Hello Indivisibles,

Sometimes, when I see all the harm the Trump regime is doing, I just want to know, “When will this end?”.  Well, probably not today.  But, it WILL end, at least if The People keep increasing the pressure.

SPOTIFY:  It is official.  Indivisible is calling for members and all those whom they can influence to cancel their subscription to Spotify and TELL them that they must stop running ads to recruit for ICE.  Spotify gets 90% of their revenue from Subscriptions.  We need to make it clear that if they continue to support the regime’s cruel policies that ignore due process, it will cost them far more than they are making on the ads.  Trump cannot execute his plan without support like this.  Our job is to stop the support.  I understand that there are apps that you can use to copy or transfer your music.  And you probably know others who Subscribe to Spotify.  Call them and have a little chat.

SHUTDOWN:  We knew it would be ugly.  In fact, it is horrible.  And it is shining a bright light on the Trump/GOP plan to drive the American people further into poverty and despair.  This week millions of Americans will discover that their health insurance premiums will suddenly cost $1,000s of dollars more.  Some will find that it will cost HALF of their income (especially in states like West Virginia, etc).  And that is before they pay deductibles and co-pays.   And now they know that it is happening because of Trump’s Big Bad Bill. Suddenly it will be real.  And it will be clear that Dems did not do this … in fact, Dems are fighting to make the GOP change it.  

So, call/email your MOC again.  If Democrats, tell them ‘thank you’, ‘stand strong’, you have their back.  If Republicans, tell them it is time to do something for the American people, for their own constituents, not for Trump and his Billionaire buddies.  And when they whine that it is “too expensive”, tell them that what is too expensive is over a Trillion Dollars in tax breaks for Billionaires and big Corporations.  That is the real reason for this crisis.  This government is For the People, and it is time it started to act like that.

If you have friends, family that vote in a red state, time to pick up the phone and have another little chat.  Tell them to contact their MOC and vote for the Democratic plan that would avert the healthcare apocalypse and reopen the government.   The billionaires have enough of our money already.  

SNAP:  We all know that kids, seniors, working families will all start to face empty plates next week because of the suspension of SNAP benefits.  The program was already slashed before the shutdown.  There is an emergency fund that could be used to keep payments flowing, but Trump has said “No”.   His cruelty grows every day.  

We need to support the members of our community (and some of us) who will suffer.  Vermont is looking to fill some of the gap, but only for a couple of weeks.  Local food shelves will be under extra strain until this shutdown is over.  We reached out to our local Food Shelf and told them we planned to do a food drive.  They were thrilled, but suggested that it would help them more if we did it in December, when they will have more space and a big need.  They just received over 2,000 pounds of misc. donations from the Emmons Haunted Forest.  What they could use right now is cash donations to fill in the missing bits.  So donate if you can, https://www.champlainislandsfoodshelf.org/donate-now.  And watch for our call for volunteers for a food drive in December.  

VETERANS DAY:  We are planning a Honk and Wave to support our Veterans on Nov. 11th.  Details soon.  Trump may disrespect them and the GOP congress may allow the personnel at the VA to be decimated, but we will stand up for our Veterans and push back against these abuses.

HOUSE ON ‘VACATION’: The House of Representatives has not been in session for weeks.  Speaker Johnson refuses to call them into session because then he would have to swear in the new Congresswoman who won a special election over a month ago.  And she would be the final vote needed to get the Epstien files released.  (What on earth is so terrible in them for it to be this important to keep them hidden?  I can’t wait to find out).   It is time to call for Speaker Johnson to be replaced.  Trump said this week, “I now control the House of Representatives”.  And, la, for once he seems to be telling the truth.  But that is NOT acceptable.  Time for Johnson to go.  It only takes one Representative to call for his removal to force a vote.  Maybe I will suggest to Becca that she should build a coalition to elect a replacement who will stand up to Trump and actually work for The People.

VIRGINIA ELECTIONS: There are some very important elections in Virginia on Tuesday.  Indivisible is doing a massive phone bank campaign on Saturday, to call voters and get them to turn out.  If you don’t already have the link, you should be able to sign up and get instructions here: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/836250/

Thank you for DOING SOMETHING.

I hope you are enjoying this rain as much as I am.

Marilyn Lagrow