Katja Wiemer

YouTube video by PoliticsGirl 20 Lessons on Tyranny: by Timothy Snyder / read by John Lithgow

You have to see this.

PoliticsGirl and her husband teamed up with the brilliant Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) and the legendary John Lithgow to create something truly powerful. It’s important, it’s urgent—and it needs to be shared far and wide.

Thank you, thank you so much, for your exemplary leadership, sir. I had tears running down my face during the final hour.

Tax revenue could drop by 10 percent amid turmoil at IRS Staff cuts and disruptions related to the U.S. DOGE Service have officials bracing for a sharp loss of revenue.

🚨 Big SCOOP 🚨

Tax revenue could fall by as much as **10%** this year, per sources, as taxpayers and businesses see the Trump admin as less likely to challenge tax cheats.

That'd be **$500 BILLION** in lost revenue.

It'd nearly double the tax gap in a single year.

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped

"It felt like we had all been kidnapped, thrown into some sort of sick psychological experiment meant to strip us of every ounce of strength and dignity," writes Jasmine Mooney, who was detained by Ice earlier this month.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance.

Democracy requires your courage.

So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let despair overcome us when our country needs us the most.

I’m in Munich and people keep asking me to decode Vance’s speech. OK: In Vance English “free speech” means “Let Musk run your elections” and “democracy” means “let Russia run your elections.” Now move on. 2025 is about what Europeans do, not what Americans say.

German newspapers reacting to Vance speech at the security summit Munich, which accomplished nothing of what was expected but endorsed the German far-right party AfD… right before elections.

Europeans on democracy’s frontlines offer advice to Americans: never give up With the new Trump era likely to pose unprecedented challenges the message from Europe’s fragile democracies is: stay united and safeguard your institutions

"Europeans who witnessed democracy crumble before their eyes have some words of advice for Americans now entering the second Trump era.... stay united, safeguard your civic institutions and never, never give up." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

It’s important to know that a lot of productive activity is happening in person and offline, too.

Not all of it can be broadcast online, but we’ve had hundreds of people showing up to our trainings, mobilizations, and more.

Keep going. Tyranny is eroded by a sea of small acts. Everything matters.

Next KSO concert, starring an 11 (!) year old piano virtuoso with the first movement of the 1. Piano concert by Beethoven.

Self-care list provided by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Putting on your oxygen mask will make it so much easier to assist others during a bumpy ride.