Dear members of the American Resistance,
We had a nice meeting yesterday evening. We welcomed five new people that we are looking forward to resisting with on and off the streets!! 🧡Debra🧡, 🧡Anna🧡, 🧡Sharen🧡, 🧡Abby🧡, and 🧡Pamela🧡, thank you for finding us!
Please note that our next online meeting will take place after the holidays, on January 7th at 7 PM and you can already sign-up here for it.
Our next event is the upcoming Visibility Corner Protest scheduled for Sunday Dec. 21st at 1 PM (registration here). We will gather at Grand Circus Park, on the grassy patch. Note that you can park for free in the streets, but that day the Lions are expected to play, so parking will be tight. We recommend you park up Woodward and use the Q-Line to get to Grand Circus or carpool with other members to get to Central Church parking lot and park for free (we will have a few spots available for us). If you’d like to carpool, don’t hesitate to join the Signal Chat Group and drop a message about it! Join the Signal Chat here.
Our main focus this week is on ICE (both literally and figuratively) and on Data Centers with a word on AI, cuts, and economy.
1/ ICE
Please share this Women’s March video widely.
ICE agents have been abducting more people, not only in Detroit but in multiple cities in the Metro: Southfield, Pontiac, Chesterfield, Waterford, Baltimore. We need everyone to carry a whistle with them to be able to alert as well as to give whistle kits to people living in neighbors where ICE agents have been spotted.
Where can we find a whistle? By attending an event with the People’s Assembly (1725 Lawndale, Detroit) to make kits (you will be able to leave with some). Also, we’ll make sure to have plenty of kits on December 21st for everyone to take. ICE is now everywhere. Even if you live outside of Detroit, please grab 2 or 3 kits just in case.
Also, you can add the HOTLINES # that you can call if you see ICE
In Oakland county >> CAFE hotline: 248-340-3775
In Detroit >> Asamblea Popular hotline: 313-635-3633
On Saturday 13th, Councilman Mikal Goodman is hosting a rally to protest ICE at 100 Lewis St. in Pontiac. Rally is at noon, then the march starts at 1PM and will take about 30 minutes. If you are an Oakland County resident, please try to make it!
In Detroit, the kidnapping of students continues. A 5th student, Sebastien, has been abducted. On Tuesday, many of us showed up at the School Board Meeting at MLK High School to hold the board accountable. We shall see in the next weeks if they will release a public letter denouncing ICE and advocating for schools being sanctuaries. We may need to attend more than one school board meeting before that becomes a reality.
In the meantime, you can sign this petition for Mor and this one for demanding ICE stop kidnapping the children in our community. If you are religious, or if praying is something you do, you can also join Strangers No Longers on Wednesdays morning at 7:30 AM at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 3rd Street for 30 minutes of prayers for the people in custody at the ICE building on Michigan Avenue. It’s good to know that a vigil is happening this Friday, Dec 12th at 6 PM for Day of the Virgin de Guadalupe, the patron of immigrants, hosted by Detroit CAC at 2385 Bagley St.
Many activists with legal background, among which 🧡George🧡 and 🧡Clarissa🧡, are supporting the students in detention. But there are still legal costs to be covered, so if you are able, please make a donation to the People’s Assembly using their Venmo: @peoplesassemblydetroit or their CashApp: $peoplesassembly
Democrats launched an ICE Watch through an House Committee on Oversight and Accountability with a tracking system to hold the Trump Administration accountable by compiling a record of ICE and CBP misconduct. You can view the misconduct and abuses documented so far, and/or submit a new report at bit.ly/tellonice.
Also, yesterday, 🧡Joyce🧡 drew everyone’s attention on a new initiative that we could help implement in Michigan, which is a state-sponsored ICE reporting form. We can contact Dana Nessel at 517-335-7622 (or 517-373-1110) or at miag@michigan.gov to suggest it on the model of the Federal Action Tracker against the Trump administration that she launched a while ago. More later on this matter.
In Michigan, the Supreme court is pushing to pass an amendment to protect immigrants from being arrested in courthouses. This is bringing us hope, but it would be good to have a state-sponsored ICE reporting form too.
Last week, 🧡Linda L.🧡 shared some critical thoughts about the Home Depot Ice Scraper initiative which I found very compelling and meaningful: “The Home Depot buy/return tactic is clever; but may not have the desired impact. People who shop at Home Depot, (Costco, Target…) are everyday consumers; WORKING CLASS PEOPLE – people who paint their own houses, need lightbulbs, a bag of concrete, etc. Also, smaller contractors (who employ others) are also adversely affected – prevented from getting materials in a timely manner. A protest of this sort is just one more hoop ordinary people will have to jump through to get through their day or week. It will not increase support or advance our overall objective to confront this administration; it will just piss people off. The upper echelon will not be discomfitted one bit and will continue on their merry way, as usual, oblivious to those “beneath” them”. We can put the topic up for discussion in our next meeting, but I must say that I feel really convinced by Linda’s argument and don’t feel up for moving forward with the Home Depot blockade.
2/ MORE BUDGET CUTS
Unbelievable but true: last night in Lansing the MI House, under the leadership of House speaker Matt Hall and Rep. Ann Bollin, cut $645 million already approved for funding. You can either email them hereusing FastAction, or call them at 517-373-1784 (that’s Matt Hall) and 517-373-7515 (that’s Ann Bollin) to tell what you think of their way of disposing of funds that belong to us.
3/DATA CENTERS in Michigan: We’ve got a huge problem.
For a super fast overview of the situation, please watch this cool reel from 🧡 Jacki🧡 and for contextualization please read this remarkable page from Third Act. Thank you so much to 🧡Catherine🧡 for bringing it to our attention.
According to French experts Gaël Giraud and Emma Haziza, in 2030, 40% of the human needs of fresh water won’t be met: that’s 2 humans out 5 who won’t have access to fresh water. Despite this terrifying perspective, AI entrepreneurs and developers with the support of corrupt officials are pushing for the development of massive data centers that will drain considerable amounts of water. It’s no wonder that all eyes are on our beautiful Michigan and Great Lakes region. Environmental organizations are sounding the alarm as this Guardian article reports.
Four cities are currently targeted by large AI companies such as Oracle that are trying to rush the approval by bypassing public scrutiny: Saline Twp, Washington Twp, Howell, and the Oakland University campus near a preserved area.
We got a major WIN last week as the commission in charge of the public hearing for the data center project in Saline refused to approve the ex-parte that DTE wanted to rush. And this was because 800 of us showed at this hearing. At the moment I am writing this bulletin (I am stuck at work), hundreds of us are in Washington Twp to pack the council room to oppose the establishment of a data center there. Let’s KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK TOGETHER!
What can we do?
- Protest on Tuesday Dec 16th 11am-1pm at the Capitol in Lansingwith Michiganders Against Data Centers. Â
- About Saline, next is the public hearing on Thursday, December 18th from 6 to 9 PM on Zoom with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (or EGLE) that will review the Oracle data center project to try to get convinced that it won’t hurt our land and water (good luck). You must register beforehand here if you plan to attend. And here is also the page to submit comments to EGLE, open until Dec 28th.Â
- Call our State Representatives (Here you find who’s your State Rep and their phone number) to oppose the rushed deals that DTE, Oracle, etc. try to rubber stamp without public review, and if you think that generative AI data centers are harmful anyway because they will destroy our employment, environment, brains, and endanger our kids future, PLEASE feel free to oppose them altogether!Â
- Here are some words to help you draft your own message…Â
General picture
I am registering my strong opposition to the establishment of a data center in Saline, MI (or anywhere else in Michigan, as a matter of fact). The resources it would require are exorbitant and definitely not within DTE’s reach (the company is notoriously unable to provide quality service to the thousands of households and commercial buildings it serves). Similarly, this 1.4 gigawatt data center would use an insane amount of water, which we cannot afford anymore amid the intensifying acceleration of global warming. Despite the novelty of AI, building data centers actually belongs to the past, when we could act and behave as if climate change wouldn’t be an issue for another 100 years. This is NOT what we know is happening now. Prominent experts such as Emma Haziza are now evaluating a 40% shortage of fresh water in 2030 (less than 5 years), which means 2 humans out of 5 won’t have access to fresh water. It is outrageous that DTE is even considering partnering with AI entrepreneurs, using Michigan water resources (and fooling itself that it could provide the electricity ones) to get us deeper into the environmental crisis. STOP THE ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!
More technical
🧡Al Wirth🧡 drafted an amazing paragraph: Dear Planning board, Are you sure you are looking at the whole picture of what a Data Center is and what it entails? You of course will need utilities to power and cool the data center. Environmentally they produce a lot of heat and use a lot of resources. What will you gain from having a data center? Jobs – Other than construction, No, data centers are run dark, meaning there are no people onsite. Work is often performed remotely usually by someone in another country where labor is cheaper. If work is needed onsite, someone is usually flown in to perform task and then they leave. Taxes – Well, you will have property taxes from the center, but how will it affect the surrounding homes and businesses. There is the big possibility of negative tax revenue. If you want an example look at the ATT substations. They are essentially data centers to switch calls. When is the last time someone was seen entering or exiting one of those buildings.
- Send your public comments against the data center…Â
-in Washington, email planning@washingtontwpmi.org
-in Saline with Sierra Club who is collecting public comments here
-on Oakland University campus, sign the petition circulating on Action Network.
It is super important that we make the connection between what’s happening with the data centers and the big money floading politics since 2011. Here is an article on how politicians took money from AI companies… In the words of 🧡Christy🧡: “All this is happening with data center expansion because of the tax breaks both Dems and Republicans voted for right after Dems lost the election – and they did that because of money in politics (in Lansing, specifically)”. Then she added: “Yet another reason to collect signatures”. INDEED!!! WE ARE STILL COLLECTING SIGNATURES for 🧡MONEY OUT OF POLITICS🧡! If you’ve already signed the petition, please give yourself a pat in the back. If you are a circulator, please give yourself a huge hug and wear warm layers when you collect out in the cold!!! If you neither signed or collected, please shot us an email, we have the petitions ready for you to fill, we can drive to you, arrange meet-ups, etc, AND we can get you plugged in for becoming a circulator (super easy to do, just time-consuming).
4/VIM (Very Important Miscellaneous)
>The DIA goes unionized (or strives to be): Workers at the Detroit Institute of Arts have recently formed a union (DIA Workers United) to ensure the institution continues to thrive. Everyone can voice support for the union and call on museum leadership to recognize the union using this link!
>Convention race on April 19th, 2026
The 🧡People’s Coalition🧡 is on it! On Tuesday January 20th at 6:30 PM they are hosting a Convention 101 for everyone who’s not familiar with the way the convention races work. You can let them know you will attend here. Beforehand, you can learn about all candidates here for MI Secretary of State and MI Attorney General, and if you want to meet them, it’s possible too: On January 25th, from 2 to 4 PM in Dearborn (RSVP here).
>Beautiful and strong us
We want to better understand our resisting community. Please consider taking this anonymous 1-minute survey to help us with this goal!
>Understanding AI
AI is the most brutal civilization change that we will probably experience in our lifetime. And yet, there has been ZERO democratic debate or public consulation around it to decide collectively if we want it in our lives, and if it is a tool to elevate or gutter us. Like most things in a Democracy led by the Capital rather than by the People itself, the most important decisions are made by oligarchs, and we are just expected to follow, and buy/use.
Two remarks: 1) To criticize or oppose something, it’s not bad to learn about it. Thank you 🧡Leah🧡 for suggesting the booklets about AI that A People’s Guide to Tech put together and that you can download for free. These are a good starting point to understand AI on the technical level, even if they clearly lack a real socio-economic analysis of the impact of AI as well as an anthropological undertstanding of the massive problem we’re facing. 2) Regarding these two matters, Eric Sadin’s latest interviews around his book Le Désert de nous-mêmes (released last month, not yet translated in English unfortunately) are captivating. Here is a super long (amazing!) one, and a super short one! You can activate the AI-generated (AHHAHAH) translation in English.
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,
The team at
We the People Dissent
