getting our scrappy on

There is no getting around it, but for supporters of Democracy, last week’s US Presidential election result was a tough pill to swallow. Personally, I was in shock, I was horrified, and I had to take a moment (or two hundred if we’re being honest) to nurse my wounds and regroup myself. I know I am not alone in this. The good thing is that so many communities were built up over the past ten years and even more during the short-lived Harris campaign. We are not alone. You are not alone.

The website I created this summer actiondissolvesanxiety.com has been overhauled slightly. I pivoted the focus from helping get the Harris/Walz team elected to now protecting Democracy in the United States. I asked friends for suggestions of organizations that were doing good work already. If anyone else has more links to share, please pass them along. 

The resistance starts yesterday. I watched the videos from both Rachel Maddow and also Professor Heather Cox Richardson. I highly suggest you do as well. Maddow’s is only 12 mins long whereas Professor Cox Richardson’s is an hour, but I put it on in the background while doing other stuff – yay for multi-tasking.

We need to be “scrappy” and to be ready to push back with all the tons of crap they are going to be throwing. The Trump administration will test the waters to see what they can get to stick to the walls. Do not despair. Do not obey in advance. And don’t resist alone. The communities of resistance that have been created both online and off – stay with them and deepen the connections. Do not isolate yourself. Fascism works best when people are isolated, feel despondent and powerless. We are not. 

You can write letters to the Editors of your local papers. You can call your Representatives. You can call your Senators. Scott Dworkin has been sharing this tool to put pressure on your Senators to not allow recess appointments for Trump’s suggestions for his cabinet. Dooooo eeeeeet!

Contact the House Ethics Committee and encourage them to release the Report on Matt Gaetz.  

https://www.legistorm.com/organization/summary/96706/House_Ethics_Committee.html

Call/write TODAY, tell them they must RELEASE THE MATT GAETZ REPORT. Live in the state/district of any of them? It’s doubly your assignment. does not matter if they are R or D (most can’t stand him anyway). also call your senators some people like Tom Tillis in North Carolina are up in 2 years in very purple places. We need elected officials to understand that they are going to be publicly having to run away if they don’t release…need to start demonstrating now to MAGA that there are repercussions to nominating/confirming criminal & incompetent people to the most important post and really destroying our country.

Democracy is definitely a not spectator sport and it needs to be engaged with, especially when it needs defending. This woman can do it while getting ready for work, so can you. Use the power of the people in the states where policies have been voted in.  Do NOT adopt voucher programs to gut Public Education. And finally, California is a very large state – it’s the 5th largest economy in the world. So it is a force to be reckoned with. Keep strong friends!

The post Moving from Grief to Action first appeared on Action Dissolves Anxiety.

Another way of saying ‘pissed’

The early voting signs are encouraging, and I have thought for at least the last month that VP Harris will prevail in this historic election. Women are motivated. Women are pissed. We are voting as one bloc.

I have had to talk several people down from spinning off. People are seriously anxious right now. Mine own anxiety was so high this summer I made a website actiondissolvesanxiety.com

It’s totally normal to spin off into “worst case scenarios” to try to prepare ourselves in case the worst does happen, but I feel super calm for some reason. I’m 99% sure the election is going to Harris. Remember all those Republicans in the primaries who voted for Nikki Haley, even after she dropped out? The Harris/Walz campaign is spending a lot of time courting Republicans and they wouldn’t waste their precious time if it didn’t give results. There is no way Democrats are breaking for him, but you can bet a lot of Republicans are breaking for her. Women are voting as a block and TFG’s campaign is even more off the rails than ‘normal’.

Below is a ‘homemade’ video (pretty damn slick!!) I first saw on FB two weeks ago and it’s brilliant on the topic of women keeping their votes secret. I am glad that people have picked up this theme and are running with it with more professional versions. Women are pissed and are voting en masse.

I am feeling a lot of schadenfreude now as MAGA men freak out about their wives voting differently from them. Equating it to cheating on them. “Why would they lie to me?” Maybe, just maybe, because you’re a controlling narcissist and she cannot be honest with you as she fears for her own safety.  Just a thought. 

I am not particularly religious, but have definitely given over to: Show up, do the work, then let go and let god. Or whatever that actual quote is. I am surprisingly calm about it all now. I have done everything I can and have no control of the outcome now. Waiting is always the worst part. I don’t want to talk or think about him any more. I am looking forward to the end of the Trump era, to him being relegated to the annals of history and to finally deflate like the overripe orange pumpkin he is. Be gone!

I know that I have my own biases and live in my online bubble. The ‘algorithms’ and our own curations do not help with our blinders. And I know that for my own online mental health I curate hard. I don’t mind being exposed to other people’s viewpoints, that is actually a good thing. Healthy debate is necessary, however so much of it is vitriol that I use the block button extensively. But the amount of activism and enthusiasm I have seen in the past two months is staggering. I am in a couple of FB groups dedicated to making sure he is not in the White House come January and just WOW. Again, I know I am in my own bubble, but the anecdotes are so up-lifting. The official Democratic ground game is off the charts. The official Republican ground game has been stripped of funds to pay for TFG’s legal fees and Musk’s PAC is tricking people into canvassing. We’re not even comparing apples to oranges here, maybe apples to fiberboard.

But yeah, when she wins, MAGA will not go quietly into the night. And that is a problem. Luckily, TFG is not in a position of power. He isn’t the President, he doesn’t have control of the military, and I think he’s going to get trounced hard enough that the general establishment will accept the results no matter how many legal tricks his team pulls. Good luck to him even trying to get a permit for a protest in DC if he loses. No way that would be approved after Jan 6. 

Harris’ To-Do list is great, but I have more things to add. As we well know, a woman’s work is never done. My fervent hope is that Congress becomes fully Democratic and the John Lewis Voting Act is passed. We need to reform the Supreme Court and the Electoral College, make Washington DC and Puerto Rico states with actual representation in the US Government and so much more. 

Voting ends on Tuesday November 5th. Make your plan, bring your friends, and let’s bring this home! 

The post Women are ‘motivated’ in this election first appeared on Action Dissolves Anxiety.

If you vote in person, ensure you follow all the rules

The amount of online enthusiasm for Harris/Walz is somewhat calming my anxiety leading up to this monumental election – but I also know that online I exist in a very curated bubble for my own sanity, and I remember the disappointment of previous elections. I am seeing people sharing photos of their ballots and also their clothes in support of their candidates. It is easy to forget, but there are laws – strict ones – in place to protect people’s votes and to protect from influence.

You will want to check and see if you can wear your ,la shirts, buttons, Swifty bracelets, etc. as 21 states prohibit campaign apparel/ buttons/ stickers/ placards. If you do wear something in support of Harris, be sure to have a jacket/hoodie covering it up while you vote. Maybe if you wear a blue top, pearls and/or chucks it will be subtle enough to not be called into question, but check the rules because every vote counts!

Another issue is taking photos of your ballot and posting it online. Photos of ballots have been prohibited in some states for years now because it can be used as proof if someone paid you for your vote, which is obviously a bad thing. Big no-no.

“In many states, it’s perfectly legal to share a so-called “ballot selfie,” so have at it. But taking a photo of your ballot and posting it online is not allowed in at least 14 states, and in others, you’ll be in something of a gray zone.” – VOX

If you wear campaign apparel or take a selfie to show your enthusiasm you might not be able to vote, and you do NOT want that, especially after everything we have been doing to get people to show up to vote and to bring their friends and family along for the FUN. Let’s protect our FUNdemental rights!

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