Despair is NOT an Option
Get More Informed
Authoritarianism threat in our country
Elections - safe and secure
Biden-Harris administration successes
Fight disinformation
Important political considerations
Authoritarianism threat in our country
Read just these 4 paragraphs from the foreward of Heather Cox Richardson’s new book Democracy Awakening.
Watch this video from Ian Bassin of www.ProtectDemocracy.org that talks about the threat but, most importantly, how it has been successfully combated in other countries.
Charlie Sykes in The Bulwark: The Case Against Despair is then a must read. He says “Alarm is justified, but despair is not a winning tactic”.
Follow substacks that summarize and comment on the news. Take your pick from those in the Additional Resources.
Elections - safe and secure
On the critical importance of assuring that each state’s election procedures are safe and secure so that all votes are properly counted. This is the best way to build trust in our elections and help defeat election denialism.
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Brennan Center for Justice’s Election Protection Unit works with state and local officials on election laws and procedures to protect election workers, defend voters of color and keep polling places safe. Pay attention to what the threats and defenses are in your state.
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Verified Voting promotes democracy by working to assure that each vote is counted as cast. Elections can be made secure through the use of paper ballots (ideally hand marked) and rigorous post-election ballot audits to validate the tabulation. You can get contact information for your state and local election officials and see how your state is doing here.
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These organizations focus on access to voting and protection at polling places: Election Protection Coalition; All Voting is Local.
Biden-Harris administration successes
Lowered prices for prescription drugs so that seniors with diabetes now pay only $35/mo. Intends to cap senior costs per year at $2,000 and to reduce costs of prescription drugs for all.
Enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year for health care premiums for millions of working families.
Provided student debt relief for 4 million Americans including nurses, firefighters and others in public service.
Reduced credit card late fees from $32 to $8/mo.
Signed a law that requires big corporations to pay a minimum 15% income tax and, if elected, will raise that to 21%.
Signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the largest sum in decades, resulting in the expansion of high speed internet, repair of roads and bridges, replacement of unhealthy water systems.
Increased manufacturing jobs by almost 800,000, a level higher than at any time in the past 15 years.
Signed the Inflation Reduction Act deploying $369 billion to incentivize renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, creating tens of thousands of additional jobs.
Reproductive Rights
In March, President Biden released his presidential budget, reaffirming the support of the Biden-Harris administration for reproductive freedom, with continued investments in the Title X family planning program, a national family leave program, and more.
On March 4, the first-ever birth control pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for over-the-counter use—Opill—became available for preorder online and will be available in stores later this month.
On March 14, Vice President Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota on her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, making her the first U.S. president or vice president to publicly visit an abortion provider.
In March, President Biden signed an executive order to expand the federal government’s research into women’s health, directing the National Institute of Health to spend $200 million on women’s health research.
During the Supreme Court case that could severely restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the case should be thrown out on the grounds that the doctors who filed the lawsuit cannot demonstrate they were harmed by the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.
For more information on this and future plans click here and watch this great video.
Fight disinformation
Disinformation poses an unprecedented threat to democracy in the United States in 2024, according to researchers, political experts and technologists. Learn about organizations that work to reduce and protect against that threat.
Important political considerations
Beware of the temptation to sit out the election or to vote for a third party candidate. Doing so, is effectively a vote for Trump.
Be sure that you recognize the importance of voting all the way down the ballot.
The reality is that more aspects of your life are controlled by your state or local government than by the federal government.
States control voting and delegates to the electoral college, education, gun control, marriage and reproductive rights, air and water quality.
Local governments control police, schools, libraries and more.
Sister District and The States Project focus on winning governing majorities in the states by supporting state legislative campaigns to make them more effective and better-funded. Sister District supports candidates directly and also offers volunteer opportunities. The States Project offers giving circles.
Importantly, both state and local governments groom officials for higher office.