For Louder Days by Yotam Marom is my favorite new book of the year so far. Brave, necessary and ultimately confounding. Must reading for anyone on or near the left and infused or confused by its culture. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Wall Street is occupied! @msifry.bsky.social

Why the politics of joy has so much more potential than the politics of critique. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

In some other timeline, the last Democratic president didn't spend the last decade vacuuming up nearly a billion dollars to raise an edifice to himself and instead grassroots groups got the money they needed to do the organizing that could have tipped 2024 the other way (1/3)

If Dems emphasized party-building as they do on infighting, they might be in better shape. Or, maybe it's time for a multiparty system because corporate moderates and grassroots progressives simply don’t belong in the same party. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

In the conversation with podcast host @msifry.bsky.social, Heather McGhee connects the dots between the racial politics she chronicled in The Sum of Us and the authoritarian moment we're living through, and she doesn't let the two-party system off the hook. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK7E...

What gives us hope? Movements that expand democracy instead of shrinking it. We support fusion voting, which gives voters more choices, encourages coalition-building, and creates a politics that’s less polarized and more representative. @msifry.bsky.social theconnector.substack.com/p/what-gives...

I’m traveling overseas this week, so just sharing a super-cut of guests of my “This Old Democracy” podcast explaining how they personally keep up their spirits during these overwhelming times. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

If fish need to be their own oceanographers, consider this my contribution to mapping what the whole school of Democratic-aligned committees, PACs, orgs and independents is up to right now, through the open porthole view provided by Mobilize. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Meanwhile, in supposedly "blue" Westchester County, NY, this is what our Democratic congressman thinks is a good idea. www.eventbrite.com/e/navigating... Trump is helicoptering into NY this Friday to boost Lawler's campaign. Latimer's office #: (202) 225-2464.

Love this whole thread.

Finally some good news!

In my latest, I argue against the despair I see rising among pro-democracy activists. The Supreme Court's Callais decision is a disaster, mass movements for change often don't see how they're affecting things until years later. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Hey, friends! Huge news! I'm doing a fun zoom call fundraiser for @chrisrabb.com for Congress with the great voice actor PHIL LAMARR and a bunch of other cool folks! It's SATURDAY at 2 pm ONLINE - donate and get the link here: secure.actblue.com/donate/purpl...

Really loved this convo for the historical perspective Bob brings, from how he helped write the Community Reinvestment Act of 1975 to how Dems lost their way by embracing neoliberalism instead of becoming better New Dealers. Many “Notes for Next Time,” for which his new book by that title is a must.

It’s time for a fresh approach that will not only free us from the gerrymander wars but also produce fair representation and an end to the artificial binary of the two-party system. Plus, what the #MayDayStrong "structure test" revealed. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

In a country where only 48% know what Memorial Day represents, I wonder what % knows what May Day is talkerresearch.com/research-rev... So do we meet people where they are or insist on a historical term that few recognize? #MayDayStrong

My colleague @danielcantor.bsky.social explains how the killing of the Voting Rights Act today by the #StolenSupremeCourt isn’t the end of the road. open.substack.com/pub/centerfo...

Prove me wrong: Most human group meetings are actually Post-It's way of reproducing itself. We only think we have agency, but we're basically just around to spread the usage of Post-Its.

This Friday, May 1, we'll get our first real sense of how much the people opposed to authoritarianism and oligarchy in America can go on offense. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

While the recent election in Hungary can't be mapped directly to what we're facing here in the US, there are lots of lessons to ponder as we gear up for 2026, 2028 and beyond. Here's what I've gleaned so far. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

While Dems warn about the SAVE Act and voter suppression, they’re ignoring how their own voter engagement tools make them miss many voters and waste resources. While nearly everyone wants an upgrade, so far the money to pay for it is absent. More in my latest post: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

So our president threatened a genocide Tuesday night and it’s Saturday night now and we’re at a bar listening to a local band, and you wouldnt know anything was amiss.

I built a thing: whereisiran.netlify.app Please play (no cheating).

First time I've seen a big activist org use Pol.is to try to crowd-source ideas on how to respond to breaking news. Worth checking out. #civictech

I'm beginning to understand what my parents must have felt during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The prediction markets don't appear to allow the 'will Trump nuke Iran' question, but I'm sure I'm not the only person worried he will. He's already disinhibited and stupid enough to think it will work.

If you read any Substack newsletters that cover democracy, you’ll be interested in seeing how your favorite sites stack up, and whether they’re serving you with a lot of doom-and-gloom content or ways to organize and who’s doing the work. Check out my new post open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

#NoKings3 was successful in demonstrating that the movement against Trump is growing and spreading to more places. But, look closer and there are warning signs: it's predominantly ppl > 50 & highly educated and that hasn't changed since it started. (1/n)

Can the No Kings movement keep growing? There are signs it may be leveling off, and its key challenge is growing past its predominantly older, well-educated base. More in my latest post. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

If the estimates were right, there were about 9 million people at No Kings rallies today. That would mean this protest was THIRTY TIMES AS LARGE AS THE TEA PARTY PROTEST which we were told, over and over again, was a massively important sign that US politics had shifted dramatically to the right

Hastings and Yonkers #NoKings3 marches met up, about 750 ppl in all. @nycd16-indivisible.bsky.social, local Yonkers NAACP, Concerned Families of Westchester co-sponsored.

Most interesting fresh data about #NoKings3 from Indivisible's @leahgreenberg.bsky.social: 66% of RSVPs this time coming from outside urban centers; up nearly 40% from NoKings1 last June. Big surges in bellwether suburban counties in PA, GA and AZ. Double-digit # of events in ID, WY, MO, UT.

I took a medium-deep dive into how some of the biggest name pro-democracy authors on Substack treat topics like the upcoming No Kings 3 protests (many have said nothing about them!) and how much they tend to talk to each other rather than actual organizers. (1/n)

The arc of the anti-Trump No Kings movement bends toward...growth and impact. So I argue in my latest post: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

The latest episode of “This Old Democracy” where I got to talk with Miles Rapoport, one of the prodemocracy world’s veteran organizers, is my favorite yet. Give it a listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Add @chrisrabb.com to your list of progressives running for Congress who will be a true public servant, not another corporate-funded politician. I’ve known Chris since 2004 and he’s the real deal.

Stand for Campus Freedom is launching this urgent petition from alumni to university presidents to reject ICE cooperation agreements and defend campus freedom. Please sign and share: alumni.standforcampusfreedom.org/petitions/re...

March 28 is less than 3 weeks away. If you are serious about organizing to built the power to protect our democracy and stop Trump, now is the time to be planning for how you will bring new people in, welcome them and involve them in ongoing local efforts. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

1. It’s all based on lies. 2. There will be blowback. 3. Killing a country’s leader is not ‘regime change’. 4. The Trump regime also has many heads. 5. The Iran War splits MAGA. 6. The Iran War splits Democrats. 7. Our pro-democracy job remains the same. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Dark thoughts on a dark speech, which was all too reminiscent in its content and reception of a book many of us have probably read. open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

There’s an answer to the question of how we crawl out of the present-day polarized quicksand. It’s called fusion voting through minor parties, and its time has come. @danielcantor.bsky.social democracyjournal.org/magazine/79/...

I'm back from a week of vacation with a report on the next wave of the Defiance: The Singing Resistance. It's easy to join; it's addictive once you do it; and it converts rage into loving action. Link below: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...

Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”

Since I was a child, organisations like the Anne Frank Foundation have told me that what happened to her should be taken as a warning for what could happen in the future. Analogisation isn't just allowed, it is called for.

When is it ok to analogize what we’re experiencing in America now to the rise of the Nazis? And who should be the judge of that? In this week’s post, I examine how the US Holocaust Memorial Museum has gone astray. (1/3)

The wait is over — our newest #ThisOldDemocracy podcast episode is live! @msifry.bsky.social and @andycraig.bsky.social go deep on democracy reform. centerforballotfreedom.org/this-old-dem...

“the Democrats’ list of demands appears to have shrunk after internal deliberations.” 🙃

Three cheers for Michael J. Fox.

Suddenly, we have new protest songs! Billy Bragg www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW... and ...