Beware of ICE Activity! We’ve word that ICE and TN Highway Patrol plan to increase detentions of immigrants in the greater Knoxville area over the next 2-3 weeks. ICE was spotted in Alcoa near McCammon Ave on July 15th.  If you see something, please report it to the Knoxville Migrant Watch Hotline at 865-226-9052. If you have an Apple device, consider downloading the ICEBlock app that allows you to share information on nearby ICE activity.

Actions for Week of August 10, 2025

• Support National Parks – The Senate Appropriations Committee approved by a vote of 26-2 its Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment & Related Appropriations Bill. The bill rejects the 30% cut for the National Park System requested by 47 and the House of Representatives. The bill provides for flat funding in 2026 for support staff, operations and public access. See details here. Please ask our Senators to vote Yes on this bill. Contact information is below.

  1. You can also sign a petition here to tell Congress our public lands should not be sold to private interests.

  2. Continue to show up for Protect Our Park Rallies in Townsend. Stay tuned for details on the next one. Thanks to everyone who turned out yesterday. 

• Oppose Use of TN National Guard – Gov. Lee is calling up the National Guard to assist ICE. TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition states “The National Guard should be protecting Tennesseans from natural disasters and genuine emergencies—not being weaponized against our own communities. Mass deportation is already funded by the billions by the federal government and if we had elected leaders who actually prioritized what Tennesseans need those same billions could be used to transform education, healthcare, and infrastructure that would help all of us to thrive.” Please sign this petition opposing the governor’s actions.  You can also contact the governor directly at 615-741-2001 or https://www.tn.gov/governor/contact-us/share-opinion.html .

• Good News!

  1. In addition to the above move by the Senate Appropriations Committee, the committee rejected 47’s proposed 40% cut ($18 billion) and endorsed a $400 million increase for Labor, HHS, and Education. The proposed termination of the CDC’s HIV prevention/surveillance program was also rejected. Vote was 26-3.

  2. The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida was allowed to join the lawsuit to shut down Alligator concentration camp, and construction was temporarily halted this past week.

  3. The Center for Biological Diversity has sued to stop an extension of a border wall in Arizona that would block a major wildlife corridor.

  4. A fourth judge had blocked 47’s birthright citizen order nationwide.

  5. Read how Ben & Jerry’s is recycling food waste to create energy.

  6. A federal judge ruled temporary protective status for 60,00 refugees from Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua cannot be terminated on Sept. 8th.

  7. Gov. Whitmer of Michigan is erasing $144 million of medical debt for Michiganders.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Read about the regime’s campaign to undermine the 2026 electionand the Red Map redistricting majority project.

  2. Did you know that Treasury Secretary Bessent has admitted the regime’s new $1000-per-baby account is designed to help privatize Social Security.

  3. Learn about the out-of-state investors funding a Christian nationalist community in Tennessee.

  4. Sens. Richard Briggs (Knoxville) and Ed Jackson (Jackson) are trying to get the TN Dept. of Corrections to release money from the $14 million fund balances to revive an intensive probation program but Corrections Commissioner (Frank Strada) is not cooperating.

  5. Read about Brian Nesvik who has been confirmed to run the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

  6. The US Senate has serious concerns about plans to move thousands of USDA jobs out of Washington DC.

  7. Learn about the Washington Litigation Group, a new law firm created by former federal lawyers, judges and others that is dedicated to protecting the rule of law from the current regime.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. A Wilbur Cross High School (New Have CT) has been detained by ICE.

  2. The regime has developed new tactics for separating immigrant families by sending children to shelters unaccompanied while detaining parents in separate locations.

  3. The regime is ending medical coverage for abortions for veterans in cases of rape or incest.

  4. At the request of 47, Texas is trying to redraw new district maps to take away 5 Democratic Congressional House seats, and Gov. Abbott has ordered the arrest of TX House Democrats who fled the state to break quorum.

  5. RFK Jr has cancelled contracts and funding for vaccine development, including COVID, influenza and bird flu.

  6. 47 announced a plan this week to change the US census and have it exclude all undocumented people. The directive is in clear violation of the US Constitution. The 14th Amendment requires the "whole number of persons in each state" to be included in a key set of census numbers used to determine how presidents and members of Congress are elected.

  7. A former employee of Alligator concentration camp says conditions at the site are inhumane.

Actions for Week of August 3, 2025

• Support Public Broadcasting – The bill defunding PBS and NPR passed Congress and was signed by 47. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down by September 30th. Some stations, particularly rural ones are expected to cut staff and programs, and some may have to close down. PBS in Tennessee could lose $7 million. Follow this link to Adopt a Station. The website is organized by state and shows the percentage of budget that each station will lose. Some stations in Alaska, NC, WVA, and NM are losing 70-95% of their funding. When searching by state, scroll down the page to see featured stations that are in severe trouble.

• Read the Checklist to End Tyranny – This 151-page book by Peter Ackerman is being provided free by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. The book can be downloaded in several languages through this website, or you can request a hard copy or Nook/Kindle version. A condensed version (15 pages) is also available here.

• Sign the Petition to Support Education for All - Blount County Public School Strong is asking you to sign this petition by September 1strequesting that local school boards pass a resolution supporting public education for all students (i.e. documented and undocumented) in the state of Tennessee, which is under threat by the legislature.

• Good News!

  1. The first treatment for malaria for babies and children (Coartem Baby by Novartis) has been approved.

  2. A federal judge permanently blocked part of the TN law that criminalizes helping minors travel out of the state for an abortion.

  3. Oak Ridge will provide free meals for all students in public schools.

  4. SCOTUS temporarily blocked an appeals court ruling that would have stripped voters and organizations from suing to enforce the Voting Rights Act in 7 states.

  5. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against Bartlett TN for denying a permit to build a mosque.

  6. The GAO found the regime violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding funds for Head Start.

  7. Gov. Ayotte of New Hampshire vetoed book ban,  trans bathroom, vaccine exemption, and fetal development propaganda bills.

• Educate Yourself

  1. See this interactive map of the ICE detention centers in the USA.

  2. A Biden-era rule that removed medical debt from credit reports was rolled back by a federal judge.

  3. The regime is ignoring one-third of the major court rulings against them.

  4. The regime plans to roll back >60 workplace safety rules.

  5. EPA wants to bring back dicamba, a controversial herbicide that has been banned twice by federal courts. In addition, the regime now says that greenhouse gases are not harmful.

  6. See the database maintained by ProPublica on what companies SCOTUS justices have ties with and how much money they are being paid for various activities.

  7. Did you know that because of DOGE, the federal government is paying 154,000 workers not to work?

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. A deaf, mute DACA recipient was arrested on his way to a car wash in California and shipped to Texas.

  2. The regime has denied Maryland’s request for disaster assistance after flooding occurred in western MD.

  3. ICE wants to make 180,000 immigrants wear ankle monitors.

  4. An immigrant detainee in Georgia was sent to solitary confinement because he complained about flooding near his cell that could damage his prosthetic legs.

  5. MANA Nutrition is faced with destroying more than 300,000 boxes of RUTF (nutritional peanut paste) that was paid for by American taxpayers because the State Department hasn’t shipped them. Edesia Nutrition was in the same situation but Ocean State Job Lot and Provision Ministry stepped in to send 285,000 pounds of PlumpyNut paste to starving children in South Sudan.  

  6. States and cities face loss of vaccination programs after federal funding cuts.

  7. Immigrant kids are being detained at unsafe and unsanitary sites.

  8. Inmates at Alligator concentration camp are on a hunger strike.

 Actions for Week of July 27, 2025

• Support Protect America’s Workforce Act – H.R. 2550 is a bipartisan bill that has 222 cosponsors. Unfortunately, Rep. Burchett is not one of them. This bill was filed in response to 47 issuing an Executive Orderdesigned to end the right to collective bargaining for federal employees. Please contact Rep. Burchett and ask him to cosponsor and support this bill. Contact information is below. You can also sign a petition in support of the bill through this link.

• Support Release of the Epstein Files  –The House of Representatives adjourned rather than vote on release of the Epstein files. The proposed reason for this is to protect 47 because his name is reported to appear multiple times, with strong evidence he participated in pedophilia.  Word is that calls to Congress demanding release of the files are running 500 for to one against. Rep. Burchett supports release of the files; Sen. Blackburn opposes; and Sen. Hagerty has been silent. Please contact our MoCs (contact information below) and ask them to push for release of the files.

• Good News!

  1. Rhode Island has banned the sale of assault rifles.

  2. A federal court ruled that Florida must address pollution that is leading to manatee deaths.

  3. A judge ruled the West Virginia Development authority’s gift of $5 million to a Catholic school in Ohio to expand its anti-abortion advocacy was illegal.

  4. Colorado is designating bison as wildlife, not livestock.

  5. After the regime defunded Yale University’s LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative, a Yale alum stepped to raise the funds needed to keep it going.

  6. A judge ruled that temporary protective status for 12,000 Afghan refugees cannot be rescinded on August 4th, and their lawsuit against Homeland Security can continue.

  7. NAACP and others are appealing the permits issued for xAI turbines at the South Memphis data center.

• Educate Yourself

  1. The regimen plans to slash funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission by 93%.

  2. Learn about the American Bar Association’s Immigration Court Observer training program.

  3. Did you know that since the abortion ban went into effect in TX in 2022, the number of blood transfusions and ER visits by pregnant women in the 1st trimester increased by 54%?

  4. See this graphic from Sen. Warren’s office explaining when aspects of the Big Ugly Budget bill go into effect.

  5. Farm bankruptcies are way up this year!

  6. TVA has decided not to move forward with a natural gas plant in Cheatham County TN. 47 is setting up a showdown with the TVA board after they refused to fire the present CEO as he demanded. 47 wants to install a loyalist as CEO who will seek to sell off TVA.

  7. The regime has plans to block wind and solar projects.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Texas passed a law that severely restricts free speech on college/university campuses. Watch for this bill to also be filed in TN.

  2. USDA has ended discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in school meal programs and consideration of race and gender for grants and loans. The latter move will have serious consequences for Black farmers.

  3. US Citizenship & Immigration Services is halting a program designed to encourage undocumented workers to speak out on labor violations.

  4. USDA is demanding States turn over data on all SNAP recipients by July 30th.

  5. Unaccompanied immigrant children in the Chicago area are receiving letters demanding they self-deport.

  6. A deaf, mute DACA recipient was arrested on his way to a car wash in California and shipped to Texas.

  7. A Venezuelan baseball team of teenagers has been denied a visa to play in the Little League World Series.

Actions for Week of July 20, 2025

• Support the Dignity Act – H.R 4393 is a bipartisan bill that provides undocumented individuals with a route to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements. See details of the bill here. So far it has 21 cosponsors. Please contact Rep. Burchett and ask him to cosponsor and support the bill. Contact information is below.

• Petitions to Sign – 

  1. See several petitions on the National Parks Conservation Association’s website to sign.

  2. This petition opposes drilling for oil and gas in the Western Arctic Reserve.

  3. This petition supports impeachment of 47. Visit the website for more information.

  4. Add your name to the People’s Brief in support of Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against defunding of the organization. A federal judge temporarily barred revoking Medicaid funding for PP on July 7th.

  5. This petition and this petition oppose the detention facility built in the Everglades.

  6. This petition urges the US Fish & Wildlife Service to protect pangolins. They are the most trafficked animal on earth.

  7. This petition asks Gov. Whitmer of Michigan to stop the expansion of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline (without environmental review) through the Straits of Mackinac.

• Good News!

  1. A judge ruled massive layoffs planned at HHS are unlawful and must be halted.

  2. USC students have launched Agents of Change Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative that helps move immigration hearings online, so people cannot be arrested when they show up at courthouses.

  3. Physicians and medical groups have sued RFK Jr over his COVID-19 vaccine policy.

  4. A federal judge struck down 47’s order suspending asylum access at the southern border.

  5. A judge ruled 47 cannot end Temporary Protective Status for Haitians before February 2026.

  6. Residents of Oak Ridge TN have purchased 30 acres of land to add to Obed Wild & Scenic River.

  7. Fayette County TN has agreed to redraw County Commission district maps because the most recent one locked Black voters out almost completely.

  8. Democratic attorneys general are suing to block HHS changes to Obamacare insurance marketplaces. The cost of premiums are going to skyrocket because subsidies were stopped in the Big Ugly Budget bill.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Here are 3 charts that show the impact of the Budget Bill on TN.

  2. The regime is fast-tracking transport of oil out of Unita Basin in eastern Utah.

  3. Did you know the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismissed a $95-million overdraft lawsuit against the Navy Federal Credit Union?

  4. Read how TN third graders performed on the standardized reading test.

  5. IRS has reversed itself and now says that tax-exempt churches can endorse political candidates.

  6. DNA from 133,000 migrant children and teens has been entered into a criminal database, which could label them as “suspects” indefinitely.

  7. EPA’s office of research & development is being shut down and thousands of scientists are being laid off. In addition, USDA has fired 70 foreign researchers, bringing a number of research projects to a halt.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. ICE has declared millions of immigrants are ineligible for bond hearings, which would allow them to be detained indefinitely. In addition, ICE is claiming the right to deport people within 6 hours of their detention, even to third countries (see list in this article). 

  2. Dept. of Children’s Services in TN continues to fail kids in their “care”.

  3. Knoxville’s largest federal grant for $42 million has been cut by the regime.

  4. The regime has canceled millions in agriculture funding across western states.

  5. The State Dept plans to destroy 500 tons of food  and $9.7 million worth of contraceptives because they are in the USAID distribution system that has been shut down. In addition, the regime has wasted hundreds of thousands of vaccines meant for Africa.

  6. The regime is dropping 7 major housing discrimination cases.

  7. 47 proposes setting a time limit of two years for people living in HUD-subsidized housing. If enacted, it could make 1.4 million people homeless.

Actions for Week of July 13, 2025

• Oppose Emile Bove’s Nomination – Bove has been nominated for a federal judgeship.  As a top official at the Justice Dept, he has urged the department to ignore court orders and lied repeatedly to colleagues. He also declined to rule out a 3rd Trump term or denounce Jan 6th rioters. The Senate Judiciary Committee (on which Sen. Blackburn sits) and possibly the entire Senate are expected to vote on his nomination this week. Please contact our Senators with your feedback. Contact information is below.

• Oppose Senate Rescission Package – This request from 47 allows the regime to cancel $9.4 billion in previously allocated funds, including funding for PBS and NPR, and damages global health programs, peacekeeping efforts, and economic development abroad.  The rescission request expires by end-of-day on Fri, July 18th. The House already approved the request (Burchett voted for it) in June, so it must be stopped in the Senate. Some Senators are reluctant to end funding for the global HIV/AIDS program (i.e. PEPFAR). 47 is threatening to withhold endorsements for senators who don’t vote for the request. Please contact our TN Senators with your feedback. Contact information is below.

  1. Consider joining the town hall tomorrow, July 14th at 7PMopposing the rescission package. RSVP here.

  2. You can ask Congress to save public media through this link.

  3. You can call Congress through this link. Follow these instructions:

     • Click "Call your lawmakers." A blue screen will appear with talking points.

     • Click "Call your lawmakers" again to initiate the call.

     • Answer the call from 202-335-6941

     • There may be a short pause. Listen for a brief recorded message.

     • Follow the prompts in the recorded message.

• Good News!

  1. The regime’s suspension of research funds to the National Science Foundation has been blocked by a federal judge.

  2. A federal judge ruled in a class-action suit that 47’s ruling on birthright citizenship will be on hold nationwide while the suit continues.

  3. A federal judge ruled the regime cannot eliminate union bargaining for thousands of federal workers at 21 agencies.

  4. A lawsuit has been filed in Nashville against the TN bill that allows local officials to be charged with a crime if they vote on immigration policies not in line with the state’s supermajority legislature, such as sanctuary policies.

  5. A county judge in Ohio ruled the state’s private school voucher program is unconstitutional.

  6. SCOTUS upheld key preventative services in Obamacare.

  7. In a landmark ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued an opinion recognizing the climate emergency is an existential threat to human rights.

  8. Another judge ruled on Friday that DHS must stop race-based immigration arrests.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Learn about the 4 nominees to TVA. Lee Beaman from Nashville believes 47 won the 2020 election.

  2. Did you know that in 1965, the US Government tried to replace Mexican migrant workers with American high school students? It was a disaster!

  3. The first USA researchers fleeing the regime have arrived in France. The USA may lose a whole generation of scientists because of 47’s cuts.

  4. The new federal budget decreases funding for the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by 30% from 2024 levels and decreases per-visit spending nearly 55% from 2011. On July 3rd, 47 issued an Executive Order requiring the Secretary of the Interior to increase entrance fees and recreation pass fees for nonresidents in areas of the NPS.  

  5. $118 million in K-12 education funding in TN is being held up by the regime.

  6. More cuts are planned at NOAA, including elimination of funding for climate, weather, and ocean Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes.

  7. Read the Freedom over Fascism debriefing from July 10th that includes polling on whether people support protesting, immigration, and impeachment of 47, as well as advice on refusing, resisting and ridiculing.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Two hundred migrant workers were detained at farms in Californiathis past week (including some minors), and one worker has died.

  2. A federal judge ruled Texas cannot enforce a state law that allowed state law enforcement to arrest and prosecute people crossing the southern border.

  3. Visit the Project 2025 Tracker to see their impact (so far) on federal agencies.

  4. Members of the LGBTQ community are fleeing TN.

  5. EPA put 144 people on administrative leave for signing a letter calling out illegal dismantling of core activities at the agency.

  6. The regime is stripping temporary protective status from 72,000 Honduran and 4,000 Nicaraguan refugees in the USA. This move affects people living in the USA since 1999.

  7. Vanderbilt has closed its LGBTQ Health Program and laid off all its staff.

Actions for Week of July 6, 2025

1. Support Higher Minimum Wage Bill – The bipartisan Higher Wages for American Workers Act would set the minimum wage nationwide to $15 starting January 1, 2026. Please ask our MoCs to cosponsor and support this bill. Contact information is below.

2. Monitor Immigrant Detentions at BC Jail – The Blount County Sheriff’s office is cooperating with ICE to house immigrant detainees. You can monitor detainees on this website. Please forward this information to anyone looking for folks who have disappeared. 

3. Read the Declaration of Resistance – Fashioned on the principles of the Declaration of Independence, Closer to the Edge has compiled a list of grievances against the current regime. 

4. Good News!

a. TIRCC and others are suing TN over Senate Bill 392 that went into effect July 1st. TN churches are also suing. The bill puts organizations and others in danger of being prosecuted for housing undocumented immigrants.

b. The city of Maryville has been awarded $500,000 to create more affordable housing units.

c. A judge in Brazil has ordered slaughterhouses to pay for reforestation in the Amazon.

d. A TN law that went into effect July 1st extends foster care to young adults as old as 23 years. See details of HB103/SB1266 here. 

e. An appellate court has ruled that the Louisiana law requiring schools to post the 10 commandments is unconstitutional.

f. A judge ruled that the regime cannot require states to cooperate with ICE to get transportation funds.

g. The Dodgers baseball team pledged $1million in support of immigrants.

h. Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades have filed a lawsuit against the detention camp build in the Everglades to imprison detainees.

5. Educate Yourself

a. Read about the horrible costs associated with DOGE cuts.

b. Learn how racism helps explain why 47 won.

c. 47 has rescinded a “roadless rule” that protects 58 million acres of forest land from logging. This rule affects 85,000 acres in TN. 

d. 47 plans to phase out FEMA after the 2025 hurricane season.

e. SCOTUS ruled that states have leeway to cut Medical funding to Planned Parenthood, and the budget bill defunds PP completely.

f. Pro-Palestinian protestors that demonstrated in June 2024 at the University of TN Knoxville have been indicted under a 2022 anti-protestor bill.

g. The Pentagon shut down key weather satellites that track hurricanes.

6. Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

a. Rolling back of EPA rules by the regime may cause 30,000 deaths per year and cost billions.

b. ICE detainees are dying in transit and in detention. A TN women detained in LA delivered a stillbirth baby because she was denied medical care. 

c. SCOTUS has required opt-out options for LGBTQ-themed lessons in schools. 

d. Read this article published in the medical journal, The Lancet, on the ramifications of closure of USAID last week. They project 14 million people will die over the next 5 years.

e. The regime is withholding more than $6 billion in previously-approved educational grants for schools. These funds were to be disbursed July 1st prior to the start of the school year. 

f. The regime announced a plan to strip naturalized citizens of their USA citizenship and deport them, without entitling them to a lawyer.

g. SCOTUS ruled last week that 8 men detained in a shipping container in Djibouti may be exported to war-torn South Sudan even though they are from other countries.

Actions for Week of June 29, 2025

• Oppose the Budget Bill – Please call our Senators and express your displeasure with the budget bill. Voting may start today. Sen. Hagerty is waffling on some aspects of the bill, and Sen. Blackburn does not like the provision limiting states’ ability to regulate AI. Phone numbers for the Washington DC offices are below. You can also use the 5Calls app or this tool provided by Citizen’s Climate Lobby. Here are some talking points and results of a press conference by Bread for the World. Note that TennCare could lose $1 billion.

Ashlie Bell-Seibers, a fellow cancer survivor and Director of Family Voices of Tennessee, highlighted the unique importance of Medicaid for Tennessee families and children. “We know that disability and cancer don’t discriminate. They can touch all of us at any time. Whether you need Medicaid right now or not, there is a good chance you or someone you know does, or one day will,” she said.

 The proposed bill would lead to millions of Americans losing Medicaid coverage, affecting Tennessee families, caregivers, and people living with disabilities.  

 “Caregiving is the invisible infrastructure holding our healthcare system together, and it is under attack,” said Dr. Megan Schwalm, President and CEO of the Tennessee Caregiver Association.

This bill not only affects Medicaid, but also those who rely on SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps over 280,000 Tennessee children access food. The proposed bill would include cuts to the program itself and eligibility requirements.  

 “If we take these benefits away, we are talking about a food insecure population that cannot be cared for by our current charitable infrastructure,” said Jeannine Carpenter, Chief Communications Officer at Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

See recent decisions made by the Senate Parliamentarian to the bill this week in Good News below.

• Support the No Ban Act  –  Congressional Bill S.398/HR.924 would restrict the president’s ability to enact travel bans. Please contact our MoCs. Contact information is below. You can also send an email via this link.

• Good News! Here are results of the Senate Parliamentarian’s review of the Budget Bill. She has ruled these provisions require 60 votes in the Senate, not a simple majority.  

  1. The offshore oil & gas drilling provisions were rejected.

  2. The sell-off of 330 million acres of public lands was rejected. However, Sen. Lee is trying to get 125 million acres of BLM near cities and towns to be put up for sale. You can sign a petition in opposition here.

  3. Prohibition of federal subsidies for healthcare plans in Obamacare that cover abortions was rejected.

  4. $250 billion in healthcare cuts must be removed from the bill.

  5. The provision that states cannot regulate AI for 10 years must be rewritten.

  6. The contempt provision limiting the authority of judges was rejected.

  7. Some cuts to food aid were also rejected because they shift the cost to states.

  8. The Parliamentarian also says the Senate cannot force the USPS to give up their electric vehicles.

  9. Also rejected are provisions that would exempt private, religious schools from paying income tax and would have removed regulations pertaining to gun silencers.

  10. Also rejected was the measure to charge $1000 to everyone filing for asylum.

  11. The plan for a nationwide private school voucher program was rejected.

  12. Here are other provisions the parliamentarian is rejecting.

• Educate Yourself

  1. If the Congressional budget bill passes, electricity prices in TN could surge in 2026.

  2. West Virginia has passed a law that will allow women who suffer a miscarriage to be charged with a felony.

  3. TN is not going to track how many students receiving private school vouchers were already enrolled in private schools.

  4. Here’s a map of EV charging stations in rural USA.

  5. Vanderbilt University Medical Center will lay off 650 due to 47’s cuts.

  6. Outside groups are forming their own vaccine policy panel and numerous medical associations have vowed to ignore RFK Jr’s recommendations, especially since he fired the entire vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with vaccine skeptics.

  7. The regime knew most Venezuelans sent to the prison in El Salvador had not been convicted of crimes in the USA and were not gang members. 65% of those taken by ICE have no convictions at all, and 93% have no violent convictions.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Read about the massive cuts in USAID. People are dying because of Sec. Rubio’s actions. Bill Gates offered to fund USAID for at least a year and Rubio refused. Despite this, Gates plans to give most of his fortune to programs in Africa.

  2. SCOTUs is allowing the regime to continue 3rd country removals, and seriously limited the ability of federal judges to enact nationwide injunctions. After the SCOTUS decision regarding the nationwide injunction against birthright citizenship executive order, class action suits were immediately filed.

  3. A proposed remittance tax that would be levied on monies earned by migrants in the USA and sent back to their families in their home countries will hit Central America very hard.

  4. TN refused federal dollars for the school summer meals program and is limiting the program to 15 counties.

  5. SCOTUS upheld Tennessee’s prohibition of gender affirming care for minors.

  6. Learn about a 6-year-old ICE orphan in Chicago and another 6- year-old with leukemia who was arrested at immigration court in Los Angeles.

  7. A green card holder and legal resident of the USA for 58 years has been detained by ICE.

Actions for Week of June 22, 2025

• Oppose the Anti-Sanctuary City Bill – H.R. 32 would defund communities that support immigrants by calling them safe places/”sanctuary sites”. The bill would jeopardize funding for thousands of state and local employees. It would force states and municipalities to choose between cooperating with ICE’s mass deportation efforts versus keeping federal funding. Memphis, Shelby County, and Nashville are on the regime’s list of sanctuary sites. A court blocked an executive order halting federal funding for sanctuary cities, and this bill is an attempt to around that ruling. Please contact Rep. Burchett (contact information below) and express your opposition to the bill.

• Stop the defunding of public media - Contact Senators and urge them to vote against defunding public media -Protect My Public Media

• Oppose the sell-off of public lands - Oppose the Sale of Public Lands in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 6/16) ⭑ 5 Calls

• Petitions to Sign – 

  1. This petition asks US House Representatives to oppose HR845 which expands trapping and hunting of gray wolves.

  2. This petition asks Congress to urge 47 to drop all charges against Judge Hannah Dugan.

  3. This petition thanks US House Democrats for supporting climate-friendly trade.

  4. Urge the Fish & Wildlife Service to protect monarch butterflies by signing this petition.

  5. This petition asks TDEC to reject Enbridge’s pipeline

  6. This petition urges US Representatives to support HR 3538, which provides funding to combat animal trafficking.

• Good News!

  1. Did you know that Chattanooga is North America’s first National Park City?

  2. A Chattanooga school has agreed to pay $100,000 after wrongfully arresting an 11-year-old under Tennessee’s mass violence threat law.

  3. Missouri raised the legal age of marriage to 18.

  4. Boston is going to institute ranked-choice voting for local elections.

  5. Maryland is funding a program using untapped ACA funds to help pay for abortions regardless of insurance coverage.

  6. Job Corp contractors and several states sue to block the regime’s closure of the program, and judge ruled in their favor. Another judge ruled AmeriCorps funding must also be restored.

  7. SCOTUS rejected a challenge to the Maryland law banning assault weapons and the Connecticut statute banning high-capacity magazines.

  8. Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

• Educate Yourself

  1. Did you know that Gov. Lee’s business received a rebate under the tax rebate bill he signed into law?

  2. Learn about the Visibility Brigade that puts messages on overpasses and other public spaces.

  3. Of the 500,000 people whose temporary protective status has been removed, approximately 30,000 are legal immigrants working in the healthcare field, e.g. nurses, doctors, aids, orderlies, etc.

  4. Learn about StopAvelo.org. Avelo is an airline that has contracted with the regime to deport refugees.

  5. Learn why the Senate Parliamentarian may require some components of the Reconciliation Budget Bill to be removed.

  6. Read what the Handmaid’s Tale teaches us about resisting authoritarianism.

  7. Did you know that license plate readers are being use to assist ICE in TN?

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Women who have miscarriages after 9 weeks at home may be prosecuted in West Viriginia.

  2. Students of color from Washington State were singled out while crossing the border from Canada.

  3. The regime has ended guidance for hospitals and doctors on protecting women who miscarry and are in need of emergency pregnancy terminations.

  4. The Navy plans to rename the USNS Harvey Milk and may also remove names on other ships, such as the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, etc. Did you know that sailors feel it is bad luck to rename a ship?

  5. 47 wants to cut funding to tribal colleges by 90%, which would force many to close.

  6. Three transgender graduates of the Air Force Academy were not commissioned.

  7. A Southern California elementary school boy was detained by ICE when he attended an immigration hearing in Houston TX with his father, and he was separated from his dad.

  8. U.S. Supreme Court upholds Tennessee prohibition on gender affirming care for minors • Tennessee Lookout

  9. Trump Breaks Tradition by Ignoring Juneteenth Holiday

 Actions for Week of June 15, 2025

• Support our Afghan Allies – Kristi Noem is terminating temporary protective status for Afghan refugees, effective July 14, 2025.  More than 8000 Afghans were approved for TPS in 2023 and sending them back will risk many of their lives. Noem thinks conditions in Afghanistan has improved enough that they should be sent home. Please provide feedback to Ms. Noem at kristi.noem@hq.dhs.gov or 202-282-8495.

• Support the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act – This bill (HR 253) would prohibit members of Congress, spouses and dependents from purchasing or selling individual stocks and other types of investments while in office. Please ask Rep. Burchett to support the bill (contact information below) and sign this petition.

• Condemn Trump’s Use of National Guard and Military Against Americans and the forcible removal of Senator Padilla from a press conference.  California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed after trying to ask a question at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s open press conference in Los Angeles.

• Good News!

  1. An appeals court is keeping DOGE’s mass firings of federal workers on hold.

  2. A Florida bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote failed.

  3. The Pittsburgh airport is turning a landfill into a solar farm.

  4. A group of Quakers marched 300 miles to demonstrate against the crackdown on immigrants.

  5. In March low-carbon energy sources generated more electricity and fossil fuels.

  6. NPR and PBS are suing 47 over cutting off their funding.

  7. Hawaii is enacting a “green fee” that will be added to hotel room and other short-stay bills to help protect the local environment.

• Educate Yourself

  1. The $766 million contract for Moderna to develop flu vaccines, including one for bird flu, has been canceled.

  2. The Make American Healthy (MAHA) report issued by RFK Jr cites some studies that don’t exist and misinterprets others.

  3. The Pentagon plans to divert $1billion from the fund to refurbish and renovate Army barracks to the southern border mission.

  4. Utah commissioned a study on outcomes of gender-affirming care for trans youth, and they plan to ignore it because they don’t like to hear the truth.

  5. SCOTUS is sharply narrowing the scope of a key environmental statute, which makes it easier to win approval for highways, bridges, pipelines, etc.

  6. Read about the climate refugees of Newtok Alaska.

  7. Did you know that Sen. Joni Ernst had multiple affairs with military leaders lobbying her committee in Congress?

  8. Kilmar Albrego Garcia entered pleas of not guilty in a  Nashville courtroom on Friday.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. It is estimated that loss of USAID funds has resulted in 300,000 deaths, sexual violence and increased human trafficking over the last 5 months.

  2. The USDA is terminating the McGovern-Dole school feeding programs that will leave >780,00 children without their only meal of the day beginning in July.

  3. An undocumented man that Kristi Noem accused of threatening 47 was actually framed.

  4. One of Rep. Nadler’s staff in his Manhattan office was handcuffed and detained as Homeland Security officers entered the office and accused them of harboring rioters who were protesting at a courthouse in the same building. 

  5. A sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from 83,000 automatic license plate readers to track down a women suspected of self-managing an abortion.

  6. ICE agents are lying about their identity (e.g. posing as utility workers) in attempts to infiltrate neighborhoods.

  7. A Boston teen was arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice. Despite a judge putting a stay on the arrest, ICE tried holding him as ransom because they really want his father. The community fought back and a judge released him on 6/5.

  8. Authorities are still searching for the suspect in the shooting of 2 Minnesota state lawmakers

Actions for Week of June 8, 2025

• June 14th: Let’s Rally! Let’s Party! Make fun of the clown who wants to be king.  

         a.   Noon-2PM. No Kings Event Blount County. RSVP here to receive location.

1. Noon-2PM: No Kings Event Knoxville. Sponsored by Indivisible Knoxville. Location: 800 Worlds Fair Park, Knoxville. Meet at the Veterans Memorial. RSVP here. 

2. Noon-2PM: No Kings Event Morristown. Meet outside of East High School. See Facebook event here.

3. Noon-2PM: Kick out the Clowns Oak Ridge. Sponsored by Women’s March, Third Act, Anderson Dems and others. Location: 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. RSVP here.

4. 1-3PM: No Kings Event Sevierville. Location: 1414 Parkway, Sevierville. RSVP here.

5. 6-9PM: Kick out the Clowns. Sponsored by Indivisible. Location: John Tarleton Park, 3201 Division St, Knoxville. RSVP here. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/100067965476860/posts/1020357026906470/?rdid=uMYuyQ7Ryifv1oOB#

• Oppose Acceptance of Qatari Jet – Senate Resolution 218 condemns acceptance of an aircraft or any other substantial jet from a foreign government.  The resolution is sponsored by 27 senators so far. Turns out 47 requested the plane from Qatar; Qatar did not offer it. Even though the plane is in the states, the deal with Qatar has not been finalized. Please contact our Senators and ask them to support this resolution. Contact information is below.

• Good News!

  1. The administration continues to lose in court:

     1. A judge ruled that 47’s administration must restore $14 million in grants to Nashville.

     2. Another judge ruled that $176 million of environmental grants across the country must be restored.

     3. A judge ruled the administration must return a Guatemalan deportee to the USA.

     4. Another federal judge ruled DOGE must release its internal documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

     5. The regime withdrew the court request to pause a judicial order that blocked DOGE from implementing large-scale reductions in the federal workforce.

     6. A judge ordered release of Kweniia Petrova from ICE custody.

     7. A judge ruled States and individuals can sue Elon Musk for his work with DOGE, even though he has left Washington DC.

  2. Tesla sales continue to plunge across Europe.

• Educate Yourself

  1. NAACP is calling for an emergency shutdown of xAI in south Memphis.

  2. Missouri lawmakers are trying to repeal abortion protections enacted by voters in a statewide referendum.

  3. The regime is threatening to end “debt-for-nature” deals that will conservation efforts across Africa and Latin America.

  4. SCOTUS refused to hear the case against creation of a copper mine in Oak Flat, which is sacred to the Apache and others.

  5. Student visa interviews at embassies across the globe have been halted.

  6. Just what we don’t need – a resurgence of screw worm!

  7. Did you know that international immigrants are driving rural population growth?

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. “Shadow” police are removing and arresting unhoused people from downtown Nashville.

  2. The US State Department is going to aggressively revoke the visas of Chinese students at USA universities and colleges.

  3. The White House has stopped having sign language interpreters at press conferences and important briefings.

  4. Homeland Security is threatening the mayor of Nashville for supporting immigrants.

  5. A Vietnamese man expected to be deported back to Vietnam, but he was sent to South Sudan where his fate is now in limbo.

  6. A 2-year-old girl who is a US citizen was deported to Brazil where she is now stateless. Brazil issued her a temporary tourist visa, but it will expire soon.

  7. Three children were taken into custody and zip-tied by ICE when they showed up for a scheduled court appearance in San Antonio.

Actions for Week of June 1, 2025

• Support our Immigrant Neighbors – We learned Thursday evening that the immigrant community across TN is under duress. Here are some things you can do to help them:

  1. When the proposed law to ban undocumented students is refiled in the TN General Assembly in January 2026, plan to fight it. Join Public School Strong TN, SOCM, and/or TN for All.

  2. Join TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights (TIRRC) and donate money to their Belonging Fund. Join AKIN and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

  3. Donate money locally to Centro Hispano East TN, Welcoming Immigrant Neighbors-Blount County, Bridge Refugee Services, Good Neighbors Blount County, and/or Adelante.org.

  4. Become a notary so you can participate in clinics preparing paperwork (e.g. power of attorney, childcare directives) for immigrants. It only costs $76!

  5. Volunteer with one of these organizations:

     1. Centro Hispano: https://www.centrohispanotn.org/volunteer/

     2. WIN-BC: WINBlountCounty@gmail.com

     3. AKIN: AKIN@gmail.com or https://weareakin.wordpress.com/get-involved/ 

     4. Weekly Witness: Charles Mulligan - chasfm@comcast.net

     5. Rapid Response Referral Network: https://airtable.com/appSwucHf9fv8Sr8E/pagwm2WfNpEmvKghY/form

  6. Get trained to be an ICE verifier and learn more about ICE activities in our local area. Contact AKIN@gmail.com. Attending training session on June 13th, Fri 1:30-4PM: ICE Watch. Location: The Birdhouse, 800 N. 4th Ave, Knoxville. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/100064515497144/posts/1103391198488053/?rdid=23Cx9Iuv05EUOzdC#

  7. Read the book Nuetras Voces that tells the stories of Knoxville community’s Latino immigrants through art and narrative. It can be purchased at Centro Hispano for $25 and all proceeds stay with the organization. To obtain a copy, contact dani@centrohispanotn.org.

  8. Invite one of the speakers from the Thursday Huddle meeting to speak at your church, club, group, community center, etc. See email addresses in the meeting minutes.

• Support Harvard – As you know, 47 and his regime have been attacking Harvard by cancelling grants and other funding because they claim the university it too liberal and supports antisemitism. 47 is also threatening to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. The latest attack was to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students. After each attack, the president of Harvard (Alan Garber) has refused to cave in to the regime’s demands. Harvard filed a lawsuit to protect its ability to keep and enroll foreign students and staff and received a temporary restraining order against the regime.  There are more than 7000 visa holders at Harvard.

      What You Can Do:

1. A nationwide effort is underway to support Harvard by donating $86.47. (Google what 8647 means.) Please consider joining this effort. Visit this website for ways to give.

2. Harvard has launched a free, online course on Civic Engagement in a Constitutional Democracy. It covers basic US government, understanding the constitution, and how to recognize a dictatorship takeover. You can sign up here.

• Good News!

  1. SCOTUS voted unanimously to reopen a Texas Civil Rights lawsuit.

  2. Black Women’s Health Imperative and others have launched the Opill Access Fund to provide a free 3-month supply of Opill over-the-counter birth control pills to eligible women

  3.  At the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee NC, a Cherokee language immersion program is teaching pre-school through 6thgrade kids their native language.

  4. The Institute of Peace won its lawsuit against DOGE and has reclaimed its headquarters.

  5. A federal judge in California has blocked the administration from terminating visas of foreign students across the USA.

  6. Another judge blocked the plan to gut the Department of Education.

  7. By a 4-to-4 tie, SCOTUS blocked creation of a religious charter school in Oklahoma that would have received public funding.

  8. Most of the books pulled from the Naval Academy library because of DEI titles have been returned.

• Educate Yourself

  1. New FEMA guidelines shift costs to the states. If they had been in place from 2008-24, they would have cost TN $468 million.

  2. Learn what the TN PEACE Act means for free speech. It makes giving your name to law enforcement mandatory when asked; criminalizes distributing unsolicited flyers; prohibits flying banners from bridges and overpasses, etc.

  3. A federal appeals court dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. Let’s hope the decision is appealed.

  4. Did you know the regime is permitting sale of devices that allow standard firearms to fire like machine guns?

  5. College campuses across the USA are closing their women’s and LGBTQ+ centers.

  6. A team of national child welfare attorneys have sued TN for failing to protect children in foster care.

  7. SCOTUS is allowing 47 to fire some members of independent federal agencies, but the Federal Reserve is exempt.

1. Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

   1. The Living Languages Grant to support native American languages is in jeopardy.

   2. This website provides information on the immigrants being disappeared in the USA.

   3. A $7.7 million grant to help Western North Carolina seniors access the internet has been cancelled, and FEMA denied the request for funds needed to clear remaining debris in NC from Hurricane Helene.

   4.  Because of federal cuts, Kansas City schools risk losing funds for free meals.

   5. The regime has revoked the humanitarian parole of a 4-year-old girl from Mexico who is in the USA to receive life-saving medical care.

   6. The governor of Oklahoma vetoed an amendment to Ida’s Law that provided for tribal liaisons to the OBI for murdered and missing indigenous peoples because he thinks it is racially biased.

   7. A Brooklyn high schooler was arrested by ICE when he went for a routine immigration court date.

Actions for Week of May 25, 2025

• Oppose the Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill – See this pdf for details.

• Note all the cuts to social and safety-net programs (e.g. Medicaid, SNAP, addiction funding) , affordable housing  and homeless programs, etc. Cuts to NPS, BLM, USGS, and USFWS appear on pages 28-30. 250,000 Tennesseans could lose TennCare. As many as 15 rural hospitals in Tennessee might be forced to close due to cuts in funding.

• A main goal of these cuts is to give the rich another tax cut. The richest people will make more money, and the poorest will lose out. See the Bipartisan Policy Center’s analysis here.

• Because Medicare is not exempted from the Pay-As-You-Go provision, the bill could force $500 billion in cuts in 2026 to offset the national debt.

• It also includes $20 billion for a nationwide private school voucher program. At the same time, it cuts federal financial aid for low-income college students.

• The bill also bans states from regulating AI for 10 years.

• The bill dramatically increases the budget for ICE and building detention centers (to enable indefinite detention) and raises fees on all immigrant applications. $150 billion is added to the defense budget.

• One Representative who owns a gun shop included an amendment that repeals regulations on gun suppressors/silencers.

• A hidden provision in the bill makes it harder for the courts to hold people in contempt.

What You Can Do: Please contact our Senators and express your opposition to the bill. Contact information is below.

• Consider contacting these Senators who have expressed concerns about the Medicaid cuts in the bill.

• Sen. Lisa Murkowski: https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/contact/email , 202-224-6665

• Sen.  Susan Collins: https://www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins , 202-224-2525

• Sen. Josh Hawley: https://www.hawley.senate.gov/contact-senator-hawley/ , 202-224-6154

  1. Contact these Senators who oppose the bill because it adds to the deficit:

     • Sen. Paul Rand (KY):  https://www.paul.senate.gov/connect/ , 202-224-4343

     • Sen. Ron Johnson (WI): https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/email-the-senator , 202-224-5323

     • Sen. Mike Lee (UT): https://www.lee.senate.gov/contact, 202-224-5444

     • Sen. Jerry Moran (KS): https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-jerry , 202-224-6521

  2. Here are 6 petitions to sign: Petition 1 , Petition 2, Petition 3, Petition 4, Petition 5, Petition 6.

• Prepare for June 14th – Indivisible, Women’s March Coalition, and other groups are planning a nationwide day of action to take place at the same time as 47’s North Korean-style military parade. So far, >700 events are scheduled.

  1. Save the Date:

     1. Noon-2PM: No Kings Blount County. RSVP here to receive location.

     2. 6-9 PM: No Kings/FDT Event Knoxville. Sponsored by Indivisible Knoxville. Location: Charles Krutch Park, 504 Market St. Knoxville. RSVP here.

     3. 1-3PM: No Kings Sevierville. Location: 1414 Parkway, Sevierville. RSVP here.

  2. Indivisible TN is asking for equipment and monetary donations for the Knoxville rally. See this list of needed items and click here to send money.

  3. See this map of scheduled NO KINGS events in other areas on Indivisible’s website. Here is a toolkit for folks hosting an event and the site for registering an event.

  4. Sign up here to get information on Kick Out the Clowns events.

  5. Also investigate GeneralStrike.com, a movement preparing for strikes to be called at some time in the future. A TN chapter has been formed. 

  6. Sign this petition opposing the military parade.

• Good News!

  1. A new tribal park, Three Affiliated Tribes National Park, is being established in North Dakota.

  2. A Montana judge struck down the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

  3. Farmers successfully sued to have deleted climate data put back on the Agriculture Department’s website.

  4. Bitcoin miners are buying power plants in New York and communities are fighting back.

  5. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the 2023 TN law requiring residents to use the gender assigned at birth on their drivers’ licenses.

  6. A federal court ruled against an attempt to withhold protection for the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act.

  7. The regime set up a snitch line and asked EPA employees to call out any colleagues working on DEI initiatives. No one used the line. 😊

• Educate Yourself

  1. Check out the Food Policy tracker created by CivilEats.com to monitor the changes proposed by the new regime.

  2. Read about where orphan oil wells pose threats to aquifers, including ground water in Appalachia.

  3. The regime is closing two key EPA divisions, including the popular Energy Star program.

  4. Marco Rubio’s State Department is pressuring countries to sign up for Musk’s Starlink service, especially those countries facing tariffs.

  5. The regime has shut down the CDC’s infection control committee.

  6. FEMA has admitted being unprepared for the upcoming hurricane season and it has reduced training sessions for state and local emergency managers.

  7. Did you know that when DOGE went looking for phone fraud at the Social Security Administration, they found almost none? Yet their efforts led to a significant degradation in services.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Funding for a Wisconsin-based research center that focuses on improving health and safety for farmers and their children was wiped out.

  2. The regime is trying to defund the $2.7 billion program to provide rural internet because the law that established it has “equity” in the name.

  3. The Justice Dept. has ended the police reforms agreements that were negotiated after George Floyd’s death.

  4. The regime is proposing to use USAID funds to deport 200,000 Ukrainians and 500,000 Haitians.

  5. The Dept. of Justice has opened an investigation into the Chicago mayor (who is Black) because of his diverse hiring practices.

  6. US Dept of Agriculture cancelled existing grants for its Food for Progress food aid program, which not only will result in foreign children starving, it hurts American farmers.

  7. The regime is seeking to end the 1997 Flores Agreement that require US Immigration officials to hold migrant children in facilities that are safe and sanitary; to provide them access to a lawyer; and to seek their expeditious release.

  8. ICE arrested a white, Danish father at his citizenship hearing in Mississippi.

Actions for Week of May 18, 2025

• Support the National Park Service – The budget reconciliation bill making its way through the US House guts the NPS. It cuts $1.2 billion (38%) from the current 2025 budget ($31.5 billion), which is already down from the 2024 budget. Here are details on the cuts. The bill also strips away $267 million dollars appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act for park staffing. This in on top of the $26 million in grants DOGE is obliterating that would be used for park staff,  seasonal hiring, and other programs.

  • Ramifications of these Plans:  The NPS currently operates 63 National Parks and 433 NPS sites that include historical sites, national monuments, battlefields, memorials, parkways, rivers and reserves.

    1. With budget cuts of this size, hundreds of sites protected by the NPS may be turned over to the states. However, there is no precedent or agreement for states to take them over, and the states lack the funds to care for them. There is also no time for the states to add the expense for maintaining the sites to their budgets that begin in July. This raises the specter the states will either close the sites or sell them off.

    2. Congressional Republicans are considering selling public lands to help pay for the reconciliation bill. An amendment was added to the bill allowing public lands to be sold to developers in Utah and Nevada.

    3. Keep in mind the proposed DOGE cuts are illegal because the funding was mandated by Congress. Also note that the National Parks contribute $55.6 billion annually in economic output. The contribution to TN alone is very high. In fact, the whole Southeast benefits greatly from our parks and other sites maintained by the NPS. In total, outdoor recreation generates $1.2 trillion in economic output.

    4. Bill Pierce, who served as Park Ranger and Superintendent for NPS for 40 years, offered this perspective.

  • What You Can Do:

    1. Attend the rally in Townsend on Sat May 24th Noon-1:30PM.

    2. Contact our MoCs and voice your opposition to this plan. Contact information is below and/or use the 5 Calls app.

    3. Contact our TN State Representatives, Senators and Governor with your concerns. You can find their email addresses and phone numbers here and here.

    4. Sign this petition from the Outdoor Alliance.

    5. Consider joining the Patagonia Action Network to support NPS.

    6. Visit the National Parks Conservation Association and Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks to learn more and join up.

    7. Consider signing up with Perfect Union, an organization that is posting billboards across the country informing the public about what DOGE is doing to harm the national parks. Donations are welcome.

• Oppose Reclassification of Federal Workers – The Office of Personnel Management wants to proceed with a new rule (Schedule F) that will strip away civil service protections and make it easier to fire federal employees and replace them with loyalists. Here are more details on the proposed change. Please consider submitting comments on this plan by May 23rd through this link.

• Good News!

  1. Doctors are refusing to stop mailing abortion pills across state lines.

  2. Nearly 400 colleges and universities refuse to close DEI offices.

  3. SCOTUS ruled the regime cannot deport Venezuelans without due process, and sent the case back to a federal appeals court.

  4. Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona vetoed a bill that would have forced cooperation with ICE.

  5. Alabama voters successfully sued the state, with the result there will now be two black-majority Congressional districts.

  6. Seventeen states are suing the US DOT over the electric vehicle funding freeze.

  7. Former TN Speaker of the House, Glen Casa, and his ex-aide were found guilty in a federal corruption case.

• Educate Yourself

1. A bipartisan group in the US House is drafting a bill to restructure FEMA, and in some cases expand its services, since 47 is threatening to abolish FEMA. The day after the acting administrator of FEMA testified before Congress that he did not support dismantling of the agency, he was fired.

2. Check out the Domestic Extremists Tracker, which breaks down people charged with domestic extremist activity by state.

3. Read how companies plan to deal with 47-induced tariffs.

4. ProPublica won a Pulitzer Prize for this article: Life of the Mother – How Abortion Bans Lead to Preventable Deaths.

5. Learn how protestors in the Czech Republic took down an oligarch there in 2021.

6. Did you know that is ending the extreme weather database that has tracked the cost of disasters since 1980?

7. DOGE continues to lie about the money they are supposedly saving.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Funding for hundreds of organizations that provide services to crime victims and safety programs are being cut by the regime.

  2. The DEA is abandoning the use of body cameras.

  3. Even though a court issued an injunction against the regime cutting funding for gender identity research and gender-affirming care, the administration is defying the order.

  4. The administration has canceled funding for the diabetes prevention program.

  5. Gov. Lee signed a bill into law that opens schools up to lawsuits for using students’ preferred names or pronouns.

  6. US Department of Health and Human Services issued a report opposing gender-affirming care that misrepresented medical consensus and included many inaccuracies.

  7. Did you know that days after it opened an investigation into Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest, the DHS civil rights office was dissolved?

Actions for Week of May 11, 2025

• Support South Memphis – Under pressure from the Memphis Community Against Pollution lead by KeShaun Pearson (one of our March meeting speakers) and his brother, Rep. Justin Pearson, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners held a hearing on xAI’s use of polluting gas turbines at their facility. Testimony revealed they are using 35 turbines but have permission for only using 15. None of the turbines are fitted with pollution controls and xAI has no Clean Air Act permits. xAI is now one of Shelby County’s largest emitters of nitrogen oxides.The Shelby County Health Dept. will decide whether to grant permits for the additional turbines. Please contact the Health Department with feedback through this public comment form or calling 901-222-9000. You can also email the members of the Memphis City Council through this link.

• Comment on Proposed Rule to EPA – The US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to change the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species act to exclude habitat modification and destruction. Please offer your comments here before May 19th.

• Petitions to Sign

  1. This petition (scroll down the page) asks Congress to stop funds from being cut for the National Park Service.

  2. This petition urges Congress to not cut international exchange programs out of the 2026 budget.

  3.  This petition asks Congress to not slash funding for SNAP.

  4. This petition and this petition call for the release of wrongfully-deported Andry Jose Hernandez Romero from the prison in El Salvador.

  5. This letter asks TDEC to reject Enbridge’s Ridgeline gas pipeline. It would stretch 122 miles across 7 East TN counties.

  6. This petition urges former presidents and vice presidents to speak up more forcefully against the regime.

  7. This petition asks Congress not to cut clean energy tax credits.

• Good News!

  1. A foundation backed by Walton heiress, Christy Walton, is establishing the Vaccine Integrity Project to counter misinformation spread by RFK Jr and to independently review decisions made on vaccines by him and other administration officials.

  2. 47 continues to lose in court:

     1. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the mass firings and major reorganization of federal departments by OMB, OPM, and DOGE under a February Executive Order. The judge says 47 has no legal authority to act alone and that the approval of Congress is needed.

     2. A federal just paused US Dept. of Education’s enforcement of DEI ban.

     3. Another judge blocked administration efforts to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

     4. An Appeals Court rejected the administration’s request to revoke temporary protective status for 400,000 immigrants.

     5. A federal judge ordered the Dept. of Education to restore COVID pandemic relief funds in some states and give them time to spend the monies.

     6. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the land mine transfer in Oak Flat AZ, a piece of land sacred to the Apache tribe. The case will go to SCOTUS.

  3. The city of Stockholm Sweden is refusing to comply with a US State Dept. demand that all contractors must comply with the regime’s anti-DEI policies.

  4. A federal judge certified Allison Riggs as the winner of the North Carolina state Supreme Court election, and her Republican foe finally conceded.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Learn about the recent ICE and TN Highway Patrol dragnet that resulted in detentions of middle-TN immigrants.

     1. The agencies racially profiled drivers, pulling them over in some cases without justification.

     2. TN State Republicans, including the governor, backed the operation.

     3. Plan to attend the May 29th Huddle meeting where we will hear from 4 local organizations involved with immigrants, particularly with the Hispanic community.

  2. USDA withdrew a proposed rule that would stop chicken contaminated with Salmonella from reaching US consumers, and the lab that protects the water of the Great Lakes has been decimated.

  3. Learn about the Progressive South, a nonprofit media platform for progressive voices in the southern USA. Be sure to check out the listed resources.

  4. SCOTUS is allowing the regime to ban transgender service members.

  5. Gov. Lee issued his first veto! He’s rejected SB455/HB527 that expanded the authority of the state Probation and Parole Board to reject parole for more than the 22 designated violent felonies.

  6. A White House proposal would gut the climate modeling program the whole world depends on.

  7. Avian flu is continuing to increase in cats. Most of the cases are the highly pathogenic strain (HPAI), which has a high fatality rate in cats (53-89%). The virus is also mutating, which is raising concern for future cat-to-human and human-to-human transmission. Keep your cats indoors and monitor for dead birds on your property.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. The administration is removing artifacts from the National Museum of African-American History & Culture that highlight civil rights activism, including the Woolworth’s lunch counter exhibit.

  2. On April 23rd an Executive Order was signed that prohibits use of “disparate-impact liability” concerns when making decisions on hiring and employment practices, which facilitates showing preference to whites over people of color and vulnerable communities. Rather ironic since the present cabinet is the least diverse and least qualified in history.

  3. Lawyers in the DOJ department to prevent voter discrimination have been fired, and an executive order directs other federal agencies to deprioritize enforcement of anti-discrimination statutes.

  4. 47’s proposed budget would end the Narcan program and other additional measures.

  5. The only affordable option (VASP) for many veterans behind on their VA home loans was shut down by the administration.

  6. As the regime guts the Dept. of Education, one of its biggest targets is the civil rights arm, with investigations into discrimination at schools falling off sharply.

  7. Republicans in the US House plan to make major changes in SNAP, such as limit future benefit increases, implement more work requirements, and push costs to states, which would result in low-income folks being removed from the program. See the petition above.

Actions for Week of May 4, 2025

• Support PBS & NPR – On Thursday, 47 issued the Executive Order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media, that ends taxpayer funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for PBS and NPR. However, 47 does not have the legal authority to defund CPB because it is not a federal agency subject to executive authority. The law passed by Congress to create CPB expressly forbade “any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over educational television or radio broadcasting, or over [CPB] or any of its grantees or contractors." In addition, funding is provided by Congress and "may be used at the discretion of the recipient". CPB is already suing the administration for trying to fire 3 of its 5 board members and is vowing to file suit against the EO. What You Can Do:

  1. Contact our MoCs to ask them to support PBS and NPR. They can be reached through 5 calls or via contact information below. In the last 2 days, this issue is one of the top subjects of calls made via the 5 calls app.

  2. Visit Protectmypublicmedia.org and join its action network to learn about actions to protect our local stations.

  3. Send a message urging Congress to save public media through this link.

  4. Follow PBS and NPR on Threads, BlueSky and Facebook to receive updates and amplify support for them.

  5. Learn why 47 hates Sesame Street so much. It’s because they have a character named Donald Grump, a grouch who hoards trash and has a fragile ego. Meet Donald Grump here.

• Boycott Products from El Salvador – Until all deportations to the country stop, please read the labels carefully for any products that might be exported from El Salvador. See this website for information on exports.

• Good News!

  1. Karen Attiah, whose course on Race, Media, and International Affairs was cancelled at Columbia University, is offering it online for free.

  2. It was a good week for folks who sued the administration.

     1. A federal judge declared the Executive order punishing the Perkins Coie law firm for working with Hillary Clinton and other Democrats is unconstitutional and wrote a scathing 102-page decision on the matter.

     2. A federal court granted a temporary restraining order to block the administration’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum & Library Services.

     3. Another judge ruled that use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants is unlawful.

     4. Another federal judge blocked 47’s plans to withhold federal funds from several “sanctuary” cities.

     5. After Maine sued, the administration backed off its plan to freeze funds for Maine schools because of the state’s support for transgender rights.

  3. A white supremacist has been charged for the 2019 arson at Highlander Research & Education Center in New Market TN.

  4. The administration reversed itself and has restored funding for the Women’s Health Initiative study.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Red Wine & Blue is tracking implementation of Project 2025 and offering suggestions on how to fight back.

  2. Did you know that 47 cut the minimum wage for thousands of private sector workers who work on federal contracts?

  3. Read the 17 Ways to Disrupt the Status Quo in Your Hometown.

  4. Learn how data centers are endangering state budgets.

  5. The CDC disease prevention team has been gutted, and almost all federal workers who investigate firefighter deaths have been laid off.

  6. A group founded by Stephen Miller is suing Chief Justice John Roberts in an attempt to control the courts.

  7. Did you know that the deputy at DOJ tried to obtain search warrants for student protestors’ Instagram accounts and was denied and rebuked by prosecutors and a judge?

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Rev. William J. Barber and other clergy were arrested last week for praying in the Capitol Rotunda and the press were forcibly removed so they could not film the arrests.

  2. Hundreds of immigrants have been arrested at the Detroit-Canada border bridge for simply making a wrong turn.

  3. The administration is cutting funding and manpower for investigating child abuse, enforcing support payments, and providing childcare.

  4. Funding has also been cut for Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) that matches trained volunteers with abused and neglected kids in the foster care system.

  5. DOGE has fired members and slashed funding for AmeriCorps, whose mission is to help our most vulnerable communities.

  6. Federal agents are detaining workers at dairy farms, which threatens the dairy industry. Dairies employing immigrant workers contribute 79% of the US milk supply.

  7. The administration is denying assistance from FEMA for damage caused by flooding, tornados and windstorms in several states.

Actions for Week of April 27, 2025

• Oppose Opening Marine Sanctuary to Commercial Fishing – On April 17th, an Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitivenesswas issued. Here is the White House’s justification for issuing it. The EO opens the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to commercial fishing, putting a pristine ecosystem at risk. The monument was established in 2009 by Pres. GW Bush, expanded in 2014 by Pres. Obama, and protects 490,00 square miles in the Pacific Ocean. The monument is home to many threatened and endangered species. Here’s What You Can Do:

Please contact our MoCs and ask them to strongly object to this move. In your communications note that presidents do not have the legal right to modify or abolish national monuments. Contact information is below. You can also use the 5Calls app to call our MoCs (see below).

Contact the White House with feedback. Comments can be called to 202-456-111 or emailed to https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ .

Follow the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition at https://protectpih.com/  and Shark Stewards at https://sharkstewards.org/ .

Sign this petition opposing opening the monument to commercial fishing.

• Offer Public Comments - The regime is proposing that the word “harm” in the Endangered Species Act now exclude habitat modification or loss. This is so they can move forward with their plans to log national forests, open marine sanctuaries to fishing, build roads across public lands, etc. Please submit a comment here on this plan before May 19th.

Good News!

1. More lawsuits have been filed against the regime.

• Foreign students are suing over their revoked visas.

• NAACP is suing the Dept. of Education over loss of funds for schools that use DEI programs.

• Students in military schools are suing over removal of books from school libraries that are considered DEI.

• Small businesses are suing the administration over tariffs.

• Harvard has filed a lawsuit against 47 over budget cuts.

• The Litigation Tracker tracks all the lawsuits against the new regime.

1. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that rainforest oil exploration must stop because uncontacted tribes have the right to remain isolated.

2. Since New Mexico made childcare free, it has lifted 120,000 out of poverty.

3. More than 150 university presidents have signed a letter denouncing the administrations attacks on higher education. Stanford is publicly supporting Harvard, and Big Ten schools are uniting against the regime.

4. A federal judge ordered ICE to restore legal status for 133 foreign students.

5. Another judge temporarily blocked the administration from making changes to genders on passports.

6. Colorado has made it illegal to buy, sell, and make most semi-automatic firearms without background checks and training.

7. The Trump Administration reversed its ruling on eliminating funding for women's health research.

Educate Yourself

1. Because of staffing cuts, the FDA is suspending food safety quality checks and quality testing of milk.

2. ProPublica is tracking members of the DOGE team. Read about them here.

3. The regime is rescinding two BLM rules the protect millions of acres across the West and Alaska’s North Slope. DOGE took over the Interior Dept. last week and is now running the National Parks.

4. Although DOGE is making it difficult to track what they are doing, here’s a map that shows the federal grants they’ve terminated.

5. USDA cuts are hurting small farms while 47 gives billions to big farms. In addition, USDA cancelled $3 billion climate program for farmers.

6. What happens if US Marshalls (who work for the Executive Branch) refuse to arrest executive branch employees for being in contempt of court?

7. Here’s an article on what to do if 47 invokes the Insurrection Act.

Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

1. It is estimated that the regime has paid El Salvador $6-$11 million to take deportees, funds that were not appropriated by Congress and likely violate human rights law. 

2. Federal funding freeze has halted key infrastructure projects in tribal communities.

3. HHS eliminated the office that sets poverty levels tied to benefits for 80 million people.

4. Another American citizen was detained by ICE for 10 days for walking as brown.

5. A 4-year-old girl and other kids are going to immigration court in New York City without lawyers because the regime suspended legal support for them.

6. Omar Ameen who sought refuge in the US after fleeing Iraq in 2014was detained by ICE and deported (without due process) to Rwanda. Rwanda was paid $100,000 to take him since Iraq would not, and he would have assuredly been executed if returned to Iraq.

The Dept. of Education is resuming debt collection on student loans in default, which proportionally affects more rural residents than urban ones.Actions for Week of April 20, 2025

1. Oppose Logging in National Forests – In March an Executive Order was issued to expand American Timber Production. See details here.  Another EO declares importation of timber/lumber a national security threat. Under the guise of preventing forest fires, US Sec. of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins,  has issued a memo describing the plan to open national forests to logging.

   1. Here is the map of national forests targeted. It includes Cherokee, Nantahala, and Pisgah National Forest in East TN and West NC. It includes ALL national forests in WA and CA (including redwood forests), Tongass national forest in AK, the entire Boundary Waters area of northern MN, forests in the Green Mountains of VT and white mountains of NH, and many more. Many of these locations are used for recreation by the public, e.g. camping, hiking, skiing, fishing, etc. and serve as protected habitat for wildlife.

   2. Using a fabricated emergency declaration, protections for plant and wildlife are being suspended in the designated areas. In addition, an April 8th Executive Order attempts to nullify state climate laws that may stand in the regime’s way. 

   3. What You Can Do:

      1. Please contact our MoCs and ask them to strongly object to these measures. Contact information is below. You can use the 5Calls app to call our MoCs (see below).

      2. Sign this petition and this petition opposing expansion of logging.

      3. Contact the White House with feedback. Comments can be called to 202-456-111 or emailed to comments@whitehouse.gov.

      4. Educate yourself on methods that activists in the past used to halt logging in old-growth forests, such as blocking logging roads, camping out in trees, large-scale protests, etc.

1. Good News!

   1. DOGE has rolled back its plan to close regional Social Security offices.

   2. Germany is paying for Ukraine to have satellite-internet access through France’s Eutelsat, so Ukraine doesn’t have to rely on Musk’s Starlink anymore.

   3. Campaign Legal Center and others are suing 47 over his unlawful overreach.

   4. New York passed the Climate Change Superfund Act that holds fossil fuel producers financially accountable for past emissions.

   5. On Friday, SCOTUS blocked deportation of Venezuelans in Texas under the Alien Enemies Act, and a federal judge blocked deporting noncitizens to 3rd countries without due process, as well as to countries other than their place of origin.

   6. Rutherford County in TN is being sued for banning books without even reading them.

   7. An American citizen detained by ICE, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, was freed. He was detained while driving as brown.

   8. Kudos to Harvard for standing up to the president!

1. Educate Yourself

   1. Check out TransAthlete.com and the seminars they have scheduled on supporting transgender people.

   2. Read why Lesotho and other African nations were hit so hard by 47’s tariffs.

   3. Did you know that the US Treasury is dangerously low on funds?  So much for DOGE saving us money.

   4. An algorithm used in Louisiana is denying parole applications without any human input.

   5. More than 1000 international students have had their visas revoked. Here are details from NAFSA.

   6. Hundreds of workers that fight wildfires have been fired by DOGE,and 47 wants to move firefighting out of the Forest Service.

   7. Funding for the US Global Change Research Program, which produces the National Climate Assessment Report, has been terminated, and 47 proposes cuttin 20% of NASA’s budget.

1. Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

   1. New York University cancelled a lecture on USAID cuts because it was considered anti-government.

   2. FEMA has stopped 100% matching of funds for Helene recovery efforts in western North Carolina.

   3. The National Weather Service is no longer translating alerts for non-English speakers.

   4. The regime is requiring all undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government. If they receive a deportation notice and don’t self-deport, they will be fined $998 per day and their property may be seized.

   5. US Dept of Education is moving to strip federal K-12 education funds from the state of Maine because it refuses to comply with 47’s anti-DEI mandate.

   6. The regime’s budget proposal eliminates Head Start, funding for community health clinics, and initiatives to prevent teen pregnancy.

   7. Musk and Rubio lied. Food aid to starving children has not resumed. Instead it has been canceled, condemning thousands of children to die of starvation.

Actions for Week of April 13, 2025

• Oppose the Executive Order Abolishing IMLS, Voice of America, etc. – On March 14th, 47 issued an EO abolishing 7 independent agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, US Interagency Council on Homelessness, Voice of America and others. The entire staff at ILMS was put on leave. You can learn what IMLS does for each state through this interactive map and specifically here in Tennessee. TN libraries and museums will lose $4.6 million in grants from ISLM, and they are uncertain how to make up the difference. For example, Museum of Appalachia is losing 10% of its budget. Obliteration of IMLS will delete LABM Programs for the physically disabled, continuing education, the very popular READs ebook and audiobook download, and other programs. To learn about USICH and Voice of America, visit their websites.

  1. Please contact our MoCs and ask them to strongly object to these measures. You can send an email to them through this link. Other contact information is provided below.

  2. Contact the White House directly at  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

  3. You can also sign this petition.

• Easy Emails Pertaining to State Bills

  1. Emails on HB754, HB923, and HB1270:  Use the easy campaign at the link to tell the House Finance Subcommittee and House Finance Committee to reject bills on a data grab for gender-affirming care, DEI, and pronouns.

  2. Emails on HB571:  Use the easy campaign at the link to tell YOUR member of the Tennessee House to vote NO on a bill that endangers trans people in gender-designated spaces. It is up for a vote by the full House on Mon, Apr 14th. It passed in the Senate.

• Petitions to Sign 

  1. This petition defends science and scientists, and this one demands the Department of Education be saved.

  2. This ACLU petition opposes misgendering trans people’s passports.

  3. This petition supports impeachment of 47.

  4. This petition asks the governor of Idaho to stop the slaughter of wolves in the state.

  5. This petition asks TN pension funds to vote for climate change measures in their shareholder meetings.

  6. 47 is threatening to defund domestic HIV prevention programs. This petition requests that RFK JR continues them.

  7. This petition supports abolishing all Super PACs.

• Good News!

  1. A federal judge blocked the regime’s attempt to rescind temporary protective status for Venezuelans.

  2. Advocacy groups have filed suit against the Executive Order overhauling the election system. The Democratic party also sued to block 47’s elections EO. Here’s how the EO would disenfranchise millions.

  3. SCOTUS ruled that a man (Kilmar Abrego Garcia) wrongly deported to El Salvador must be returned.

  4. Sen. Schatz (HI) is holding up consideration of 300 departmental nominees in the US Senate.

  5. Americans held >2,085 protests in February, twice as many as February 2017.

  6. Thousands of lawyers are speaking up against 47’s attacks on law firms and some firms are fighting back. Georgetown University Law Center students are tracking how firms are reacting in this google doc.

  7. Planned Parenthood has resumed performing in-clinic abortions in Missouri.

• Educate Yourself

  1. The Impact Project.org has created an impact map that is tracking the effects of decisions made by DOGE and the new regime on our local communities. A lot of TN communities are marked on this map.

  2. ScienceImpacts.org has created a map showing where $68 billion and 68,000 jobs will be lost by cuts in funding for health research. Economic loss to Blount County alone is $366,000.

  3. Learn how cuts to NIH and education funding are adversely affecting small public universities and the rural communities around them.

  4. Honeybee colonies are declining by up to 70% in some areas this year. Yikes!

  5. Read how the regimen’s cutting of funds for state and local election security may impact elections.

  6. Thousands were laid off at the CDC, including HIV and lead poisoning prevention staff and the veterinarian leading the team trying to prevent spread of avian flu. Here’s a document tracking the offices eliminated or reduced.

  7. The regime froze family-planning funds for Planned Parenthoodthat included $8 million for low-income Tennesseans.

  8. The SAVE Act voter suppression bill passed the US House and heads to the Senate.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Tableau Public has created a tracker of people being disappeared by ICE.

  2. Learn about the horrors of women held in ICE detention camps.

  3. A $75 million grant administered by the Arbor Day Foundation to be used to plant trees to make urban neighborhoods cooler and healthier was cancelled because it was considered DEI.

  4. DOGE cancelled the lease for the Mount Pleasant PA mine safety office, leaving miners & their families at risk.

  5. Scores of government employees that help administer Head Start have been put on leave.

  6. A requirement for the Alabama Dept. of Public Heath to improve sanitation in majority-Black communities has been terminated because it is considered “an “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy”.

  7. The USAID team in Myanmar sent to assess earthquake damage was fired while on the ground there.

  8. Thousands of immigrants with legally-obtained social security numbers were labeled as deceased and their SS numbers canceled, and legal status for migrants that entered the USA using the CBP One app has been rescinded.

Actions for Week of April 6, 2025

• Protect our Public Lands - Late Friday night, April 4th,  the Senate blocked an amendment that would have banned the sale of public lands. Public lands could be sold to developers to pay for 47’s budget package. Last week, a Republican in the House filed a bill (HR2317) that would sell public lands in northern Nevada for economic development. In addition, Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, announced on Friday that the regime is opening up 59% of our national forests for logging. Here are some things you can do:

  1. Let’s turnout in Townsend April 12th to say “No” to these threats.

  2. Please provide feedback to our MOCs on this issue. Contact information is below.

  3. Consider writing a letter to the editor.

  4. This petition demands Musk & DOGE stop harming our National Parks, and this petition demands national monuments not be sold.

  5. Here are 3 more petitions to sign from REI’s Cooperative Action Network, Nature Conservancy, and Change.org.

• Petitions/Easy Emails Pertaining to State Bills 

  1. This link will send emails to House members urging them to vote “No” tomorrow, April 7th, on HB1044 that allows medical professionals to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

  2. This petition opposes HB541/SB670 that removes protections for 80% of TN wetlands. It is before the House Finance, Ways & Means Committee on Wed April 9th.

  3. This link will send emails to the House Committee on HB1270/SB937, which is up for consideration on Wed April 9th. It allows school officials and others to ignore preferred pronouns.

• Thank Sen. Cory Booker – Consider calling (973-639-8700, 202-224-5702, 856-338-8922) or emailing (https://www.booker.senate.gov/contact/write-to-cory/form ) Sen. Booker to thank him for his 25-hour speech in the Senate last week condemning what the new regime is doing to our country.

• Good News!

  1. SCOTUS upheld the ruling that declares ghost guns as firearms and allows regulation of them.

  2. More than 300 rich people have asked Congress to reject tax breaks for the wealthy.

  3. Illinois is returning 1500 acres stolen from the Prairie Band of the Potawatomi Nation.

  4. SCOTUS declined to hear a case challenging freedom of the press.

  5. A federal judge blocked the firing of Voice of America staff.

  6. After Speaker Johnson had a motion fail in the House, he threw a tantrum and cancelled all actions in the House for the remainder of last week, which means the SAVE bill never came up for a vote. (See last week's action list.)

  7. A US District judge ruled that Alabama cannot prosecute people and groups who help women travel out-of-state to get an abortion.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Did you know that foreign ownership of farmland is increasing? Learn about the JD Vance-funded Acre Trader that facilitates the sale of US farmland. Here’s the website.

  2. Check out the Up-and-In Guide for actions that can be done to stop authoritarianism.

  3. FEMA has blocked $10 billion in disaster aid to nonprofits over immigrant concerns and 19 Attorneys General are suing.

  4. To learn about 47’s fascination with President McKinley’s tariffs and how that worked out, read this article.

  5. Republicans in Congress want to reverse the ban on TCE, which is linked to birth defects, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

  6. Efforts to push satellite internet over fiber for wifi risks stranding rural communities.

  7. The Congressional Black Caucus has created an Executive Order Tracker that explains their effects on Black America.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. For a complete list of 47’s Executive Orders, visit the Federal Register website.

  2. At least 68 grants focused on LGBTQ health concerns were cancelled, including dozens of HIV studies.

  3. Read this horrifying account of what it was like for the deportees on ICE Air flights run by Global Crossing Airlines. Flight attendants are now refusing to work these flights.

  4. Food shipments worth $722,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank in TN have been cancelled by USDA.

  5. A $600,000 federal grant was cancelled because US Agriculture Secretary thought it was about menstrual cycles in transgender men when it was really a study on use of natural fibers in menstrual hygiene products.

  6. Seven Knox County Health Dept. workers lost their jobs last weekbecause a grant was defunded.

  7. ICE has begun making arrests of immigrant residents at their required check-in appointments in Knoxville, and 3 international students and one employee at UT had their visas revoked without warning and are now eligible for deportation.

 Actions for Week of March 30, 2025

• Sign the MCAP Petition  - This petition calls for city and county officials in the Memphis area to meet and pass measures to stop pollution of South Memphis by xAI. See Huddle Meeting Minutes for details on the project.

• Easy Emails to Send Feedback on Bills Scheduled for This Week -  These emails will be sent to everyone on the committee.

  1. Emails on SB1424:  Use the easy email campaign at the link to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a vague drag/adult-oriented establishments bill.

  2. Emails on HB1270:  Use the easy email campaign at the link to tell the House Education Committee to vote NO on an anti-trans pronoun bill.

  3. Emails on HB1271 and HB571: Use the easy email campaign at the link to tell the House Judiciary Committee to reject the binary definition of sex bill and the bill that endangers trans people in a variety of gender-designated spaces.

  4. Emails on HB884:  Use the easy email campaign at the link to tell YOUR member of the Tennessee House of Representative to vote no on the vague drag/adult-oriented establishments.

  5. Emails on SB1083/HB622 and SB1084/HB923:  Use the easy email campaign at the link to tell Senate and House State & Local Government Committees to reject two anti-DEI bills.

  6. HB0541/SB0670 that would remove protections for 80% of the wetlands in TN passed the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee and is before the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on Tues Apr 1st. Here is a Sierra Club petition to sign.

• Oppose SAVE Act – HR22 is a horrible voter suppression bill that is on the schedule in the US House this week. Here are 9 things to know about the bill. It would disenfranchise millions of people. Please contact Rep. Burchett (contact info below) and ask him to vote against the bill. You can also sign this ACLU petition opposing the bill.

• Good News!

  1. The MacArthur Foundation will increase its donations for 2 years in response to 47’s freeze on foreign aid.

  2. Harvard is making tuition free for all students from households making up to $200K.

  3. 47’s tariffs are not sitting well with his base.

  4. A federal judge ruled the Fish & Wildlife Service must protect endangered species from 4 toxic pesticides.

  5. Judges have temporarily prevented deportation of Jeanette Vizguerra and Bada Kan Suri.

  6. New Hampshire has created a loan program to finance clean energy projects.

  7. An Iowa book ban was temporarily put on hold by a federal judge.

• Educate Yourself

  1. The office that investigates disparities in veterans’ care is being liquidated.

  2. You can read the entire Signal chat on the military mission to bomb Houthis in Yemen that included a reporter form the Altantic here.

  3. Funding freezes enacted by DOGE at Department of HUD have killed the $1 billion Green & Resilient Retrofit Program that was designed to keep affordable, aging housing viable.

  4. Did you know that about 50% of Project 2025 has been initiated in the last 2 months? See this Project 2025 tracker.

  5. Read about the artists cancelling their performances at the Kennedy Center and which groups were cancelled.

  6. Hundreds of staff of Radio Free Asia that were placed on leave now face deportation from the USA and some have been imprisoned overseas. Despite the layoffs, Radio Free Europe and other networks are ignoring 47’s order to shut down and continue to broadcast the news.

  7. Did you know that Rep. Tim Burchett floated the idea of using taxpayer money to fund Steve Bannon, Newsmax and Fox News?

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Eight countries will run out of HIV treatments due to cuts in USAID funding. A federal judge ruled 47 overstepped his constitutional authority when these funds were frozen but it is doubtful funding will be resumed.

  2. Information on Navajo code talkers has been taken down from military websites. The Pentagon also scrubbed websites of information on the Holocaust, sexual assault and suicide prevention.

  3. Sen. Rubio halted cleanup work at an Agent Orange site in Vietnam, leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk.

  4. Temporary protective status has been revoked for 530,00 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans & Venezuelans. 

  5. The Haskell Free Library & Opera House literally straddles the border of Vermont & Quebec. Historically, Canadians were welcome to enter it from their side of the building but US officials have closed access on the Canadian side.  If you want to donate to the construction effort to create a new entrance for Canadians, visit this website.

Actions for Week of March 23, 2025

• Attack on Social Security – DOGE has set it sights on accessing our personal information in the Social Security database and sabotaging SS. A federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE and required them to delete any personal information they’ve already retrieved. In response, Lee Dudek (acting Social Security Administrator) is threatening to shut down SS and possibly halt payments.

  • Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able to verify their identity over the phone. If the person is unable to use the My Social Security verification process online, they will be required to visit a SS office in person. However, SS offices no longer take walk ins and making an appointment is getting more difficult because DOGE is terminating the leases of 47 SS offices, including the office in Nashville. Dudek also plans to lay off 7,000 employees while forcing more in-person office visits by an estimated 14%.

  • Actions by DOGE are having an impact on individuals, with two people in Seattle and Oklahoma City having their benefits terminated without notice.

  • Musk is constantly lying about fraud, waste and abuse of SS that does not actually exist. Read the truth here.

  • Making Social Security benefits more difficult to access; decreasing services and accuracy of the system; interfering and deleting payments; spreading misinformation; and eroding public trust provide excuses for eventual privatization of the program, which has serious implications for everyone.

  • What You Can Do:

    1. Make sure you have an online account at My Social Securityand help others set up their account.

    2. Monitor your bank account regularly to make sure payments owed to you are deposited.

    3. Medicare premiums are usually removed automatically from your Social Security payment. If you suddenly receive notice that you owe Medicare premiums, it could mean your SS benefits have been cut off without your knowledge.

    4. If any problems arise, ways to reach out to SS are available on this website.

  • Contact our MoCs: Express your opposition to DOGE and its effects on SS. Contact information is below. You can also reach them through ResistBot and 5 Calls app.

  • Contact the White House: You can email the WH through this link https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ .

• Oppose TN Ban on Immigrant Children in Schools – HB0793/SB0836 would ban undocumented immigrant children from attending public schools.  It is before the Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on Tues Mar 25th and the House Education Committee on Wed Mar 26th . The bill is clearly unconstitutional and has been filed with the intent of creating a lawsuit that will eventually make its way to US SCOTUS and cost TN taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees. You can call or email legislators on these committees through this Education For All TN link.

• Oppose Destruction of TN Wetlands –  HB0541 would prohibit the Dept. of Environment & Conservation from classifying or regulating real property as a wetland.  The bill removes protections from almost 80% (>300,000 acres) of wetlands across TN. Bill is before the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee Wed Mar 26th.

  1. Here is contact information for all committee members, including Rep. Tom Stinnett.

  2. Here is a list of total connected and isolated acres that would be affected for each representative’s district.

  3. And here’s a petition to sign.

4. Please Support This TN Bill - This petition supports the Freedom to Read Act that would prohibit exclusion or removal of educational materials based on the creator’s background or on ideologies.

• Good News!

1. 1. Did you know that 540 protests are scheduled this week across the USA? They are mapped out on this website and listed here.

   2. Poland’s Supreme Court ruled that trans youth do not need parental permission to proceed with gender changes on their official IDs, and 193 countries have committed to speeding up actions to achieve gender equity.

   3. A federal judge blocked 47’s ban on transgender service members indefinitely.

   4. Attorneys General of Democratic states are suing over the gutting of the Department of Education, and parents are suing over decimation of the Ed Dept’s Civil Rights Division.

   5. Montana’s Supreme Court ruled minors do not need their parents permission to seek an abortion.

   6. Wind and solar power are now generating more energy than coal in the USA.

   7. Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and Finland declined requests from 47 to send eggs to the USA.

•   Educate Yourself

1. 1. This website keeps track of all the federal employees fired by the new regime and what additional cuts are expected in the near future.

   2. DOGE is not saving the government money. In  February 2025, the federal government spent $36 billion more than in February 2024. Watch this investigative reporter’s video on how DOGE is making big errors on their website and making it less transparent.

   3. The list of federal offices slated for closure in TN are listed in this article.

   4. This article provides a list of the East TN schools who are participating in the governor’s private school voucher plan.

   5. The USDA has cancelled a $1 billion program that helped schools and food banks purchase food from local farmers. Tennessee will lose $12.6 million of these funds.

   6. 47 is banning travelers from 43 different countries. Eleven countries are red listed, and all travel is banned completely. Ten countries are orange listed, and travel is restricted. Twenty-two countries in Africa, Caribbean, etc. are being pressured to correct alleged “deficiencies” or they will be moved to orange or red status.

   7. Did you know the military buys $84 million of Viagra per year?

•   Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

1. 1. Learn what the Venezuelans deported to El Salvador experienced.

   2. USDA scholarships at Tribal Colleges have been suspended and colleges are being forced to cancel Native convocations.

   3. Johns Hopkins University has also been targeted by the regime. It is laying off 2000 people after losing $800 million in USAID funding.

   4. EPA is eliminating all environmental justice officers, a three-decade long effort to address the disproportionately high levels of pollution facing poor and minority communities.

   5. Stoppage of USAID funding for Afghan women studying abroad may be a death sentence.

   6. The State Department terminated a contract for work being done to track Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and transferring that information to law enforcement.

Actions for Week of March 16, 2025

• Thank Rep. Tom Stinnett – Rep. Stinnett (Maryville) voted against the bill (HB793) in the TN House that would ban undocumented children from attending public schools. He can be reached at rep.tom.stinnett@capitol.tn.gov or 615-741-3560. The bill passed out of K-12 Subcommittee by a vote of 5 to 3 and now heads to the full Education Committee (no date yet). The Senate bill (SB0836) is before the Finance, Ways & Means Committee on Tues, March 18th.

• Oppose Forestry Executive Order – 47 has declared an energy emergency and issued two executive orders, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and Addressing Threat to National Security from Timber/Lumber Imports. A lumber industry executive (Tom Schultz) has been named head of the Forestry Service. The goal is to expand clear cutting across 280 million acres of public lands. The 2nd EO is just an excuse because the American wood products industry can meet domestic demand. The potential consequences are staggering because the EOs set aside all environmental protections for our national forests.

  1. Please contact our MoCs and ask them to contact the White House to strongly object to these measures. Contact information is below.

  2. Also contact the White House directly at  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ .

• Emails to TN Legislators – You can send emails on bills scheduled for this week in the General Assembly through these easy links. Please send these emails ASAP because the bills are up for a vote tomorrow, Mar 17th or Tuesday, March 18th.

  1. Emails on HB64: Tell your member of the TN House of Representatives to vote NO on the anti-trans bathroom bill for residential educational settings. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3520/actions/public?action_id=5033 .

  2. Emails on SB468/HB571: Tell members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Civil Justice Committee to vote NO on a bill endangers trans people in a variety of gendered spaces. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3524/actions/public?action_id=5034 .

  3. Emails on SB701/HB715 and SB1130/HB1051: Tell the House K-12 Subcommittee, House Departments & Agencies Subcommittee, and Senate Education Committee to support the Freedom to Read. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3635/actions/public?action_id=5028 .

  4. Emails on SB676/HB754: Tell the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee and House Health Committee to vote NO on a gender clinic data grab bill.  https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3605/actions/public?action_id=5029 .

  5. Emails on SB936/HB1271: Tell the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Civil Justice Subcommittee to vote NO on the binary definition of sex bill. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3524/actions/public?action_id=5044 .

  6. Emails on SB937/HB1270 and SB1252/HB1262: Tell the Senate Education Committee and House Education Administration Subcommittee to reject two anti-pronoun bills.  https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3603/actions/public?action_id=5045 .

  7. Emails on HB884 and HB327: Tell the House Judiciary Committee to vote NO on the adult-oriented establishments/drag bill and the bill designating June as "Celebration of Life" month instead of Pride month. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3636/actions/public?action_id=5035 .

  8. Emails on HB622: Tell the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee your views on an anti-DEI bill for state and local government and public higher education. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3642/actions/public?action_id=5030 .

  9. Emails on SB226/HB470: Tell the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee and House Business & Utilities Subcommittee your views on a bill that lets professionals insult and discriminate against customers without consequences. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3606/actions/public?action_id=5031 .

  10. Emails on HB1044: Tell the House Health Committee your views on a sneaky bill that facilitates medical discrimination. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3605/actions/public?action_id=5032 .

• Good News!

  1. A federal judge has blocked 47’s efforts to halt the refugee admissions system, and another judge blocked use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport people without due process.

  2. 47’s actions raised support for the Liberal party in Canada, which resulted in Mark Carney being sworn in as prime minister.

  3. Volunteers have revived the pre-47 CDC website and called it RestoredCDC.org.

  4. A court of appeals in Florida upheld the ban on sales of firearms to people under 21 years of age.

  5. Aix Marseille University in France is offering a safe place for US scientists to move to.

  6. Many of the fired faculty members & employees of Haskell Indian Nations University are being reinstated, and the school is suing to get them all back.

  7. A judge temporarily halted 47’s plans to cut millions of dollars for teacher training, and another judge ruled thousands of probationary employees fired at the VA, Defense Dept. & other agencies must be reinstated.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Perhaps one of the biggest scams promoted by 47 so far is the establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve & Digital Asset Stockpile that will be funded by selling off federal assets. Cryptocurrencies are even more volatile than Bitcoin and could result in loss of millions of tax payer dollars.

  2. Learn about the Latino Freeze Movement. 

  3. Visit the American Opposition website to learn about their action database tracking actions by the new regime.

  4. Farmers and nonprofit organizations are being hurt by stoppage of USAID funds.

  5. Learn about Alt18F, an organization started by the federal IT employees laid off by DOGE and #AltGov, the secret network of federal workers resisting DOG from within.

  6. Did you know that Fulbright scholarship payments have been halted, leaving hundreds of students stranded?

  7. 50 universities, including UT, are being investigated as part of 47’s anti-DEI campaign.

• Cruelty, Oppression & White Supremacy

  1. Arlington National Cemetery removed links to webpages on Black, Hispanic and female veterans. A Black Medal of Honor recipient and mention of the Enola Gay have been deleted from Pentagon websites. DOGE is terminating the lease at the Obama Presidential Library archives site in Hoffman Estates IL.

  2. This week 47 cut $400 million in grants to Columbia University; had ICE arrest student activist Mahmoud Khali (a legal US resident green card holder); had DHS arrest Leqaa Kordia , a Palestinian student; and is threatening to stop $5 billion in funding unless Columbia puts the department Middle Eastern, South Asian & African Studies in receivership, modifies admission policies, etc. You can sign a petition demanding Mahmoud’s release here.

  3. This past week DOGE cut funds that TSA needs to feed, house and care for their drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs.

  4. ICE and Border Patrol have stepped up detainment and deportation of non-criminal visitors and migrants, including a Venezuelan couple living in Washington DC under temporary protective status; a green card holder returning home to New Hampshire;  a Hmong-American woman living in Milwaukee for almost 37 years who was deported to Loas and remains in custody there; a US citizen child being transported by her undocumented parents to an emergency appointment in Rio Grand City TX to deal with her brain tumor; and a transplant doctor at Brown University RI as she returned from a visit to her family in Lebanon. Even a German thru-hike was detained, deported and banned.

  5. FBI moving to criminalize Habitat for Humanity, Appalachian Community Capital Corporation, and others because they received EPA grants under the Biden administration.

Actions for Week of March 9, 2025

• Mail Postcards to White House March 15th - Please join the postcard writing campaign scheduled for the end of this week. Everyone is encouraged to give the president feedback on the job he is doing so far. Address is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC 20500.

• Local Petitions to Sign – 

  1. This petition by Third Act TN opposes operation of 15 methane gas fired turbines in South Memphis. You’ll learn more about this problem at the March Huddle meeting.  

  2. This petition opposes HB0064/SB0472 that excludes transgender students from bathrooms, showers, & changing areas in residential school facilities. It is before the House Education Committee on Tues. March 11th and the Senate Education Committee on Wed. March 12th.

  3. This petition opposes HB0622/SB1083, which is the TN Dismantle DIE Act. It is before the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee on Wed. March 12th.

  4. This petition opposes SB836/HB739 that is before the House K-12 Subcommittee on Tues. March 11th. See 1st bad bill above.

• National Petitions to Sign – 

  1. You can tell Congress to protect NOAA through this link.

  2. You can send an email to the Washington Post through this linkabout their decision to not print a full page advertisement paid for by Common Cause calling for Musk to be fired.

  3. This petition asks Congress to stop cuts to NIH.

  4. Consider signing this letter telling Congress not to allow 47 to take over the US Postal Service.

  5. This petition asks Congress to intervene and reinstate National Park and Forest Service workers terminated by DOGE.

  6. This petition opposes the global gag rule.

• Good News!

  1. Center for Biological Diversity is filing a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers for expediting permits to fill or destroy wetlands across the USA.

  2. Farmers are suing the USDA for deleting climate data.

  3. This website provides a list of progressive organizations and their websites in one easy to use location.

  4. Democrats in the US Senate filibustered bill S.9, causing it to fail. It would have banned trans female students from playing school sports.

  5. Read how 23 Democratic Attorney Generals have organized to file lawsuits against actions of the new regime.

  6. Former members of Congress are calling on lawmakers to exercise their constitutional authority and stop the harm being done by DOGE.

  7. Both Apple and John Deere stockholders have voted to continue existing DEI programs.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Read the heartbreaking story about the 40 people who lost their jobs at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas because they were federal employees.

  2. Twelve employees of Great Smoky Mountain National Park have been fired and more may be let go .

     1. GSMNP was one of the most impacted parks.

     2. In addition, 34 park buildings across (mainly in the west) are slated for closure.

  3. CoreCivic is agreeing to house migrant detainees in their prisonsand GEO Group signed a $1billion contract with ICE to house 1,000 migrants in NJ. It would be cheaper to give them all green cards and help them get jobs.

  4. Did you know that data centers require tremendous amounts of energy and that TVA is raising our electric base rate by 5.25.% to meet the growing demand?  

  5. Read about the charter school operators applying to open or run schools in TN in 2026-27.

  6. 47 has used fentanyl as an excuse to levy tariffs against Canada but very little fentanyl enters the USA from Canada.

  7. Read how the white supremacist group, The Patriot Front, is expanding in Tellico TN and watch this report from Channel 5.

  8. Can economic blackouts be turned into a war on corporate power?

Actions for Week of March 2, 2025

• Support Ukraine – The attack on President Zelensky in the oval office by 47, his veep and other attendees was truly awful to watch. Leaders around the world have condemned 47’s behavior and expressed support for Ukraine. Read this op-ed published in Ukraine about the meeting.  Here are some actions you can take to support Ukraine.

  1. Post your support on social media platforms.

  2. Fly the Ukrainian flag and attach Ukrainian decals to your automobiles.

  3. Contact the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington DC (202-349-2963) or via mail to: emb_us@mfa.gov.ua or consul_us@mfa.gov.ua to call out the behavior of 47 and Vance, and inform them of your continued support.

  4. Contact our MoCs and ask them to support Ukraine (contact info below).

  5. Consider donating to Ukraine, e.g. White Stork (humanitarian aid), United24 (national defense fund), Hachiko Foundation (food and veterinary care for animals in war torn areas), RAZOM for Ukraine(humanitarian & medical support), World Central Kitchen (be sure to denote donation is to go to Ukraine).

• Contact the DOGE Caucus – Republicans in the US House have formed a DOGE Caucus to support Musk’s efforts. They now have a tip line asking for ideas:  DOGE@mail.house.gov.  Please flood this tip line with what you think about DOGE.

• Petitions to Sign - 

  1. This petition opposes Tennessee HB26/SB194, which makes it illegal to mail abortion medications into the state. It is before the TN House Population Health Subcommittee on Wed. March 4th.

  2. You can email the TN House Subcommittee on Children & Family Affairs through this link in support of HB0347, which aims to decrease family separation based on poverty. Bill is up for consideration on Wed. March 4th.

  3. This petition and this petition ask Congress not to cut Medicaid or Social Security. See all the cuts the House is proposing in their budget reconciliation bill. Here is a pdf of the bill. See pages 6, 34-36, 39.

  4. This petition urges Congress to stop attacks on sanctuary cities.

  5. This petition asks our MoCs to vote No on the Save Act.

• Good News!

  1. For an update on court cases against the regime and which ones they’re losing (i.e. most of them), visit CourtWatch.

  2. Goods Unite Us offers suggestions on how to provide feedback to companies on their political expenditures; how to vote with your wallet; and invest with your values.

  3. Help for transgender folks:

     1. Kansas governor vetoed legislation that would have ban care for transgender youths.

     2. NY Attorney General has told hospitals to continue trans care despite the EO.

     3. A federal judge blocked 47’s EO banning care for trans youths in the states that brought the lawsuit, i.e. WA, MN, OR, and CO. Two Colorado hospitals resumed such care.

     4. Governor of Maine refused to give into 47’s threats to stop funding if she doesn’t obey the EO. 

  4. A federal court blocked47’s suspension of the refugee resettlement program.

  5. US Dept of Education has been sued for its threat to rescind federal funds for schools that use race-consciousness practices.

• Educate Yourself

  1. For more insight into the goals of Project 2025 and the people behind it, read The Plot Against America.

  2. West Point ordered all cadet clubs centered on gender, race or ethnicity to disband. Some have been in existence for >40 years.

  3. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, issued a memo instructing DOJ investigators to target private companies who have DEI policies.

  4. Books that mention slavery and civil rights have been removed from Fort Campbell schools.

  5. Federal freeze includes $156 million for solar power programs for low-income TN households. Learn how the funding freeze at USDA is hurting farmers and leaving them on the hook for millions of dollars.

  6. 47 ended all funding for the UN program fighting HIV. The USA provided 70% of the funding.

  7. The regime is ending temporary protective status for hundreds of thousands who fled Venezuela. TPS for thousands of Haitians will also end by August.

  8. RFK Jr. paused a project to create a new COVID-19 oral vaccine and canceled the advisory committee scheduled to decide what flu strains to include in next season’s vaccine.

  9. A bill filed in Montana would criminalize women leaving the state to get an abortion under the guise of “trafficking” their own fetuses.

Actions for Week of February 23, 2025

• Oppose TN Bill HB0693 -  This bill requires women to pay more for birth control by allowing an administrative fee be charged at pharmacies that will not be covered by insurance. The bill is before the Health Committee on Tuesday, Feb 25th. You can reach committee members through these links:

  1. Rep. Bryan Terry

  2. Rep. Tom Leatherwood

  3. Rep. Shaundelle Brooks

  4. Rep. Kip Capley

  5. Rep. Michelle Carringer

  6. Rep. John Ray Clemmons

  7. Rep. Andrew Farmer

  8. Rep. Ron Gant

  9. Rep. John Gillespie

  10. Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes

  11. Rep. Caleb Hemmer

  12. Rep. Gary Hicks

  13. Rep. Timothy Hill

  14. Rep. Sabi Kumar

  15. Rep. Susan Lynn

  16. Rep. Brock Martin

  17. Rep. Sam McKenzie

  18. Rep. Bo Mitchell

  19. Rep. Iris Rudder

  20. Rep. Paul Sherrell

  21. Rep. Ron Travis

  22. Rep. Mark White

  23. Rep. Ryan Williams

• Support TN HB0018 – This bill creates a Temporary TennCare Benefits Program that extends TennCare to all adults 19-64 years of age who earn less than 138% of the federal poverty level, on a limited time basis. This bill is before the Insurance Committee on Wednesday, February 26th. Committee members are as follows:

  1. rep.sabi.kumar@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2860

  2. rep.bob.freeman@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-0709

  3. rep.yusuf.hakeem@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2702

  4. rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-1934

  5. rep.renea.jones@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-7450

  6. rep.kevin.raper@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-1350

  7. rep.rick.scarbrough@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-4400

  8. rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-3005

  9. rep.michael.hale@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2192

  10. rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-3831

  11. rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov , 615-741-3774

  12. rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-4575

  13. rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-6829

  14. rep.rusty.grills@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-0718

  15. rep.timothy.hill@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2050

  16. rep.justin.lafferty@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-4110

  17. rep.brock.martin@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-7478

  18. rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2534

  19. rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov, 615-741-2180

• Petitions on Other TN Bills - 

  1. Through this link you can oppose TN HB0064 that requires all residential educational programs to segregate bathrooms, showers, and changing areas by sex at birth.

  2. This petition opposes TN HJR7 a bill that would grant legal rights to embryos at fertilization. If passed, this measure would jeopardize access to IVF, contraception, and other essential reproductive health care.

• Good News!

  1. UK and Scottish governments have launched a program to help fossil fuel workers transition to clean energy jobs.

  2. The Arbor Day Foundation plans to plant 10 million trees in areas affected by Hurricanes Helen and Milton.

  3. Various groups have joined together to create the Data Rescue Project that is compiling data being scrubbed from federal websites, so the material is all on one website.

  4. TN Research Institutes are speaking out against the regime’s efforts to stop/defund NIH grants. Too bad the TN Congressional delegations is not speaking up.

  5. Target has been sued for defrauding stockholders for dropping its DEI policy, which has caused the company to lose millions of dollars.

  6. Zoetis has received conditional approval for a bird flu vaccine.

  7. House Democrats have formed a Rapid Response Force and Litigation Group. Sen. Schumer has opened a whistleblower portal for federal employees.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Gov. Lee is proposing a revision to the TN charter school law that would allow charter school applicants to bypass local school districts.

  2. TN is refusing $80 million in federal food assistance for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (S-EBT). Rather than accept federal dollars they’re going to let TN kids go hungry.

  3. All TN schools have been given until Feb 28th to eliminate all diversity programs.

  4. ProPublica has developed a tool that allows you to examine how segregated local private schools are compared to public schools. For example, Blount County private schools are 92% white and public schools are 87% white. 

  5. Watch this recording on Legal and Administrative Resilience in Trump 2.0 that looks at whether checks and balances in place will be capable of stopping the coup.

  6. An EO was issued that stops enforcement of the Corrupt Practices Act. Another EO was issued that says all independent agencies are now under the control of the president.

  7. Familiarize yourself with AKIN. Facebook group =  https://www.facebook.com/alliesofknoxvillesimmigrantneighbors/

The regime has barred US scientists from working on the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

.Actions for Week of February 16, 2025

• Oppose Anti-Transgender Executive Orders (EOs): Perhaps no other group has been targeted by the new regime as much as the transgender community. Four EOs have been issued against them.

EO 1: The Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth recognizes only two sexes in this country, male and female. Sex is assigned at conception using medical criteria of “small cell” and “large cell”, which actually don’t exist at conception. Legal recognition of transgender people is obliterated, and no recognition of intersex people is addressed.

Ramifications: All gender equity programs and rules are terminated. Trans women are to be moved from female prisons to male prisons. This rule guts a key part of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, which was passed in 2003 because trans people are subjected to the highest level of sexual violence of any prison inmate group, some of which is allowed by prison officials. All Title IX protections are stripped from transgender people. Dept. of Education is terminating support (e.g. counseling, etc.) for trans students. Passports will no longer be issued with the gender “X”, and people with such passports may have trouble re-entering the USA. Federal employees are required to strip their preferred pronouns from their signatures. Bathroom bans will be enforced in all federal facilities. The State Dept. replaced the term “LGBTQ” on all its websites with “LGB”.

• 1. • Reaction: A trans female prisoner has filed suit seeking an injunction that will prevent her from being moved to a male prison, and a federal judge in Massachusetts has prevented the move. Other trans prisoners have also filed a lawsuit. Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal are also suing.ACLU has filed a suit over the passport issue.

EO 2: This EO allows all trans military to be expelled. A policy is to be issued within 30 days as to how to justify and do this. Transgender service members immediately filed a lawsuit against this EO.

EO 3: This EO prohibits all forms of transitional care for trans youth <19 years of age. The EO is filled with falsehoods and criticisms of state-of-the-art care established by medical experts. It is unclear why the president believes he has the authority to do this but he directs the OMB to stop all federal grants and funding to institutions who treat transgender youth.

1. 1. Ramifications: Hospitals around the country that have offered transitional care are closing down their programs.

   2. Reactions: Trans youth and their families have filed a lawsuit against the ban on transitional care, along with ACLU and others. Plaintiffs include a TN teen who moved to Virginia after TN passed its ban. The ACLU already has a case before SCOTUS that disputes state bans on hormone therapy for transgender youth; however, the DOJ has just withdrawn its support for this suit. Fifteen state attorney generals are saying they will ignore the EO.

EO 4: This EO bans transgender women from playing sports. Despite the fact there are only 10 trans athletes across all collegiate sports, the NCAA immediately caved in and changed its policy.

• What You Can Do: Please contact our MoCs to provide them feedback on these measures. Contact information is below. Consider following Human Rights Campaign and other trans activists on BlueSky. Campaign for Southern Equality is doubling its support for the Trans Youth Emergency Project, if you’re looking for somewhere to donate. Consider subscribing to The Handbasket, run by independent journalist, Marisa Kabas, who covers LGBTQ issues. Sign this petition. Report any attacks on the LGBTQ community to GLAAD’s alert desk.

• Oppose TN Bill HB0026 – This bill is before the Population Health Subcommittee on Tuesday, Feb 18th. The bill defines a fertilized egg as a person. It criminalizes mailing, transporting, or receiving abortion pills in the mail, and makes doing so punishable with a 5-year prison sentence. Please contact these members of the subcommittee before Tuesday:

  1. Rep. Michelle Carringer: rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-1721

                  b. Rep. Shaundelle Brooks: rep.shaundelle.brooks@capitol.tn.gov;(615) 741- 6959 

1. Rep. John Ray Clemmons: rep.john.ray.clemmons@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-4410

       d. Rep. John Gillespie: rep.john.gillespie@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-8201  

1. Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes: rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-1934

        f. Rep. Sabi Kumar: rep.sabi.kumar@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-2860  

1. Rep. Iris Rudder: rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-8695

       h. Rep. Paul Sherrell: rep.paul.sherrell@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-1963  

1. Rep. Bryan Terry: rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-2180

        j. Rep. Ron Travis: rep.ron.travis@capitol.tn.gov (615) 741-1450  

• Speak up on Other TN Bills –  See what anti-LGBTQ bills are up for consideration this week and learn how to provide feedback to our legislators by calling or emailing (links are provided).

• Good News!

  1. The Federal Highway Administration and Arizona Dept. of Transportation have agreed to halt planning of Interstate 11 because of its impact on endangered species.

  2. The New Mexico supreme court struck down local abortion restrictions.

  3. SCOTUS rejected a Montana voter suppression/election law case.

  4. A 3-judge panel overturned Iowa’s restrictive immigration law.

  5. The US House has passed a bill returning 76.1 acres of land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

  6. A bipartisan coalition of 24 governors plan to proceed with efforts to support the Paris Accord on climate actions.

  7. Consider watching this Ted Talk on the power of nonviolent resistance.

  8. A number of officials are showing the courage to stand up to Musk and 47. Read about them here.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Read about what Executive Orders are and how they work.

  2. The Pentagon has terminated travel reimbursements for troops seeking reproductive care, such as abortions and fertility treatments.

  3. Did you know that prosecutors have withdrawn from the federal criminal investigation of Rep. Andy Ogles? It could signal that 47 is going to stop the investigation.

  4. A New York doctor has been indicted for sending abortion pills to Louisiana.

  5. 47 ordered dams be opened in California as a publicity stunt, and 2.2. billion gals of water were lost to farmers.

  6. 47 has withdrawn the USA from the UN Human Rights Council and banned funding for the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees.  

  7. Republicans want to pass legislation prohibiting replacement of lead pipes or lowering lead limits in water. 47 has withdrawn plans to limit discharge of PFAs in water.

  8. For a list of NIH grants targeted for defunding (several in TN), see this list.

  9. The American Bar Association issued an appeal for all lawyers to uphold the rule of law.

 Actions for Week of February 9, 2025

1. Join the Nonviolent Resistance Movement – 

     a.    Save the Date: On Friday, Feb 28th, an economic blackout is being organized by the People’s Union to protest actions by the new regime. You are asked not to purchase or order anything on that day, unless it is from a small business. This effort includes the purchase of fast food, gasoline, etc. For a list of companies to support or to boycott, visit Dei Watch.

      b.    Watch this Ted Talk on the power of nonviolent resistance.

      c.    Read the Logic of Destruction and How to Resist It by Timothy Synder.

      d.    Consider applying a Resistance Alliance decal to your automobiles. The Star Wars Rebel Alliance decal is becoming the symbol of resistance to the current regime. They are available online. 

      e.    Get active on social media. 

             i.    Employees of the National Park Service are leading the resistance amongst federal employees. Consider following Alt National Park Service on FB, Threads, or BlueSky. 

            ii.    Numerous “starter packs” are available on BlueSky that provide lists of individuals to follow. 

            iii.    Independent journalists are posting up to date information that is much more informative than that offered by legacy media. 

2.    Support the NIH & Federally-Funded Research -  Bans on external communications; freeze on hiring; indefinite ban on travel; and cancellation of forums and grant application reviews were enacted on the NIH after the inauguration and are crippling the scientific community. Dozens of clinical trials have been halted.  Some researchers cannot even buy supplies. The scope of the freeze on communications is staggering.  No prior administration has ever done something like this.

      a.   For the 1st time in 60 years publication of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly  Report was stopped on Jan 20th. This publication is used widely by MDs, veterinarians, and public health officials to monitor infectious disease outbreaks and other events pertaining to public health. A study scheduled to be published reporting on the risk of bird flu infection in veterinarians who treat cattle has been shelved. When MMWR appeared in truncated form this past week, it left out information on the spread of bird flu to domestic cats, which is highly lethal to cats. 

     b.    Federal grant and loan funding was paused. If payments are not resumed soon, the jobs of tens of thousands of researchers, research assistants, laboratory technicians, graduate students, and support staff could be eliminated. Already 19 cutting edge labs at land grant colleges funded by USAID to study development of new strains of grain and rice have been closed. NIH announced Friday that grant money that covers indirect/overhead costs will be slashed by $4 billion. Loss of these funds goes into effect immediately, which means that research institutions are losing billions that go to support laboratories, staff, students, etc. 

    c.    In addition, no one is clearly in charge of the CDC right now, and bird flu outbreaks are expanding in the USA, with the virus moving into other animals. Enire websites have been taken down and data from DEI to reproductive rights and women’s healthcare have vanished. CDC websites are frozen as they are modified to conform to 47’s policies. Web pages on Climate Science have also been scrubbed. 

           i.    Reactions: Two different judges put a halt on 47’s funding freeze for federal grants and loans, especially those to nonprofits but funding has not been opened up despite the restraining order. Numerous agencies have captured website data before it was taken down and are posting it on their websites. Feel free to share these links to End of Term Archive, Wayback Machine, American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Downloaded CDC guidelines on substack. 

           ii.    What You Can Do: Please contact our Rep. Burchett and our Senators to express your concerns over these actions. Be sure to include information on how these measures are personally affecting you and the people you know. Contact information is below. If so inclined, consider donating to the ACLU, Democracy Forward, and Public Citizen to support the lawsuits they have filed against numerous Executive Orders. Please sign this petition. 

3.    Good News!

       a.    Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the new regime, and rulings so far have been favorable. The question is whether the regime will abide by the rulings. For a complete list, visit the CourtWatch website:

             i.    Doctors for America has sued against removal of health information from HHS, CDC and FDA websites.

             ii.   Federal workers are requesting an emergency ruling to shut down the server Musk and his minions have set up at the Office of Personal Management.  

             iii.  Higher education groups have sued over dismantling of DEI efforts in public and private sectors.

            iv.   ACLU and others have sued against the asylum ban at the southern border.  

            v.    FBI agents are suing to stop DOJ from identifying employees involved in Trump-related investigations. 

            vi.   Unions sued to block Musk’s team from accessing Treasury payment systems, and a federal judge ruled to block them.  DOJ agreed to restrict Musk from accessing Dept.                    of Treasury records; however, inside word is that they are not honoring the judicial order. 

           vii.    A federal judge has blocked efforts by Musk to access the Dept. of Labor database. 

          viii.    Another judge issued a restraining order preventing the furloughing of 2700 USAID workers here in the States. The restraining order does not cover the >10,000 workers         overseas. However, the suit by Public Citizen, Democracy Forward, and Government Employees Union against the entire USAID shutdown will proceed. 

           ix.    Students have sued over Musk accessing Education Department data.

            x.    A second judge has stopped 47’s birthright citizenship order indefinitely nationwide. 

          xi.    Two federal employees sued the Office of Personnel Management for connecting to a commercial email server set up by Musk. 

          xii.    A judge paused the deadline for federal workers to accept Musk’s resignation offer based on its probable illegality. 

     b.    The Proud Boys lost control of their trademarked name to a Black Church in Washington DC they vandalized. 

4.    Educate Yourself on Other EOs and Actions

     a.    Funding for environmental projects in the Inflation Reduction Act/Infrastructure law have been frozen. Expect lawsuits to be filed if the freeze lasts very long because      technically Congress appropriated the funds to be spent.

     b.    47 wants to end subsidies for electric vehicles and charging stations, as well as end efforts in 9 states encouraging EVs.

     c.    47 supports the tapping of 401(k) retirement funds by private equity firms. These same firms have endangered public pension plans. 

     d.    The new administration has reinstated a global gag order on women’s reproductive health.  All funding to international groups that provide abortion services has been halted.

     e.    Members of the cybersecurity review board were fired and several other DHS advisory boards were shut down, meaning the department has dismissed experts who were helping to keep us safe. Board members of the National Labor Relations Board that backed broader worker rights have been fired. 

    f.    The federal hiring freeze has resulted in the National Park Service rescinding 2000+ job offers, including seasonal jobs in the GSMNP. 

    g.    DOGE gained access to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday and Russell Vought ordered that CFPB stop fighting financial abuse. Actions for Week of February 2, 2025

• Oppose Executive Order (EO) Ending Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) Policies: 47 issued an EO ending DEI programs across all governmental agencies. It is called “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” In addition, he revoked Lyndon Johnson’s  EO from 1965 that required equal opportunity for people of color and women for contractors doing work for the federal government.  Essentially 47 has given the green light for government to discriminate. Federal employees running DEI programs are being placed on leave, fired, or reassigned. Some employees have been furloughed simply for attending prior diversity training.

The Acting Secretary of Labor instructed all employees to cease investigating and enforcing Equal Opportunity Act violations and the Dept of Justice suspended all civil rights cases. The Pentagon intelligence arm is pausing observance of MKJ Jr Day, Juneteenth, Women’s History Month, Hispanic Month, American Indian Heritage Month, etc. GitHub is keeping track on their website what the new regime is deleting from websites.  

1. The USDA issued a warning that anyone changing descriptions in contracts or personnel positions to get around the EO should be reported. They encourage people to report fellow workers to DEIAtruth@opm.gov . Please consider emailing this address, as well as amanda.scales@opm.gov (a Musk minion) with your concerns.

2. Consider contacting Sen. Elizabeth Warren at https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion to request she investigate how an Acting Secretary can single-handedly overturn the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

3. Consider boycotting these companies that have ended their DEI programs and support for minority businesses: Target, Walmart, Meta, Amazon, McDonald’s Lowes, Boeing, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniels, John Deere, Tractor Supply, Coors, and Miller.

4. Please support these companies that are continuing to support diversity and equity in the workplace: Costco, Miejer, Kroger, Giant Grocery, Ben & Jerry’s, Ulta, Macys, Old Navy, Nordstrom, TJ Maxx, GoTo Foods (e.g. Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Cinnabon, etc.), Dollar Tree, Walgreens, Penzey’s Spices, Delta, United, Marriott, Wyndham, Hyatt, Ulta, Subaru, Shake Shack, Smasburger, Polaris, Ace Hardware, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Chase Bank, Disney, Gap Inc. (Old Navy, Banana Republic, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, MassMutual, Mastercard, Match Group, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, Nike, Salesforce, SONY Pictures, T-Mobile, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Workday, Bath & Body Works, Apply, Albertsons (Safeway, Vons), Chewy.com, e.l.f. Beauty, Louis Vuitton, Tillamook, and Wegmans.

• Oppose Stoppage of Foreign Aid - Disbursement of foreign aid has been halted. This includes funds to programs supplying HIV treatments, global mine-clearing in war torn areas, food and shelter in war torn areas, etc.  Hundreds of USAID contractors have been put on leave and in some cases, people have not been paid for work already done. Friends have informed us that 3000 USAID employees in Washington DC have been furloughed.  A senior USAID official that fought back against the layoffs was placed on administrative leave.

A new head of the USAID has not been named, and it is uncertain whether the agency will be subsumed by the State Dept. The USAID website has been taken down. Although Sec. Rubio issued a limited waiver for life-saving humanitarian assistance on Tuesday, funds have not been released.  Friends in Africa have relayed to us that they have only a few days of supplies (including food) left. The USA is the largest donor of foreign aid in the world, giving about $60 billion per year. The impact of halting funding for foreign will cost thousands of human lives!

1. Please contact our MoCs and ask them to demand release of all foreign aid funds.  USAID funds are appropriated by Congress, and it is illegal to stop their dispersal. Contact information is below.

2. Please contact Sec. Rubio through this link and ask him to release ALL humanitarian funds now and to end the cruelty of this order.

3. Considering donating to the United Nation’s United to Beat Malaria fund so that mosquito net distribution will continue and to Edesia Nutrition so they can continue to manufacture Plumpynut, the main food supplement sent to starving children.

• Call ICE Tipline – ICE has established a tip line where people can report folks who they think are undocumented. Consider joining the nationwide effort to render this tip line useless by calling 866-347-2423 and requesting that Elon Musk be deported.

• Good News!

  1. A group of Quakers have sued the Administration over the policy allowing federal agents to arrest undocumented immigrants in churches and schools.

  2. Portland OR’s Augustana church and other churches are defying ICE and declaring they will provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.

  3. A lawsuit was filed against South Carolina’s race and gender school curriculum restrictions.

  4. Public Citizen, Democracy Forward, and National Security Counselors have filed 3 lawsuits against the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

  5. Cardinal Robert McElroy, a vocal defender of immigrants and strong critic of 47’s administration, is the new archbishop of Washington DC.

  6. HR 23 was defeated in the Senate this past week. It would have punished lawyers, academics and rights advocates for helping the International Criminal Court seek just for war crimes and atrocities.

  7. ALCU plans to sue Tennessee over the immigration enforcement bill it passed this week. Immigrant advocacy groups have sued DOJ and DHS for shutting down legal orientation programs for immigrants.

• Educate Yourself on Other EOs: Check out the Trump Policy Action Tracker.

  1. 47 issued an EO revoking all 78 of Biden’s EOs in an attempt to wipe out the Biden legacy. This included efforts to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs;  study ways to lower healthcare costs for Medicare and Medicaid; COVID outreach programs for treatments and vaccines; shortened enrollment period for Obamacare, etc.

  2. The Biden EO that reversed 45’s alteration of census results was rescinded, paving the way for the new administration to manipulate the way census numbers are generated and analyzed.

  3. 47 has ordered that all permitting for wind energy projects be stopped, and funding for solar projects already contracted out has been shut off. Learn how activists are gearing up to combat these anti-climate orders.

  4. The EO to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for the Executive Office of the President allows new hires to receive security clearances before background checks have been completed.

  5. Numerous acting secretaries have been named to federal departments, and these individuals are not subject to Senate confirmation. Most of them are proponents of Project 2025 and are the ones issuing disruptive and harmful orders.

  6. Security clearances and security details were cancelled for dozens of former officials that criticized 47, or who 47 does not like. DOJ has fired prosecutors that worked on Jan 6th cases, and 47 has demanded a list be put together by Tues of the thousands of FBI agents that worked on Jan 6th investigations.

  7. Under Musk’s influence an order was issued requiring federal employees to stop telework and physically return to their offices. The goal of this move is to get them to quit. In addition, a hiring freeze was put in place that even includes nurses and doctors needed at the VA.

  8. Seventeen Inspector Generals were fired illegally because they are Senate-confirmed positions and cannot be fired without cause.

 Actions for Week of January 26, 2025

• Oppose School Voucher Bill – Even if you have already contacted TN Reps and Senators about the Education Freedom Act 2025 (HB001/SB001, please do so again. The projected cost of the vouchers is now $400 million. Here is a petition you can sign and contact information for legislators is provided below.

• Support Money for Hurricane Victims – The governor is asking for more than $470 million in disaster relief funds for those affected by Hurricane Helene. Some money would be issued as grants, some as interest-free loans, and some monies would be used to pay interest on private loans taken out by local communities. Note that the estimated damage caused by the hurricane in East TN is $1.2 billion. Please ask our legislators to provide all the funds needed by these communities from TN’s $1.2 billion rainy-day fund at no charge to them.

• Oppose Anti-Immigrant Measures – Gov. Lee wants to create an Immigration Enforcement Division in the state and appoint an immigration czar. He also wants to incentivize local governments to assist ICE with detention and removal. His proposed bill creates a Class E felony for local officials who adopt or maintain sanctuary city policies and empowers the TN Attorney General to initiate removal proceedings for convicted officials. This piggybacks onto the new order from the US Dept. of Justice to prosecute local law enforcement officials who don’t enforce 47’s immigration policies. In addition, state-issued ID’s would be restricted to US citizens, legal permanent residents, and federally-approved temporary residents only. Proof of citizenship would be required for renewal of driver’s licenses. License plates would carry a noncitizen mark of some sort. Some of TN’s most bigoted legislators want to go even further. Our state tax dollars should not be used to support immigration efforts that are clearly the responsibility of the federal government. Please ask our legislators to oppose this bill.

Contact Information for Legislators: Phone numbers and email addresses for Representatives are here and for Senators are here.

• Sen. Tom Hatcher: 615-741-0981

• Sen. Becky Massey: 615-741-1648

• Sen.  Richard Briggs: 615-741-1766

• Sen. Steve Southerland: 615-741-2061

• Sen. Randy McNally: 615-741-6806

• Rep. Jerome Moon: 615-741-5481

• Rep. Tom Stinnett: 615-741-3560

• Rep. Rick Scarbrough: 615-741-4400

• Rep. Fred Atchley: 615-741-5981

• Educate Yourself on Birthright Citizenship EO

  1. EO: 47 issued an EO ending birthright citizenship this week. He wants to deny citizenship to any child born in the USA (1) when the mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary.

  2. History: Birthright citizenship was established by the 14th Amendment, one of 3 Reconstruction Amendments. The Amendment was needed because the Dred Scott decision of 1857 declared that Black people could not be US citizens, and a way was needed to make them citizens with rights and protections after the Civil War. A phrase included in the Amendment, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”, is being used as a justification for the EO. This phrase pertained to foreign diplomats and offspring born in the USA while their parents served here. Indigenous peoples were also excluded because they were considered at the time to be members of sovereign nations. It was not until the Indian Citizens Act of 1924 that American Indians and Native Alaskans were declared US citizens.

  3. Precedent: The 14th Amendment has been challenged in court and the challenges failed. There is ironclad precedent for the legality of birthright citizenship based on land/location vs. legacy dating back to 1898.

  4. Current Status: Five lawsuits were immediately filed after the EO was issued and a federal judge in Seattle has blocked implementation of the EO.

  5. Potential Long-term Outcome: This is a bellwether issue. The EO is blatantly unconstitutional and will surely end up before the US Supreme Court. If SCOTUS rules in favor of the EO, then they are putting fealty to 47 over the constitution. If SCOTUS rules against 47, then concern exists that he will defy the ruling, and dare anyone to do something about it. Weakening the authority of the court will set up a constitutional crisis that could effectively make the president a dictator.

  6. Petition: This petition to Congress supports birthright citizenship.

• Educate Yourself on Immigrant Deportation EO

  1. EO: The protecting states against invasion order declares an emergency at the border that allows the military to be used in border control activities and fast tracks deportation of undocumented immigrants. The EO closed the southern border to virtually all immigrants and cancelled appointments already made for interviews. Programs that allowed immigrants from Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, etc. to temporarily come to the USA have been suspended. Incoming flights for 1600 Afghans were cancelled. The EO bypasses due process, fast tracks deportations, and allows ICE agents to apprehend people at schools and churches. Parole pardons issued to people released from detention in the past are now in jeopardy. In addition, the Dept. of Justice has stopped providing federally-funded legal services at immigration courts.

  2. Subsequent Actions: Military planes were used to deport undocumented immigrants to Guatemala this past week but Mexico refused to allow a flight to land there. Raids by ICE took place in several cities (e.g. Chicago, Boston, Newark) and roadblocks were set up on some major highways in the South-Southwest. In some of these dragnets, American citizens were detained for hours. In Arizona and New Mexico, Native Americans were targeted.

  3. Current Status: The ACLU and other groups immediately sued the administration. Local police in many towns refused to assist ICE. Webinars on knowing your rights and instruction sessions for teachers on how to protect students were held across the country.

  4. Speak out about TN: Please tell our legislators that we don’t want any part of this harassment and persecution of immigrants. See Action 3 above. A Mississippi legislator has filed a bill offer bounty hunters $1000 for each “illegal alien” they report. Will TN be next?

• Educate Yourself on Climate Accord and WHO EOs

  1. EO: EOs were issued withdrawing the USA from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord.

  2. Ramifications: The only other countries not signers of the Paris Climate Treaty are Iran, Libya, and Yemen. Here are some reasons why the Paris Climate Accord is important. The United States is the only country in the world not a member of the World Health Organization. Leaving WHO now as concerns rise about the possibility of a bird flu pandemic is moronic.

  3. Reactions: Bloomberg Philanthropies and other organizations are pledging to fund the contribution to the UN climate body’s budget that the USA was supposed to pay.

Actions for Week of January 19, 2025

• Contact TN State Reps & Senators About Voucher Bill – Gov. Lee has called a special session to begin January 27th. That week regular General Assembly committee meetings will be suspended and the legislature will take up three items from the governor: 1. The school voucher bill (Education Freedom Act 2025 HB001/SB001), 2. Disaster aid for East TN communities affected by Hurricane Helene, and 3. Measures to support 47’s desire to round up undocumented immigrants. The governor is trying to drum up support for the voucher bill by telling legislators that no money will be taken from public school budgets, but the promise is only for one year. In addition, Gov. Lee would allocate 80% of revenue from sports betting to pay for K-12 public school facilities and maintenance, which is money used for Hope Scholarships. Here are details of EFA and some problems with it.

The Blount and Knox County School Boards have voiced opposition to the school voucher bill and many city and county governments are following suit. Multiple rallies were held this past week against the bill. You can contact our County Commissioners through this link.

Rep. Stinnet and Sen. Hatcher have expressed opposition to the bill, while Rep. Moon is noncommittal. If you have not yet contacted our legislators, please do so. If you have contacted them, then consider also contacting Reps and Senators from surrounding districts.  Phone numbers and email addresses for Representatives are here and for Senators are here. The more feedback they get from TN citizens, the better.

• Oppose SAVE Act – This bill is a Congressional voter suppression act. It requires everyone who registers to vote to prove they are a US citizen. Drivers licenses and other forms of Id would not longer suffice. You’d need a copy of your birth certificate or passport. Women who change their name through marriage or divorce would have to provide court documents acknowledging the change. This bill passed the House last July but it failed in the Senate. It is being reintroduced this session. Please provide feedback to our Members of Congress on this bill. Contact information is below. You can also sign this petition.

• Good News!

  1. No bids were placed on the recent sail of oil and gas leases in Artic National Wildlife Refuge, and the Interior Dept. denied an extension of a leash for the Liberty offshore drilling project.

  2. A federal court struck down a rule banning people with HIV from serving in the military.

  3. Pres. Biden signed a law that prohibits members of Congress convicted of crimes related to public corruption from receiving retirement benefits.

  4. Two families have sued the state after 11 and 13-year-old students were arrested under the TN School Threat law.

  5. SCOTUS refused to hear Utah’s land-grab lawsuit, which was an attempt to take 18 million acres of public land from the federal government.

  6. Medicare is going to negotiate prices on 15 more expensive and/or widely used drugs.

  7. Ranchers have agreed to vacate Point Reyes National Seashore in effort to save Tule elk and other endangered species.

• Educate Yourself

  1. Read this eye-opening story of a man who joined the militia movement to spy on them and then shared what he learns with ProPublica reported, Joshua Kaplan. It is very worrisome that members of law enforcement, military, etc. are active in these militias.

  2. Did you know that an increase in immigration over the 2021–2026 period boosted federal revenues, as well as mandatory spending and interest on the debt? Read the Congressional Budget Office projections on the lowering of net deficits by $0.9 trillion over the 2024–2034 period.

  3. Learn about the 57 companies linked to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016.

  4. SCOTUS will review Obamacare’s no-cost coverage of cancer screening tests, and statins and HIV drugs. Yikes.

  5. TN is being sued for violating federal law by mismanaging the state’s SNAP program.

  6. Profound changes are taking place in seasonal sea levels along the mid-Atlantic coast.

  7. Learn about DemCast USA, a nonprofit organization fighting right-wing disinformation in digital spaces.

Actions for Week of January 12, 2025

• Contact TN State Reps & Senators About Voucher Bill– It appears that Gov. Lee intends to call a special legislative session for the end of the month for the purpose of passing his private school voucher bill, Education Freedom Act 2025 (HB001/SB001). By calling a special session, committee meetings are by passed and public input is minimized. He will probably only call for the session if he feels he has enough votes to pass the measure. The General Assembly opens Tuesday, Jan 14th. Now is the time to call and email your Reps and Senators with comments.

a. You can contact them through this secure link. 

b. If you call them, here are some talking points.