We are featuring here some of the voices of individuals and organizations—coming from a diverse range of political perspectives and viewpoints—who are courageously speaking against the brutal inhumanity of the Trump/MAGA fascist regime. Now is a time to unite all who can be united to demand: The Trump Fascist Regime Must Go NOW! In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America!
Voices of Resistance, October 14 to present >>
Voices of Resistance, August 18 to October 13, 2025 >>
Voices of Resistance, June 23 to August 17, 2025 >>
Voices of Resistance, May 12 to June 22, 2025 >>
Voices of Resistance, April 7 to May 11, 2025 >>
Voices of Resistance, January 21 to April 6, 2025 >>
Voices of Resistance August 12 to August 17
D.C. Clergy Make Powerful Public Statement Against Federal Takeover: “Fear is not a strategy for safety”
A group of prominent religious leaders in Washington, D.C. made a public statement against Trump’s federal takeover of DC, sending in the US Military. The statement was signed by almost a dozen top religious leaders representing Jewish, Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian congregations in the DC area.
The statement said in part:
“The president has likened his intentions for Washington—and possibly other cities—to the harsh measures already used against migrants, tactics that have resulted in thousands detained in inhumane conditions and many deported without due process.
“As religious leaders, we remain firm in our commitment to serve those in need and to work collaboratively toward solutions to our city’s most pressing problems. We call on our political and civic leaders to reject fear-based governance and work together in a spirit of dignity and respect—so that safety, justice, and compassion prevail in our city.”
To read the statement go here: Fear Is Not a Strategy for Safety
Snow Tha Product Calls Out “Trump-Voting” Tios in Sabado Video
Mexican American rapper Snow Tha Product released a video calling out family members who voted for Trump. She made the song to be played at family gatherings, saying “fuck that” to the idea that people should just “smooth over differences.” About the video, Snow told Rolling Stone, “[It’s] a family gathering gone wrong, with some finger pointing and an attempt at accountability…” The video includes a bunch of Latino social media influencers, some of who have been sounding the alarm about the danger of ICE raids and Trump fascism.
The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles issued the following press release/statement:
JANM Condemns Appearance of Armed Federal Agents at Gavin Newsom Press Conference
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is outraged by the presence of armed federal agents on its Norman Y. Mineta Democracy Plaza today, an effort to intimidate speakers at the Museum’s Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center), which was the chosen venue for a press conference held by Governor Gavin Newsom and other state and federal elected officials about California’s redistricting initiative. The Democracy Center explores the rights, freedoms, and fragility of democracy, helping to build bridges, and find common ground between people of diverse backgrounds and opinions. As the press conference began, around seventy-five armed Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents swarmed the sidewalk in front of the Museum and arrested at least one passerby. JANM’s Historic Building and Mineta Democracy Plaza is the site where in 1942, Los Angeles area Japanese Americans were ordered to assemble for forced removal to concentration camps during World War II.
“We are outraged and deeply distressed that armed federal agents came onto our campus—making arrests on the very ground where, in 1942, Japanese American families were forced to board buses bound for concentration camps. It was a deliberate act of provocation and intimidation. The parallels are stark: entire communities were forcibly removed from the West Coast in 1942 and today our immigrant brothers and sisters face the terror of ICE and CBP raids across the country. It was a miscarriage of justice then, and it is a miscarriage of justice now. Our plaza is hallowed ground—a ground zero point in the civil rights history of this country. That history is part of our DNA and the reason we exist—to confront difficult truths about race, identity, and the fragility of democracy, to stand up to authoritarianism. The Democracy Center was chosen by Governor Gavin Newsom for a major press conference on California’s redistricting initiative—a choice that speaks volumes for the visibility of our mission and the importance of the work we do every day to defend the principles that define a free and just society,” said Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum.
Los Angeles Little Tokyo store owners outraged about ICE: “We’re not going to let them take people away. As least I’m not.”
Several store owners in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo speak about their anger at ICE, and remember their parents and grandparents being taken away to camps.
Folk singer Margo Price at Newport Folk Festival:
Price did a powerful cover of Woody Guthrie’s Deportees, introduced by her declaration: “Fuck ICE!”
Model puts career on the line, protests genocide in Gaza during catwalk
Model and musician Jura protested the genocide in Gaza by unveiling a Palestinian flag with the words "Act now to stop Genocide" as she walked the catwalk during Copenhagen Fashion Week on August 7, 2025, during a show for the Finnish brand Marimekko. Jura was subsequently escorted off the runway by security.
In her Instagram post she said “The thing is, there is no future for us without Palestine. Don’t you get it? If we accept for Israel to starve away all of Palestine now, we accept the world’s wealthiest to control what minorities are up next for g-cide. Don’t you get it? What happens to Palestine is everyone’s future. “
Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif with his two children. Photo: @anasjamal44
Reporters Without Borders calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting after targeted Israeli strike kills six media professionals
Reporters Without Borders issued this statement in response to the assassination of Al Jazeera Reporter Anas al-Sharif:
"On Sunday, 10 August, an Israeli strike killed six media professionals in Gaza, five of whom currently work or formerly worked for the Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera and one freelance journalist. The strike, which has been claimed by the Israeli army, targeted Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, whom it accuses, without providing solid evidence, of “terrorist affiliation.” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this disgraceful tactic, which is repeatedly used against journalists to cover up war crimes, while the army has already killed more than 200 media professionals. RSF calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to stop this massacre.
“RSF strongly condemns the killing of six media professionals by the Israeli army, once again carried out under the guise of terrorism charges against a journalist. One of the most famous journalists in the Gaza Strip, Anas al-Sharif, was among those killed. The Israeli army has killed more than 200 journalists since the start of the war. This massacre and Israel’s media blackout strategy, designed to conceal the crimes committed by its army for more than 21 months in the besieged and starving Palestinian enclave, must be stopped immediately. The international community can no longer turn a blind eye and must react and put an end to this impunity. RSF calls on the UN Security Council to meet urgently on the basis of Resolution 2222 of 2015 on the protection of journalists in times of armed conflict in order to stop this carnage."
Thibaut Bruttin
RSF's Director General
On June 9, the Harvard Education Publishing Group cancelled the planned publication of a special issue of the Harvard Educational Review that was to be dedicated to “education and Palestine”. The 2024 call for submissions to the special issue read “The field of education has an important role to play in supporting students, educators, and policymakers in contextualizing what has been happening in Gaza with histories and continuing impacts of occupation, genocide, and political contestations.”
The cancellation of the entire issue of an academic journal is an extraordinary event, and as The Guardian said, “is a remarkable new development in a mounting list of examples of censorship of pro-Palestinian speech.” In response, over 200 scholars signed an Open Letter fiercely protesting the cancellation of the special issue. It reads in part:
“We, the undersigned scholars, educators, and education practitioners write to express our alarm at the Harvard Education Publishing Group’s (HEPG) cancellation of a special issue on Palestine and Education in the Harvard Educational Review (HER). Such censorship is an attempt to silence the academic examination of the genocide, starvation and dehumanisation of Palestinian people by the state of Israel and its allies….
"These events reflect what scholars have termed the ‘Palestine exception‘ to free speech and academic freedom. It exemplifies anti-Palestinian discrimination, obstructing the dissemination of knowledge on Palestine at the height of the genocide in Gaza—precisely when Palestinian educators and students are enduring the most severe forms of ‘scholasticide’ in modern history. Originated by Palestinian scholars, the term scholasticide describes Israel’s deliberate and systematic destruction of Palestine’s educational system, targeting not just institutions but the intellectual and cultural foundations of the Palestinian people. Since October 2023, this has escalated from systematic devastation to the near-total annihilation of education in Gaza. These horrific developments are also amplified by scholasticide at a global scale, which takes the form of silencing and censoring knowledge about anti-Palestinian violence within educational institutions worldwide."
Voices of Resistance August 4 to August 11
Prominent climate scientists are organizing to fight against the Trump Administration’s Overturning of the Scientifically Proven and True Legal Finding on Global Climate Change
Andrew Dessler, Director of the Texas Center for Climate Studies and an editor of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, issued a statement along with a call for scientists to work with him to make a response:
This DOE report is best understood through the lens of a well-known saying: “process is product.” In other words, the final document reflects the process that created it—including, most importantly, who was selected to write it. The authors of this report are widely recognized contrarians who don’t represent the mainstream scientific consensus. If almost any other group of scientists had been chosen, the report would have been dramatically different. The only way to get this report was to pick these authors.
The report they produced should be thought of as a law brief from attorneys defending their client, carbon dioxide. Their goal is not to weigh the evidence fairly but to build the strongest possible case for CO2’s innocence. This is a fundamental departure from the norms of science.
A lawyer is expected to represent their client zealously and selectively, presenting only the information that strengthens their case and leaving it to the opposing counsel to present the other side. In fact, a lawyer who stood up in court and gave equal weight to both sides of a case would be considered professionally negligent, possibly even disbarred.
In science, the standard is the opposite. Scientists are obligated to engage with the full range of evidence, especially that which might contradict their hypotheses. Ignoring contrary data is not just bad practice, in some cases it can rise to the level of scientific misconduct.
Scientific credibility depends on a willingness to base conclusions on all of the evidence. When scientists cherry-pick data or misrepresent the balance of evidence, they are violating a core principle of the discipline.
In this report, the authors are firmly in lawyer mode. They sift through data to find the few examples that support their narrative while systematically ignoring the much larger body of evidence that contradicts it.
In conclusion, this report does not appear to be a fair assessment of the state of climate science.
Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist and writer posted on Substack:
“How the DOE and EPA used and misused my research
Elevating contrarian views while burying the actual science”
…the most egregious part of this whole process is the promotion of one-sided views by a small number of contrarian researchers while simultaneously suppressing the actual congressionally-mandated National Climate Assessment (NCA). The 5th NCA, which I helped author, was a process involving hundreds of scientists over three years. It went through many rounds of public reviews, agency reviews, and a review by the National Academy of Sciences. It was signed off on by 13 different federal agencies – as was the 4th NCA that was released during the first Trump administration.
All NCAs are now gone from government websites. If you go to the website of any of the NCAs you get a “This site can’t be reached” error. Indeed, the DOE’s report is strewn with dead links to the now-unavailable NCA reports.
Thats why I’ve publically called this process a farce. It would be one thing to undertake Steve Koonin’s original proposal of a “red team / blue team” exercise that he pushed for in the first Trump administration. That would give undue weight to somewhat fringe views compared to the broader scientific literature, but it would at least provide a set of counterarguments.
But providing only the red team (and a very rushed red team document written in two months with only five authors at that) while actively removing the official US National Climate Assessment shows what this actually is: a politically motivated pretext to overturn the EPA’s endangerment finding that CO2 is a pollutant, not an actual search for the truth.
Michael Mann, a prominent climate scientist and Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania:
Mann said the report was akin to the result he would expect “if you took a chatbot and you trained it on the top 10 fossil fuel industry-funded climate denier websites”.
Spike Lee, Adam McKay and 2,300 More WGA Members Sign Letter Blasting Trump’s ‘Authoritarian Assault’ on Free Speech
An open letter was signed by more than 2,300 members of the Writers Guild of America denouncing recent actions by the Trump administration that they say represent “an unprecedented, authoritarian assault.” Signers include Spike Lee, Adam McKay, Ilana Glazer, Mike Schur, Liz Merriwether, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tony Gilroy. The letter says in part:
We are members of the Writers Guild of America who speak with one voice to decry the dangerous and escalating attacks on the First Amendment, independent media, and the free press.
We are a union of screenwriters, television writers, and journalists built and sustained on the bedrock belief that bold storytelling, fearless comedy, and unflinching reporting are indispensable to a free and democratic society. We have always understood that fidelity to those beliefs could lead to attacks from our bosses, from corporate interests, or even from politicians. Still, we have always understood our role in a healthy democracy.
Now we face an unprecedented, authoritarian assault. In the last few months alone, President Trump has filed baseless lawsuits against news organizations that have published stories he does not like and leveraged them into payoffs, most notably at Paramount, which settled a meritless lawsuit against 60 Minutes for $16 million. He has retaliated against publications reporting factually on the White House and threatened broadcasters’ licenses. He regularly calls for the cancelation of news and entertainment television shows that criticize him in late-night and, most recently, The View….
We don’t have a king, we have a president. And the president doesn’t get to pick what’s on television, in movie theaters, on stage, on our bookshelves, or in the news.
We call on our elected representatives and industry leaders to resist this overreach. We call on our audiences, on every single person ready to fight for a free and democratic future, to raise their voice.
This is certainly not the first time that free speech has come under assault in this country, but free speech remains our right because generation after generation of Americans have dedicated themselves to its protection. Now and always, when writers come under attack, our collective power as a union allows us to fight back. This period in American life will not last forever, and when it’s over the world will remember who had the courage to speak out.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology said it will no longer be accepting federal funding due to Trump/MAGA policy attacks that go “against their values”.
The national ACOG group is staunchly pro-abortion and promotes healthcare and rights for trans people. It also issues guidelines for family planning, pregnancy, and postpartum care and has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. President Donald Trump’s executive orders contradict many of ACOG’s policy positions. For this reason they have announced they will no longer accept funding from the government. They wrote to their members:
After careful deliberation, ACOG has made an organization-wide decision to stop accepting federal funding for all ACOG programs and activities for current contracts. Recent changes in federal funding laws and regulations significantly impact ACOG’s program goals, policy positions, and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care.
We remain fully committed to this critical work and will allocate our own resources to continue it in a way that is centered on patient needs and grounded in evidence. As we develop the details of this path forward, we will share more information with our valued members and partners.
Read the full email they sent to members.
Watch "America's OBs and GYNs stand up against fascism."
Queens, NY, Borough President: “Immigrant communities across Queens are under attack. But we won’t cower in fear of the fascist regime in Washington.”
Borough President Donovan Richards, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and a host of other Queens immigrant groups used words like "tyrannical,” “fascist” and “cruel,” to describe continuing ICE raids and immigration arrests under Trump.
Richards said, “We will not cower in fear in Queens County, we will not lay down while he strips protections from thousands of us, because today and every day, we stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities. We say no to xenophobia and racism. We say no to masked agents with no badges, kidnapping people off our streets… That's exactly what fascism looks like… Don't get it twisted. The cruelty is the point of this fascist administration…”
“From the unfounded cancelations of TPS [Temporary Protective Status] for numerous countries to unleashing ICE into our neighborhoods, to wreaking havoc on our courts, our immigrant neighbors have been bombarded nonstop with destructive and irrational policies since Trump took office earlier this year,” said Vanessa Ordoñez, the director of immigrant affairs for Queens County.
Borough President Donovan Richards together with immigrant rights activists in Queens, NY.
“Hitler won. He changed us. He made us like him”
Miriam Margolyes is a British and Australian actress. She is best known internationally for her portrayal of Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film series. She has won multiple awards for her acting, appearing in films such as Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence (1993). In response to a question about what is on her mind, she answered "Gaza":
Amy Kurzweil, New Yorker Cartoonist and Los Angeles Times Food Writer, compares the starvation of Gazans by Israel with that of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
My grandmother escaped the Warsaw ghetto after her first of four sisters died from hunger. She slipped through a few missing bricks in the wall that sealed the Jewish population away from their Aryan neighbors, where they were trapped in poverty and malnourishment and subject to Nazi plans for extermination…. Bubbe is most tragically poetic in her descriptions of hunger, and she never forgot the way her sister died asking for a piece of bread, just a shtickle fun broyt. Bulging eyes and blue lips. My grandmother’s relationship to food was forever marked by the ghost of hunger.,,,
As I learned more about Jewish history, I came to believe that the long story of Jewish suffering resulted in an attempt to solve “the Jewish Problem” by creating a Palestinian Problem, that the Israeli government has never sufficiently reckoned with its role in Palestinian persecution, and that the fate of Palestinians and Israelis is, consequently, forever linked, and therefore the only viable future for either peoples lies in the two learning to break bread together….
Food and water for all must come before security for some, all of which must come before ideology. This formulation implies that those wielding the most resources, Israeli and American institutions, must be willing to sacrifice some security in the name of ensuring hungry people are fed. There’s no future for Israelis or Palestinians in which one people’s security comes before another people’s basic physiological needs, in wartime or after….
Artwork: Amy Kurzweil
We can cry about what is deeply wrong with now, and we can use our imaginations to light the way forward. Where our imaginations fixate might guide our collective priorities. So I imagine the children of Palestine in my drawings. They are breaking bread with my grandmother’s sisters, if only in my imagination.
Letter to Benjamin Netanyahu
An R&B/rap singer in Britain who posts under @zavani-music has been publishing a new song about Gaza almost every day.
"This is the first time I've ever willingly considered breaking the law in order to stand up for something I believe in. Because, if not today, when?"
In early July the British Parliament passed a law banning the group Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization after activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war.
On August 9 hundreds gathered to protest and almost 400 were arrested. In this video several explain why this is important.
Native American accused of "offensive art" about Gaza and immigrants responds to being fired by Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum.
Michigan-based artist Jamie John, who was commissioned by the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, was fired after only one day of his planned two weeks in Evanston. His mural was planned with Native American themes (see concept). He first laid down a "doodle grid," which gets covered over by the artwork and is a common way for artists to scale their initial drawings to fit a wall. The next day he was fired by the museum, who he says told him his "doodle grid" was highly offensive.
John wrote on Instagram:
As I was finishing up my doodle grid on the wall last night a man came up to the fence and asked “so who funds your art?”
No hi, no hello, no “what’s your name”, not what are you working on, but instead asked me who’s funding the mural.
I told him I was an independent contractor and that this mural was very graciously funded by the same folks who are making the sure the yard was full of Native plants for many years to come. I told him that the final images would be an image to reference the many creation stories of the Anishinaabek, the native nations to this territory.
He didn’t seem so interested in that and instead said “I don’t see what that’s got to do with Gaza.”
Earlier that morning I listened to a little boy who planted eggplants and tomatoes during missile strikes and Israeli led massacres say a final goodbye to his cat Leo because he could not feed him. And I thought of how much I wanted to hold my own cat.
Everyday more and more people enter stage 5 malnutrition while their occupiers and colonizers live in abundance on the other side of an apartheid wall.
I have not been able to eat without this on my mind everyday.
I told him directly that Israeli occupation is colonization by another name and that U.S. tax dollars fund the weapons that keep killing Palestinians at aid sites. It happened to the Indigenous people here in Chicagoland and it’s happening to the Indigenous people of Palestine now——that’s what it’s got to do with Gaza, sir.
He told me that it would be quite “polarizing” if I had left it up. So I finished my doodle grid for the night and I left on the last bus with “Feed Gaza!” and “Protect Immigrants” in prominent pink.
Because it’s not polarizing to say that people should eat and that the unlawful occupying empire and those who benefit from it should die. Because it’s not polarizing to say that people should live without having the traumas of their family members under rubble while their neighbors rape and pillage family homes and kill grandmothers and grandfathers.
Voices of Resistance July 28 to August 4
Rashid Khalidi
Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, and author of books including The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonialism and Resistance (Profile, 2020). He has withdrawn his fall course from Columbia in light of Columbia's capitulation to Trump. This is his letter, published in The Guardian:
I spent decades at Columbia. I’m withdrawing my fall course due to its deal with Trump
Dear Acting President Shipman,
I am writing you an open letter since you have seen fit to communicate the recent decisions of the board of trustees and the administration in a similar fashion.
These decisions, taken in close collaboration with the Trump administration, have made it impossible for me to teach modern Middle East history, the field of my scholarship and teaching for more than 50 years, 23 of them at Columbia. Although I have retired, I was scheduled to teach a large lecture course on this topic in the fall as a “special lecturer”, but I cannot do so under the conditions Columbia has accepted by capitulating to the Trump administration in June.
Specifically, it is impossible to teach this course (and much else) in light of Columbia’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition deliberately, mendaciously and disingenuously conflates Jewishness with Israel, so that any criticism of Israel, or indeed description of Israeli policies, becomes a criticism of Jews. Citing its potential chilling effect, a co-author of the IHRA definition, Professor Kenneth Stern, has repudiated its current uses. Yet Columbia has announced that it will serve as a guide in disciplinary proceedings….
Columbia’s capitulation has turned a university that was once a site of free inquiry and learning into a shadow of its former self, an anti-university, a gated security zone with electronic entry controls, a place of fear and loathing, where faculty and students are told from on high what they can teach and say, under penalty of severe sanctions. Disgracefully, all of this is being done to cover up one of the greatest crimes of this century, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a crime in which Columbia’s leadership is now fully complicit.
50 Jewish Activists Arrested Protesting Schumer & Gillibrand for Arming Israel—
"Never again for anyone!"
Earlier this week, the Senate voted 70-27 against a measure introduced by Vermont's Bernie Sanders to block $675 million in additional U.S. arms sales to Israel. Both New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand voted no.
More than 200 activists with Jewish Voice for Peace protested at the Manhattan offices of the senators on August 1 to denounce their votes against halting arms shipments to Israel. Banging pots and pans to highlight Israel's starvation of Palestinians, the activists chanted "Stop starving Gaza!" and "Never again for anyone!" JVP says 50 Jewish New Yorkers were arrested by police, including New York City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, and state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez.
Cabán's spokesperson, Arden Dressner Levy, said "Israeli attacks in Gaza have created the highest rate of child amputees in the world. Israel is blocking food, medicine, and baby formula from entering Gaza. Israel is systematically destroying Palestinian life and society, and Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are writing the checks. Never again is now."
Jacob Berger: "Zionism must end. Zionism is not Judaism”
Jacob Berger is Jewish-American, and an actor and comedian. He was one of 21 who participated in the July 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla on the ship “Handala”. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla attempted to get to Gaza bringing humanitarian aid, but Israeli forces intercepted them in international waters on July 26. This is his statement released upon their detention.
Ariana Grande: "History will ask each of us what we did while we watched them starve."
American singer and actress Ariana Grande, who has 374 million Instagram followers, shared a series of Instagram Stories on her official account addressing the ongoing humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip. One of the posts featured the slogan of the British pro-Palestinian campaign Red Line for Gaza and read: “Starving people to death is a red line. The Israeli government is crossing this red line before our eyes. History will ask each of us what we did while we watched them starve. Demand that aid gets through. Do it now before it’s too late.”
Religious organizations sue over ICE raids at churches
A 2011 internal government memo advised against raids at sensitive locations, such as houses of worship, schools and hospitals. But Trump did away with this policy after taking office. In response, a group of Christian denominations and organizations filed a lawsuit on July 28 against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem over immigration enforcement in places of worship.
The Complaint for the lawsuit reads in part:
8. For Plaintiffs and their members, the present threat of surveillance, interrogation, or arrest at their houses of worship means, among other things, fewer congregants participating in communal worship; a diminished ability to provide or participate in religious ministries; and interference with their ability to fulfill their religious mandates, including their obligations to welcome all comers to worship and not to put any person in harm’s way.
9. Defendants’ rescission of longstanding protections for houses of worship and other sensitive religious locations is not just harmful and un-American; it violates federal law.
10. By unjustifiably and substantially burdening Plaintiffs’ religious exercise and chilling their First Amendment right of expressive association, Defendants’ new policy violates the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”). And, as an unexplained and irrational change in agency policy, it violates the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). It is arbitrary and capricious, contrary to constitutional right, and in excess of statutory authority.
The City of West Hollywood joins lawsuit against ICE:
Mayor Chelsea Byers “The city of West Hollywood unequivocally condemns the ongoing ICE raids”
“The City of West Hollywood unequivocally condemns the ongoing ICE raids that are targeting immigrant families across our region. These actions are not only disruptive. They are also discriminatory and deeply destabilizing to our communities… They sow fear in our neighborhoods, divide families, and undermine public trust in the rule of law and due process. West Hollywood stands with cities across the region and rejects these tactics. We reaffirm our commitment to protecting the dignity, rights and humanity of all people, regardless of immigration status.
“We are not going to stand by as ICE tries to continue these unconstitutional practices in our state… It’s important that we call that out as illegal and take action, which is what this lawsuit is about… When we think about West Hollywood’s identity as a sanctuary city, that doesn’t just mean we offer support in symbolic ways. It means that we have to be active when rights are being violated, especially for LGBTQ and immigrant communities.”
Voices of Resistance July 22 to July 27
Comedian and host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, Josh Johnson: “When you strip away humanity”.
Japanese Americans protest possible ICE detention center at former Dublin, California prison
A large group of Japanese Americans and their allies gathered Saturday afternoon to voice opposition to the proposed reopening of the federal prison in Dublin, California in the SF Bay Area as an immigration detention center.
LA Galaxy fan groups boycott rivalry game due to club silence on Trump-ordered ICE raids
Fans of the Los Angeles professional soccer team from three major support groups – the Galaxy Outlawz, Angel City Brigade and Los Angeles Galaxians, decided to boycott one of the biggest games of the year in protest of their club’s silence on the ongoing Trump-ordered immigration raids.
As ICE raids started across Los Angeles, fans who are usually fierce rivals, banded together and people wearing both LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club jerseys came together to protest for a larger issue. Fans have been upset that Galaxy did not make any statement about the ongoing raids. On July 4, fans held a protest during a game – with fans walking out and leaving posters, some which read, “Fight ignorance, not immigrants.”
Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener warns: “Trump is building a fascist police state”
Alcatraz is an Island off the coast of San Francisco that housed a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963. Trump has now talked about turning the island back into a prison and sent federal officials to visit it on July 17.
In response, Democratic State Senator Scott Weiner posted this statement on reddit:
Trump is building a fascist police state, with Congress now giving him a massive slush fund to dramatically expand the ICE secret police and to build more private prison gulags, such as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and CECOT in El Salvador. Some dismiss Trump’s talk about reopening Alcatraz as a joke. While this idea is absurd on so many levels — and destructive in seeking to destroy one of the most popular tourist sites in the country — Trump has shown that he executes on many of the insane and destructive things that come out of his warped brain. I’m very concerned that Trump will actually try to turn Alcatraz into a gulag to hold the political prisoners ICE is sweeping off the streets. We need to do everything in our power to fight this dangerous idea.
Ex-U.S. Air Force Chief Condemns Trump’s Use of Fear to Silence Opposition
Frank Kendall, who was secretary of the Air Force under Biden, has been speaking out against Trump, who he calls a “rogue President,” since the start of Trump’s second term—including against the firing of top Black and women officers in the military. In a new opinion piece in the New York Times on July 21, Kendall condemns how Trump “does not accept dissent and is using fear to try to suppress it.” In the military and the government, Kendall writes, “Both the targeted removals of senior military leaders and the mass firings of members of our federal civil service that are taking place are unprecedented and clearly designed to eliminate dissent, replace professionals with political loyalists and create a climate of fear.”
Kendall describes his own experiences as an example of the way this climate of fear works in not-so-open but nevertheless seriously harmful ways: “Since I left the government in January, I have been told by several organizations that they either couldn’t openly employ me, hold my security clearances or otherwise be associated with someone visibly criticizing the administration. In one instance, I was told that a nonprofit that had asked me to serve as a distinguished fellow withdrew that offer because its senior leadership felt I had become too partisan. One corporate chief executive told me I had become toxic for writing and speaking about the administration’s abuses of power. I expected some of these responses, but it’s disappointing to experience, nonetheless. I have lost count of how many of my fellow national security professionals have told me they are grateful that I have spoken out, but in the same breath say they are afraid to do the same.”
U.S. science agency members protest against Trump administration's science policies
More than 140 government employees of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) signed a letter condemning Trump’s attacks on science. They sound the alarm about the mass firings and the “betrayal of scientific integrity…” While the letter is framed by a concern for America’s position in the world vis a vis other imperialist powers, this is an important stand against the overall fascist assault on science.
The letter starts with this:
We, the undersigned members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 (AFGE 3403), who work at the National Science Foundation (NSF), write to you with deep concern over a series of politically motivated and legally questionable actions by the Administration that threaten the integrity of the NSF and undermine the civil service protections guaranteed under federal law. As civil servants, NSF employees are bound by their oath to uphold the Constitution. That oath now compels us to call attention to actions that jeopardize NSF's mission, its independence, and the foundational laws that protect the federal workforce from politicization and abuse. The sweeping and sudden termination of hundreds of NSF employees this year, including senior staff and those managing Congressionally mandated programs, was not only damaging to the agency's functioning but appears to violate the letter and spirit of title 5, the body of law establishing the professional, apolitical civil service, and is we would argue an unlawful impoundment of funds appropriated by Congress to advance American scientific research.
In response to the Trump administration’s dismantling cuts and devastating attacks on NASA programs and missions, 362 NASA employees published the Voyager Declaration.
The letter begins:
Dear Interim Administrator Duffy,
In light of your recent appointment as Interim NASA Administrator, we bring to your attention recent policies that have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission. We, the signatories of this letter, dissent from these policies, and raise these concerns because we believe strongly in the importance of NASA's mission, which we are dedicated to uphold.
The "Declaration" lists a number of "Dissents". The last one of these reads:
- We dissent to the elimination of programs aimed at developing and supporting NASA's workforce because it undermines the agency's power to innovate for the benefit of humanity. Cuts to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programming that have already been implemented directly conflict with the agency's core value of inclusion. Eliminating the Office of STEM Engagement would deliver a critical blow to the nation's future space economy workforce.
No rhythm without justice:
With empty pots and pans, German musicians sound the alarm against the silence surrounding the famine in Gaza - a famine caused by Israel.
“We, musicians from German orchestras and the classical music scene, call on the German government:
Name it - don’t stay silent.
Act - don’t look away.
Stop supporting war crimes.
LET GAZA LIVE.
Rhiannon Giddens, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Grammy-winner, Macarthur Fellowship recipient, Pulitzer Prize winner, released this moving piece of lullabies for the children of Gaza. She wrote:
"For the children. My sorry and my sorrow does nothing to help your plight but I feel them both nonetheless. My colleagues and I hold you in our hearts and as helpless as we feel we try to act in your best interest with every little moment we can."
Lullaby 1 - Khet el Sobeh - Thread of the morning
His eyes are full of sleep
O thread of the morning
O separator between him and I
His eyes are full of sleep
If only morning did not start appearing
His eyes are full of sleep
Lullaby 2 - Wa’ouyouneha - Her Eyes
My bird, you’d say that her eyes are like cups
Cups full of coffee
Your beautiful, black eyes
Your beautiful, black eyes
Oh your eyes
Well-known comedian and social commentator W Kamau Bell: “It’s on you. It is your job to stop the fascist takeover of our country!”
This statement is from June 18, 2025 but the message is still urgent.
Jim Parsons calls Trump administration’s decision to close LGBTQ+ crisis line ‘criminal’
Actor Jim Parsons, best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the TV show, The Big Bang Theory, says the Trump Administration’s termination of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s for LGBTQ+ youth as “quite literally criminal.” Other celebrities have also condemned this move by Trump, including singer, actress Ariana Grande, actor Pedro Pascal and singer and actress, Christina Aguilera. There has also been a growing list of celebrities signing an open letter calling on the government to stop cutback efforts and continue funding vital mental health services for LGBTQ+ young people.
Stephen Colbert and others come out swinging after The Late Show was cancelled.
Stephen Colbert comes out swinging for Trump after Late Show cancellation: "Gloves are off"
TV host, Stephen Colbert accused CBS of paying "a big fat bribe" of $16 million to Trump for what Trump called "deceptive" editing of an interview with his 2024 election opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris. Three days later CBS announced that Colbert’s show was being cancelled – a move that has been widely considered a move by CBS to appease Trump after Colbert, who has been a long time critic of Trump sent this message to Trump: “go fuck yourself.” Trump responded by saying, "I absolutely love that Colbert was fired."
“When media companies cancel late night shows to appease fascist presidents, America fucking ends,” TV exec producer Mike Schur (“Parks and Recreation,” “The Good Place,” “A Man on the Inside”) wrote on Bluesky. “If you think for one second that this decision has nothing to do with Trump, don’t worry, he will brag about it within the next 24 hours and disabuse you of that notion. The #1 way to explain America working properly is by saying ‘comedians can make fun of the President on TV.’ A good way to explain fascism is ‘the President forces companies to fire those comedians as a condition of allowing them to conduct business.’”
Statement From Local 802 AFM, Union Representing Musicians at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Robert Suttmann, President of Local 802 American Federation of Musicians, the union representing the live musicians who work at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, issued the following statement on July 25, 2025:
“The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert without clear explanation is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the broader implications for free expression and artistic freedom....
We need to be very honest about what’s happening here: the President of the United States himself has said he hopes he played a role in the decision, and has warned NBC and ABC that their late night hosts are next.
This is why it is vital for NBC and ABC to state, loudly and clearly, that they will not allow themselves to be similarly intimidated. Now, more urgently than ever, is a time for courage, not cowardice.
Martha Plimpton "It's ok to speak. It's required, actually, right now"
Talk Show hosts stand with Colbert
In the Late Night episode that aired on July 21, 2025, shortly after the cancellation, rather than shrinking in fear they might also be cancelled, multiple celebrities made appearances to stand with Colbert: Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Weird Al Yankovic, Andy Cohen, Anderson Cooper, Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald.
Jon Stewart, late-night comedian who worked with Colbert over the years: "This ain't the time to shrink. This is the time to fight. This is the time to rise up. Compliance and complacency is not the answer."
“If you believe, as corporations or as networks, you can make yourselves so innocuous, that you can serve a gruel so flavorless, that you will never again be on the boy king’s radar… you are fucking wrong.”
Voices of Resistance July 15 to July 21
United Church of Christ synod denounces ICE raids as 'domestic terrorism'
The United Church of Christ at its 2025 Synod (a meeting held every two years) passed a “resolution of witness” motion which denounces ICE raids and the violation of constitutional rights of immigrants, including of birthright citizenship. It read in part:
“THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ affirms that all people are made in God’s image and should be afforded basic human rights, including the constitutional right to due process.
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ denounces all attempts by the federal government to violate the basic human rights of immigrants, migrants, and refugees.
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ affirms that the federal government’s actions towards immigrants, migrants, and refugees stand in violation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the U.S. Constitution, and the 1951 Refugee Convention.
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ denounces all violations and weaponization of the constitution, federal law, and international human rights law committed by the current administration, including its abuse and misuse of the Alien Enemies Act, its denial of the constitutional right to due process for immigrants summarily deported or indefinitely detained, its denial of First Amendment rights, its ending of the asylum seeker and refugee resettlement programs, and denounces domestic terrorism carried out by ICE agents working without uniforms, wearing masks or refusing to identify themselves.
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ calls on the National Setting, Conferences, Associations, local congregations, CHHSM and all settings of the UCC to reaffirm their commitment to protect, advocate for, and serve our immigrant, migrant, and refugee neighbors during a time of heightened racist, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, anti-transgender, anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia as immigration laws are weaponized primarily against marginalized communities.
Anti-Fascist Plaque Re-Dedicated After 24 Years in New Hampshire State House Vault
Plaque honoring New Hampshire fighters against fascism in Spanish Civil War Photo: World Fellowship Center
A plaque honoring the New Hampshire soldiers who fought against fascism during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s was put on display at the World Fellowship Center in Albany, New Hampshire at a July 13 ceremony. The plaque had been created 24 years before for the New Hampshire State House, and hidden after ultra-right wingers protested. People spoke at the event linking the spirit of those who fought fascism then, with what is needed today.
“...Now we can carry forward the history that needs to be known by everyone in New Hampshire and everyone in this country as we face the specter of rising fascism,” said Megan Chapman, the Center’s co-director.
Burt Cohen, who initiated the plaque 24 years ago, said of the volunteers, “They were visionaries who could see what was coming, and as many said, as they geared up for their self-sacrificing voyage, somebody had to do something. Today, as fascism has indeed come to our country, they are role models, courageous heroes fighting the good fight.”
Mark Wallem, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives in New York, said “I wish that we were just a historical organization.” “However, we are an organization that is engaged actively in the fight against the rise of fascism.” If young adults were willing to take the ultimate risk back then, he asked, “What are we willing to do?”
“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”
Maurene Comey has been a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). She prosecuted the Epstein and Sean Diddy Combs cases among many others. She is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. She was abruptly fired July 16 with no reason given.
Maurene Comey wrote a memo to her colleagues which read in part:
Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful.
For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable.... Our focus was really on acting “without favor.” That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law.
But we have entered a new phase where “without fear” may be the challenge. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.
At the "family values" anti-LGBT "Hetero Awesome Fest" in Boise, Idaho, Daniel Hamrick put on his “battle jacket” and played a song about a transgender boy.
"An LGBTQ musician managed to get a spot on stage at the “Hetero Awesome Fest” [deliberately scheduled in opposition to Pride events being held] in Boise, Idaho, last weekend, where he put on what he called his “battle jacket” — which has an upside down American flag on one arm and a rainbow Pride heart on the other — and his tan beret from serving four years as an Army Ranger and then played a song in protest about a transgender boy."
Daniel Hamrick sings protest song about trans boy at Hetero Awesome Fest in Boise Idaho IG/screenshot
Karen Fiorito created this billboard "The Swamp" in Phoenix, Arizona to mock Trump and call on everyone to stand up against what he is doing. Trump is depicted as a frowning "Swamp King." Click image to expand. Photo: Karen Fiorito
My big beautiful billboard in Phoenix
“The level of damage and chaos Donald Trump has levied on all aspects of the U.S. government and American life during his first 6 months in office, inspired “Swamp King” by California artist Karen Fiorito, symbolically portraying the damage sustained by critical government infrastructure, imperious “nose thumbing” at the courts, disdain for the “rule of law” and human rights, and all manner of self-dealing. Erratic, contradictory policies shored up by a cruel budget, are destined to ruin the lives of millions of middle and low income families, in favor of obscene tax cuts for the rich. A huge pile of money earmarked for a shadowy, masked police force, is one of many red flags along this quickly developing road to authoritarianism….
Fiorito describes “Swamp King” as, “A snapshot of our current political climate under the Trump Regime: full of corruption, militarism, cronyism and just plain ugliness. All of us - artists, activists and everyday citizens - need to stand up, and fight back again this tyrannical oligarchy. This is my way of fighting back”. She further explains that “Tyrants hate being mocked and for good reason: it undermines their power, encourages dissent and makes them look weak, all the while highlighting their insecurities.”
From Instagram post July 3
STOP THE GENOCIDE OF PALESTINIANS
Photo: Rosie ODonnell
Rosie ODonnell published a powerful poem, "Speak out for Gaza," condemning the genocide in Gaza and the Trump and Netanyahu roles in the genocide.
The poem begins:
I cant believe its still happening
A horror that does not end
And the survivors
If there are any -
It ends with this:
So stand up America
Against trump
Against Bibi and the Israeli government
Against genocideBefore it is too late
Dozens of Israeli teenagers in Tel Aviv burned their draft orders
Dozens of Israeli teenagers are refusing to serve in the military in protest against the war on Gaza. “We won’t take part in genocide. We won’t serve apartheid. Resist. Refuse!”
Exhibition brings resistance and urban art from the walls of Palestine
A photography exhibition, “Colors of Resistance – Graffiti on the Walls of Palestine,” by photojournalist Christian Rizzi, opened at the Barrageiro Public Market in Brazil, featuring 20 previously unpublished images collected in 2019. Rizzi said, "It was two weeks of immersion in the culture and reality of the Palestinian people. In addition to the footage taken for the documentary, I captured images of the walls, which are veritable canvases, depicting the defeats and victories of the Palestinian people."
A July 12, 2025 article about the exhibit in H2FOZ, described the exhibit like this: “The photographer's visual journey invites viewers to explore the vibrant and powerful artistic expressions that adorn the Apartheid Wall, which surrounds several Palestinian cities.... This exhibition is a tribute to the resilience and resistance of the Palestinian people, and to art as a means of social transformation… The walls surrounding Palestinian cities, also known as the West Bank Walls, are not only a physical division but also a symbol of deep and conflicting divisions.... However, for Palestinians, the wall has also become a canvas of expression and resistance, a means of communicating their voices to the world and protesting the oppression Palestinians face daily…. The graffiti on the walls is a visual narrative of Palestinian resistance and identity. They address a variety of themes, from land occupation and the search for justice to cultural preservation and the desire for peace. Each stroke of paint is a bold statement, an act of courage that challenges the physical presence of the wall and affirms the humanity and rights of Palestinians.
Chritian Rizzi photograph of graffiti on Palestinian wall Photo: Christian Rizzi
Voices of Resistance July 8 to July 14
Rosie O’Donnell responds to Trump’s vicious threat to take away her U.S. citizenship: "i stand in direct opposition all he represents"
After Donald Trump used his social media to threaten to take away comedienne and activist Rosie O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, saying “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” she responded with several posts (right and below).
In her first response post she said:
“the president of the usa has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is - a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself - this is why i moved to ireland - he is a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity- i stand in direct opposition all he represents- so do millions of others - u gonna deport all who stand against ur evil tendencies - ur a bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence”
She is continuing to post defiantly, sharing the voices of others standing with her and against Trump's threats.
Rosie O'Donnell
hey donald –
you’re rattled again?
18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours.
you call me a threat to humanity –
but I’m everything you fear:
a loud woman
a queer woman
a mother who tells the truth
an american who got out of the country b4 u set it ablaze
you build walls –
I build a life for my autistic kid in a country where decency still exists
you crave loyalty –
I teach my children to question power
you sell fear on golf courses –
I make art about surviving trauma
you lie, you steal, you degrade –
I nurture, I create, I persist
you are everything that is wrong with america –
and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it
you want to revoke my citizenship?
go ahead and try, king joffrey with a tangerine spray tan
i’m not yours to silence
i never was
🇮🇪 rosie
The annual Representative Assembly of the National Education Association (a nationwide teacher’s union) was held July 3-6, 2025. Among resolutions adopted were the following:
Defend BIrthright Citizenship: ITEM 59
NEA defends birthright citizenship and opposes the attempt to revert to pre-civil rights movement—Jim Crow—legal concepts of “states rights” in order to deny citizenship to the children of immigrants.
We will use existing media platforms to organize and join actions with other unions, communities, immigrant rights, and civil rights organizations in opposition to the Trump administration’s attack on it.
Use the word "fascism" to characterize Trump's program: ITEM 60
NEA pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term fascism in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions.
The members and material resources of NEA must be committed to the defense of the democratic and educational conditions required by our hopes for a just society and the survival of civilization itself by stating the truth.
Oppose ICE kidnapping of student leaders and support organizing against ICE: ITEM 63
NEA opposes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) kidnapping of student leaders and supports students’ right to organize against ICE raids and deportations.
We will protect our students’ right to free speech and defend their right to dissent and organize against Trump’s policies, including attacks against LGBTQ+ students, and against racism.
NEA will use existing media platforms to organize and join actions with other unions, communities, immigrant rights, and civil rights organizations in support of defending students’ right to protest.
Tom Morello Releases Anti-ICE Protest Song ‘Pretend You Remember Me’ with Leonard Peltier and Immigrants from Los Angeles
Tom Morello, Leonard Peltier, and victims of the LA ICE Raids have produced a protest song titled, “Pretend You Remember Me.” Former guitarist for the band Rage Against the Machine came together with the Coalition For Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA).
The song’s video features Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist and former political prisoner. At the beginning, Peltier speaks out saying, “No human being is illegal.” Peltier ends by saying “The only thing we should be deporting is injustice. Stand up for them. Tell the world you’re not going to get away with this. Injustice will be abolished alongside of you.” The video also features the faces of those impacted by ICE raids in Los Angeles.
Morello released a statement that said, “This song is written for all the families torn apart by the recent immigrant purges and kidnappings. Children torn from their wailing mothers’ arms by masked government thugs, people coming home to find their loved ones abducted by the state. Folks who worked, suffered, and struggled for decades just to make a decent life for themselves and their family were violently separated with an uncertain future. ‘Pretend You Remember Me’ is for them and for all those who are finding the courage to stand up against racism, tyranny, and injustice.”
Coder develops an app that warns of ICE raids — inspired by the memory of the Holocaust
ICEBlock is an app that allows people to identify actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in real time. Users who spot ICE activity can, in two clicks, identify the time and location where it’s unfolding so other users will get an alert, and undocumented people can know to stay away. The app, developed by Joshua Aaron, a technology developer and musician, has been downloaded more than 750,000 times as of July 11.
“Being raised in a Jewish household and growing up in that community, I had the opportunity to meet holocaust survivors and learn all about the history of Nazi Germany and Hitler’s rise to power. And when we see five-year-olds in courtrooms without representation, when we see college students being disappeared for their political beliefs, and even worse, when we see babies being ripped from their mother’s arms while they are screaming for their children in the name of patriotism and this country, I really think we are watching history repeat itself. ICEBlock was the best way I could think of to fight back.
Why Joshua Aaron created an app to alert ICE sightings
In answer to a question “Are not you concerned that the administration might come after you personally for the development of this app?” Josh answered “I think whenever you push back again a regime that is purporting authoritarianism, pushing fascism and subverting the rule of law and our constitution—if you push back against them you have to know that they are going to come after you in some way. And I say ‘go ahead’. You can come after me. You can demonize me all you want…. But the reality is it is protected speech under the first amendment….”
“Profiles in Cowardice” Award Open for Voting
“The U.S. has lost all credibility when it comes to crimes against humanity.”— FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, July 14, 2025
The Eisenhower Media Network (EMN) is “an organization of expert former military, intelligence, and civilian national security officials” whose aim is to counter the analyses coming from the Pentagon and the “military-industrial-congressional complex” that furthers U.S. generational and nuclear war. Among their members are Col. Ann Wright, Ray McGovern, and FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, who have histories opposing U.S. torture programs and the war in Iraq, “a country that had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks.”
The EMN has created the “Profiles in Cowardice” award “to call out those weak souls who are failing to engage in efforts to keep our country from sleepwalking into fascism.” They say "When the votes are tallied, the winner will be awarded the AMERICA’S FAVORITE COWARD award, which will be presented to them at the most inconvenient time possible."
Eight candidates have been nominated for the award. Among those whom they describe as deserving of the award are George W. Bush, who “has a long and storied history of cowardice,” who by staying silent in the face of Trump fascism, is “solidifying his legacy of cowardice,” and Retired Army General and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley who “after calling President Trump a ‘fascist to the core,’ and referring to him as the ‘most dangerous person to this country’ before his reelection… has now gone completely silent as the second Trump administration erodes American democracy."
These individuals from the EMN, who had significant roles within the U.S. ruling class military, have bravely opposed “the country’s descent into fascism” with humor and seriousness.
"Run Against ICE Resistance Relay" covers 15 miles through immigrant neighborhoods in LA July 5
Over 1000 people ran a 15 mile resistance relay on July 5 to call for an end to raids and deportations and to stand with immigrants. They ran through different neighborhoods where raids have taken place and/or are important areas for immigrants. They went through streets lined with sidewalk vendors in Koreatown and MacArthur Park to Dodger Stadium, Chinatown, the Fashion District and to an area a few blocks from where detained immigrants are being held. The run brought traffic to a halt, with drivers honking their horns in support.
DeMille Halliburton, who ran with a club from South Los Angeles, said, “We’re always trying to find a way to share how upset we are about what’s happening in the country right now, to be visible and outspoken… Enough is enough.” Runner Brisa Aguilar said "Whatever is happening right now, it feels like the Holocaust all over again, and it's not fair on justice."
Over 1,000 runners ran 15 miles through immigrant neighborhoods in Los Angeles to call for the end to ICE raids and deportations.
Why Do Fascists Dream Of Alligators?
Asher Elbein is a journalist and fiction writer based in Austin, Texas. He began as a science writer, publishing a book about dinosaurs in Texas, and has extended his range into fiction writing.
“American fascism writ large yearns for ethnic cleansing and the concentration camp; in the south, American white supremacy yearns for the Alligator….
“The concentration camp that has been erected in Ochopee, Florida, promises to be one of many. The first detainees arrived on Thursday, July 3, the same day that the Republican-held legislature delivered Trump $171 billion for his anti-immigration agenda, including $45 billion to fund more such detention centers, a set of snapping mouths likely to chew through visitors, residents, and citizens alike. The man-catchers of the antebellum era are back in tactical gear, plucking people off the street; the naked infliction of terror on undesirables is public policy. Gone are the halcyon days of 2020, when organizers pushed the University of Florida into dropping the “gator bait” cheer, pointing to the racist imagery associated with the phrase. To hear Trump and his goons tell it, the Alligator is back. “They have a lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators,” the president remarked during his visit, demonstrating his gift for stating the subtext. “You don't have to pay them so much.” Hangers-on like Laura Loomer, meanwhile, were fantasizing bigger. “Alligator lives matter,” she gloated. “The good news is, alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals if we get started now.” (There are, interestingly, at least 65 million Hispanic people in the United States.)
I would not assume that any of these people know about the history of “gator bait” or are trying to intentionally invoke it, not because it would disgust them, but because they do not read. But the streams of authoritarian and racist thought are, if nothing else, predictable. The Alligator is on the side of the slave catcher and the overseer against the black underclass; why not the ICE agent and the concentration camp guard against the immigrant, the dissident, the stripped-of-citizenship? The threat is the same: You will be eaten up and disappear.
Japanese Americans and Local Community Leaders Condemn ICE Staging on Terminal Island in Los Angeles
On June 27, Japanese Americans and residents of the Los Angeles Harbor area came together at the Japanese Fishing Village Memorial on Terminal Island to denounce the use of the island by federal immigration authorities in carrying out raids of immigrants. The memorial commemorates Terminal Island’s Japanese-American community, which was destroyed when residents were rounded up in 1942 and incarcerated at Manzanar and other concentration camps.
A number of people spoke about their family history of detention and removal, and losing everything they owned.
Maya Suzuki Daniels
Speaking as “a proud descendant of Japanese American ancestry,” Maya Suzuki Daniels, a San Pedro teacher and a member of the UTLA Harbor Area Steering Committee, said, “It is this lineage that compels me to stand in front of you today and say ‘No ICE on Terminal Island.’ My grandfather was born in Los Angeles in 1920. In 1942, he joined the U.S. military. During the time of his service, his relatives were moved into internment camps in Arizona. My family understands what forced displacement and mass incarceration looks like.
“My grandfather is the one who taught me to stand up for values of peace, justice, equality, and compassion. Living in San Pedro, I have seen how neighbors stand up for each other when someone is ill, when someone is struggling, or when people are scared. San Pedro is a community born out of immigration — Croatian, Italian and Mexican migrants moving to make their lives and blend their cultures in our hamlet by the sea. We protect each other and we defend this slice of Los Angeles.
Danish Star Tessa ( @tessa_okay ) Slams Danish Govt for Supporting Israel’s Genocide in Gaza at EU Presidency Event.
Danish star Tessa spoke out in support of Palestine as she performed on stage, waving the Palestinian flag. She slammed the Danish Government for Supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza at European Union Presidency Event and said: “Today is a crucial day and we got every right to use our voices. As Danish, we are ashamed of our government is sending money to Israel. We are ashamed that they are siding with a genocide. So we will keep fighting and holding the flag until the end of the concert.” She held and waved the Palestinian flag for her whole performance.
JOINT STATEMENT: GAZA: Starvation or gunfire — not a humanitarian response
On June 30, a group of more than 240 NGOs released a statement in protest of the situation in Gaza, saying: “Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families…. Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites with a single entry point. There, thousands are released into chaotic enclosures to fight for limited food supplies. These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law….
“We reiterate our urgent calls for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, full humanitarian access at scale, and an end to the pervasive impunity that enables these atrocities and denies Palestinians their basic dignity. “
Mandy Patinkin, a prominent actor who has appeared on Broadway and multiple films, speaks out against the current Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, challenging other Jewish people to speak out. He is joined here by actor and writer Kathryn Grody and their son Gideon Grody-Patinkin:
“I ask Jews to consider what this man Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government is doing to the Jewish people all over the world….”
“I ask you Jews, everywhere, all over the world, to spend some time alone and think, ‘Is this acceptable and sustainable? How could it be done to you and your ancestors and you turn around and you do it to someone else?’”
Bob Vylan, an English punk rap duo: "Free Palestine."
The U.S. visas for the duo were revoked and their American tour cancelled after one member led a chant at Glastonbury, "Death death to the IDF." The duo continues to call for political support for Palestine and an end to the inhumane, illegal genocide in Gaza.
Voices of Resistance June 23 to June 30, 2025
RESISTING TRUMP/MAGA FASCISM
Willy Chavarria, a prominent fashion designer, who has often spoken out for people’s rights, used his Paris Fashion Week’s show as a dramatic protest against deportations of immigrants to El Salvador and other countries.
The invitations to his show resembled official Social Security letters — a document that U.S. green card holders would receive with their SS card attached.
The envelope read "Official Paris Huron Summons, Department of Human Verification"
"This letter serves as formal acknowledgement that the individual bearing the name listed below has an incontestible and inalienable Right to Exist."
The beginning of the show was a dramatic display of Chavarria's anger toward the Trump administration's ICE raids that have taken over the state of California and beyond over the last few months. The models mimicked the prisoners in El Salvador as they are forced to kneel with their heads down.
“This moment was about reflection," Chavarria's team wrote. "The dehumanization of how immigrants are being treated in the United States.”
Survivors of atomic bombings condemn Trump's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities
At the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump compared recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – asserting that both actions ended wars.
Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations and other survivors of the 1945 bombings known as Hibakusha, responded with outrage and condemnation. Nihon Hidankyo stated on X: “As survivors of the atomic bombings, we cannot approve any statement that justifies the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We protest with great fury.” 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the prize for its advocacy against nuclear weapons, also condemned the U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, labeling them a “scandalous act” and a violation of international law.
Prominent attorney Thomas Durkin sent a statement to the Refuse Fascism press conference in Chicago held hours after the SCOTUS ruling was released. Durkin has a long history of defending progressive causes, including going to Guantanamo to defend prisoners.
Statement of Attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin regarding today’s US Supreme Court decision in the “Birthright” case, Trump v. President of the United States, et al., v. CASA, INC, et al. (June 27, 2025)
Today’s Supreme Court 6-3 decision along ideological lines is another very dangerous step in the Court’s continued and wrongheaded deference to the Executive Branch. This continued deference to the Executive has a litany of historical roots going back at least as far as the infamous National Security Act of 1947, and the accompanying “Red Scare” of the ‘50s. It has grown exponentially upon the domestic terrorism fears of 9/11, to the present day dog-whistling migrant invasion fears, and fits famously with the prescient insight of the Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt on the “state of exception.” That is, it is only the sovereign who gets to state the exception in an existential emergency. Surely, these are not “existential” emergencies that sovereign Trump deftly and improperly exploits with his continued barrage of supposed emergency Executive Orders.
While it can be argued that this ruling today is only a technical procedural ruling, I join with the many other commentators, as well as Senator Chuck Schumer, who said today that to limit the courts’ authority to block illegal executive actions marked a “terrifying step towards authoritarianism.” I, too, fear that this is but another serious crack in what little remains of our “Rule of Law.”
World Boxing Champion Canelo Alvarez Refuses $10 million Tesla Sponsorship
Mexican boxer Canelo refused a $10 million deal to promote Tesla at his next fight. Canelo said to Musk: "With all your money, I will NEVER promote your Teslas. It’s because of rich men like you my Mexican people are targeted like animals. I won’t back a brand that profits on anti-Mexican racism."
At the press conference before the fight in Las Vegas, Canelo said, "I will always support my people."
Musicians Call Out ICE and Fascism
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day has been calling on his audiences everywhere to join the fight against Trump/MAGA fascism.
Rage Against the Machine, known for their anti-capitalist and revolutionary lyrics, posted this on Instagram: "No government on stolen land should have the power to decide who is 'legal' and who is 'illegal,' or who lives and who dies."
Resisting the Genocide in Gaza
Seun Kuti, son of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, at a concert in Croatia, called on young people to "Free Europe from fascism" and "imperiality" in order to "free Palestine, free the Congo, free Sudan, free Iran..."
Editors’ Note: The Gaza Tribunal Sarajevo Public Assembly brought together legal experts, academics, medical professionals, journalists, and Palestinian witnesses, in the historic city of Sarajevo – a location chosen for its profound understanding of genocide and international failure to prevent mass atrocities – over four days to hear testimony documenting Israel’s actions in Gaza. For more information see https://gazatribunal.com/
The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal
We, the members of the Gaza Tribunal, having gathered in Sarajevo from 26 to 29 May 2025, declare our collective moral outrage at the continuing genocide in Palestine, our solidarity with the people of Palestine, and our commitment to working with partners across global civil society to end the genocide and to ensure accountability for perpetrators and enablers, redress for victims and survivors, the building of a more just international order, and a free Palestine….
We believe that the world is approaching a dangerous precipice, the front edge of which is in Palestine. Dangerous forces in both the public and private spheres are pushing us toward the abyss. The events of the past nineteen months, and our own deliberations, have convinced us that both key international organizations and most countries of the world, whether acting individually or collectively, have failed in defending the human rights of the Palestinian people and in responding to the Israeli regime’s genocide in Palestine. We are convinced that the challenge of justice now falls to people of conscience everywhere, to civil society and to social movements, to all of us. As such, our work in the coming months will be dedicated to meeting this challenge. Palestinian lives are at stake. The international moral and legal order is at stake. We must not fail. We will not relent.
At the Glastonbury Festival in English June 25-29, numerous bands condemned the genocide in Gaza and called out "Free Palestine." Here are three of them:
Eli Hewson, son of Bono, dedicates a song "to innocent people starved, bombed, or genocided" in Palestine.
English musician Jade Thirlwall leads the crowd in "Fuck You" to the UK government.
The young musician Jordan Stephens was joined on stage by his mom who wore a Palestinian scarf and waved the Palestinian flag.