do not consider themselves political or activists or organizers see what this regime is doing, and they’re pissed.  The weekend's protests serve two purposes: We're preventing the regime’s propaganda from becoming accepted reality. It’s harder for Trump and his goons to label Renee a terrorist when people in every community actively memorialize her for what she was. And there’s reason to believe her horrific murder is shifting public opinion against ICE in America, with most Americans now criticizing ICE for being too forceful, and a record number supporting doing away with ICE altogether. When we show our outrage, other community members understand they should be outraged too. We send a message to the political class that they need to act. Republicans are fracturing over this. Meanwhile, we’re in active conversation with Democrats in Congress to escalate the fight against ICE using the January 30 funding deadline. The bill that funds Kristi Noem’s Homeland Security Department is being debated right now. While Schumer and Jeffries will not lead this, they can be pushed to follow our lead. Expressing outrage through our ICE Out for Good protests give our allies on Capitol Hill leverage. The same goes for state-level reforms in blue states, where lawmakers have myriad opportunities to limit harm from ICE. If you need some fire in your belly, read Becca Good’s statement and watch this tribute. Organizing and expressing outrage is our job now -- it’s our electeds’ job to act. But doing our job well requires more than one weekend of outrage. We have to organize the opposition. And we do that best when we do it together, so please read on to the weekly action items below and do some good in Good’s name this week.  In solidarity, Ezra Levin Co-Executive Director, Indivisible Your weekly to-dos 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. After calling your senators, use this link to call your representative. 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.  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.

ICE Out Now

 

Last night, over 35,000 people joined an emergency organizing call to respond to the horrific killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE and the escalating violence of Trump’s secret police force in Minneapolis and immigrant communities across the country. 

Everyone on the call was clear-eyed about the huge amount of work ahead of us to confront the public menace of an increasingly lawless agency that rampages through communities, targets schools and daycare centers, and commits violence with seeming impunity. 

We need more defiance at the state and local level. We need to target ICE’s funding at the federal level. And right now, we need to be in the streets shining a light on ICE’s pattern of unchecked violence, raising our voices to demand: ICE OUT FOR GOOD. 

That’s why Indivisible and a broad coalition of partners are banding together for the nationwide ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action this Saturday and Sunday. We hope you’ll join us. 

Find an Event*

Use our toolkit to host an event

What’s happening this weekend

We’re coming together for hundreds of daytime events this Saturday and Sunday to mourn the lives ICE has taken and destroyed. Renee Nicole Good’s tragic death this week was not an isolated incident; over the past year federal agents have shot numerous people -- two in Portland just yesterday. Thirty-two have died in ICE custody. Many, many more have had their lives shattered by detention, family separation, and deportation. 

Our Weekend of Action will honor all those impacted by ICE brutality, raise awareness of this ongoing pattern of violence, and demand justice and accountability. 

The events will take a variety of forms determined by each volunteer-host. They will include: 

• Public vigils and memorials
• Silent marches and processions
• Visual actions and installations
• Faith-based events 
• And more -- hosts are encouraged to dream up creative, attention-grabbing ideas.

What we’re demanding 

Our Weekend of Action will call for: 

• Accountability, transparency, and immediate independent investigations into the killing of Renee Nicole Good
• Increased action from elected officials to rein in ICE 
• In the words of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, for ICE to "get the $&@% out" of our cities. 

What you can do 

We need the response to this week’s killing and ongoing ICE violence to be loud, peaceful, and inescapable. So if you’re physically able, we need you to be out in the streets.

• Visit the ICE Out For Good Mobilize Hub to find the event nearest you. Check back often, as events are being added by the hour. 
• No event near you? Host one. Use our event toolkit to plan your event, and then register it on Mobilize so others can find it.
• Make sure you know your rights before heading out this weekend. We encourage everyone hitting the streets this weekend (or attending any protest under this regime) to attend the ACLU’s virtual Know Your Rights training today (Jan 9) at 8p ET / 5pm PT.
• Help spread the word. Post the sign up for the Weekend of Action across your networks, send it to friends and family. 

A core principle behind all ICE Out For Good events is a commitment to nonviolent action and no civil disobedience. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values, and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events. All events should be held in public spaces or on public property.

This weekend, we'll show the regime and their enablers just how widespread the opposition to their brutality is; we'll put steel in the spines of our Democratic local, state, and national leaders; and we'll send a message to anyone targeted and terrorized by ICE: You are not alone. 

Let’s get out there together. Let’s continue the fight until we get ICE Out For Good. 

In solidarity, 
Indivisible Team 

* Events are being added all the time, so if there’s nothing near you now and you’d prefer not to host one, check back in a few hours. 

Where Are America's Leaders?

Snyder, and why democracy needs defending.

https://snyder.substack.com/p/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty-and-despair?

Venezuela: For those who advocate for peace and the rule of law

 

This has just been published by each country's foreign ministries.

"The Governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain, in light of the gravity of the events that have occurred in Venezuela and reaffirming their adherence to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, jointly express the following positions:

1. We express our deep concern and rejection of the military actions carried out unilaterally on Venezuelan territory, which contravene fundamental principles of international law, particularly the prohibition of the use and threat of force, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. These actions constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and endanger the civilian population.

2. We reiterate that the situation in Venezuela must be resolved exclusively through peaceful means, through dialogue, negotiation, and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people in all its expressions, without external interference and in accordance with international law. We reaffirm that only an inclusive political process, led by Venezuelans, can lead to a democratic, sustainable solution that respects human dignity.

3. We reaffirm the character of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, built on mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and non-intervention, and we call for regional unity, beyond political differences, in the face of any action that jeopardizes regional stability. Likewise, we urge the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Member States of the relevant multilateral mechanisms to use their good offices to contribute to the de-escalation of tensions and the preservation of regional peace.

4. We express our concern regarding any attempt at government control, administration or external appropriation of natural or strategic resources, which is incompatible with international law and threatens the political, economic and social stability of the region."

Original: https://www.minrel.gob.cl/sala-de-prensa/comunicado-de-brasil-chile-colombia-mexico-uruguay-y-espana-frente-a-los

The Invasion of Venezuela

 

Trump's Takeover of Education is Taking A Page from the Confederacy

 Trump’s Takeover of Education is Taking a Page from the Confederacy 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-education-department-prageru-tpusa-heritage-foundation-confederacy