August 15, 2025

Hello Indivisibles,

It was good to see so many of you there on Tuesday evening when Senator Peter Welch was at Snow Farm in South Hero for a Town Hall.  It was wrenching to hear from some of our local businesses who are already struggling with Trump’s never ending attacks on our economy.  But what hit me the most was how many people there were just plain scared and desperate to hear some words of hope or some call to action that they could respond to.  The cry was “just tell me what to do!”  I was disappointed to not really hear either from Senator Welch.  I did give a specific suggestion to his staffers to pass on to him.

STRATEGY SESSION:   Wednesday, August 20, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the North Hero Library led by Marilyn Lagrow.  Our movement is moving into a new phase.  We will be continuing to use the tools of resistance that we already have been using, like mass protests, postcard campaigns, community events, etc.  And we will be adding new methods, as well.  Do you have an idea that you think would work to achieve our goal?  Do you have a brilliant plan for recruiting?  Would you like to see us try to do something differently?  Well, I want to tap into some of your talent and brain power.  I am convening a small group to offer their ideas, comments and suggestions.  This session will be limited to 12 people.  If you would like to join this session, please respond to this email.  If you would like to attend a session like this, but cannot be at this one, please let me know that, too.  

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FREEDOM:  Saturday, August 16, US/Canadian Border.  Berney and John Skutel have room in their car for a couple more people if you want to carpool.  contact Berney at bskutel@gmail.com.

There are also some other resistance events happening in our area on Saturday, August 16.  Look on Mobilize to find one.(Milton, St. Albans, Burlington (2), Fairfax, etc)

ONE MILLION RISING:  SESSION #3 – this session was last night, but if you missed it, you can still watch it online.  Go to Indivisible.org.  Click on One Million Rising, then scroll down to the Session #3 catch up.  Easy to find.

And if you missed Session # 1 or #2, they are there as well.  It is time to take things to the next level.  

BOOK CLUB:  Our own book club is having their first meeting on Thursday, August 28 at 5:00 pm at Two Heros.  The book is “On Tyranny”.   How exciting!  The North Hero Library still has 2 copies, as of this morning.  To join or attend the meeting, contact Alison at alisoneputnam@gmail.com

POSTCARD TEAM:  Over 20 of you have already joined this effort and received postcards to protect three critical Supreme Court seats in Pennsylvania in November.  These positions will be critical to protect the midterm elections there from being rigged by the GOP.  It is always extremely difficult to get people to come out to vote in off-year elections, so there is a lot of work to be done.  If you are able to join this effort, email Doug at dougkiser2199@gmail.com.  If you received cards at the Paddles Without Borders event, your name might not be on our list, so please contact Doug and sign up with the Team.  Please note: this team is going to be more and more active as the next months go by.  Start now and find out how it works.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND:  We have a major demonstration in the planning stages.  Probably late afternoon on Friday, Aug. 29.  Likely in South Hero.  Details soon.

Trump wants you to be afraid.  Have courage.  He wants you to think he has won.  He is a loser.  He wants you to think he is so smart.  He is an idiot.  He wants you to think he is all powerful.  But, no, together, we, the people, have all the power.  We have more work to do to be as organized as we need to be and to have as many people as we need to stand with us.  But the people are craving a way to defeat this attack on our democracy.  We will give them the tools they need and build a coalition to defeat Trump and this attempted take-over.  Many people want to DO Something.   But not enough of them know how yet.  Many people are just not paying attention.  Many people think it is just politics and they can ignore it and get ready to watch football this fall.  So that’s one of our biggest goals for this fall.  We need to build this movement by reaching new people.  Each and every one of us is going to need to reach new people and motivate them to action.  And as a group, Indivisible Champlain Islands will be focusing on recruiting, too.  

I am continually humbled and amazed by the strength of this group and the determination of our members.  Thank you all.

Marilyn Lagrow