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Monday, April 14, 2025
4-14-25 Newsletter
MARCH + RALLY + INFO SHARE + FOOD DRIVE
FOOD DRIVE: Drop off nonperishable items at Cambium before 10 am, and also at 17th and Marine Drive before the 11:30 end time.
SIGN MAKING: Cambium Gallery and Coffee,1030 Duane, Astoria, is hosting sign-making prior to the march, starting at 9 am or earlier (they open at 7:30 am).
MARCHING: Volunteers will have "No Kings" flyers with info about the impact of local cuts for marchers to hand out downtown. Using sidewalks on both sides of the streets, we will march west on Duane, north on 9th, east on Commercial, cross at 14th to Marine DrIve, or stay on the south side of the road.
WHY AND HOW: This is a 100% nonviolent protest. Participants are responsible for obeying traffic laws, including crossing with traffic signals, and not using private parking at the Maritime Museum, Coast Guard, etc. We recognize that the time could come for noncompliance actions, but our goal at present is to stay visible, build on momentum, and not play into the false MAGA rhetoric about us being violent. We want to normalize protest so that if Trump and Congressional Republicans take it away, that's what's abnormal.
As with any public event, participate at your own risk to make a fun, positive, and safe event. Please don't respond to counter-protesters. A trained volunteer response team will respond to any problems. They are not there to tell you how to protest, but to attend to the safety of the most vulnerable among us. They may ask you to allow a buffer and/or tone down inciting rhetoric. If you'd like to train as a volunteer responder, contact incoregon@gmail.com.
More photos from the April 5th Hands Off! protest in Astoria are below.
HOORAY FOR HANDS OFF! PROTESTERS IN ASTORIA
* Thanks to everyone who came an hour earlier on their own initiative to help us set up.
* Bebe made 350 fabulous Hands Off! buttons for protesters! Local Trumper leaders claim protesters were bussed in from Portland, so please wear your Hands Off! buttons everywhere in Clatsop County.
* Thanks to everyone who practiced good will and safety regarding parking, staying on the sidewalk, de-escalating problems as they occurred, listening to our crossing guards, etc.
* Kudos to the 35-40 protesters who made signs at Cambium Gallery and Coffee before Hands Off! and to everyone who made signs to share. Thank you, Cambium, for hosting!
* No trash, no litter, no mess. By 1:45 Saturday, the protest area was sparkling clean.
* Kudos to INCO's Weather Committee for the beautiful sunny blue sky day.
* Thanks to everyone for sharing photos and stories with friends and on social media. This is especially important since press coverage of protests has been minimal even in big cities with crowds in the tens of thousands. The Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and Washington Post all buried the story of 1300 nationwide and global Hands Off! protests in print and online and showed few photos. What are they afraid of?
*SIGN UP ISSUES If you know people who have had problems signing up for the INCO newsletter, please ask them to contact us directly at incoregon@gmail.com. INCO is revamping our website, and we hope to have all links working again soon.
GOOD NEIGHBORS
INCO is developing service projects around the county and we could use your help. Our next project will be packing food boxes at the Clatsop County Food Bank on Thursday, April 24th from 9 a.m. to 12 noon for delivery to distribution points. If you are interested in joining us for this project or for others in the future, please write Bruce Williams at b42wzz@gmail.com.
HOW TO SUPPORT CANDIDATES IN LOCAL ELECTIONS
Kudos to the area residents who have stepped up to run for local offices on the May 20 ballot. It's time for us to support them by volunteering with their campaigns! Put up a yard sign, help distribute yard signs, donate to their campaigns, support them with a letter to the editor or posts on social media. Ask the candidate how you can help.
INCO invites local candidates to introduce themselves at our April 26 Community Meeting. Please contact incoregon@gmail.com so we can include you in the agenda.
INCO COMMUNITY MEETING Saturday, April 26 10:30 - 11 am - mix and mingle; vent and validate 11 am - 12:30 - meeting Grace Episcopal Church parish hall 1545 Franklin, Astoria
GRATITUDE "Oregon native plants in my garden are showing that they can adapt to climate change." -- Eric, at February 15 INCO Community Meeting
COMMENT ON PROPOSED OREGON LEGISLATION
Oregon is halfway through its legislative session. Tell legislators how you feel about proposed bills. Go to COIN Legislation Watch Team here or at https://www.coinoregon.org/2025-legislation. Scroll down to see the list of bills where you can take action and submit comments with a simple click. Contact Cheryl Conway at conwayct2007@hotmail.com if you need assistance in using the web page.
"I am 74 years old; a red diaper baby wannabe. I have lived in San Francisco since 1974. I am proud to be a MAGA nightmare—old, Jew, gay, snark up to here." -- David Sharp, Reader's Comment, Substack.
We can all be MAGA nightmares, each in our own way! Onward!
Thursday, April 17 * noon -1, via Zoom Updates and Q&A with Indivisible co-leaders Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin.
Submit questions when you register or in the chat during the event. REGISTER HERE for the next What’s the Plan call. Past events are on Indivisible's YouTube channel.
USING YOUR TOWN SQUARE
"Every one of us has a town square. It may include our social media accounts, our local book club, or our dinner table. Use your town square to speak out in favor of democracy and against what Republicans are doing. Do not shy away from difficult conversations; seek them out. Engage the curious. Educate those who seek information. We all have a role to play, so don’t assume your voice is too faint or your platform too small." -- Marc Elias, Democracy Docket. Marc is a plaintiff in lawsuits against the Trump-Musk regime.
3.5%
"Remember, no government has maintained legitimacy and power after 3.5% of their population came together to vocalize their dissent against it at a peak event.Three million of us were in the streets on Saturday, and it was one of the largest decentralized protests in American history. But we have to build from here. 3.5% would be about 11 million people.
"We can do it, together. And we must. We cannot become a country that disappears people because of a tattoo, someone's national origin, or their courage in speaking out against injustice. We cannot become a lawless, fascist state run by billionaires for billionaires." -- MoveOn.org, April 13, 2025
CALL CONGRESS
Senator Ron Wyden 202-224-5244 or 503-326-7525 Senator Jeff Merkley 202-224-3753 or 503-326-3386 Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici 202-225-0855 or 503-469-6010 Using the5 Calls appis another way to reach your Members of Congress.
"This wasn’t just “Hands Off.” It was “hands held together,” across an ocean, refusing to break." -- Viktor Kravchuk, onSubstack from Ukraine, April 7, 2025
What are likelyimpacts of Trump's presidency? David Frum of The Atlantic offers frank possibilities about iPhone screws, French champagne, Denmark, history, and more in conversation with Jonathan V. Last of The Bulwark. Worth watching.
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THE REAL NATIONAL EMERGENCY
"Make no mistake about what’s really going on here. While the United States has plenty of real problems to deal with, Trump is ignoring them to manufacture the fake emergencies he needs to further enlarge and centralize his power." -- Robert Reich, Substack, April 7, 2025
"Can you imagine something that validates your work more than having the president of the United States being so afraid of what you teach that he wants to shut it down? You could take your students to museums of art until you wear out the soles of their shoes, and you wouldn't be able to inspire them more than the idea that art is so powerful that it must be banned." -- Lucian Truscott IV, Substack, April 2, 2024
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These are the CDC's health divisions eliminated by Trump-Musk-Congressional Republicans. "FDA has a list. Same with NIH. Check this crowdsourced document—because federal leadership has been silent." -- Your Local Epidemiologist, Substack, April 1, 2025
FUN STUFF
INCO INSIGHTS
“It takes all of us to look after all of us.” — Sasha Miller, community volunteer
INCO defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption and by promoting civic engagement and building community. Sign up for the INCO newsletter here. Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com. Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. INCO is part of COIN, the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network. Get updates, track Oregon legislation, and learn about Oregon's 40+ Indivisible groups. Sign up here. Look for the INCO column in Hipfish Monthly. Indivisible North Coast Oregon is on Facebook, Instagram, and Blue Sky. INCO Weekly Newsletter • April 14, 2025
