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After 28 years of service in Arlington County’s local government, first on the School Board and then the County Board, I have stepped into a new role and life chapter: Private Citizen. My career has equipped me with extensive experience, valuable connections, and an unwavering passion for fostering good local government in Arlington and in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV) region, an area I call home.

April 13 Blog: Crazy Week and Things You Can Do Now

Dear Friends:

I hope everyone has been able to take a little time to disconnect from the crazy world and recharge a bit with whatever holidays you celebrate, or just enjoy spring.

The last week was particularly crazy. The fact that Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, and others on the far right criticized Donald Trump indicates just how crazy it was. Even they see that our President is unhinged. Keeping perspective on our history is so important to mental health these days. I think that is part of the reason I enjoy Heather Cox Richardson so much. She’s calm and reassuring in demeanor, and she puts where we are now in a historical perspective.

Almost none of us have experienced the current level of chaos, upheaval, and rampant evil, but our nation has experienced it in the past. And, of course, people around the world have experienced it at various times in recent history….often caused by the United States.

No Kings 3 was an exciting and uplifting day. About 8 million people turned out. Indivisible did a survey afterwards and found some statistics I think you will find interesting. About 7% of people said they had participated in No Kings 3, which is impossible given the numbers, but it shows that a lot of people wanted to be a part of it. You see this effect with elections when many more people report they voted for the winning candidate than actually did. About 33% of the people attending a NK3 event said it was their first time participating in an event like this, and 27% who didn’t come say they’ll come to one in the future. All of which, even if you take the numbers with a grain of salt (which you should), shows people think we are the winning side and more want to join. I see this momentum and energy all the time in my work with Indivisible and Visibility Brigades. Both organizations are constantly growing, as are other resistance groups.

We had a good turnout (about 300 people) on our bridge for NK3. It was nice to have a political candidate join us: J.P. Cooney, who is running for the new 7th District Congressional seat. He offered to help, and we put him to work with our setup. Many on the bridge later joined the Hands Across Arlington event organized by WOFA, which is doing incredible resistance work.

That new 7th Congressional District JP is running for, however, is not at all a sure thing. If you are among my Virginia readers, you have been bombarded with flyers and postcards about this referendum. Those wanting to maintain the Republican gerrymandered districting advantage are using every dirty trick in the book to confuse voters, including making it appear that Barack Obama and Abigail Spanberger do not support it. This is likely to be very close, and I’m not at all sure how it will come out. I’m pretty sure that there will be some people on both sides of the issue who will vote in ways they do not actually intend because there is so much confusion. No matter where you live, you can help get this referendum passed. Many groups around the country are organizing phone banks and other efforts to get out the YES vote in Virginia. Control of the US Congress is at stake.

Meanwhile, there is federal legislation likely to come up for renewal this week that we need to stop. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was intended as a foreign intelligence tool and counterterrorism measure but has been aggressively repurposed into a program for spying on American citizens -- and a loophole lets the government get access to data which, even under FISA, requires a warrant. All they have to do is pay for it. Please tell your members of Congress to vote NO on any legislation that reauthorizes Section 702 without significant reforms.

While I have times that the chaos and evil gets to me, I continue to be inspired and very hopeful by what I see everywhere around me. THIS OF COURSE INCLUDES ORBAN’S DECISIVE DEFEAT IN HUNGARY. IT REALLY FEELS LIKE DEMOCRACY IS RISING AGAIN IN MANY PLACES. This will not be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that we expected, but I find being part of a huge pro-democracy effort to save our country makes me identify with the American revolutionaries more than I ever thought I would. What an exciting time to be alive this is!

As always, I hope this has been helpful and welcome comments and suggestions.

Yours in peaceful resistance,

Libby