Weekly Steps of Activism

The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States has been a scary and horrific thing for many of us. He and his cabinet, full of unqualified and unsuitable candidates, threaten civil rights, voter rights, climate control, health care, public education, social security, the first amendment, foreign relations, free press, and the values of most good and decent people everywhere. We must resist his actions to destroy the fabric of democracy and the security of our citizens. In an effort to do that, each week I share some acts of resistance and steps of activism you can take. Here are this week’s:

In the fall, Michael Flynn who is currently a national security advisor to DT, was an unelected person, appointed by a President-elect who had yet to take office, and had contact with Russia about sanctions before the inauguration. Flynn violated the Logan Act of 1799, which prohibits unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments with which the US is engaged in disputes. Not only did Flynn act illegally, his relations with Russia continue to reveal a suspicious and overly familiar relationship between the Trump camp and that country. These actions must not only be condemned, but also congressionally investigated. Please call all you reps — your senators and your members of congress and demand a bipartisan investigation into the actions of Flynn. Here’s a script:

“Hi, my name is… and I am a constituent. I am calling to ask Senator/ Representative _________ to issue a public statement demanding an immediate bipartisan congressional investigation of the actions of Michael Flynn, who illegally discussed lifting sanctions with Russian officials last fall. I also ask that s/he demand a real investigation of Russian hacking of our election and of the President’s ties to Putin, especially given his recent aim to ease sanctions against Russia.”

If the staffer says that the MOC opposes Flynn’s conversations with Russia: “That’s great to hear. I believe Flynn violated the Logan Act of 1799. If the representative believes, as I do, that Michael Flynn’s actions are a disturbing indication of the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia, s/he should do everything s/he can to condemn these illegal actions. This means making public statements against Flynn’s conversations as well as supporting congressional efforts to investigate the issue. Will the congressmember do that?”

If the staffer says that the MOC is unconcerned: “Did you know nine US intelligence and law enforcement agents have reported that Flynn, who wasn’t an administration representative at the time, explicitly discussed election-related sanctions?”

Check here to see if your member of Congress is on the House Oversight Committee and if he or she is, you can say this: “Since Congressmember _____ is a member of the House Oversight Committee, I request that s/he push the committee to further investigate this issue.”

Another act of resistance:

Call these retailers and either thank them (here’s the list of retailers to thank) for dumping Trump, or urge them to Dump Trump (here’s the list of companies to boo) and let them know that you will be boycotting their business (if that’s true) until they Dump Trump. What to say:

“Hi. I’m a customer of [Store Name]. Unfortunately I can no longer do business with your company because it does business with the Trump family. If your company were to no longer do business with the Trump family I would enthusiastically return as a customer. Please communicate my feedback to management.”

*I have been calling my senators and reps nearly every day. I called a bunch of businesses to either thank them or urge them to Dump Trump. Yesterday, I went to a Bystander Intervention training session so that I’ll be better prepared to intervene the next time I see someone being harassed, especially since these incidents are on the rise in recent months. What have you done as part of the resistance this week?