You Can Act Now!

How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy

Democracy versus autocracy is more than just an abstract conflict between competing principles. When our nation shifts toward authoritarianism, it affects all of us. Quite literally, our lives, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are at stake.

National events and their impacts on our families and our loved ones, can feel overwhelming. We may feel a sense of fear and helplessness. In the face of so much, how can we possibly get through it — much less make a difference?

There is good news: Regular citizens are the ones best suited to strengthen our democracy. This is especially true at the local level, where our sphere of influence is greatest.

5Calls.org - Makes it easier to call your reps

5Calls.org -- We are in a constitutional crisis. Since day one, the Trump (and unelected billionaire Elon Musk) administration have defied constitutional law to engage in aggressive executive overreach. They have co-opted Congress’s “power of the purse,” dismantled segments of the federal government without legal authority, and have begun to defy the court orders in response to this blatant disregard for the law and the constitutionally mandated separation of powers.

Resist.bot - Easy emails and letters to your reps

Resist.bot -- Over 800 volunteers have contributed since 2017, all passionate about democracy, government accountability, and voter turnout. Resistbot is a non-profit, non-stock organization with no owners, and governance falls to its board of directors.

ActBlue - Powering Democratic candidates & progressive causes across the country

As a nonprofit, we’re driven by the belief that our democracy works better when more people participate in civic life and when our campaigns and nonprofits are powered by the people they serve. That’s why we’ve built a powerful online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits. Our tools make it possible for anyone to build a grassroots campaign or movement and give donors an easy and secure way to support their favorite candidates and causes.

Political Protests Security

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Join the Resistance

Indivisible - Action-oriented grassroots organization

Our democracy is under threat. But we will not yield to fascism. We will stand together and we'll fight back in defense of our rights, our communities, and our values. Join us. We’re a grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda.

FiftyFifty.One (50501) - Organizes protests

FiftyFifty.One -- We are a volunteer team of non-professional organizers working since day one to empower and amplify this grassroots movement.

Th!rd Act - Activists over 60; slower moving, but tenacious!

Our seasoned generation holds unparalleled power to enact real change. Using our life experiences, skills, and resources, we unite to tackle the unfinished work of our lifetimes and ensure a safe and stable planet for generations to come.

Seems to focus especially on climate but has broader interests, especially in human rights as well.

Chop Wood, Carry Water - Activist page & daily newsletter with suggestions for things to do

For example, who to call to protest a vote or bill in addition to your senators and congressperson with phone numbers and emails of the key players and some suggested talking points.

Hands Off 2025!

This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history. Trump, Musk, and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights—enabled by Congress every step of the way.
They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They’re handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich.
If we don’t fight now, there won’t be anything left to save.

Their "Partners" page has a huge list of related/relevant organizations to check out.

People Power United - Take Action

Organizes & promotes political events under the auspices of the People Power United organization and Mobilize.

ProtectDemocracy.org - Pro-Democracy activist organization

Democracy versus autocracy is more than just an abstract conflict between competing principles. When our nation shifts toward authoritarianism, it affects all of us. Quite literally, our lives, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are at stake.

But it’s also an opportunity: Our democracy has never quite been what it ought to be. so shouldn’t we try to make it the best we can?

How we respond to this moment will shape what happens next.

Swing Blue Alliance - Based in Massachusetts but active nation-wide

It appears most of their activities are in Mass but they are doing phone calling for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, so they are reaching out to other areas. All volunteer, no paid staff.

Political Revolution: Gather ⋅ Organize ⋅ Mobilize

Mobilize with Political Revolution. Create a chapter today! Donate to PolRev today: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/polrevevents

Political protest events and activities.

Mobilize.us Civic Sundays - Take action

ABOUT

Swing Left - Turn the House

Swing Left helps win elections for Democrats by making it as easy as possible for anyone to have maximum impact on the elections that determine the balance of power in our country.

Information Resources

OpenSecrets - Your home for money in politics

OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. We provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens.

Nonpartisan, Independent, Nonprofit.

Similar to GoodsUniteUs, they offer lots of info about where political spending is coming from and where it is going to.

GoodsUniteUs.com - See Where Corporations Donate Money and choose accordingly

Goods Unite Us - The average consumer funds politicians & PACs about three times more through their purchasing decisions compared to their direct political contributions.

Shop commensurately. The Android app is in the Play store and seems pretty handy. The website has additional info and can be used instead of the app if you prefer.

Today I found that the CEO of AirBnB is a trumpinista (trumpette?). The CEO of VRBO gives about 2/3 to Democrats, 1/3 to GOP; not perfect but very helpful in choosing where we'll be staying during upcoming trips.

Transparency USA - The answers you need about the money in state politics

At Transparency USA, our mission is to provide clear, accurate, easy-to-understand information about the money in state politics. Our database includes campaign finance data for 20 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. You can search all state-level candidates, political action committees (PACs) that are active in that state, and the donors that support them. Texas is our first state to also include lobbying data.

Lest We Forget the Horrors: An Unending Catalog of Trump’s Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes

Early in President Trump’s first term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We called this list a collection of Trump’s cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes, and it felt urgent to track them, to ensure these horrors—happening almost daily—would not be forgotten. Now that Trump has returned to office, amid civil rights, humanitarian, economic, and constitutional crises, we felt it critical to make an inventory of this new round of horrors. This list will be updated monthly between now and the end of Donald Trump’s second term.

The Billionaire Plan to End America - They are now bragging about it

The richest men in the country are in the final stages of a 40-year plan to kill America and crown themselves kings. It’s not a conspiracy anymore: they’re bragging about it. And they’re convinced they’ve got you too distracted to care.

Anat Shenker-Osorio: Effective Political Messaging, good stuff (added 2025-03-27)

Interesting interview with Anat with practical recommendations in the interview and in the links below the video.

Protest and resistance tips from Anat; very practical and sensible.

Federal Budget - How many people per district will be screwed by the budget that Schumer, Fetterman, et al voted for.

Healthcare and food for the poor and for children are taken to fund the riches people in history.

The Hamilton Project - Track Daily Federal Spending

THP’s strategy calls for combining public investment, a secure social safety net, and fiscal discipline. In that framework, THP puts forward innovative proposals from leading economic thinkers—based on credible evidence and experience, not ideology or doctrine—to introduce new and effective policy options into the national debate.

We The Builders - Website by Federal workers about the attacks

Here, you'll find stories from real government employees: How we save you time and money, how we protect your personal information, and how DOGE's dangerous dismantling of government technology puts you at risk.

See How Many Medicaid Recipients Per District - These are your neighbors who will be hurt

52 suitable-for-sharing graphics which break out Medicaid & CHIP enrollment by both state/territory and Congressional District. In all cases, the total Medicaid & CHIP enrollment data is as of October 2024 via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prior to the Trump Admin taking it over.

These are your neighbors who will be harmed by musk's phony efficiency scam while he, the richest man in history, collects unearned money from government.

People Disappeared by ICE

Map and info about people snatched by ICE, drawn and verified by published, public resources.

Mapping Police Violence - Not official since no official records available

Shows every death in the U.S. (that can be identified) at the hands of police.

Law enforcement agencies across the country have failed to provide us with even basic information about the lives they have taken. While the Federal government announced in 2016 that they would begin collecting data on deadly force incidents, they have proved either unwilling or unable to do so...

In a country where at least three people are killed by police every day, we cannot wait for police departments to provide us with these answers... They include information on more than 10,000 killings by police nationwide since 2013...

Factcheck.org

A nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

WARN Notices - List of planned layoffs

Federal law, while it lasts, requires companies under certain conditions to provide 60-day advance notice of planned layoffs. Workers can use it to sometimes get a heads-up if layoffs are coming, possibly even before it's announced by management. Just search for your state and "warn notices" to find ones relevant to you.

Deep Dive Reading

On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder

The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.

Get the extended updated edition available in the audio format.

Bad Law, by Elias Mystal

In this New York Times bestseller, Elie Mystal offers a brilliant takedown of ten shocking pieces of legislation that continue to perpetuate hate, racial bias, injustice, and inequality today--an urgent yet hopeful read for our current political climate

Prices at Thriftbooks seem to be similar to Amazon, for instance, and I prefer to avoid Bezos where feasible.

Issues Organizations

Americans For Tax Fairness - Strong advocacy for fair tax reform

Americans for Tax Fairness is a coalition of over 400 endorsing organizations united in the effort to make the rich and big corporations pay a fairer share of taxes. ATF is fighting to unrig the federal tax code so that wealth is taxed more like work, big companies are encouraged to produce in America instead of shifting profits and shipping jobs offshore, and billionaires fairly contribute to the nation that made their success possible. When the wealthy and large firms start paying their fair share, we can build an economy that works for all of us, not just those at the top.

Electronic Frontier Alliance (EFA)

Part of the EFF, works to promote a healthy, safe internet/web.

Protect Our Care - Fight for healthcare, Medicaid

Protect Our Care is dedicated to making high-quality, affordable and equitable health care a right, and not a privilege, for everyone in America. We educate the public, influence policy, support health care champions and hold politicians accountable.

They seem to be focused on trying to protect Medicaid currently (March 2025).

Come Back Alive - Ukrainian Defense Support

The Come Back Alive Foundation -- We have been supporting the Ukrainian Defense Forces to ensure their technological superiority over the enemy since 2014. We purchase and deliver vehicles, optics, power, communications and intelligence equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles. We train our defenders in sapper work and sniping, shooting from closed positions and drone control, and tactical medicine. Our team also works to strengthen the army and the country as a whole by creating analytical studies in the security and defense sector. It also promotes the rehabilitation of veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war through sports.