Quote of the Week: “Keep the faith. Do not give up on America. We will never give up!”–Robert Reich, 1/23/25, "What you can do" Get Out on the Streets: Photo by zaya odeesho on Unsplash Want the scoop on upcoming rallies, marches, and related events? Visit OI’s Rallies, Marches, Town Halls and Boycotts webpage! Vote and Help Our Candidates Win! It’s time to vote for the August 5 local primary elections! You should have received your mail-in ballot by now. If you haven’t, call the Thurston County Elections team at (360) 786-5408, or pick up a ballot or replacement ballot at the Elections Division of any Auditor’s Office or Vote Center. If you haven’t registered yet, you may register or update your address until 8:00 p.m. Election Day. At this point you must register in person at the Elections Division of any Auditor’s Office or Voting Center. See the Thurston County Auditor's Office Election Team page for more information. Action: Be an informed voter. Start by taking a moment to visit Olympia Indivisible’s 2025 Endorsements page. You’ll find a wealth of information about city council, Port, and school board candidates. SPOILER ALERT: Olympia Indivisible members split too evenly to do endorsements on two races: Olympia City Council position 7: the two candidates are:
Olympia School Board Position 5: the two candidates are:
All four of these candidates align closely with Olympia Indivisible’s values. You will find plenty of information about them on our 2025 Endorsements page (see above for the link). Pick the ones that most closely align with your values, vote for them, and consider joining their campaigns to help them win. Make sure you mail in your ballot by August 5 or drop it off at a ballot box by 8pm August 5. Action: And then…Volunteer! Help progressive candidates for our city councils, school boards, and Port win by showing up for boots-on-the-ground events this month. There are plenty of options: door belling, rallies, sign waves, and meet-and-greets. You’ll find them all on our Local Elections 2025 Events calendar. This calendar will be continuously updated. Also check it out on our website at any time. Indivisible National Actions:Push for Safe, Increased Delivery of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza  Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash Source: Indivisible National Gaza is on the brink of a catastrophic man-made famine. Starvation is already widespread; one in three people are going days at a time without food, and children are dying daily of hunger-related causes. After imposing a full blockade for months, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is now letting in only a fraction of the aid needed. The images are so heartbreaking, the situation so dire, that we are beginning to see calls for action from across the ideological spectrum. Even Trump has publicly broken with Netanyahu over the images on his TV. But words mean little. Our elected leaders from both parties need to demand that Trump use US leverage to address this manufactured humanitarian crisis immediately. Action 1: Call your senators. Tell them to push Trump to actually deliver on his offer to increase humanitarian aid and ensure that aid is safely delivered by trusted third parties. Action 2: Then, call your representative. Most Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans in Congress agree that the starvation of civilians must end. And now that Trump has echoed those sentiments, Congress must loudly call on him to follow through with action. Action 3: Netanyahu’s restrictions are making it difficult for World Central Kitchen to do its work, but it remains on the ground in Gaza offering hot meals. Please consider a donation to support its heroic mission. Join Indivisible National’s One Million Rising to Fight Authoritarianism  Big mobilizations like No Kings Day are powerful — they capture national attention and remind us what collective action looks like. But real change takes more than one day. To stop the rise of MAGA extremism, we need a long-term strategy that reaches far beyond a single moment. Authoritarians count on people staying passive. But it doesn’t take a majority to resist — just a critical mass willing to say no and mean it. When enough of us refuse to go along, we can throw a wrench in their plans. One Million Rising is a nationwide effort to train a million people in smart, strategic resistance that slows, blocks, and breaks authoritarian power. In the first One Million Rising session, we focused on the state of play and what it means to adopt a tactic of strategic non-cooperation. In our second, we’ll be talking about how to take that new knowledge, make it understandable, and share it with others in your networks. Did you miss Session 1? It's not too late to join One Million Rising! Action: just watch the recording of the first session here! Or read it! You can find the transcript of the call here. Did you miss Session 2: Action: you can catch up on the video here Check out the One Million Rising toolkit. Session 3: What Now? - August 13 You'll be onboarded to basic campaign design and learn how to implement it locally as well as get plugged into our next national campaign work. Your second community resistance gathering will move this action forward. Action: Register here. And invite a friend to do the same! Federal ActionLeverage to Protect the Integrity of the Budget Process Photo from Wikimedia Commons From the Indivisible Bellingham Actions Team Okay, so here’s why we’re talking about RESCISSION. The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” (BBB) that’s been debated in Congress is not the federal budget. The development of the actual Fiscal Year 2026 spending bills is underway and they must be passed by the end of the federal fiscal year, which is September 30. If they are not passed, we will either have a government shutdown or a continuing resolution (“CR”) must be passed. Annual Senate budget bills need at least 60 votes to pass, which requires at least seven votes from Democrats or Independents in our present climate. There are two complications to the process this year: 1. Russell Vought, Trump’s budget director, insists that the Congress can only set a ceiling for spending, not a floor. This means that the president could decide not to spend funds appropriated by the Congress on programs he doesn’t support. 2. Senate Republicans could offer concessions to get 60 votes and pass a bipartisan budget. Perhaps they would add funds for Medicaid. They could then submit a rescission request to claw those funds back again. Rescissions can be passed with 50 votes, so the bipartisan agreement could be essentially nullified by the Republicans. This is unacceptable. Democrats must insist that language in the FY2026 budget bill REQUIRES the president to spend exactly what Congress has appropriated, and insist on a credible commitment that any bipartisan FY2026 budget passed will not be undercut by future rescissions. If the Republicans will not agree to these guardrails, the Democrats should indicate that a temporary (not full-year) continuing resolution is the only other acceptable option. A temporary CR would extend current FY2025 budget levels that were set when Biden was president, and would not be popular with Republicans. Action: Contact Senators Cantwell and Murray.
Script: Dear Senator ______, I am a constituent in _____ County and feel strongly that Congress should use every means in its power to retain control of the federal purse during the FY2026 budget process. We the People deserve a bipartisan budget with guardrails requiring the President to spend exactly what is appropriated and guarantees that no rescissions will be used to undercut that budget. If Republicans balk at this, a temporary continuing resolution that continues FY2025 spending levels is the only other acceptable option. Please make all of your requirements and actions accessible to the public during the process. Thank you. Maria Cantwell voted AGAINST Blocking the Arms Sale to Netanyahu Photo by: WAFA (Q2915969) Wikimedia Commons Ask Cantwell to stop aiding and abetting Netanyahu — and COLLUDING with Trump’s GOP, in the killing and starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Background:
Action: Contact Senator Cantwell
Dear Senator Cantwell, I am deeply disappointed that you did not join Senator Patty Murray in voting to block arms sales to Netanyahu. We must counter the GOP and show Americans that we do not collude in the starving and killing of Palestinian people in Gaza. Support Washington Protections for Planned Parenthood  Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash Background:
Trump’s big, bad budget bill unlawfully targets Planned Parenthood in yet another attack on women’s right to choose. A provision in the bill would end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, including those like Planned Parenthood that also offer services like cancer screening, contraception, pregnancy tests, and STD screening and treatment. Two lawsuits have been filed to fight back. In the first lawsuit, filed by Planned Parenthood in federal court in Massachusetts, Planned Parenthood won an injunction blocking the provision this week, when US District Judge Indira Talwani found it unconstitutional. In the second lawsuit, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and a coalition of 23 other states’ AGs assert that this provision is a “direct attack” on the healthcare of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid – in Washington, nearly half of Planned Parenthood’s patients. The suit cites MAGA’s history of threats against Planned Parenthood, such as Trump’s calls for “defunding Planned Parenthood” and Speaker Johnson’s 2024 statement that defunding Planned Parenthood was “a priority” and that he would “axe” its funding. In addition to these lawsuits, Washingtonians have some protections: our state constitution guarantees our right to abortion, and Governor Ferguson has promised to protect Planned Parenthood by backfilling any lost federal funds with state funds. Action 1: Thank our Governor for continuously and vigorously protecting Planned Parenthood services in Washington.
Script: Dear Governor Ferguson, Thank you for strongly upholding Washingtonians’ constitutional right to choose and for protecting Planned Parenthood in our state. Your commitment guaranteeing that state funds will backfill federal funds if they are lost is a deep safeguard for continuing health care for more than a million people in Washington. I am deeply thankful for your consistent and powerful support, which is making a tremendous difference. Action 2: Thank our AG for continuously and vigorously protecting Planned Parenthood services in Washington
Script: Dear Attorney General Nick Brown, I am deeply thankful for your initiation of the Planned Parenthood lawsuit along with 23 other Attorneys General. The lawsuit is important to protect Planned Parenthood and our Medicaid services, to express our values supporting women’s right to choose as enshrined in our state constitution, and to protect our precious state funds. Your continued devotion to safeguarding Washingtonians and our democracy is making a tremendous difference. From Veritas to Compromise? Harvard’s Role in a Darkening Era  Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash From the OI Federal team Background
For months, Harvard University has resisted Trump's fascist demands that threaten values fundamental to education in a democracy, including academic freedom. The university's president promised that Harvard "would not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights." This resolve served as an inspiration to many. That inspiration, however, is fading. Harvard now appears willing to pay Trump $500 million in a bid to mitigate the demands he places on the institution. It is naïve to think this payment will eliminate his intrusion into the school's autonomy. In these times of fascist takeover, universities must be prepared to face funding cuts, legal battles, and political attacks in defense of freedom, justice, and truth. Resistance requires more than just refusal; it demands the moral courage necessary to uphold democratic values. Fascism strips away dignity, promotes hatred, and extinguishes freedom. Opposing it goes beyond legal defense—it requires unwavering moral courage. Let's remind Harvard that democracy is at stake and encourage it to remain steadfast in its resistance. Action: Few means of communication convey the urgency and impact the receiver more than a letter. Here are two examples that ask Harvard’s president to be strong, courageous, and defend democracy. Mail, Call or Email: Office of the President Harvard University Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Tel: (617) 495-1502 [email protected] Script 1. Dear President Garber, I was devastated to read that Harvard is about to obey Trump’s demands by paying him $500 million, which will only act as a down payment on further demands. Paying tribute to him in this way strengthens his authority. Do not comply with this fascist overreach, which undermines all the best that Harvard symbolizes to the world. Sincerely, Your Name OR Script 2. Dear President Garber, Like Harvard, all institutions are now facing the choice between submitting to or resisting the Trump regime’s fascist demands. If Harvard, a symbol of academic rigor and independent thinking, pays off Trump, it will lose its cultural standing and the country’s trust in higher education. In a democracy, free academic inquiry is as vital as free elections. Autocracy succeeds when it wins control over the production of ideas. Harvard folding to Trump is perhaps the worst nightmare for our country. Sincerely, Your Name Have You Scheduled This Event?Come to Olympia Indivisible's Small Group, In-Person Meetups Every Weekend!  Olympia Indivisible has grown very fast the last six months, and many of us have never met in person. Let’s fix that! Membership Team invites OI members to come to our weekend get-togethers. Here’s the scoop: Saturday, 10 AM: OI Coffee Connection at Soul Cafe What: Come to the Cafe, support a local business by purchasing a cup of coffee and/or some breakfast, and get to know your OI community! You’ll meet representatives from OI’s Membership Team and/or Small Groups team members. Where: Soul Cafe, 300 5th Ave. SW When: Saturday, August 9th at 10am Action: Come join us – no sign-up or RSVP necessary! Sunday, 11 AM: OI Capitol Lake Walk What: Walk the Capitol Lake with OI member Zella. Make new friends as you get in your steps! Where: Meet outside the restrooms adjacent to Heritage Park. Zella will be wearing an OI pin. Stroll as long or as far as you feel like. When: Sunday, August 10th at 11am Action: Come join us – no sign-up or RSVP necessary! You Might Also Like to Attend: Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Never Again! Remembering the Atomic Bombings After 80 years. Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons From Our Friends at Fellowship of Reconciliation
When: Saturday, August 9 From 6:30 To 9:00 Pm Where: Main Percival Pavilion at Percival Landing Park down the brick lane from the Olympia Center at 222 Columbia St NW in Olympia. Parking is available nearby. If walking from 4th Ave and Water Street, the Pavilion is on your left right before the bridge, playground and Harbor House. PROGRAM FEATURING
Please Bring Your Own Seating Sponsored by Olympia Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons For more information please contact Joanne Dufour at 206-550-1841 Comments are closed.
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