25 Apr 2026
Do you remember these words in the Declaration of Independence? “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” Our Declaration echoes the views of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” in which the government is defined as the PROTECTOR of human rights, not the source of those rights.
Later our government’s role as protector of human rights was enshrined in our Constitution. The 5th Amendment states: “No PERSON shall be … deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law …” Yet, this administration continues to violate human rights and neglects to fulfill their Constitutional duty.
Now the current administration is moving to lock thousands of people in massive detention warehouses - disappearing them from their families, their lawyers, and their communities. Immigration detention is the unjust and inhumane practice of jailing immigrants while they await a determination of their immigration status or potential deportation. The current administration is failing to protect human rights in accordance with Constitutionally mandated due process.
This is why we joined Communities not Cages across the country today to amplify local opposition to efforts by the current administration to expand their existing detention network beyond jails, prisons, and military bases to include large warehouses and industrial spaces for mass detention. People are not boxes or crates on pallets to be “stored” in cavernous warehouses. They are human beings “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” and “no person shall be deprived of … liberty without due process of law.”
It is up to us, We the People, to assemble, speak, and petition this administration to fulfill their Constitutional duty.
"We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There's a system of justice." – Pope Leo XIV
Vigilance. Resistance. Persistence.
18 Apr 2026
What a gorgeous day for citizenship! We collected breakfast items for our community food pantry and, once again, candidate petitions were circulated. So far one candidate, Rachel Grage, has collected the required signatures and is “ballot bound” – yay!
Speaking of citizenship - The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has these words for people contemplating U.S. citizenship (and are applicable to ALL citizens!): “Citizenship offers many benefits and equally important responsibilities.” The top three responsibilities are:
“1. Support and defend the Constitution.
2. Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.
3. Participate in the democratic process.”
There are a multitude of ways to stay informed. Television, radio, and internet are popular ways to access information. However, one of the simplest ways is to read materials from the public library. I borrowed and read “Project 2025”. When I mentioned to someone I had read it, he scoffed, “Why would anyone want to read that?” I told him I wanted to know what it was and how it is impacting our Constitutional rights and our government. He shook his head, saying, “What a waste of time. I’d rather go golfing.” Obviously being an informed citizen is not high on his list of priorities!!!
Are you loyal to our Constitution or “your” president? Are you avoiding “politics” or are you willing to seek reliable and authoritative information about issues that affect not only you, but all people?
We all make time to watch sports on television, play pickleball, go on trips, etc. but many people make NO time to become an informed voter. Read, listen, watch, discuss, ask questions, and research what is going on in our nation. Be an informed voter! And when you access information, use the CRAAP test:
Currency: Is the information up to date?
Relevance: Does the information answer your question or pertain to the issue?
Authority: Is the author an expert or, if an organization, reputable?
Accuracy: Can the information be verified by other sources?
Purpose: Is the source designed to inform, not to sell or persuade with bias?
“In the continuing struggle to establish and maintain democratic values, free public libraries are essential … they offer citizens the means by which they may become informed and intelligent citizens.” — William Eshelman
Vigilance. Resistance. Persistence.
11 Apr 2026
Beautiful day today for some sign waving! A candidate for the school board was on hand to collect signatures to put her name on the ballot.
Beaches Activist Movement registered voters and let people know how they can change their party affiliation. Plus, they posted a QR code to connect with our Senators about the SAVE Act and another QR code to sign a petition to get Medicaid expansion on the ballot in Florida. We keep on, keeping on.
Lots of “happenings” this week! Paramount in my mind is the war and the President’s conduct. A passerby objected to my sign about war crimes. He told me that threatening people is “freedom of speech” and "Trump can say or do anything he pleases!!!" I should have kept my silence but … I reminded him in that in Florida threatening to kill or do bodily harm to someone is a second-degree felony, you can go to prison. He stared at me a few seconds then started to walk away “flipping me off” and saying, “F*k*ng P*ssy!” Somehow, I don’t think he is the type of person to Google “war crimes”.
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| "the gentleman" (sarcasm) displaying his response |
Onward … about my signs …
On April 7, 2026, the President of the United States wrote on social media that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." He was speaking of Iran and its 90 million people.
The American president threatened an attack upon a foreign civilian population of 90 million. He threatened genocide in our name, with our military, before the entire world.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit "acts or threats of violence whose primary purpose is to terrorize civilians.” The lack of accountability for his statement begs the question: was the post-WWII “never again" a genuine commitment or merely a phrase that disappears in the hands of power-hungry leaders?
Trump's statement - issued on the morning of a self-imposed deadline, to an audience of millions, by the commander-in-chief of a military actively striking Iran - is a threat. It is not background noise. It is a weapon.
Silence in the face of an explicit threat of civilizational destruction is complicity. And complicity is where atrocity finds the oxygen it needs to become real.
The Geneva Conventions have always been a statement about what kind of world the human community was committed to building, and about what we owed to one another across national borders and civilizational difference.
We the People strive to live in a way that does the best for humanity. We will not be complicit in this administration’s intentional violations of the Geneva Conventions; we will not be silent.
Vigilance. Resistance. Persistence
4 Apr 2026
A much smaller, but energetic crowd today. A man walking by with a guitar stopped to chat with me. As we discussed the various signs, he mentioned that he did not know about the war until two days ago. (?!)
We talked about reliable news sources, and he admitted he “should really give a damn.” Finally, he asked if I thought what I was doing was worthwhile – a legitimate question.
Our weekly visibility action is an opportunity for community members to utilize their First Amendment rights in a highly visible, public space. Standing with a sign by the side of the street enables people passing by to view political issues they might otherwise be unaware of or simply ignore. Participants are creating a visual record of dissent, but they are also connecting with one another and letting the people passing by know they are not alone. In addition, we have registered voters, signed candidate petitions, and supported local charities.
Later, at home, I searched Pubmed for studies on the effectiveness of protests. One interesting fact I learned was about data on Google searches retrieved from Google Trends after protests. There is a strong positive correlation between protest visibility and the search intensity for protest related terms. Protests have the power to inspire citizens to seek information – as Thomas Jefferson said, “An informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.” Perhaps simply seeing us every Saturday is motivating citizens to research so they can become more informed and involved.
Finally, protest is not an endeavor that delivers immediate results; it requires considerable time, along with patience, perseverance, and courage from all involved. That is why we are out in our community every Saturday. Effective protests have demonstrated that long-term success involves visibility actions, political alliance-building, candidate recruitment, fundraising, registration drives, and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Vigilance. Resistance. PERSISTANCE!
