Chris Purdy

Democrats need to come home with their shield or upon it

The Longest Shadow Chris Purdy on how the Global War on Terror came home to threaten democracy

"Yet the imbalance of a military respected beyond reproach, and civilian institutions distrusted seemingly beyond repair, has dangerous consequences for our democracy."

@itsapurdy.bsky.social nails it in a single line. Worth a read.

democracywithoutexception.substack.com/p/the-longes...

Americans know the National Guard. The National Guard are your neighbors. They are members of your community. When deployed, they are there to help the community, not harm them.

VICTORY: Today, after tireless advocacy by @momsdemand.bsky.social and @studentsdemand.bsky.social volunteers and survivors, Governor Newsom signed first-in-the-nation legislation to stop the spread of DIY machine guns.

YouTube video by Unite 4 Veterans The National Guard and ICE: Know the Difference

PSA: The National Guard is not ICE. They don't hide. They serve their communities. They have honor.

#KnowTheDifference

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjo_...

The Rising Pattern of Political Violence and the Cost to Our Democracy Political violence knows no party, and it must end.

Over the last 18 months, political violence has become a disturbing pattern: lawmakers murdered in their homes, arson at Gov. Shapiro’s house, two attempts on Trump’s life, and now Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

We must all commit to ending political violence

open.substack.com/pub/itsapurd...

This misuse has been building for decades under leaders of both parties. But politicizing the National Guard in this way is uniquely dangerous: it erodes trust, weakens readiness, and pulls citizen-soldiers away from the real emergencies only they can handle.

Today, troops are being sent to Los Angeles for immigration enforcement and to Washington, D.C. for an imagined crime crisis, with other cities (Chicago?) likely to follow.

In 2006, my first Guard activation came after a snowstorm knocked out power to 300,000 homes in New York. We cleared streets so utilities could restore power. That’s what the National Guard is meant to do.

What We Lose by Distorting the Mission of the National Guard A compact that has defined the National Guard’s legitimacy for generations is being shattered.

The National Guard was built for disasters and emergencies. Now it’s being turned into a domestic police force. I wrote about it in The Atlantic:

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

How to stop Trump’s National Guard weaponization State and local leaders hold the keys

State and local leaders can stop President Trump’s militarized intimidation tactic from expanding into more communities — but they need to hear from you. Here are 5 ways to start. Read and share: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-to-stop-trumps-national-guard

Pentagon Fires the Defense Intelligence Agency Chief

Allies gauge U.S. reliability not only by capabilities, but by process integrity. If U.S. intelligence appears politicized, partners will hedge, withhold, or “second-source” U.S. assessments, complicating combined operations and sanctions regimes.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...

Military officers shifted to prosecute local D.C. crimes amid Trump takeover Members of the Judge Advocate General Corps are set to join the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

US citizens to be prosecuted by the military should be on everyone’s red line bingo card

www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

West Virginia’s National Guard has been ordered to police D.C.—pulling them away from their core mission of protecting our communities. From floods to winter storms, we count on our Guard on in a crisis. They should be home, ready to respond—not on a political policing mission

The National Guard’s job is to protect and support our communities—fighting floods, battling wildfires, and helping neighbors after disasters. Sending Guard units to police D.C. takes them away from the work they’re trained for and the people who count on them #KeepTheGuardAtHome

“Are we the baddies?”

We Stand With The People Of Ukraine 🇺🇦

📹: @thekenharbaughshow.bsky.social

For years, groups like Evacuate Our Allies and AfghanEvac worked hard to get politicians to honor our promise to the Afghan people. Republicans and Democrats alike have failed in their own way. But using the same military bases from the evacuation to now remove migrants is a special kind of betryal.

After Kabul fell, @shawnjvandiver.bsky.social and I worked w/ U.S. military and civil society to evacuate thousands of Afghan allies. Today, that system is inverted, and bases have been turned into detention sites. This puts at risk the life-saving work civil society has done over the last 4 years.

For the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, our CEO & Founder @itsapurdy.bsky.social shares the story of his first meeting with civil rights giant John Lewis.

They talked about how the fight for freedom abroad connects to the fight for civil rights here at home, a fight that isn't over.

US lawmakers balance security and openness as threats of political violence rise Elected officials and law enforcement are starting to take threats more seriously in wake of political assassinations

Elected officials across the country are facing a rising tide of threats and intimidation.

These aren't just attacks on individuals—they're attacks on us. On our shared democracy.

This from @theguardian.com lays out the danger:

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I would perhaps encourage him to learn about consent before offering to touch more people

2,000 National Guardsmen being withdrawn from Los Angeles mission, Pentagon confirms Nearly 4,700 National Guardsmen and active-duty Marines were deployed to L.A. with the mission to protect federal buildings following ICE protests.

Grateful to see half of the Guard coming home from Los Angeles. But troops don’t belong on American streets.

We need all military forces out of our cities. Policing civilians is not the Guard’s mission. It’s a threat to our troops and our democracy.

https://bit.ly/4nNP4EG

'Making America militarized again': Use of military in U.S. erodes democracy, veteran advocates say Advocates for families of active-duty troops, legal scholars and ex-military leaders critique the decision to deploy U.S. armed forces to Los Angeles.

Troops are being used to police civilians. That’s a red line in any democracy.

I joined other veterans this week to call out the use of Guard and Marines in LA. This isn’t national defense—it’s mission creep. And it puts our rights, our troops, and our democracy at risk.

LA Times: lat.ms/3W8vbD0

Thanks for anyone who stuck around over this 4 day journey. I’m especially grateful to my Other Half™️ who tolerated me stealing the tv for basically an entire week.

Until next year!

The movie production itself, aside from the vomit inducing list cause bits, is still fantastic. To see that level of combat with no CGI and so well researched… is amazing

Everything else is a set up for these two. Buford gives them a battle that puts them together on day 1. Lee acts as the orchestra director they both have to play to.

There are other figures that move the story along, sure. The Hancock/Armistead story line is tired. But really it’s these two figures who both are put in impossible positions in this battle and one comes out on top, while the other essentially loses the war.

And that’s the end of the movie Gettysburg. I think for the first time in watching this over the years I’ve realized that this is really a movie that centers on just two people: Chamberlain and Longstreet.