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Happy Interdependence Day
After a couple of hectic days at home we packed up and headed back to Columbia. We got a room at The Spa on Spruce, as the hot tub and backyard garden make it feel more like a vacation.
I did a podcast yesterday morning and had a campaign meeting with a Senate candidate yesterday. It’s exciting to open a second front on the war against authoritarianism with moving to fire a Kansas Senator who gutted Medicaid when he knows how devastating it will be to his constituents.
The podcast was heavy on CoreCivic, the troubled private prison we are working to keep from becoming an ICE detention facility back in Leavenworth. I’ll share the link when it comes out. Earlier in the week a story by the Marshall Project came out. The Guardian ran it so it was nice to get some national/international coverage. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/01/leavenworth-kansas-immigration-prison-fight
Today it was grocery shopping, hot tubbing, and off to the beach at Finger Lakes. Another family joined our picnic table while we were in the lake so we just made them part of our party. We’re going to catch fireworks tonight. We brought bikes to drive to the edge of traffic and park and ride in.
Tomorrow it’s a quarry lake party and a neighborhood festival. Sunday we make our way home. Things heat up at CoreCivic with the next hearing taking place at 10:00. Follow along for updates. Here’s a flyer on my book reading in CoMo. If you’re in the area you should come.
The Practical Guide to Building a Better World
I can’t believe I wrote a book. What was only an idea at the end of 2023 is this giant beautiful thing becoming more real every day. The milestones have come so thick I have not been able to celebrate each one. Today I want to acknowledge the ISBN #
The Library of Congress is under attack. The President fired the Head Librarian without cause and claims to have appointed the Deputy Director of Commerce, I think, as its head. The staff there point to the name and the fact that the president has no power over the Library of Congress and had two folks escorted from the property. The alleged new acting chief librarian has not yet tried to enter.
Having a book enter the Library of Congress has been something I’ve looked forward to as I moved my manuscript from rough draft to a perfected piece of physical media. I am not surprised that every good thing is under attack. A would-be authoritarian’s desire to control the Library of Congress is understandable. Preventing that misuse of power is baked into the system. We shall see what prevails.
Today, I still celebrate and proudly share my ISBN # 978-1-939899-86-6
You can preorder at Bread & Roses Publishing
https://breadandrosespress.com/products/the-practical-guide-to-building-a-better-world
Community Outreach for Mass Mobilization
With all that is going on nationally being engaged in a national political organizing project is a real blessing. I don’t feel powerless and alone in front of the giant forces threatening democracy and the rule of law. Taking action and talking to other organizers is heartening and I highly recommend it.
The New American Community is moving into the next phase of our County Party Outreach Project. I have called all of the state parties and had some great conversations and several active collaborations. Delaware and New Mexico are helping our outreach efforts and have agreed to work together. Several other states are reviewing information or have made a commitment to work together in the future. As a political unknown outside of my region though it has felt a little like cold call sales.
We also have received almost 150 survey responses from county party organizations. Reviewing the responses help with Messaging is the largest unmet need. We created our survey as good community organizers both to have feedback to inform our work and to identify collaboration opportunities.
This week I’ve contacted county party leaders who completed the survey for follow up conversations. I’ve begun providing technical assistance to some party organizations and also discussed what people are doing.
What I found inspiring was the three conversations I had all said the same thing. We are focusing on community outreach because we need to know who is out there in case we have to do a mass mobilization to fight for democracy. From rural South Carolina, to a small city in Missouri, to the New Mexico suburbs the answer was the same.
We have found our Message. Democracy and the rule of law are under assault and we need to take action with our neighbors right now. The pro-Democracy Alliance is forming at the grassroots level everywhere. There is new energy to fight back and defend and folks aren’t waiting for non-existent national leadership but are leading themselves. Finding like minded souls in organizations or online and taking action.
Multiconstruct 
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