Democracy Happy Hour - September 24, 2025

Fix Democracy First hosts a weekly Democracy Happy Hour on Wednesdays @ 5-6:30pm PT. Grab a drink and join us and learn about the latest democracy efforts, challenges, solutions, as well upcoming events and actions.

This is a recurring event. You only have to register once. Register here.

Impeach Trump. Again.

With John Bonifaz, Co-Founder & President of Free Speech for People

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/lpk-Yolpk-gESp1YrEtzpBRENLFDK0CkD2PLoIb13p5Y4QIwcqfGA040TFf_dYrbZVOO3EJUClSZEPdc.GxatcgAdk-7jAEFR
• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/7RhApDRdfjFmRkCU1kmILTzw622_Dl9zKMIhkRSs4zhiwXTx1r2sLnS4GrOh8T7q8yF5Zi1BjJ4UZrew.Hiii2PUk4fU4Yvjc
• Chat file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/sbWP9fIurElWFbqjW_xOUeIQ7MGeQ_ZsM0I4y4XpLFhIoB5e8MW8pdR74MzLrbEGwo4Ta3oqRbrcrwXt.0yBy9bvB55P5raxq
• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/UIMKxgBxM-zln1p_Pe6xpH_RRNUGElpfS1HT-Iz3rrTXhyYPl6hmtaOnxupNswKenzeRUBzEwynKfc8m.34PNt2zJ0wOvdgtQ

Meeting resources

FDF Links

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate to Fix Democracy First here: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Fix Democracy First is looking for new board members! If interested, please apply to one or both of our boards. If you have any questions, please respond to this email.

• Fix Democracy First Education Fund (501c3) Board Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXiaGJJ0bVqV5eqW2irfLHWrU0n8iwVIsDwDjtrTP36mEj5g/viewform
• Fix Democracy First (501c4) Board Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtDKKTBsOo7X_nk-7POVUTpJ-K1vfP-U_zHQrW1Ke7JNfvug/viewform
• Stand Up for Democracy! Fix Democracy First Awards Dinner & Celebration - Seattle – Oct 25^th@ 5 pm – Get your tickets here: https://fixdemocracyfirst.salsalabs.org/awards-dinner-2025

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule

• Oct 1 –  The Wise Democracy Project: A rebirth of “We the People”with Jim Rough,  & Zachary Weaver, Center for Wise DemocracyDemocracy in a Box
• Oct 8 – NO Democracy Happy Hour this week (Cindy has jury duty.)
• Oct 15 – The New Strategy That Will Undo Citizens United with Tom Moore, Senior Fellow for Democracy Policy, Center for American Progress
• Oct 22 – Patriotic Millionaires with Chair, Morris Pearl
• Oct 29 – Media Literacy Week Panel Discussion with moderator, Di Zhang

Actions and events

Actions

• Impeach Trump. Again. https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/.  Sign the Petition: https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/#action
• NO KINGS National Day of Action, Saturday, October 18^th - https://www.nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=fixdemocracyfirst
• Stand Up for Justice! Petition - https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stand-up-for-justice/
• The Oath Challenge - https://veteransforallvoters.org/oath

Events

• NO KINGS National Day of Action, Saturday, October 18th - https://www.nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=fixdemocracyfirst
• Stand Up for Democracy! Fix Democracy First Awards Dinner & Celebration - Seattle – Oct 25^th@ 5 pm – Get your tickets here: https://fixdemocracyfirst.salsalabs.org/awards-dinner-2025

Democracy in the News

Resources

• 2024-2025 SCOTUS Term - https://www.oyez.org/cases/2024
• All of the Trump Administration’s Major Moves in the First 100 Days - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-agenda-2025.html
• The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability - https://www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-corruption-tracker/
• Democracy 2025 – Democracy 2025 is the strategic hub to protect people and their rights should the Trump-Vance administration seek to unlawfully strip away freedoms and prosperity. -  https://www.democracy2025.org/
• How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy - https://protectdemocracy.org/how-to-protect-democracy
• North Dakota Legislative Redistricting Challenge (Turtle Mountain Band) –
  https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-dakota-legislative-redistricting-challenge
• State of Emergency - Democracy, Civil Rights & Progress Under Attack  - https://stateofblackamerica.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NUL-SOBA-Executive%20Summary-2025-web%20%281%29%20%281%29.pdf
• The People's Hub For Grassroots Democracy Organizing  - https://www.usgrassroots.org/
• Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift - https://www.democracydocket.com/timeline-tracking-the-trump-justice-departments-anti-voting-shift/
• Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.html

September 2025

September 16

• Trump Invokes Kirk’s Killing in Justifying Measures to Silence Opponents - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/us/politics/trump-kirk-free-speech-hate-speech-left.html

September 17

• Arkansas Secretary of State announces new voting initiative - https://arkansasadvocate.com/briefs/arkansas-secretary-of-state-announces-new-voting-initiative/
• DOJ quietly removes study showing right wing attacks ‘outpace’ those by left - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5507682-doj-removes-far-right-extremism-study
• Group of Louisiana voters urges Supreme Court to strike down major provision of the Voting Rights Act - https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/09/group-of-louisiana-voters-urges-supreme-court-to-strike-down-major-provision-of-the-voting-rights-act/
• Rep. Summer Lee, Colleagues Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United - https://summerlee.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rep-summer-lee-colleagues-introduce-constitutional-amendment-to-overturn-citizens-united
• SC Supreme Court upholds voting map, throws out partisan gerrymandering claim - https://scdailygazette.com/2025/09/17/sc-supreme-court-ruling-upholds-voting-map-throws-out-partisan-gerrymandering-claim/
• Sen. Schiff Reintroduces His Landmark Proposal to Protect Democracy, Close Legal Loopholes Enabling Widespread Abuses of Presidential Power - https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-sen-schiff-reintroduces-his-landmark-proposal-to-protect-democracy-close-legal-loopholes-enabling-widespread-abuses-of-presidential-power/
• What to Know About ‘Hate Speech’ and the First Amendment - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/us/politics/what-to-know-hate-speech.html

September 18

• A tussle over US government's request to access personal info of Del. Voters - https://www.wdel.com/news/a-tussle-over-us-governments-request-to-access-personal-info-of-del-voters/article_f7d6cda4-0fb6-4559-bbcb-2175d11f7edf.html
• ICE seeks hundreds of new offices across U.S. as agency expands - https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/09/18/ice-expansion-new-offices
• Indiana’s governor offers a stark warning on gerrymandering - https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/indiana-redistricting-mike-braun-trump-gerrymandering-rcna232027
• Kimmel’s suspension is the latest display of Trump’s growing power over the US media landscape - https://apnews.com/article/trump-kimmel-abc-suspension-media-pressure-kirk-eb4f0fcd38499e37c94613fe8bd8e9c6
• Larson Introduces Election Reform Bill to End Partisan Redistricting Gamesmanship with Texas, California, and North Carolina Democratic Leaders - https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/larson-introduces-election-reform-bill-end-partisan-redistricting
• Mid-decade redistricting may be new norm - https://source.washu.edu/2025/09/washu-expert-mid-decade-redistricting-may-be-new-norm/
• Trump Asks Supreme Court to Allow Removal of Fed Governor - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/us/politics/trump-supreme-court-fed.html
• Some Republican states resist DOJ demand for private voter data - https://stateline.org/2025/09/18/some-republican-states-resist-doj-demand-for-private-voter-data/
• Supreme Court announces it will hear challenges to Trump’s tariffs on Nov. 5 - https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/09/supreme-court-announces-it-will-hear-challenges-to-trumps-tariffs-on-nov-5/
• Under this GOP Measure, All of Missouri’s Recent Popular Initiatives Would Have Failed - https://boltsmag.org/missouri-amendment-on-ballot-initiatives/
• What the law says as Trump tries to designate ‘antifa’ a terrorist group - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/18/trump-antifa-terrorist-group

September 19

• DOJ Targets Blue States In Voter Roll Lawsuits ‘Driven by Partisanship’ - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-targets-blue-states-in-voter-roll-lawsuits-driven-by-partisanship/
• Judge Dismisses Trump’s Lawsuit Against The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/business/media/trump-new-york-times-lawsuit.html
• Soros Gives $10 Million to Newsom Redistricting Fight - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/us/politics/gavin-newsom-redistricting-california-fundraising.html
• Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let it limit passport sex marker choice for trans and nonbinary Americans - https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/politics/trans-passport-marker-supreme-court-trump
• Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections from Venezuelan migrants - https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/19/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-strip-legal-protections-from-venezuelan-migrants-00574332

September 20

• California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations - https://apnews.com/article/california-ice-agents-immigration-raids-masks-ban-97936f70699b75d8b483a850967c2e42
• Immigrant rights activists braced for crackdown as Trump threatens to target ‘leftwing’ groups - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/20/immigrant-rights-groups-trump-crackdown
• Massive banners with Trump’s face are adorning some federal buildings in DC. Democrats are crying foul - https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/20/politics/trump-banners-schiff

September 21

• Behind closed doors, our top CEOs say Trump is bad for business and it’s time to Make America into America Again - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/behind-closed-doors-top-ceos-113000828.html
• The megadonor physicist standing against California’s blue tide. - https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/21/charles-munger-jr-campaign-california-gerrymander-00545278
• Trump ramps up retribution campaign with push for Bondi to pursue cases against his foes - https://apnews.com/article/trump-retribution-bondi-investigations-97207519e02dea460d6c68cc8b585c33

September 22

• America’s leadership class is failing us. It’s up to you and me to defend democracy - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/22/america-democray-leadership-robert-reich
• DHS says ICE won’t comply with California ban on agents wearing masks - https://ground.news/article/exclusive-trump-admin-will-be-ignoring-californias-unconstitutional-anti-ice-law
• Designating ANTIFA as a Domestic Terrorist Organization- https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/designating-antifa-as-a-domestic-terrorist-organization
• Illinois declined to give sensitive voter data to the DOJ. Some GOP states are doing the same - https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/illinois-declined-to-give-sensitive-voter-data-to-the-doj-some-gop-states-are-doing-the-same/
• Nebraska Sued To Block Release of Sensitive Voter Data to DOJ - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/nebraska-sued-to-block-release-of-sensitive-voter-data-to-doj/
• Utah GOP lawmakers look to set sole test to tell if new congressional maps are gerrymandered - https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2025/09/22/utah-redistrciting-gop-lawmakers/
• Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire F.T.C. Commissioner - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/us/politics/supreme-court-ftc-commissioner-firing.html
• Supreme Court will weigh expanding Trump’s power to shape agencies by overturning 90-year-old ruling - https://apnews.com/article/trump-fire-ftc-commissioner-supreme-court-2149d7c3802b3ddea6e157d3a0afd292
• What to know after Trump classifies decentralized antifa movement as a domestic terror organization - https://apnews.com/article/trump-antifa-executive-order-domestic-terrorist-organization-6ea07143e10bb811aa88b9da5aa26765
• Why Democrats can’t match Trump’s gerrymander push - https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/22/why-democrats-cant-match-trumps-gerrymander-push-00572965

September 23

• A Solution to Abuse of Executive Power - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/solution-abuse-executive-power
• Even without formal charges, Trump’s DOJ can punish critics - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/23/trump-investigations-retribution-schiff-cook-james
• Jimmy Kimmel, Somber but Defiant, Defends Free Speech in Return to ABC - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/business/media/jimmy-kimmel-return-monologue.html
• Kansas governor urges GOP to convene public hearings on U.S. House redistricting - https://kansasreflector.com/2025/09/23/kansas-governor-urges-gop-to-convene-public-hearings-on-u-s-house-redistricting/
• Local TV Giants Boycott Jimmy Kimmel’s Return to Late Night - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/business/media/jimmy-kimmel-nexstar-sinclair-boycott.html
• Washington denies DOJ request for voter rolls - https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/09/23/washington-denies-doj-request-for-voter-rolls/

Good News Websites

• ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news
• Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/
• Democracy's Good News - https://www.democracygroup.org/topics/democracys-good-news
• Good News Network - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
• Politics & Government Good News - https://www.goodgoodgood.co/impact/democracy
• Sunny Skyz - https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news
• The Happy News - https://thehappynewspaper.com/

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