What You Do About The Despair.
Most of it these take under 5 minutes.
Bottom Line Up Front: This is a to do list of my favorite recent Calls to Action which require ongoing campaigns rather than single news cycle action.
The news cycle hits and we feel the collective pain knowing how much unnecessary suffering is happening as a result of the cruelty that our tax dollars are funding, the missiles our military is firing, the children going hungry as the President runs another crypto scam. It can get overwhelming.
How do I stave off despair?
I find out what works and I take action in the ways I can. I show my subconscious that I am not powerless and give myself permission to tune out from some of the non-stop news cycle horror show because I can trust my daily practice of activism.
We are activists. We are change makers. We are the people fighting fascism, injustice, and the subjugation of our fellow humans.
Once upon a time, slavery was the norm in America and “moderates” were fighting to treat enslaved people more kindly, rather than the “extremist” stance of abolition, or God forbid actual equal rights!
So be strong, be brave, be courageous, be proud, and do it all without being delusional.
How do you achieve this? By doing the things. Often and Publicly. Pat yourself on the back while you’re at it. Write it in a journal to let your hippocampus know that this is worth remembering.
Here’s where my practice starts. These are some of the most important calls to action we have published, and they cannot just happen when the articles go out. They need to keep happening. This is a reference guide.
One salad doesn’t make you healthy. Health comes from consistent, structured habits and actions. Political pressure works the same way.
Even in a fascist state, enough people habitually pushing in the same direction will bend the state in their preferred direction.
Call today. Fax tomorrow. Schedule a meeting next week. Show up at their office unannounced. Send a letter. Send a box of half-eaten donuts that has an attack ad glued on the inside. Sign up for their email list and show up at their events. Send an email. Direct message them. Tag them publicly on social media by name.
Rotate through every method and every official: your attorney general, your governor, your state representative, your state senator, your mayor, your city council member, your county commissioner.
Do one a day or do ten. Think of it as a cycle, not a checklist. When you reach the end, start over with a different method, a different official, a different channel. The list expands or contracts to fit whatever time and energy you have on a given day.
Take your variables and apply them with varying frequency, duration, and intensity. Observe and measure your results. Adapt and adjust based on results. Inspire others by setting the example.
When you do anything on this list, share what you did and how you did it. Post it. Tell people. Invite them to do the same.
Protect the 2026 Election Before It Happens
The 2026 midterm election and races for offices across the country are seven and a half months away. A law redirecting federal tax withholdings tells a federal government determined to end free and fair elections exactly what it will cost them. It makes clear that if they sever the constitutional bonds in an extreme enough fashion, there will be an immediate, appropriate, and proportionate response. It passes the legislature now, sits on the books, and fires automatically the moment the federal government crosses a defined line. The full legal framework for the trigger law is in the free Tax Warfare ebook at buymeacoffee.com/theer/e/485448, along with an entire array of individual, private, and public tax-based responses: what you can do with your own taxes, what businesses can do, and what governments at every level can do to fight back through the tax system.
Someone will tell you that redirecting federal tax revenue is illegal. Sure. So is sending ICE agents to polling places. So is refusing to certify an election your side lost. So is nullifying results you don’t like. The people aiming at our elections are not waiting for legal permission, and the question worth asking is not whether our response is tidy; it is what we plan to do if they succeed. A trigger law is that plan, written into statute before November arrives. The moment they cross the line they are already moving toward, the law fires. The legal challenge to the tax redirection and the financial pressure on the federal government land at the same time. We do not scramble. We do not negotiate. We tell them now, in writing, what happens the moment they follow through. That is not a threat. That is a law.
Call your governor, your state representative, and your state senator and say this:
“I am calling to urge you and the legislature to introduce trigger legislation before the 2026 election. This legislation should order all employers to redirect all federal tax revenue in the event of the federal government interfering with our state’s election administration or refusing to certify our legitimate election results. We need this protection in place now, not after our elections are stolen.”
Letitia James Can Put Elon Musk in Prison for Over 100 Years
New York’s Martin Act gives the state attorney general broader investigative and prosecutorial authority than almost any other law enforcement tool in the country. Based on publicly available evidence, Letitia James can use it to put Elon Musk in prison for over a hundred years. Every state that passes similar legislation gains the same reach.
If you live in New York, contact Attorney General Letitia James directly at ag.ny.gov/contact-ag and tell her to open a Martin Act investigation into Elon Musk’s financial relationships with the federal government and the benefits his companies extracted from it.
If you live outside New York, ask your state representative and your state senator to introduce Martin Act-style anti-corruption legislation. Model legislation is available at buymeacoffee.com/TheER.
The Child Sex Trafficking Investigation and Accountability Act
Every state already has the authority to investigate and prosecute child sex trafficking. What they do not have are dedicated task forces with direct orders to move on the Epstein files on expedited timelines, and a mandate to refer violations that cross state lines to the appropriate authorities. The Child Sex Trafficking Investigation and Accountability Act changes that. A governor can use state of emergency powers to stand one up today. In some states, the attorney general can act now. In every state, a representative can introduce it tomorrow.
Any state legislator who won’t publicly and enthusiastically push for this is complicit in the cover-up. Document every step publicly. Post screenshots when you send it. Post when they respond. Post when they don’t.
Find your legislators at openstates.org and tell them to pass it.
Did Clarence Thomas Commit Criminal Tax Fraud and Is This Provable Using Public Information?
Clarence Thomas accepted undisclosed gifts from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow for years while ruling on cases Crow had a direct financial interest in. The documented record is extensive, and two officials have direct jurisdiction.
Contact Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 114, Fairfax, VA 22030, and Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones at (804) 786–2071. Demand a criminal investigation.
Somewhere in your state’s pension fund, right now, there are shares in Palantir Technologies. Democratic-controlled states, cities, counties, and public pension funds have an estimated $176 to $240 billion in total financial exposure to the 26 companies actively building the surveillance and detention apparatus being used against the civilian population, including $5 to $10 billion flowing annually through contracts and subsidies. Every level of government can close that pipeline tomorrow, under authority it already holds, without waiting for Congress or the White House.
Your governor: “Declare a state of emergency and use the powers that declaration unlocks to direct all state agencies to cancel all existing contracts and cease entering new contracts with the following corporations providing material support for unconstitutional surveillance, unlawful detention, and enforcement operations conducted in defiance of court orders, and to direct the state treasurer to begin divestment from all of them. The detention of 73,000 people without conviction, the deployment of AI surveillance against the civilian population, and the defiance of federal court orders meet the definition of an emergency under your state’s law. Act accordingly.
Surveillance and data companies:
Palantir
Clearview AI
LexisNexis
Thomson Reuters
ShadowDragon
Babel Street
PenLink
Paragon Solutions
Meta
Amazon
Alphabet
Microsoft
Apple
Private detention companies:
GEO Group
CoreCivic
CSI Aviation
GlobalX
Acquisition Logistics
Musk-controlled entities:
Tesla
SpaceX
X Corp
xAI
The Boring Company
Neuralink
Autonomous weapons:
Anduril Industries”
Your state treasurer: “Divest state pension funds from corporations providing material support for unconstitutional surveillance, unlawful detention, and enforcement operations that violate civil liberties and defy court orders. You have the fiduciary authority. New York City and CalPERS have already done it.”
Your state representative: “Introduce legislation requiring the state to divest public funds from and end contracts with corporations providing material support for authoritarian governance. Thirty-eight states already condition contracts on corporate conduct through anti-BDS laws. Use that same authority.”
Your state senator: Same message as above.
Your mayor: “Use your emergency authority to direct the city to review and terminate contracts with these corporations. Portland and San Francisco acted without waiting for their state legislatures.”
Your city treasurer or comptroller: “Divest city pension and investment funds from these companies. NYC divested $48 million from private prisons in 2017 with no impact on returns.”
Your city council member: “Introduce an ordinance requiring the city to divest and prohibit contracts with these corporations. Twenty-six cities have already passed surveillance oversight laws. This is the next step.”
Your county commissioner: “Pass a resolution divesting county funds and ending county contracts with corporations profiting from unconstitutional surveillance and unlawful detention operations.”
Your union representative: “Bring a resolution to the pension board to divest union pension funds from these companies. The Chicago Teachers’ pension fund already did it.”
Your state attorney general: “Join the coalition of Democratic AGs challenging federal overreach and investigate state contracting relationships with corporations providing material support for authoritarian governance.”
No Kings Day is March 28. Go to fiftyfifty.one and find your nearest event. Show up. And if you want to put this guide to work while you’re there, print out this entire guide, bring it, and hand it out. Invite people to sign up for the general strike while you’re there. Bring soft secession materials. Find something that gets people to act or think differently and put it in front of them. Stack events and opportunities on each other. Do not let anyone tell you enough is already happening, that people have it figured out, that it’s handled. It is not handled. Get after it. Educate. Activate. Recruit. Repeat. Always.
The general strike is May 1. Go to generalstrikeus.com and pledge now. Then post that you did it and tag someone specific and ask them to do the same. If you want to go further, knock on doors in your neighborhood. Invite people to both. Tell them what it is and why it matters.
Find any official in any state at openstates.org. Find your state attorney general at usa.gov/state-attorney-general. Find mutual aid near you at mutualaidhub.org. Support the work at TERPAC.org.
Democracy merch and the full library at The Existentialist Republic:
Toppling Tyrants: A Field Guide to Dismantling American Fascism — physical copy / free download
Grab Them By The E.A.R.R.: How to Get Politicians to Do What You Want — physical copy / free download
Conservatism: America’s Personality Disorder — physical copy / free download
Intro to Soft Secession — physical copy / free download
Oppositional Federalism and You — physical copy / free download
Free downloads:
Being Dangerous: Go From Activist to Operative
Soft Secession: Policies That Pass
All Four Completed Model Legislation Bills
The Opposition Guide to Tax Warfare
Six-Panel Soft Secession Brochure
Prosecution Memo: Jonathan Ross
Thanks so much for this. The WA State Legislative session ends tomorrow, meaning no new legislation can be introduced until next session, right? So, in lieu of contacting our legislators re: Child Sex Trafficking Investigation and Accountability Act, should we continue to contact Gov. Ferguson urging a state of emergency and specifically asking for a special investigation any alleged illicit conduct mentioned in the Epstein files that occurred in WA State?
As a therapist, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this article. So many of us struggle with despair and I tell my clients the same thing. "Get engaged with life. The more you do, the better you feel." Thank you!!! I appreciate the action plan you discussed.