FEBRUARY SWIMmail NEWSLETTER

Feb 1912 min read

Buckle up, folks, this is a lot!

We'll try our best to distill the most pertinent info here -

it's going to be a bumpy but critical ride for a while!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW!

1. Indivisibles are our family, so it's critical to stay connected in dire times! SWIM's goal is to keep all of our groups connected, and since the election, the number of local groups have risen from 28 to 43, with more coming! New leaders have been clamoring for contact info of other leaders nearby - it's crucial networking, so give this 5 minutes of your attention for a stronger Michigan:

Have ALL OF YOUR GROUP LEADERS complete this quick informational survey to update your group information. We will send out the updated leader list to all group leaders across the state next week.

We're stronger together!

2. And speaking of stronger together, on February 15, SWIM co-sponsored The Resistance Summit with our partners at End Gun Violence Michigan, Michigan United, Voters Not Politicians, Reproductive Freedom For All MI, Sierra Club MI, 482Forward, Detroit Action, Voting Access For All Coalition (VAAC) and 50501. It was a great turnout with nearly 2,000 registrants and excellent, inspiring discussions and strategies.

Outcomes:

For groups: adopt “Take Action Tuesdays” or “Stand Up Saturdays” as a regular standing day of protest. These protests are meant to focus on vulnerable Republican members of Congress, in particular John James (CD-10), Tim Wahlberg (CD-5), and Tom Barrett (CD-7). Submit your group's events here !
Record your other events to resist here (protests & rallies, office visits, workshops, etc).
The always amazing Reps Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib were inspirational and left us with this 5 point strategy that Dems are rallying around: LITIGATE, LEGISLATE, EDUCATE, ADVOCATE, COMMUNICATE !!
- Litigate: the courts are doing their job. This is part of the necessary paper trail we must accrue in order to fight this coup. Litigation slows the opposition down and puts Rs on record!!
- Legislate: this is our representatives' job and they are working on many bills as well as keeping a paper trail necessary to challenge and document the administration's illegal actions.
- Educate: this is everyone's job, but something that Indivisible does best! Rally, write Letters to the Editor, talk to your family and neighbors, be public!
- Advocate: support other groups doing the same work and support individuals who are most imperiled in these times.
- Communicate: Loudly, proudly, and as often as you can. These tools offered above will keep us connected and traveling the same path for maximum effect.

3. Upcoming blackouts:

February 28 is being targeted as a nationwide economic blackout day to flex the power of Americans' purse. BUY NOTHING ANYWHERE: not in person, not on-line, no gas fill-ups, no fast food or restaurants, no subscription renewals, no credit card spending. If you must spend, only support small, local businesses for the absolute necessities. This is a test case for more prolonged blackouts. To be effective, any strike needs to engage 3.5% of the population, so let's be all in and see what difference we can make! Checkout the organizers here!

More promoted by Women's March:

Note - these are organically springing up around the web, not necessarily Indivisible endorsed. With so many organizations mobilizing, there are bound to be some actions that conflict - The Progressive Party is touting a March 15 work stoppage date but does not seem to have much traction yet. Hopefully, these groups will combine their power! We urge everyone to use caution and common sense when participating in-person - avoid bringing BIPOC, disabled, people with young children if you have any sense of concern for risk.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

AMERICANS MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD!

Check out a few amazing images of our members (along with many other organizations and individuals) flooding our Senators' offices! They are listening! While their response is indeed slower than we would like, we are being heard and making a difference - keep the lines of communication open and the pressure on!

Call to Action at Peters' and Slotkin's offices:

February 10 regular call with Peters' staff debrief: This turnout was amazing! We went from a mere handful of people showing up to these previous meetings to 353 on this call! Thanks for your attendance - it certainly sends a message! Even Kevin Hrit, the Senator's Regional Director who we meet with, noted the change and was first to suggest that we meet more frequently. Kevin was much more forthcoming in his comments than in the past. This was a win-win...they know we're mad as hell and we know they're paying attention to our voices! Keep showing up!

SWIM's Letters to the Editor workshop on February 5 yielded some great letters! We have our first one published in the big paper, The Detroit Free Press (click the link above)! Congrats, Nancy, keep on writing and educating our fellow citizens!

CALLS TO ACTION

We are all disappointed in some of our Senators votes so far this session - we've made that very clear to them! We will continue to hold them accountable and insist that they understand their #1 job in this new administration needs to be laser focused on Legislative delay, delay, delay, and sticking to our core democratic values!

Stay mad and let them know (politely! It's imperative we maintain a relationship with them.)

Call our Senators to unilaterally oppose any future Trump grossly unqualified nominations! Have them on speed dial, we will need to be calling them a lot! These nominees are willing to run the country into the ground - keep an eye on the final few proceedings with this handy AP confirmation tracker!

Slotkin meeting: Click here to register for the February 20 6pm ET meeting with Terry Campbell, Regional Director for Senator Slotkin . We are expecting a large crowd again so will be running the meeting with the audience muted and the chat going to co-hosts only. We do review the chat for questions we can respond to afterwards. Large Zoom meetings are not productive if the chat is simply an open forum - we will not be able to review for relevant information and questions. We suggest if you want to chat with others, that you do so on social media.

Stay tuned for more dates to meet with Senator Peters' office!

The SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act is an extreme voter suppression bill, prohibiting states from accepting and processing a voter registration application without proof of citizenship. This would preclude using driver's licenses or other state ID to vote.

Birth certificates are not easy to obtain for many Americans. People who have changed their names, such as many married women, would not be able to rely on birth certificates alone. In the last session, the Senate voted this down as unnecessary and burdensome, but the House plans to resurrect it soon. Call to demand our Senators and Representatives oppose this bad bill!

INDIVISIBLE NATIONAL NEWS

The Plan: Pressure. Disrupt. Expose.

Recess actions needed! Our Congress members are back home and need to hear from us directly in their districts! Let them know how mad you are! Check out the newest Indivisible guides for resources on how to visibly protest "Musk or Us"!

What can you do? Sign up for Thursday calls with Leah and Ezra! If you missed the January "Bracing For Impact" calls, they are worth checking out here (especially the third one, in my opinion). Renamed for February, these "What's the Plan" sessions are extremely helpful and inspiring for cutting through the noise. We find clarity in what Ezra and Leah have to say, and it helps us focus on the most important actions that National outlines!

Find the "What's the Plan" registration and send them a question here.

Indivisible National Support for New Local Groups or Revived Local Groups:

National call: "Leading Locally, Connecting Nationally: A Welcome Call for New Indivisible Leaders" every Wednesday in Feb, but filling up fast. Only one date left, Wednesday, Feb 26, 3:00–4:00pm EST RSVP for either date: New Leaders Meeting (attendance is capped).

The content will be the same for each session, so you only need to sign up for one. For any given session, please limit attendance to 2 leaders from your new Indivisible group.

More sessions are expected to be added.

Strategies to reach overwhelmed senate/congressional staff: Senate demands toolkit from National here.

Group Leaders Our indispensable Indivisible Regional Organizer, Scott Ickes, began his 2025 Michigan Group Leader calls this month! These calls strengthen the network and strengthen our impact through community and cooperation. They are for Group Leaders - how you define a group leader is up to you. If you've been part of these sessions last year, you know their value. Join us every odd month to chat about anything on your mind; that's what community is for! Watch for the next sign-ups in your inbox and in March's newsletter.

Truth Brigade continues their great amplification of issues - click the image below for more info!

Reliable media sources are important to choose to avoid the overwhelming feeling (as much as possible!) Choose one or two from this great Indivisible list and ignore the others! Indivisible’s media list.

SWIM AND PARTNER UPDATES

Senator drop in visits continue to happen - take photos and keep the pressure on! Consider reaching out to the press! Be well organized and video your speeches if you are denied access! Keep the pressure on! Record your event on the Resistance Calendar sheet at the top of this email.

The 50501 movement held rallies in every state capitol on 2-5-25. Shockingly, mainstream media covered a lot of it! Both AP News and CBS led with the Lansing rally, shown here. Kudos to those who made it! The need for mass resistance and civil disobedience will not go away for some time!

Click image for the article:

CBS News

And Michiganders cannot be dissuaded by inclement weather when the need is great! Michigan Advance covered the Not My President's Day rally under the Musk or Us Indivisible National rallying cry! Click here for the article!

Feel overwhelmed? Look at the long game in increasing your skill set. Check out these amazing monthly workshops throughout 2025 with our partners at Progress Michigan! There is so much to dig into here to help you and your group up your game, and thoughtfully spread out so you don't have to do it firehose-style!

Fantastic series of skills-oriented workshops from Progress Michigan, spread throughout 2025 (so you don’t have to feel like you’re drinking from the firehose to upgrade your skills)!

And because emotional eating is sometimes necessary, this gem is courtesy of our friends and amazing colleagues at Indivisible Fighting 9 and one of our new favorite people on BlueSky - worth subscribing if you can add another (so much love for this!):

It is Girl Scout Cookie time!

The Girl Scouts have openly included transgender and non-binary individuals as members. Please consider choosing a trans girl scout to get your cookies - these kids are under attack more than ever this year. Help them reach their goals by choosing a scout to order from here. PLEASE buy from people who have not yet filled their goals!

When purchasing from one of these trans girl scouts, please choose the “ship the cookies” option (there is a shipping charge) and not the “deliver the cookies” by hand option. If you would like to support a girl scout but avoid the calories, you can select “Donate Cookies” and the cookies will be delivered to a charity or cause of the scout's choice. Donated cookies do not have a shipping cost.

QUICK STATUS CHECK ON DEMOCRACY

Our Democracy Working Group held a Letters to the Editor workshop to rave reviews!

A citation for efficacy of LTEs: https://www.aauw.org/resources/policy/advocacy-toolkit/lte-vs-oped/

Stay tuned for more actions coming your way!

Suggestions on how to keep on top of national news without losing your mind or spontaneously combusting:

Pick a favorite reliable blogger reporting the truth and read them daily. For me, it's historian Heather Cox Richardson's Letters From An American. Minimize social media intake (use a timer!). Avoid MSM and legacy media!

Our fellow immigrants need our help in making sure they are not wrongful victims of ICE raids. Need-to-know information includes knowing the difference between a judicial warrant properly filled out and a garbage "warrant" that does not need to be complied with. Here's an example (click to enlarge):

The ACLU has a comprehensive page on immigrant rights, translated into many different languages.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center has made a template for pocket-sized “red cards” with our rights listed on them in multiple languages. We can order some or print cards ourselves here - carry them everywhere, especially to rallies!

5 minute explainer: Silicon Valley's Playbook to Destroy America's Government

View and share this quick and excellent 10,000 foot view of what is going on by Gil Duran, journalist and co-host of the FrameLab podcast with the inimitable Dr. George Lakoff (noted linguist, philosopher, and author of the political messaging book "Don't Think of an Elephant").

FrameLab also has this great article on how to frame conversations about the current ongoing DOGE theft: https://www.theframelab.org/elon-musk-doge-theft/

And my love of FrameLab yields one more link, showing the cracks in the Trump walls - worth a read!

https://www.theframelab.org/magas-daddy-crisis-why-is-trump-bowing-to-elon-musk/?ref=lakoff-and-duran-framelab-newsletter

“Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith."

-President Joe Biden's farewell address

KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!

Canadian PM Trudeau and Mexico's President Sheinbaum may have had this conversation, or may not have but they probably wish they had! Trump lost face badly on the global stage with this blunder. Score another win for the good guys.

We have power! Do not give up. Do not Stop. Do not give in to cynicism and defeatism.

BUT...please do not become so obsessed by what Trump and Musk are doing that you neglect your own well-being. It’s important that you take time for yourself, read a good book or watch an absorbing TV series. See friends. Find something to laugh at every day. Get enough exercise. And hold your loved ones tight. We will get through this, and we will prevail. But it will require confidence, courage, and tenacity. We need to stay healthy for this fight. We need to be fortified by those we care about. And we need to be there for those we love.

RESOURCES TO AMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGING

PARTNER TOOL KITS

CHECK OUT FIVE CALLS

This free app makes it incredibly easy to reach out to your legislators. After signing up you will input your location. The app will give you topics to chose for your calls. When you chose your topic it will provide background information as well as who to call for your area with their phone number and a script. This could not be easier. You can obtain more information as well as sign up for their news letter here.

USE THE POWER OF YOUR SPENDING!

Check out Goods Unite Us (browser link here there is also an app) for verifying items before you purchase!

Check this list compiled by a SWIM member and avoid purchasing from any of these Trump supporters. Got additions? Email us with your source!

GROUP TOOLS

An amazing partner for activism tools is The Democracy Labs! Check out one of their exceptional tools that SWIM uses, as written about on their blog here (and SWIM is given a big shoutout, thank you, Deepak!)

JOIN THE GRASSROOTS COLLABORATION PROJECT DIRECTORY

Work smarter, not harder. Collaboration is the key to getting many efforts off the ground and building capacity and effectiveness in what we do. Networking helps us achieve that. Sign on to the Grassroots Directory here and find other activists willing to help your project! We start building for 2026 now!

WANT MORE? Check out more toolkits on our website here!

SWIM WEBPAGE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Bookmark our Website: www.statewideindivisiblemi.com. New events from SWIM and our partners are posted regularly! The website is a repository of resources and network partners amassed since 2017.

Members: Send us your announcements, events, photos or writings to our email at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com! We need to share our successes - we're better together!

SOCIAL MEDIA

BlueSky: @mi-swim.bsky.social

Facebook: SWIM (StateWide Indivisible Michigan) Members

Instagram: statewideindivisiblemichigan

Threads: statewideindivisiblemichigan

For the time being, we maintain our Meta accounts (Zuckerberg owns Facebook, Instagram & Threads), but foresee a time in the not-distant future when we will leave these platforms like we (and many others) did X.

Join us on BlueSky!

It's the new meet-up place for all the cool kids (no trolls and no loony billionaire owners, so far!)

USING THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO AMPLIFY GOOD NEWS

Use these terrific resources to pick up memes to spiff up your messages, use great gifs in your newsletters and social media posts, and gather talking points for your discussions:

Into Action Labs allows you to download and add your own message(s).
MI Right to Read offers a toolkit of graphics.
Field Team 6 takes the fear out of posting on social media with this fun video explaining simple step-by-step instructions to social storming - at whatever level you want to dive into! FT6 also has a Field Team 6 Current Storm page with prepared posts that can be one-click shared across many platforms.
Indivisible's Trainings-to-Go include materials such as slides, handouts, or discussion questions, as well as facilitation notes/directions for the person leading the space. Start with a pilot batch of 3 Trainings-to-Go: Recruitment 101, Indivisible 101, and Tools for Building Inclusive Groups - and more are coming! These are located in the Support Hub along with a lot more! Questions or suggestions can be sent to training@indivisible.org.