25 Jul 2026
Last year, Stephen Miller described citizens utilizing their First Amendment rights as “elderly white hippies.”
After over a year of nonviolent, peaceful protest, we “elderly white hippies” have been active:
- collecting food, clothing, personal hygiene items, and school supplies for our community;
- providing voter information and registration;
- participating in get-out-the-vote activities
– all lawful, constitutionally protected activities. Now the administration calls us “communists,” “radical left terrorists,” and “domestic terrorists.”
Obviously, our actions speak louder than their words.
This administration says one thing and does another. ICE has adopted methods and routine tactics that frequently lead to serious civil rights violations, injuries, and deaths – all in violation of the 5th Amendment. This amendment is law. It states that “no PERSON shall be deprived” … of due process. The government must follow fair and equal rules before it can take away a person's life, freedom, or property. Yet, ICE continues to commit acts of violence at a scale and severity without precedent.
Meanwhile, hundreds of peaceful vigils have taken place and are taking place today to mourn those taken from us by the brutal actions of ICE. We the People have First Amendment rights to act peacefully – to protest – to petition – to assemble and demand accountability from our government officials.
We reject all forms of political violence and intimidation, no matter the source or the target. Nonviolence does not mean backing down. It means standing firm in our values, channeling our anger and our hope into action, and refusing to become what we are fighting against.
Vigilance. Resistance. PERSISTANCE!
18 Jul 2026
Yesterday, July 17, was the anniversary of Congressman John Lewis’ passing, and people across the country are standing up in defense of our democracy and carrying forward his legacy of Good Trouble.
Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the current administration and to remind them that, in America, the power lies with the people.
This is more than a protest; it’s a moral reckoning. A continuation of the movement Lewis helped lead, and a new front in the struggle for freedom.
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” - John Lewis
- All people deserve equal access to resources, opportunities, and privileges. All people means ALL PEOPLE, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or ability.
- Change requires action. Importantly, activism isn’t just angry opposition to the kind of world you don’t want - it is also loving support of what kind of world you DO want. We must all use our voices and our privilege to advocate for the causes that matter most. We must peacefully resist harm to our communities.
- Get involved! Robust civic engagement means that people take an active role in shaping the policies and governance that impacts their daily life.
- Live by example! Hold your beliefs and your head high! Now is not the time to sit quietly while those who disagree with you hold the floor. It is time to be vocal and visible, and let those around you know where you stand.
“A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few.” -John Lewis
Vigilance. Resistance. Persistence.
4 Jul 2026
Happy Fourth. of July! What a great celebration – Voter Registration
– picnic provided by Tim and Carole
– music by Firepit, Leo, and “The Drummer.”
I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our Independence than to join with other Americans to breathe life into the rights for which our Forefathers fought so valiantly.
And there is more … 82 years after the Declaration of Independence – 1858 - Abraham Lincoln spoke these words in Chicago, IL:
“We hold this annual celebration to remind ourselves of all the good done in this process of time of how it was done and who did it, and how we are historically connected with it; and we go from these meetings in better humor with ourselves - we feel more attached the one to the other, and more firmly bound to the country we inhabit.
But after we have done all this, we have not yet reached the whole. There is something else connected with it… men (*immigrants) - or those whose ancestors have come hither and settled here, finding themselves our equals in all things. … These men say that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” and they have a right to claim it as though they were flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that Declaration and so THEY ARE.
That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world…
I should like to know if taking this old Declaration of Independence, which declares that all men are equal upon principle and making exceptions to it where will it stop. If one man says it does not mean a negro, why not another say it does not mean some other man? …Let us stick to it, let us stand firmly by it.”
250 years later, The Declaration of Independence is still pertinent today! It put our nation on the path leading – eventually - to our Constitution. Our founding documents are not just vague ideals. They are practical principles that embody the highest aspirations of humanity. They serve as the basis for all that is positive in civic life. We, like our founding fathers, pledge to support ALL of U.S.!
Vigilance. Resistance. Persistence.
