10/31/25 New York Times piece about the erosion of democracy

Complete article

10/18/25 No Kings 2

8/13/25 One Million Rising – Inspiring series of Webinar

suggested actions at 8/13 session

6/16/25 No Kings Day

5/16/25 Details on “100 Days – 100 Harms” actions by Trump. (Climate Action Campaign)

5/16/25 Senator Adam Schiff website: “If you are seeking assistance with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), please complete the USCIS Privacy Release form below.” LINK

5/9/25 Recent posting about all kinds of people who have recently DISAPPEARED

3/30/25 Spreadsheet prepared by Eric of Indivisible Immigration with lots of info about ICE facilities as well as supportive churches and school.

3/17/25 Update from the 3/6 ILRC (Immigration Legal Resource Center) meeting.

The ILRC offers a webinar every other Wednesday from 10-11am. It is intended to share the latest information on immigration and what the new administration is doing. If
you are interested in attending, please go to their website and email them. They will send a link that is valid through April. The next meeting is on 3/18.
Here are my notes from 3/6:
*Rules are changing at breakneck speed
*Those who check in with ICE regularly run risk of expedited removal
*Eligibility for public assistance has not changed but new EO is intended to scare people from applying for public benefits
*Unknown how ICE will attempt to abuse expedited removal.
*USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) forms have been updated, Major change is that non-binary is not a choice. Only updated forms accepted; no grace period for acceptance of old forms
*Expect processing delays on all immigration applications.
*EO on English as official US language
*Deputizing IRS agents
*Foreign terrorist organization designations
Lawsuits:
*Challenges to TPS termination for Venezuela
*Court ordered halt to recission of sensitive locations-some churches protected now
*UCP legal services have resumed
*Lawsuit to stop transfers to Guantanamo
*Follow Just SecurityLitigationTracker (https://www.justsecurity.org ) for more info on
ongoing litigation
It would be great if we could get a few of us to attend, compare notes and report
only essential information to whole group

2/25/25 Expedited Removal Tool Kit – detailed instructions in English from ilrc

2/25/25 Resources for Immigrants – en español – New UPDATES – this page is in spanish with english translations

2/19/25 Not My President protest, Santa Cruz, Feb 18. Looked like at least 1000 people!

2/21 New Slides from the ILRC – National Immigrant Group

11/11/24 Petition “We Resist” . Please sign and pass on to people you know

11/8/24 Letter of Support for Santa Cruz County Immigrant Community- below

Excellent letter signed by schools. law enforcement and city and county government. Thanks

Letter-of-Support-for-Santa-Cruz-Countys-Immigrant-Communities-11-7-24Download

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Swing left actions now include detailed plans for door knocking in Reno

Order Vote Climate stickers at https://2028istoolate.org/

8/21/24 Updated Ideas from Third Act

Ways to Participate

For phone banking:

For calls in California: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/617680/

For letter writing campaigns:

Write Postcards to Voters in 2024

For donations:

For voter registration:

Senior-to-Senior Youth Voter Registration 2024

Feel free to contact me with suggestions and other ideas, and I’d love to hear about your successes and defeats! rolandsaher@gmail.com.

Continued Climate Leadership vs Project 2025

Interesting paper by Energy Innovations compares the results of Continued Climate Leadership with Project 2025. It looks at emissions, jobs, health and other prospects.

Who Rules America? – Q&A from https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/

Q:  So, who does rule America?

A:  The owners and managers of large income-producing properties; i.e., the owners of corporations, banks, other financial institutions, and agri-businesses. But they have plenty of help from the managers and experts they hire. You can read the essential details of the argument on this site, or read the newest edition of Who Rules America?.

Q:  Do the same people rule at the local level that rule at the federal level?

A:  No, not quite. The local level is dominated by the land owners and businesses that own downtown real estate and big shopping malls. They come together as growth coalitions, which turn cities into “growth machines” when they gain control of local government. Everything is about land values for them, and that requires office buildings, stadiums, museums, concert halls, shoppers, conventions, and tourists.

Q:  Do they rule secretly from behind the scenes, as a conspiracy?

A:  No, conspiracy theories are all wrong for many reasons. It’s true that some corporate leaders lie and steal, and that some government officials — including the President — initiate secret actions and then try (and usually fail) to keep them out of the newspapers. But those activities are not what is meant by a conspiracy theory, most of which involve an imagined small group of people secretly plotting to gain or retain control of the government through illegal means.

Q:  Then how do they rule?

A:  That’s a complicated story, but the short answer is through lobbying, open and direct involvement in general policy planning on the big issues, participation (in large part through campaign donations) in political campaigns and elections, and through appointments to key decision-making positions in government.

Q:  Are you saying that elections don’t matter?

A:  No, but they usually matter a lot less than they could, and a lot less in America than they do in other industrialized democracies. That’s because of the nature of the electoral rules and the unique history of the slave-owning South.

Q:  Does social science research have anything useful to say about making progressive social change more effective?

A:  Yes, it does, but few if any people pay much attention to that research.

8/10/24 Detailed Comparison of Trump and Biden

8/10/24 Good Flyer by Jordan

While we’ll be working to get Biden to do more, the potential alternatives after the election are totally unacceptable.

More Information

Some of the current administrations Climate Achievements on this page

Contrast this with the scary Project 2025 details including

The plan proposes slashing funding for the Department of Justice (DOJ), dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sharply reducing environmental and climate change regulations to favor fossil fuel production, eliminating the Department of Commerce, and ending the independence of federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).[8][9] The blueprint seeks to institute tax cuts,[10] though its writers disagree on the wisdom of protectionism.[11] Project 2025 recommends abolishing the Department of Education, whose programs would be either transferred to other agencies, or terminated.[12][13] Funding for climate research would be cut while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be reformed along conservative principles.[14][15] The Project urges government to explicitly reject abortion as health care[16][17] and eliminate the Affordable Care Act‘s coverage of emergency contraception.[18] The Project seeks to infuse the government with elements of Christianity.[19][20] It proposes criminalizing pornography,[21] removing legal protections against discrimination based on sexual or gender identity,[21][22] and terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs,[4][22] as well as affirmative action.[23]

You can read more details here

Donald Trump has stated that if reelected he would immediately “begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”[94] Heritage stated in April 2024 that Project 2025 policy includes “arresting, detaining, and removing immigration violators anywhere in the United States.”[26]

Game Scenario – potential situations after the election

ACA 16

Excellent 5/14/24 webinar by Asm Isaac Bryan and Sen Henry Stern discussing their proposed CA Constitutional Amendment, ACA 16.  It would add Section 3.5 to the constitution stating “The people shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment”. recording

What Can I Do? by Roland Saher

If you are worried about the heating of our planet,  democracy in the US, the lack of healthcare and housing  – it doesn’t matter what, one thing is for sure: you need to be careful about who you vote for in November. Put disappointments aside and choose the best available person. Watch this Sierra Club youtube clip that outlines what is planned for us in Project 2025: 

What can you do? A lot! Start by making a decision that you will put up a fight. Then find a buddy, or better two or three. Maybe there is already a group in your congregation; join it! If not, start one!

Have conversations about the elections with people around you. The more you talk – and listen, which is often more difficult -, the more we’ll move forward. We’ve seen this work with people having climate conversations: the more people talked about climate change, the more solar panels were put on rooftops and the more politicians started to do the right thing. The IRA legislation, flawed as it is, ultimately was the result of people demanding actions to do something about renewable energy and global warming. If you haven’t listened to Katherine Hayhoe’s TED talk, do yourself a favor and watch it for a shot in the arm!

Beyond having election conversations, take a look at the list below of things you can do to maintain democracy. Whichever you choose, you might not see immediate results, but that’s what you have your buddies for; they’ll help you get back on your feet (at least if you don’t share your disappointments at the same time and instead take turns listening and holding out hope!).

I am sure that it’s not a complete list, but it’s a good start. If you know of other things we can do to win in November and beyond, let us hear about it!

Of course, you don’t have to do it all – nobody can. Start where you are at and with what you can do and go from there, but start!