Leadership Matters

07/01/2025

A Call for Courage and Action

• Now: Defend the vulnerable: Immigrants, refugees, dreamers, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community.
  • Visibility/Exposure -Provide photographs and videos and share on social networks so people can see that mothers, fathers, and children are being targeted by ICE (not violent criminals or drug kingpins -they are being pardoned by the Administration).
  • Tell the stories of those kidnapped by ICE on social networks.MAGA voters thought detaining and deporting violent criminals and drug kingpins was a good idea. We all do. However, when 75% or more of those being kidnapped, detained, arrested, disappeared, and deported by ICE are mothers, fathers, students, workers contributing to society, members of the community, (remember Fox “News” is dedicated to promoting the idea that every person kidnapped and trafficked is a dangerous, violent criminal). We must tell the stories of the majority of immigrants whose lives are being devastated because Stephen Miller is a white supremacist, and the President is a racist and always has been.

    (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/us/politics/donald-trump-housing-race.html)

  • Support public and independent media that will continue to provide facts and evidence-based reporting and visibility of the unconstitutional and illegal actions of the current lawless Administration, such as NPR, ProPublica, the Guardian, Free Speech TV, Heather Cox Richardson, and others.
  • Direct defense -there is emerging technology helping to rapidly identify ICE activity in a particular area. ICEBlock and SignalSafe are new platforms of note (I’ve not personally used or evaluated them).
  • Rallies, protests, boycotts -Continue to attend and support “No Kings” rallies and boycotts protesting this Administration and the continuing unconstitutional attacks on due process and fundamental rights.
  • Special elections -register and vote for candidates who prioritize the rule of law and their Oath of Office over fealty to the criminal elect, a political party, and billionaire donors.
• Now: Delay implementation
  • Support State AG’s
  • Support Whistleblowers.
    • Now, more than ever, those inside this current lawless Administration need a safe haven to provide insights, documentation, and evidence of egregious wrongdoing. Whistleblower Aid is one such organization providing support for those who have the courage to come forward.
  • Support organizations taking legal action such as:
    • ACLU
    • National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
    • Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC),
    • American Immigration Council (AIC)
    • Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
    • Immigrant Defense Project (IDP)
    • https://civ.works/defend has a small list of civil organizations helping people vulnerable to the denial of due process and rights. Please consider supporting them.
• Now: Build
  • Identify, elect, and re-elect leaders who commit to the rule of law and the Oath of Office in every special election and the 2026 midterm elections.
  • However, don’t count on future elections to drive change.
  • If 2026 elections occur, we must have a Congress that is committed to the rule of law, their Oath of Office, and representing the will of the people.
  • If 2026 elections do not occur, we must have a plan to cause a near-immediate transfer of governmental authority, such as a prolonged general strike until an illegitimate government falls.
  • We can no longer assume that those whom we elevate into leadership roles will represent the will of the people. We cannot simply “pull the lever” for someone in hopes that they will prioritize society over their own political ambition. Over the next few months while we are supporting Defending, Delaying, and Building -the “Build” process needs a clear directive of our demands of the 120th Congress. The following is what seems clear in my mind to begin to bend the “long arc of the universe” toward justice (equality, and democracy). The first three points (from my perspective) are mandatory.
    Now: Plans
  • The 120th Congress (as determined by the 2026 midterm elections) must commit to plans for sweeping legislation, policy, and reforms, including:
    • The appointment of independent special prosecutors and a special U.S.-based court not subject to the current corrupted system, or use of the International Criminal Court at the Hague to indict every individual who planned, funded, conspired, aided, and/or acted as accessories after the fact in the January 6, 2021 insurrection in violation of Federal law and the U.S. Constitution. Remove them and, if convicted, bar them from participating in government. They are continuing to attack and subvert the United States from inside.
    • Remove and indict every Federal official who has led and/or participated in State-sponsored kidnappings in violation of due process rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
    • Remove and disbar any member of the Supreme Court and/or Federal courts who have received substantial donations, favors, or gifts. Pass sweeping ethics reforms in the Judicial Branch to prevent a betrayal of the justice system.
    • The 120th Congress must sponsor, co-sponsor, and pass legislation/policies including but not limited to:
      • The War Powers Act;
      • John Lewis Voting Rights Act;
      • Sweeping campaign finance reform, reversing the “Citizens United” decision, and enacting public campaign financing at federal, state, and local elections;
      • The National Popular Vote Compact to render the racist Electoral College obsolete;
      • A modern Fairness Doctrine;
      • A ban on Congressional insider trading and lifetime bans on lobbying;
      • Tax legislation and policy that closes loopholes, balances economic growth and investment incentives while addressing the extreme wealth inequality in the United States, which has led to a gravely corrupted version of a representative democracy;
      • Immigration reform providing a clear path to residency, work, and citizenship in the United States;
      • Immediately restore funding for agencies and programs adversely impacted by a criminally corrupt Executive and Judicial Branches of government;
      • Restore programs and financial incentives for a rapid transition to clean, safe, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and climate action. Rejoin international treaties on climate, defense, and trade;
      • Provide equitable, sustainable funding for all public schools, increase investment in Title I, stop the politicization of public education, mandate K-12 civics education, including media literacy and encourage critical thinking over testing. Include core mathematics, science, and language, the humanities, and specific life skills like household budgeting, personal credit management, and why trigonometry is so much better than geometry. Restore and increase Pell grants, and make higher education accessible and affordable to everyone without burdening students and their families with a lifetime of massive debt;
      • Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to reform local law enforcement, drive accountability, and address patterns of misconduct and abuse;
      • The creation and funding of a public interest standard for major media outlets. Hold networks that call themselves “news” accountable to fundamental truth-in-reporting standards.
  • Over the next six months, add, subtract, and refine the key directives “We the People” demand from any Member of Congress seeking election or re-election to participate in the 120th Congress.
  • Attend protests, rallies, and participate in meaningful, verified boycotts.
  • Hold every Member of Congress to their Oath of Office and commitment to “We the People”.
  • Prepare for a prolonged general strike if the 2026 elections are delayed and/or cancelled. I recognize the extreme personal sacrifice that is necessary for a general strike to be effective. Remember, in the 1930s, confronted by a mass murdering fascist dictator, people paid the ultimate sacrifice for the principles of justice, equality, and human rights.Look, I do not minimize the disruption and suffering a general strike of non-essential workers would cause. Nevertheless, the alternative, our almost 250-year-old experiment in representative democracy ended by a group of insatiable billionaires who believe we are all mindless objects in their “video game” view of the world, is not the legacy I intend to leave for my children, grandchildren, and generations yet to come.

    When anchoring CBS News, Dan Rather’s nightly sign off was “Courage”.
    Now, more than ever, we must recognize the system has been subverted and broken. We must overcome our collective fear of radical reform and change. We must support a new generation of leadership who possesses the vision, courage, and integrity to work for all of us, not exclusively for Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg, and anyone waving a big check. We must embrace the reforms and radical changes necessary for a strong and vibrant future