Dear members of the American Resistance,
I hope that this bulletin finds y’all well and ready to enjoy the company of your friends and family over the Thanksgiving break. No Bulletin next Thursday, just a fatty Bulletin today! Please consider it a textual version of a plumpy turkey and WTPD contribution to a happy Thanksgiving!
Starting tomorrow and until Sunday, DC rallies under the banner “Remove the Regime”. The main protest will be held on Nov 22nd in early afternoon. I saw many posts from friends and members asking for rides: A bus is scheduled to leave at night from Detroit (12:27AM on Saturday, and come back in the evening), but it needs 33 more people to get confirmed, so if you do not have your ride yet, jump at this opportunity! You can secure your spot here with Rally. If the bus is not your fav option and you want a private car ride, drop a message on our FB post to find one. This rally is very exciting and I deeply regret to miss it!
Why missing a fantastic rally? This Saturday, Nov 22nd from 10 AM to 1 PM, 🧡Asamblea Popular🧡, a local group, who is doing a terrific job at keeping ICE at bay is passing whistle kits. With the intensification of ICE raids and the hanging threat of a collusion with the National Guard, several activist organizations have been focusing their attention and energy on developing an even more efficient rapid response network, improving their response time and communication outreach across groups. You can read this chilling article from the NYT about the government’s strategic militarization of immigration enforcement to be even more convinced of the necessity of being prepared, should the National Guard arrive in Detroit. So, this Saturday, don’t hesitate to join us for canvassing with Asamblea Popular at 1725 Lawndale Detroit at 10 AM. Everyone needs to be part of this crucial network to defend the people living next door and preserve our humanity.
In the same line, 🧡SWIM🧡 (State Wide Indivisible Michigan) is hosting a training on Monday, November 24 from 6 to 7:15pm for us to learn what is the 287(g) agreement that cities could sign with ICE and how we can prevent them to do so by active mobilization like attending city council meetings to oppose. This is what we did in Center Line just a few weeks ago and we won and you can register for the training here.
On the same front, we keep pressing for everyone to drop Spotify who is advertising for ICE. Please feel free to fill out this Indivisible survey:
DID YOU CUT TIES WITH SPOTIFY YET? Please click or tap the option most applicable to you to complete our one-click survey:
Speaking of surveys! If you haven’t completed our ongoing anonymoussurvey about our Metro Detroit activist community, please take 1 minute to complete it: our incredible survey, and share it with your friends, colleagues, family members. OUR GOAL IS 10,000 RESPONSES!! It will help us tremedously mapping the political sensibilities in our area to adapt our actions, be more impactful, and serve better our community.
We keep pushing to engage more and more people in Detroit. We are thinking about holding bi-monthly corner protests downtown. Come join us to our next online meeting, Wednesday, 26th at 7PM when we vote on the day and time we will hold this recurrent action. Your vote matters! Here is the link to register to the meeting!
We cannot wait to resist with you in the streets and spread some No Kings joy a little bit every month to cheer us up! In the words of Heather Cox Richardson and many others, joy is one of the keys that open the door to exit this nightmare. Please enjoy this quick clip that 🧡Sarah🧡shared!
As we are heading to the Holidays, encouraging our relatives, friends, and ourselves to be frugal is a challenge. And yet, boycotts are still one of the most effective ways we have at our disposal to apply pressure on a system that runs on steroids, concentrates power in the hands of a few unchecked plutocrats, and turns us into pawns. Don’t hesitate to visit the Mass Blackout website to better understand the benefits of pulling the plug. Another wonderful resource is🧡Sarah’s lists and advices🧡 for a sustainable, local, and affordable Holiday season. Please enjoy them here!
Once again, we are not forgetting about members in our community who need a hand to have a decent meal for Thanksgiving. Forgotten Harvest, Gleaners, Detroit Community Fridges can use our financial help to bring a better holiday to the people they serve. Mutual aid truly makes a difference! Thanks to the generosity of our community, WTPD is able to provide a Thanksgiving meal for the 847 students of Paul Robeson-Malcolm X Academy and Brewer Academy. Thank you to all of us for contributing to this massive effort! And if you find yourself more comfortable with tangible donations, General Strike is having their next Feeding the Fight on November 30th at Passenger Recovery, 3901 Christopher St, Suite D. from 1pm to 6pm. You can drop off items from Wednesday to Sunday, from 1pm to 8pm (pull up to the right of building) such as non-perishable food, warm clothes and blankets, toiletries, etc.
Otherwise, what’s been in the news?
The first data on how the tariffs have impacted our economy are out: this NYT article tells us about it and it’s not pretty. Now under SCOTUS scrutiny, the tariffs (which are more than ever destabilizing the trade balance and businesses’ planning) have been recently tweaked by PT on food items when it became clear to everyone that the American consumers were the ones paying (a high price) for them. Don’t hesitate to read this article that explains the situation to perfection.
Last week, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib introduced a resolution Recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, that WTPD was honored to endorse, and that is now co-sponsored by 20 Democratic legislators.
Epstein for the Epsteinth time! The House voted massively for the release of the files in what I’d call a mega purple wave! Of course, Attorney General Pam Bondi launched a new DOJ investigation at Trump’s request to block key files; but we shall see the bottom of them all (no pun).
In Lansing, more bills are trying to criminalize protesters. As 🧡Mary🧡noticed, HB 4664 seeks to make protesting (street, obstruction) a misdemeanor instead of a civil infraction and Senate Bill 500 seeks to not allow someone who uses their car against protesters to be sued (see this article for a disheartening example). Let’s oppose these. A huge shout out to 🧡Mary🧡 who crafted a template message for us to use:
Dear Senator (Chang/Moss/Hertel…)
Please do not bring HB 4664 up for a Committee vote. This bill would make blocking a public street/highway during a protest a misdemeanor with possible punishment of jail time and a hefty fine. Under current Michigan law, blocking traffic is a civil infraction….let’s keep it that way.
A flyer in Manistee County, from those who are opposing current protestors, was circulated stating they want Republicans to take the stance that motorists “are justified in driving their vehicles through the protesters to escape,” that they are “authorized to use personal force, including weapons,” and that drivers may act “as militia or otherwise” would be justified in arresting and detaining protesters. The flyer further asserts motorists may sue protesters for damages.
This is alarming!!
Also, Senate Bill 500, introduced in August by state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) would shield drivers from civil liability if they kill or injure protestors while acting in self-defense and their actions “arose from another individual’s conduct in furtherance of a riot.”
Neither the bill nor existing Michigan law defines what constitutes “conduct in furtherance of a riot,” which is a vague phrase that could include ordinary, nonviolent protest activities, including handing out water or chanting.
I believe that if enacted, the bill “could encourage violence by drivers and others against people who are participating in or supporting a protest.” In other words, exercising their First Amendment rights.
Please do not bring up for a vote or vote NO on both these matters.
New! New! New! Contribute to the Bulletin! You would like to share a resource, an article you think is important, or anything else that helps our Democracy stand? Please send us an email and we’ll be thrilled to share your contribution in the next Bulletin! We welcome your input!
As always, please share this Bulletin with two new more people, join the Signal Chat here, and follow your 🧡very own group 🧡, 🧡We the People Dissent🧡 on Instagram and Facebook.
In loving solidarity,
Audrey
