Each Month I begin a new post that includes the emails, links and events, meetings, local happenings and encouraging content that are shared with neighbors, friends and local groups.

Economic Boycott

February 28th

Today’s Economic Blackout made the TOP headline on CNN this morning! Kind of unbelievable. Click Here to Read Today’s CNN Headline Economic Blackout February 28

Economic boycott

According to google The People’s Union USA, which takes credit for initiating the no-spend day, was founded by John Schwarz, a meditation teacher who lives near the Chicago area, according to his social media accounts. The organization’s website said it’s not tied to a political party but stands for all people.

You can read more about it here, that is if you disable your ad blocker.  

This below is a longer list that is floating around Face Book that supposedly are all companies that support Project 2025. We have not been able to confirm that nor was I able to find this list on democrats abroad. But i only have so much time in a day! You get the point though. Shop local, shop your small mom and pops, spend cash, show we have strength in numbers.

Climate Cafe Monthly Gathering:

Feb 24 at 6:30 pm for 90 minutes

Hi– I wanted to pass along a local resource for folks. Climate Cafe Monthly Gathering:
Feb 24 at 6:30 pm for 90 minutes

A place to connect with others and share feelings about our changing climate and associated impacts. This is not a therapy group, but is focused on deep listening and our shared humanity.
Facilitated by Sara Demetry and Judith Springer
To get the zoom link or with questions, contact Judith, see poster for contact information

No charge!
This will be a monthly offering.

-Jen

Here is the flyer:

Town Hall 

Wednesday, February 26th at 6:30pm

This is a reminder for our telephone townhall on Wednesday, February 26th at 6:30PM. I’m excited to share that Senators Sanders and Welch will be joining, so Vermonters can hear from us together!

This is a chance for you to hear directly from us and vice versa. We will be taking your questions. Please register here with the option to submit a question ahead of time. We hope you’ll join us!

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/vermont/events/ 

Community Shake

Friday @ 5PM 2/28

see poster for additional dates, website in the works,

Community Shake with Madeleine Balcom

Indivisible 

https://indivisible.org/

Our democracy is under threat. But we will not yield to fascism. We will stand together and we’ll fight back in defense of our rights, our communities, and our values. Join us.

There is a community group that meets weekly in St. Johnsbury.

Attend Legislative Breakfasts

Monday, February 24, 2025

Monthly meetings during the legislative session provide opportunities to hear directly from lawmakers and ask questions.

Location: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum 1171 Main St, St Johnsbury, VT 05819
Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
ALL Dates: Monday, February 24, 2025, Monday March 31, 2025, Monday April 28, 2025 and Monday May 19, 2025 For more information follow this Llink to the NEK Chamber of Commerce Events Page

TRANSFORM with Marianne Williamson

IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?

EcoGather’s Vermont

On Feb 22, Sat 3-5pm the topic is Rage/Joy

EcoGather’s Vermont based facilitators of community learning are collaborating with Hard-Pressed Community Print shop in West Danville, Vermont to offer a series of EcoGatherings in the Northeast Kingdom.

They have 5 sessions scheduled, each with a different focus topic.

On Feb 22, Sat 3-5pm the topic is Rage/Joy
On Mar 20, Thu 6-8pm the topic is Solidarity
On Apr 19, Sat 3-5pm the topic is Work
On May 17, Sat 11am-1pm the topic is Language
On Jun 7, Sat 3-5pm the topic is In the Shell of The Old

One Family in Gaza

An original play by Crystal Zevon

Based on texts from Yasser in Gaza

In November 2023, Crystal Zevon, a longtime activist for Palestine, began a text conversation with a young 33 year old Palestinian man in Gaza. One Family in Gaza is a play about simply that – One Family in Gaza . https://www.onefamilyingaza.com/

Message and Poems from Sharon Darrow

Friends,

It’s time to stop feeling blindsided, confused, frustrated. As an artist, a writer, I felt helpless and defeated at first as so much destruction of our institutions happened so fast, but, wow, with the takeover of the Kennedy Center, I realized what a weapon art is and I have renewed my zeal as a poet and writer to speak out (write out) my own rebellion to this autocratic incursion into our sacred American rights as written in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Words have power. Write them, shout them, sing them, paint their vision, dance with the force of the power of love and justice, and sculpt a new age of freedom out of the shambles left when the current power grab disintegrates in its own internal decay.

I hope you’ll join me in writing protest poetry and songs. Here are a couple of my new ones:

Jon Batiste’s Piano, Super Bowl 2025

Early February, caught between solstice and equinox,
between aging democracy and budding oligarchy,
between where we once belonged and where
unelected corrupt wealth is taking us.
Jon Batiste sang The Star-spangled Banner,
accompanying himself on his joyful piano,
painted by his wife during thirty-six good hours
between chemotherapy treatments, cancer
at bay for a few joy-filled moments, pastel
swirls like butterfly wings across the light.
Weeping, I wondered at where we are now,
caught between the promise of health,
tax money used for necessary cancer research,
or that money falling into deep secret pockets.
Where will we find ourselves among the free?
Will we still belong to the band of the brave?

Darrow-2

What Am I Waiting For?

(with apologies—and thanks—to Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

I am waiting for the Clark Street bus, always late.
I am waiting for the towers to fall and spring back,
“a renaissance of wonder.”

I am waiting for the green morning’s green new deal
to come, for peace to ever
be real.

I am waiting to believe in peace, for all I’ve ever
seen is war—on TV, yes, but still
assault to innocent eyes.

I am waiting for my EV to charge.
I am waiting for somebody to do something.

I am waiting for USAID to bar the door.
I am waiting for Treasury officials to call the police.

I am still waiting,
waiting for someone to do something.
Today or sooner, if you please!

I am waiting to remember
what “waiting for wonder”
means—now.

I am waiting for the Snow Moon
to rise, bluing the snow,
planets trailing it
across the sky.
Will that be wonder?
Or its Wikipedia definition?

I am waiting for the trees to fall
loggers to carry them away,
lumber for houses
for homeless children.

I am waiting for politicians
to learn that we all
yearn for home,
for wonder.

I am waiting for everyone
to acknowledge their family
of LGBTQ+ children.

I am waiting for love
of learning, for schools
to educate about civic life,
teach the ABC’s of protest.

I am waiting for agape,
for cares and woes
to wash away.

I am waiting to wake at 3 a.m. without anxiety.
I am waiting to wake at 4 a.m. to blue moonlight
on snow. I am waiting
to remember wonder.

I am waiting to believe
a spring will come again
when other countries
will welcome us again.

I am waiting for justice,
but even more for mercy,
and waiting, oh so impatiently
for wonder.

Recommended Movie:  “Putin’s Endgame: The Stakes Beyond Ukraine.”

New film highlights fear in Estonia, Finland and Sweden of Putin’s aims beyond Ukraine

Climb to Higher Ground

by Walt Hampton

I want you to know that you are not alone.
If you’re feeling inundated by the barrage of Senate hearings, executive orders, and imperial pronouncements, you are not alone.
If you’re worn down by what seems to be a never-ending parade of circus clowns, you are not alone.
If you’re worried about our fragile ecosystem, you are not alone.
If you’re afraid of the chaos, fearful for your children, and just plain exhausted—you are not alone.
And it’s by design.
Because there’s a flood in the zone.
“Flooding the zone” is an intentional strategy.
Overwhelm the information ecosystem. Push so many stories—true, false, exaggerated, contradictory—that people can’t process reality.
The goal isn’t just distraction. It’s erosion. Erosion of trust in traditional media. Erosion of faith in government. Erosion of any shared sense of truth.
And now, the flood is bigger, faster, more relentless than ever before.
Firing inspectors general. Rolling back environmental protections. Pardoning January 6 rioters. Gutting diversity programs. Deporting immigrants. Freezing and unfreezing federal grants. Investigating political enemies. Stripping citizenship rights. Banning books. Demonizing the press.
Each new move demands attention, outrage, response. But before you can react, the next wave comes crashing in.
It’s a deliberate strategy.
And it works.
This isn’t just about politics. It’s about exhaustion.
There’s a reason you feel drained. Overwhelmed. Pulled under.
Flooding the zone is psychological warfare. It’s designed to create helplessness. To make resistance feel futile. To keep people drowning in a sea of confusion and despair.
This is why conversations feel harder. Why relationships are more strained. Why the constant scrolling, the endless news alerts, the ceaseless commentary leave you feeling unmoored.
It’s a system that thrives on chaos.
So what do you do in a flood?
You climb to higher ground.
Higher ground is perspective.
It’s stepping back. Taking a breath. Refusing to be swept away in the current.
It is not disengagement. It is strategic retreat. It is choosing where to place your energy, your time, your voice.
The flood wants you to feel powerless. It wants you to believe you have to fight every battle, respond to every outrage, consume every piece of breaking news.
But you don’t.
You cannot save a drowning person by drowning yourself.
Climbing to higher ground means finding solid footing. Grounding yourself in what is true, what is real, what is worth your attention.
It means pausing before reacting. It means choosing to protect your peace so that when you do engage, you do so with clarity, strength, and purpose.
The flood thrives on confusion. But clarity is a kind of resistance.
When you step back, you can see the patterns. The distractions. The manipulations.
You can see that outrage alone is not a strategy. That exhaustion is not a badge of honor. That despair is not the only option.
And from that vantage point, you can decide where your efforts truly matter.
Climbing to higher ground is not about avoidance. It is about action from a place of wisdom. So…
Limit the noise. Step away from the doomscrolling. Unplug from the rage cycle. Choose when and how you consume news.
Ground yourself in community. Connect with people who remind you of what matters. Who lift you up instead of pulling you under.
Focus on what is within your reach. You cannot fix everything. But you can do something. Start local. Support a neighbor. Volunteer. Protect the vulnerable in your own backyard.
Speak truth, but don’t shout into the void. Not every battle is worth your breath. But some are. Choose wisely.
Rest. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You will be needed in the days, months, and years ahead. Do not let the flood steal your strength.
The goal of flooding the zone is to make you feel powerless. But you are not powerless.
You are not drowning.
There is higher ground.
Climb.
And remember… you are not alone.
Peace to you.

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Follow the link to read all the Articles in the U.S. Constitution as it was written in the original.