Good morning

This is from an email I received last night from Indivisible. Florida is one of the states that will immediately come under attack, although probably not in time for the midterms this year.

“today's Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais is the culmination of Chief Justice Roberts’ two-decade crusade to gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA); it is, simply put, a devastating blow to American democracy.

On its face, Callais strikes down a congressional map drawn to remedy decades of racist gerrymandering by establishing what would have been only the second majority-Black district in Louisiana. Which is bad enough.

But this ruling will not be limited to Louisiana. To quote Justice Kagan’s dissent, today’s ruling “eviscerated" Section 2 of the VRA, one of the few remaining protections for Black and Brown voters. Callais opens the door for states to gerrymander Black and Brown majority districts out of existence, suppress those communities' votes and representation, and write them out of government of, by, and for the people. As long as legislatures aren’t open about the racial aims of the gerrymander, it’ll all be perfectly legal. 

But we’re not about to treat that catastrophic scenario as a foregone conclusion. If legal barriers are erased to make way for mass disenfranchisement, we need to put ourselves in the way through nonviolent resistance.

Tomorrow, at 8pm ET/5pm PT, join Indivisible and a broad coalition of partners on a mass rapid response call to discuss the ruling's implications and plan next steps. You'll hear from leaders of the Legal Defense Fund, ACLU, and clients from the case.”

In 2010, the citizens of Florida overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that prevents exactly what the US Supreme Court has denied. The Fair Districts amendment will be defended by the Florida Democratic Committee. That should prevent redistricting before the midterms.

More from Indivisible “Reclaiming our voting rights from Trump and the authoritarian systems working feverishly to strip us of what's constitutionally ours will be neither easy nor quick. But on Thursday, we'll take our first step toward disrupting their plans, together. Join us on the call, and please spread the word to friends and family, and on your social media.”

Tomorrow is the 60th day of Trump’s illegal war with Iran. Congress must provide authorization for the war to continue. The War Powers Resolution means that a majority of both houses must pass a joint resolution to allow the war to continue.

There is a 30 day extension, but that is only to allow the military to withdraw safely and orderly, not to continue the unauthorized war.

You all know your assignment. Call or email all 3 members of Congress (202-224-3121) and tell them you do not support the war.

We are what democracy looks like. Pictures from yesterday’s protest at Mast’s office

Remember tomorrow is also No Work, No School, No Shopping.

May Day Participation Guide | Indivisible

May 1st is May Day and we’re calling on folks to make their economic power known. Learn how you can take action to show Trump and his billionaire buddies that we won’t just continue business as usual while they erode our democracy.

Cut to the part titled “Can’t Do It All?” if you don’t want to read the whole post.

Barbara & Ginger

Barbara & Ginger