Points of Order
They Knew What they Wanted
A week away from the US has given me some perspective (and a few night’s sleep!) A break is good. Taking time to sharpen the blade makes for better chopping. Pardon me for posting extra this week. There is a lot to catch up on.
Thanks for hanging with me and this work. Words cannot express my gratitude. Will do it in pictures. Please support this project, entering its sixth year, by taking an paid upgrade.
Onward,
Steve
More on my trip soon.
Here’s Action for today:
From our amazing friend Laura Conwesser:
Hello all,
As I write this email, new actions appear by the hour. It is difficult to keep up and I will surely miss some things, but here goes.
Trump and Musk are destroying our government's ability to function while eliminating the social safety net. On Saturday March 15, there will be a March to Stop the Cuts in NYC at Foley Square, starting at 11am. You can sign up here. If there are actions in other areas, I will pass that information on as soon as possible.
Enormous cuts are being made to the Veterans Administration. There is a tool for you to contact the members of the House and Senate Veterans Committees to call on them to stop these cuts. here
Just Foreign Policy is asking us to sign a petition asking for accountability for Elon Musk, who is clearly using his position to enrich his own bank account. here
On the same topic, Federal workers are being fired en masse. Sign this petition in support of their lawsuit against these illegal actions. here
The American Postal Workers Union is having events nationwide on Thursday March 20 to protest the threats against the Post Office. The one in NYC is at 11am at the main PO on 8th Ave and 31st. St. You can sign up here. For other locations, check here.
If you have not already contacted your Member of Congress about the SAVE Act, I urge you to read this Save Act info and then fill out this ACLU form here.
The Dream and Promise Act will put 5 million people on a path to citizenship and protect families and communities. With DACA hanging by a thread and hundreds of thousands of people at risk of losing TPS protections in the coming months, the Dream and Promise Act would ensure that families and communities aren’t torn apart by mass deportations. Ask your Member of Congress to co-sponsor this bill. here
The U.S. State Department opened a 30-Day public comment period to voice opposition to the proposed federal rule change that discriminates against transgender, nonbinary and intersex people, by requiring all people list their "sex assigned at birth" on their U.S. passport. Santa Cruz Pride posted this information on their website, including template opposition letters people can use to submit their opposition, and links to each passport form page with instructions on how to submit public comment. Please use the link below to go to their website and submit your public comment before the March 13 deadline. santacruzpride.org
The ACLU has a petition to protect transgender rights from discriminatory legislation. You can sign that here.
The Hollywood Democrats have a petition protesting the ban on transgender troops in the military. You can sign that here.
At the same time he is refusing to send Congressionally authorized weapons to Ukraine, Trump is planning to bypass Congress to send $11 billion in arms to Netanyahu to facilitate his plan to flatten Gaza in preparation for his "Riviera of the Middle East." Sign this petition to ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor a bill introduced by Bernie Sanders and Pramila Jayapal. here
If you are in the Washington DC area, there is a rally scheduled for Friday March 14 at noon. It is primarily in support of veterans, but all are more than welcome. here There is talk of other rallies in state capitals around the country. If I get more information on that, I will share it.
Also in DC, but a day earlier on Thursday March 13, Be A Hero is holding a rally at noon to speak out against proposed cuts to health care. here
Once again, I would like to suggest that you donate to Susan Crawford's campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Elon Musk is spending obscene amounts of money to defeat her. Don't let him get away with it. here
On March 15th, mail Donald Trump a postcard(s) that expresses your opposition to him. Let's overwhelm the White House post office with millions of postcards, letting him know how much the American people disapprove of what he is doing. Feel free to be creative and send as many as you can. If you are on social media, post a photo of your cards with the hashtag #TheIdesOfTrump. Mail them to: Donald Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20500.
That's it for now.
Thank you all,
Laura
Jessica Craven:
If your Republican Lawmaker Lies about SS
If your Republican Senator or Congressmember’s staffer says “[lawmaker’s name] would never support making cuts to Social Security” please use this script to respond.
I know s/he won’t support a frontal assault on Social Security, because s/he knows that would be highly unpopular. But I also know that s/he supports Elon Musk and DOGE, and that they are defunding the Social Security Administration, cutting thousands of jobs there, and shutting down huge numbers of offices. People working within the SSA, as well as its former administrator, are warning that we could see the entire system collapse within 30-90 days. So please stop telling me that the Senator/Congressmember doesn’t support cutting Social Security. Until they take action to get Elon Musk and DOGE out of our government that is a lie. Thanks.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) and Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling because I am horrified by the Trump Administration’s cuts to the NIH. These cuts are a major attack on our nation’s scientific medical research program, which has been, until now, one of the best in the world. I’m told that NIH is basically frozen right now - they are not receiving grants even though courts have said the Executive Orders against them were illegal. Career scientists are being fired. NIH staff is not communicating with scientists. Our ability to do cutting-edge medical research is under major threat. If career scientists and NIH staff leave now that will be decades of experience that we can never get back. Funding science has always been a non-partisan endeavor; the refusal to fund it is just plain dumb. Congress needs to get this funding restored now, please!
[If you can, add something personal—say how you've benefited from medical research. If you've ever had a vaccine or any kind of medical or mental health treatment, you have.]
Extra Credit
Represent US is an amazing organization—they describe themselves as “a leading nonpartisan grassroots organization fighting for a government accountable to the people.” Right now they are working hard to stop the SAVE Act by running phone banks in which volunteers call people in red districts and help them call THEIR reps to ask them to oppose the bill.
They need more volunteers! I know things like this are outside of many of our comfort zones, but the SAVE Act is awful (read about it here) and if we want to save our democracy we need to stop it. Plus, you’ll feel great after your shift!
Get Smart!
A LOOK BACK & AHEAD with GALVANIZE ACTION — Thursday, March 27, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET
Join Galvanize Founder & Executive Director Jackie Payne to hear her analysis of the 2024 election and get a first look at their roadmap for cultural programming in the new media ecosystem. Galvanize works solely on getting white women to stop voting against their own interests—they do amazing work!
Can’t make it? Register anyway and they’ll send you the event recording.
Give !
YOU GUYS. We have raised 96K for Movement Voter Project! In three days! Talk about blowing our goal out of the water!! And you’d think we would stop, right? But instead my matching donor has offered ANOTHER 20K if we can get to 125K! WOW!
You can read MVP’s strategic 2025-2026 plan here.
Then you can give to the matching campaign—if you haven’t already—here. And if you’ve already given THANK YOU!!! Whether or not we make this second goal, 96K is an AMAZING accomplishment!
Win Races!
Don’t forget I’ll be hosting a phonebank today into Wisconsin with the Grassroots Dems HQ! Please join us from 3-5 PT / 6-8 ET as we call WI voters and make sure they know about this all-important race! Register here! I may even be doing the training.
There are more ways to help in Rogan’s List’s amazing Wisconsin doc!
Chop Wood, Save the Planet
A National Parks employee on Blue Sky is asking us all to sign this petitionfrom the National Parks Conservation Association. It asks the Trump Administration to reverse their draconian cuts to National Parks staff. Please sign and share.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T subscriber Kristin E.] [Text SIGN PHZABO to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
The Trump Administration’s plans to cut 80,000 employees from the Department of Veteran Affairs are alarming and I oppose them strongly. Not only does the VA provide critical services for U.S. servicemembers—people who have put their lives on the line for all of us—but 25% of its entire workforce are veterans!
The Administration’s reasoning for these cuts, that there is inefficiency at the Department, may be true, but since that same Administration illegally fired the VA’s Inspector General, who saved the agency $45 billion during his tenure, we know this has nothing to do with waste or fraud. It’s about funding tax cuts for billionaires, and that’s repugnant.
There is no price that can be put on the sacrifices our veterans have made for this country. They have given all that can be given to keep the rest of us safe; the least we can do is provide them with employment, healthcare, and the best-quality service at the agency created to help them.
Please speak out forcefully against cuts to the VA. Protect our veterans—just as they have protected all of us. Thanks.
Subscribe to her:
The drawing is perfect!!! And thank you so much for sharing all the take action links.
ThankYou.
Have already sent to activist groups here i Maine.
Where today, we are testifying against a bill to REPEAL a bill which outlawed unauthorized paramilitary camps in Maine.
As military security expert Malcolm Nance has written, the Maine border with Canada (661 miles) would be the site for violating Canada's sovereignty by a military invasion. Northern Maine gave Trump the only 1 of Maine's 4 electoral votes which he won. (We split them.) . It is home to 'gun rights' groups which make the NRA look like a gun safety group (which it was from its founding after the Civil War until the 1960s.) So not surprisingly Northern Maine has attracted/welcomed unauthorized paramilitary groups to establish training camps. (Note Tucker Carlson and Leonard Leo have homes in Maine. Leo is involved with a right wing media outlet.) Which is why we have the law which Republicans are trying to repeal. (Along with protections for trans children and Ranked Choice Voting.)
Everything All at Once.