This is a really important passage to read from the brilliant Robert Hubbell. Yes, long. But, it is important to know that Democrats are letting us down. They voted to keep the trains running for an autocracy. Chuck Schumer is not the leader for the moment. I encourage folks to read this to better understand what happened with the CR vote yesterday. If this passage resonates with you, please let your senators and Chuck Schumer know what you think and why. Thank you.
"Democrats made a deal with Senate Republicans to split the DHS funding bill from five other bills and agreed to a two-week continuing resolution to fund DHS. Although there may be a brief shutdown because of the need to recall the House into session, the deal has Trump’s approval. See Politico, Trump-blessed deal to keep government funded gets snagged in Senate.
The net effect of the deal is to keep the government open by passing 11 of the 12 bills necessary to fund the 2026-27 budget. That leaves only the funding for DHS on the table. Democrats hope to use the next two weeks to pressure Republicans to agree to substantial reforms to DHS and ICE. See NPR, How Democrats want to reform DHS — and why some Republicans are open to their demands.
Here is the short version of what happened: Democrats had significant leverage because they could shut down 6 of 12 agencies to force Republicans to reform ICE. By agreeing to pass 5 of those bills, Democrats have given away most of their leverage to force ICE reform. Their only leverage will be the threat to withhold funding from DHS.
It is possible that a continuing DHS shutdown will be enough of a threat to force Republicans to agree to meaningful reforms at ICE. That strategy will work only if the seven Democratic senators who capitulated to Trump last November hold firm this time.
I am skeptical that Democrats have the courage and discipline to hold out indefinitely on a DHS shutdown. I hope I am wrong.
But beyond my skepticism and hope is a more important issue: People are dying in the streets as part of a massive, peaceful, effective resistance to ICE. Senate Democrats could have taken a bold stand in solidarity with Americans who are risking their lives to defend democracy. Instead, Democrats are working with Republicans to keep the trains running on time for a lawless regime.
It would have been better if Senate Democrats had shown fire in the belly and solidarity with people in the streets. Instead, they let a moment of great leverage slip out of their hands because they were caught in the technicalities of passing legislation.
Chuck Schumer appears to have no idea what is happening in the streets across the nation. If he did, he would have explained to the millions of Americans risking their lives why this deal is the best way forward. Not in a press release; not in a leak to Axios or the WSJ; and not in a stiff, by-the-book explanation of the legislative process with tired, partisan jabs at Republicans.
People are dying, Chuck. For you. For your liberties. For your state. For a Congress that refuses to do its job. They are putting their lives on the line in the hope that Congress will rouse itself to act like the first branch of government and come to the aid of the Constitution.
We need someone in the Senate who can be our voice, our inspiration, our comforter, and our fellow foot soldier in peaceful protest and civil disobedience. That’s not Chuck Schumer. It is incumbent on every Senate Democrat to fix the leadership problem in the caucus, ASAP. The best solution would be for Schumer to recognize that he is not the leader we deserve in this moment and step aside. That would be a true act of leadership."
A tribute to Alex Pretti as a civil servant upholding the Oath to defend the Constitution. We honor all those killed by agents and in detention today as we strike and boycott!
In this transcript Professor Chenoweth discusses the four elements necessary for a successful social movement. Below are excerpts from the transcript.
“The third thing that successful movements do is they innovate new tactics. This is very important because movements that tend to over-rely on a single technique like protests, like demonstrating every Friday, something that becomes very routinized, end up succumbing much more quickly first of all to protester fatigue, but the second thing is they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.
Those are the four things—numbers, defections, tactical innovations, and discipline. What do we need for those things to happen? We need to organize. I think one of the key reasons why many movements have struggled around the world, including in the United States before now, is that there has been an overemphasis on mobilizing and less of an emphasis on organizing because to have the capacity to do these things skillfully means that there has to be a baseline level of trust, political education, collective identity, and also a sense that the struggle is longer than just the next event we have to plan to be in the streets, that the struggle is a long struggle, and even if there is one particular event that gets derailed, we are still in this, and it's a long-term kind of struggle. Movements that end up planning event to event or march to march or protest to protest are in much more danger of being thrown off-course and having these sort of demobilizational factors affect their long-term trajectories.”
Protests in Perspective: Civil Disobedience & Activism Today, with Erica Chenoweth & Deva Woodly | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
The Democratic party has failed being true to its principles. It is nothing more than a carbon copy of the Republicans. It chases money, and more money, never satisfied. It's deaf to the needs of the working people, ignores the legacies of previous Democrats who protected our freedoms. It's long past time for the "established Democratic party" to rid itself of the phony leadership and replace it with young, progressive leaders of principle. Won't be easy, will take time, but it must be done for survival of the party and our freedoms. Not paying attention, are you? Check out a little history. We're on the road to destruction.
We are in the middle of a five alarm fire, and while most of the country remains oblivious, too many in the resistance are wasting time discussing how to organize and implement a fire department. What’s needed from the general public is total non cooperation and a general Spending Strike. NOW!
During the Vietnam/Nixon/Civil Rights Era, targeted boycotts were a hot topic on the left. Almost all failed because it was too complicated. Too many corporations to keep track of. Much the same today.
The Montgomery bus boycott worked because of its simplicity, but it took a year, after fifteen years of organizing, and those folks were highly motivated and had very charismatic leaders. People now talk about Tesla and Target boycotts working, but they haven’t. Neither company has changed their behavior. Losing stock value is not success.
Disney boycott:
Hurrah! A targeted boycott that worked. (Or did it? Some argue that Kimmel’s contract was the motivating factor.) A good first step. But if you start boycotting all the corporations that are enabling the fascist takeover of the country, soon you’re at a general spending strike, which is a good thing. Let’s do it!
We, the People, can’t easily or safely withhold our tax dollars that are allowing this corrupt government to function. Our tax dollars fund the fascist takeover.
But as consumers we can indirectly withhold our tax dollars. Consumer spending is about 70% of the economy. That spending ends up as tax dollars. Stop unnecessary spending and the money funding the fascist takeover will disappear.
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
Targeted boycotts are used to change the behavior of a corporation. We are trying to change the behavior of a fascist regime, an entire government. We must attack the entire economy.
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the oligarchs (Greedy Bastards) will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
It will be up to the people to effect the economic pressure necessary to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of America.
Spending Strike. Stop spending except on essentials. We, the People, are funding the fascist takeover of America. Please help us Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
Hi, can you Please tell us what we can do in our state of Missouri to help the cause. And to help ourselves to protect ourselves so that the racist Republicans that are running our state, do not give our PPI away to the freaking government.
These are unprecedented times. Be LOUD. We deserve better 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
To 50501 and FLARE: Please reconsider your emphasis at rally's on the demand to impeach/convict/remove Trump. I would of course LOVE for that to occur, but given the fact that Republicans currently control the House and have 53 to 47 majority in the Senate--where 67 Senators would have to vote to convict Trump---"Impeach, Convict, Remove" is a just a stillborn demand untethered to political reality. Constantly repeating will not make it happen, but rather just make us look weak and impotent. Hopefully the Nation’s political reality will be a very different story after the elections (or if there are some major new reveals in the Epstein Files that suddenly make it impossible for Republicans to allow Trump to remain in office), but for now demanding the impeachment of Trump is just a fantasy that just gives people false hope and makes us look out of touch to average Americans. If you are too young to actually remember what happened with the last two efforts to impeach Trump, please take the time to educate yourselves. Even when the Democrats controlled the House and took the Senate by a 1-vote majority for Trump’s second impeachment, that 67 number was simply unattainable, and the end result left Trump looking ever more invincible to his minions. To defeat this neo-fascist regime, be more thoughtful and strategic in our stated goals and demands!
To 50501 and FLARE: Please reconsider your emphasis at rally's on the demand to impeach/convict/remove Trump. I would of course LOVE for that to occur, but given the fact that Republicans currently control the House and have 53 to 47 majority in the Senate--where 67 Senators would have to vote to convict Trump---"Impeach, Convict, Remove" is a just a stillborn demand untethered to political reality. Constantly repeating will not make it happen, but rather just make us look weak and impotent. Hopefully the Nation’s political reality will be a very different story after the November elections (or if there are some major new reveals in the Epstein Files that suddenly make it impossible for Republicans to allow Trump to remain in office), but for now demanding the impeachment of Trump is just a fantasy that just gives people false hope and makes us look out of touch to average Americans. If you are too young to actually remember what happened with the last two efforts to impeach Trump, please take the time to educate yourselves. Even when the Democrats controlled the House and took the Senate by a 1-vote majority for Trump’s second impeachment, that 67 number was simply unattainable, and the end result left Trump looking ever more invincible to his minions. To actually defeat this neo-fascist regime, we must be more thoughtful and strategic in our stated goals and demands!
I am inundating my Congressional reps (House & Senate) with emails (ResistBot) and phone calls, demanding they control ICE, Trump, and GOP inaction. Also, my Governor and state reps. Involving others to do likewise, ESPECIALLY in Red States! Let’s move the Senate and House to responsive members to their constituents; ie. Patriots & Democrats. Not MAGA fascists, racists, bigots, misogynists, White Christian Nationalists, and enemies of our Constitutional Republic.RAISE YOUR VOICE!! Move the Nation toward faithfulness to rule of law, fidelity to the Constitution, truth, honor, morals, decency, and prosperity!
This is a really important passage to read from the brilliant Robert Hubbell. Yes, long. But, it is important to know that Democrats are letting us down. They voted to keep the trains running for an autocracy. Chuck Schumer is not the leader for the moment. I encourage folks to read this to better understand what happened with the CR vote yesterday. If this passage resonates with you, please let your senators and Chuck Schumer know what you think and why. Thank you.
"Democrats made a deal with Senate Republicans to split the DHS funding bill from five other bills and agreed to a two-week continuing resolution to fund DHS. Although there may be a brief shutdown because of the need to recall the House into session, the deal has Trump’s approval. See Politico, Trump-blessed deal to keep government funded gets snagged in Senate.
The net effect of the deal is to keep the government open by passing 11 of the 12 bills necessary to fund the 2026-27 budget. That leaves only the funding for DHS on the table. Democrats hope to use the next two weeks to pressure Republicans to agree to substantial reforms to DHS and ICE. See NPR, How Democrats want to reform DHS — and why some Republicans are open to their demands.
Here is the short version of what happened: Democrats had significant leverage because they could shut down 6 of 12 agencies to force Republicans to reform ICE. By agreeing to pass 5 of those bills, Democrats have given away most of their leverage to force ICE reform. Their only leverage will be the threat to withhold funding from DHS.
It is possible that a continuing DHS shutdown will be enough of a threat to force Republicans to agree to meaningful reforms at ICE. That strategy will work only if the seven Democratic senators who capitulated to Trump last November hold firm this time.
I am skeptical that Democrats have the courage and discipline to hold out indefinitely on a DHS shutdown. I hope I am wrong.
But beyond my skepticism and hope is a more important issue: People are dying in the streets as part of a massive, peaceful, effective resistance to ICE. Senate Democrats could have taken a bold stand in solidarity with Americans who are risking their lives to defend democracy. Instead, Democrats are working with Republicans to keep the trains running on time for a lawless regime.
It would have been better if Senate Democrats had shown fire in the belly and solidarity with people in the streets. Instead, they let a moment of great leverage slip out of their hands because they were caught in the technicalities of passing legislation.
Chuck Schumer appears to have no idea what is happening in the streets across the nation. If he did, he would have explained to the millions of Americans risking their lives why this deal is the best way forward. Not in a press release; not in a leak to Axios or the WSJ; and not in a stiff, by-the-book explanation of the legislative process with tired, partisan jabs at Republicans.
People are dying, Chuck. For you. For your liberties. For your state. For a Congress that refuses to do its job. They are putting their lives on the line in the hope that Congress will rouse itself to act like the first branch of government and come to the aid of the Constitution.
We need someone in the Senate who can be our voice, our inspiration, our comforter, and our fellow foot soldier in peaceful protest and civil disobedience. That’s not Chuck Schumer. It is incumbent on every Senate Democrat to fix the leadership problem in the caucus, ASAP. The best solution would be for Schumer to recognize that he is not the leader we deserve in this moment and step aside. That would be a true act of leadership."
A tribute to Alex Pretti as a civil servant upholding the Oath to defend the Constitution. We honor all those killed by agents and in detention today as we strike and boycott!
https://rgilmartin.substack.com/p/a-picture-of-a-civil-servant
Alex and Rennie are true Americans. The domestic terrorists reside in Washington, DC.
Successful Social Movements
In this transcript Professor Chenoweth discusses the four elements necessary for a successful social movement. Below are excerpts from the transcript.
“The third thing that successful movements do is they innovate new tactics. This is very important because movements that tend to over-rely on a single technique like protests, like demonstrating every Friday, something that becomes very routinized, end up succumbing much more quickly first of all to protester fatigue, but the second thing is they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.
Those are the four things—numbers, defections, tactical innovations, and discipline. What do we need for those things to happen? We need to organize. I think one of the key reasons why many movements have struggled around the world, including in the United States before now, is that there has been an overemphasis on mobilizing and less of an emphasis on organizing because to have the capacity to do these things skillfully means that there has to be a baseline level of trust, political education, collective identity, and also a sense that the struggle is longer than just the next event we have to plan to be in the streets, that the struggle is a long struggle, and even if there is one particular event that gets derailed, we are still in this, and it's a long-term kind of struggle. Movements that end up planning event to event or march to march or protest to protest are in much more danger of being thrown off-course and having these sort of demobilizational factors affect their long-term trajectories.”
Protests in Perspective: Civil Disobedience & Activism Today, with Erica Chenoweth & Deva Woodly | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
I’m a teacher so I am working today but participating by not buying anything, wearing a Be Pretti Good pin and staying informed!!
Same here¡
Thank you for the link about the vehicles. Somehow, I forgot to download the article.
The Democratic party has failed being true to its principles. It is nothing more than a carbon copy of the Republicans. It chases money, and more money, never satisfied. It's deaf to the needs of the working people, ignores the legacies of previous Democrats who protected our freedoms. It's long past time for the "established Democratic party" to rid itself of the phony leadership and replace it with young, progressive leaders of principle. Won't be easy, will take time, but it must be done for survival of the party and our freedoms. Not paying attention, are you? Check out a little history. We're on the road to destruction.
restack ✊🏾 LIVESTREAMING
Jan. 31st VIDEOS collected
https://open.substack.com/pub/ojaiohana/p/livestreaming-national-day-of-action?r=5chxge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Targeted Boycotts are Ineffective
We are in the middle of a five alarm fire, and while most of the country remains oblivious, too many in the resistance are wasting time discussing how to organize and implement a fire department. What’s needed from the general public is total non cooperation and a general Spending Strike. NOW!
During the Vietnam/Nixon/Civil Rights Era, targeted boycotts were a hot topic on the left. Almost all failed because it was too complicated. Too many corporations to keep track of. Much the same today.
The Montgomery bus boycott worked because of its simplicity, but it took a year, after fifteen years of organizing, and those folks were highly motivated and had very charismatic leaders. People now talk about Tesla and Target boycotts working, but they haven’t. Neither company has changed their behavior. Losing stock value is not success.
Disney boycott:
Hurrah! A targeted boycott that worked. (Or did it? Some argue that Kimmel’s contract was the motivating factor.) A good first step. But if you start boycotting all the corporations that are enabling the fascist takeover of the country, soon you’re at a general spending strike, which is a good thing. Let’s do it!
We, the People, can’t easily or safely withhold our tax dollars that are allowing this corrupt government to function. Our tax dollars fund the fascist takeover.
But as consumers we can indirectly withhold our tax dollars. Consumer spending is about 70% of the economy. That spending ends up as tax dollars. Stop unnecessary spending and the money funding the fascist takeover will disappear.
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective:
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
Targeted boycotts are used to change the behavior of a corporation. We are trying to change the behavior of a fascist regime, an entire government. We must attack the entire economy.
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the oligarchs (Greedy Bastards) will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
It will be up to the people to effect the economic pressure necessary to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of America.
Spending Strike. Stop spending except on essentials. We, the People, are funding the fascist takeover of America. Please help us Spread the Word!, far, wide, and quickly, before the fascists takedown our means of communication.
Hi, can you Please tell us what we can do in our state of Missouri to help the cause. And to help ourselves to protect ourselves so that the racist Republicans that are running our state, do not give our PPI away to the freaking government.
These are unprecedented times. Be LOUD. We deserve better 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
To 50501 and FLARE: Please reconsider your emphasis at rally's on the demand to impeach/convict/remove Trump. I would of course LOVE for that to occur, but given the fact that Republicans currently control the House and have 53 to 47 majority in the Senate--where 67 Senators would have to vote to convict Trump---"Impeach, Convict, Remove" is a just a stillborn demand untethered to political reality. Constantly repeating will not make it happen, but rather just make us look weak and impotent. Hopefully the Nation’s political reality will be a very different story after the elections (or if there are some major new reveals in the Epstein Files that suddenly make it impossible for Republicans to allow Trump to remain in office), but for now demanding the impeachment of Trump is just a fantasy that just gives people false hope and makes us look out of touch to average Americans. If you are too young to actually remember what happened with the last two efforts to impeach Trump, please take the time to educate yourselves. Even when the Democrats controlled the House and took the Senate by a 1-vote majority for Trump’s second impeachment, that 67 number was simply unattainable, and the end result left Trump looking ever more invincible to his minions. To defeat this neo-fascist regime, be more thoughtful and strategic in our stated goals and demands!
To 50501 and FLARE: Please reconsider your emphasis at rally's on the demand to impeach/convict/remove Trump. I would of course LOVE for that to occur, but given the fact that Republicans currently control the House and have 53 to 47 majority in the Senate--where 67 Senators would have to vote to convict Trump---"Impeach, Convict, Remove" is a just a stillborn demand untethered to political reality. Constantly repeating will not make it happen, but rather just make us look weak and impotent. Hopefully the Nation’s political reality will be a very different story after the November elections (or if there are some major new reveals in the Epstein Files that suddenly make it impossible for Republicans to allow Trump to remain in office), but for now demanding the impeachment of Trump is just a fantasy that just gives people false hope and makes us look out of touch to average Americans. If you are too young to actually remember what happened with the last two efforts to impeach Trump, please take the time to educate yourselves. Even when the Democrats controlled the House and took the Senate by a 1-vote majority for Trump’s second impeachment, that 67 number was simply unattainable, and the end result left Trump looking ever more invincible to his minions. To actually defeat this neo-fascist regime, we must be more thoughtful and strategic in our stated goals and demands!
General strike today and I am all in on this.
I am inundating my Congressional reps (House & Senate) with emails (ResistBot) and phone calls, demanding they control ICE, Trump, and GOP inaction. Also, my Governor and state reps. Involving others to do likewise, ESPECIALLY in Red States! Let’s move the Senate and House to responsive members to their constituents; ie. Patriots & Democrats. Not MAGA fascists, racists, bigots, misogynists, White Christian Nationalists, and enemies of our Constitutional Republic.RAISE YOUR VOICE!! Move the Nation toward faithfulness to rule of law, fidelity to the Constitution, truth, honor, morals, decency, and prosperity!
I need a link to the migrant bureau to get help when necessary.