Springville Action - 7/25/25 #30

“Reality fades, even physical reality, when we have no one to help us concentrate on what is right in front of our faces.” ― Timothy Snyder, On Freedom

Author

Springville Action
July 25, 2025

🦄 Inspiration

📺 “I’m lucky to be from Springville.” Fifth grader finds big passion in small town history.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, united with a common message, saying what needs to be said.

Shared from Stronger Together: USC law students have started a hotline for people to call when they have an immigration related court hearing but don't want to show up in person for fear of being arrested, detained by ICE outside the courtside. The students will help people complete and submit a "Motion to Change Hearing Format", which can allow someone to have a remote online hearing instead of in-person. The hotline is 1-888-462-5211 and they can help in English and Spanish. If you could please share this because someone you know might know people who desperately need this info

🧟‍♂️ Nightmare Fuel

Things on people’s minds (some subscribers may recognize some of these comments, lightly edited):

  • Staffing cuts to USDA, especially the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is the part of USDA that is most helpful to small, unconventional farmers like me.

  • Medicaid and ACA changes due to the OBBA. As a self-employed person, health insurance is pretty a big issue to me.

  • Address Medicaid cuts. My brother-in-law will need to move in with me.

  • I’m advocating right now against Medicaid, Medicare and social security cuts because of my adult child’s future as a handicapped American.

  • Threats to our National Parks and other federal lands. As an outdoorsy person of moderate means, these are the places that allow me to go on an annual vacation, and they make me feel proud to be an American.

  • The active dismantling of social and economic supports designed to help people including our public health, environmental, agricultural and scientific infrastructures.

  • Everyday concerns like inflation, healthcare, childcare, schools, VA farmers.

  • Tariffs and this obsession with Canada and Greenland. WTF.

We can be squeaky wheels here, people. Power comes when we use our voices together.

To do ✅ 

📚 Something to read: Thanks to Alan B of BuffaloPundit fame for his pointed and measured takedown of the absolute bullshit letter to the editor from Republican commentator Carl Calabrese on the potential for NYC-owned grocery stores. Calabrese’s letter was a textbook example of illogic in print form. Democracy, 1; GOP thug, 0.

📚 Something to read: Our quote from the top of this email has never been more prescient. Timothy Snyder is required reading and he will stand in history as one of the 21st century’s most important philosophers and political thinkers. On Tyranny and On Freedom are dense but vital works. He’s also written and lectured extensively on genocides, wars and conflict, and dictatorships.

A big 👏 to: Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who seems like a super boring guy. His expressions of complete incredulity and steady real-time fact-checking while hearing Trump’s nonsensical blabbering during a tour of the Fed are a sight to behold. Mark Carney vibes for reals.

A big 😈 to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, of South Park fame: They’re crude. Juvenile. Nasty. Puerile. And they’re on the front lines of using satire and mockery to rage against the current fascist machine. And they did it, masterfully, after securing a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount, notwithstanding the messy Paramount/CBS/Skydance merger. Capitalism is more powerful than fascism for the moment, so they’re kind of untouchable at the moment. The season premiere is easily findable online and South Park is how many years old? They still got it, baby.

A big 🖕 to: Columbia University, for caving to Trump’s demands to the tune of $200 million. This is not an exaggeration: Hitler did the same thing to educational institutions - just not on this bold a scale.

Events

Saturday, 8/2, 11am: Rage against the machine, Bidwell Parkway in Buffalo

Saturday, 8/2, 10am: Stronger Together meeting at the South Wales Community Hall with special guest Aaron Geis, a congressional candidate for the NY 23rd district.

8/12, 7pm: Braver Angels free workshop: Skills for Disagreeing Better, Elm Street Bakery. [Ed note: finding common ground with people who would deny the essential elements of common humanity isn’t my cup of tea, but we should be working on all fronts, so if you have the stomach for it, go for it]

8/16, 4pm: International Day of Friendship, Beaver Island State Park

Springville Action currently meets in person every 4 to 6 weeks at a local venue. We typically share ideas, local events, and have a facilitated discussion around a chosen theme. If you do not currently receive these email invitations, but would like to be included, please respond to  [email protected].

🧶 Crafters/Fiber Artists - lots of opportunities to come together! Concord Library, first Sat. of the month, 1-3; Concord Mercantile, second Sat. of the month, 10-1; Art’s Cafe, Wednesdays, 5:30pm. You’ll see your people.

[remainder of content repeats (mostly) from last email]

To Do ✅

Be That Guy — Lessons In Resistance

"Remember sitting in history, thinking: If I was alive then, I would've… You're alive now.

charlieangus.substack.com/p/be-that-guy-lessons-in-resistance?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2946092&post_id=167670646&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxOTA1MDg3MiwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY3NjcwNjQ2LCJpYXQiOjE3NTE4OTAwODgsImV4cCI6MTc1NDQ4MjA4OCwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI5NDYwOTIiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.vqLPnfFJs3aBmeOymlaCH8YHorH9HTiZhURUdGVq6jg&r=bcbqw&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

😷 Medical checkups. Get a printout of your vaccination record and check with your doctor about recommended vaccines, including MMR, based on your age and other risk factors.

🐝 Citizen Scientists, Unite! Download the Inaturalist app on your phone; upload pictures of nature (animals, plants, trees) for identification and help out the environmental community.

📰 Letter to the Editor. Pick a topic, drill down to 1 key message and write your heart out. There are local people who will help zazz up your letter and get it ready for publication. Email [email protected].

📱 5 Calls - Download the app to your phone; enter your ZIP code; follow the prompts to call U.S. Senators and your local Congressional rep. EXTRA CREDIT - ask your local elected officials what the impact of general federal nonsense will have on local projects, and what they are doing to protect your community.

📮 Postcards - Explore the Postcards for Democrats web site and support Democratic candidates in swing states. Organize for Action is local, find them on Facebook.

😊 Meet a Neighbor: How well do you know your neighbors? Start small but make a point to find one new acquaintance in your area this week!

🗳️ Go to a government meeting. These are open to the public and people rarely attend. See your government at work and pay attention to the decisions they’re making.

At a loss for what to do?

Are you sick of hearing “there’s nothing I can do about everything that’s happening”? There’s plenty you can do - big or small, just try to do SOMETHING each day.

  • Public Displays of Connection

    • Guerilla Gardening and Yarn Bombs! There is a slightly subversive and very fun tactic of guerilla gardening and placing handmade knit pieces in public places. Be creative.

    • Plant a garden or support a local CSA

    • Plant a homemade lawn sign - it doesn’t have to be political - paint a one word message like “Hope", ”Love,” “Peace.”

    • Maintain little free libraries or start your own

  • Basic Needs

    • Donate blood

    • Learn first aid and basic medical skills

    • Participate in local Buy Nothing groups

    • Donate to Little Free Pantries or your local food pantry

    • Participate in a seed exchange, like the one at Hulbert Library in the Town of Concord

  • Organized Volunteering

  • Neighbor Support

    • Help people with phone calls and forms - like Social Security, health appointments and insurance paperwork

    • Give neighbors rides, assist with basic needs

    • Provide a meal to a struggling family or neighbor - see lasagnalove

    • Offer babysitting or respite care - especially during meetings

    • Teach a skill or coordinate a training - sewing, gardening, cooking, car repair, how to fix a toilet or bike.

Misc.

Content welcome: Initially this newsletter was going to be sent weekly. Now it's sending as soon as it feels like there is enough content to let it fly - probably 2x/week. Your contributions are welcome. Email [email protected].

This newsletter will always be free, but if you like what you're reading and can find it in your budget, kick a few bucks to support your local food pantry, an abortion fund, or an elected official who has demonstrated common sense and decency.

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