The following is from my brother.  Consider what he writes and what he asks us to do.

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To all:

America is being tested as it has never been tested since the civil war. We have elected a president, a convicted felon, serial liar, and fraudster, who has openly vowed to destroy our constitution and is in the process of destroying our government:

• His trillionaire buddy is running wild through our government departments like a spoiled rich kid and now has access to our nation’s most sensitive financial systems.
• He deliberately appoints unqualified – even dangerously so – people to critical posts who are beholden only to him, not to us.
• He floats outrageous ideas – Gaza, Greenland, Gulf, and more – to distract us from the carnage he is inflicting on our government, daily, by shuttering entire departments, threatening recriminations, and trying to bully people into quitting.
• He ordered the release of all the water from two reservoirs in northern California, saying it would be useful in fighting the fires further south when in reality all that water, stored for use in summer irrigation, has been wasted. Thus we see an example of how he intends to punish specific states.
• He has removed the security details assigned to former officials who he deems disloyal, a chilling act in and of itself.
• He is trying to purge the DoJ and the FBI and fill each with loyal minions.
• His people are already talking openly about how to manipulate (or simply ignore) the Constitution, trying to lay the groundwork for his becoming a “president for life.”  If that happens, America would be no different than Oligarchic Russia.  Which seems to be the plan.

This is not insanity; it is a very cold, calculated attempt to destroy our system of government. It is up to us to stop him. All of us. This is not a political issue; it is an American issue. We have to come together as Americans and stop this Man Who Would Be King before the damage he does becomes irrevocable. So what can we do?

• Listen to people like Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Adam Schiff (all have YouTube channels with excellent content); they speak the truth and have workable ideas.
• Specifically, Bernie recommends contacting your Senator – especially if he or she is a republican – and making your voice heard, politely but firmly. He says they do react and respond to letters and phone calls.
• I heard that the Senate switchboard ((202) 224-3121)) is flooded and their voice mail is full. Information for contacting US Senators by mail can be found at the Senate website. This is a good way to contact Senators in other states. (I’m not including links in this message because they often get stripped out by various levels of email security.)
• Watch a YouTube video by Ezra Klein called “Don’t Believe Him.” Klein is a columnist with the New York Times and is one of the most intelligent people in journalism today. His take on all of this is as cogent – and urgent – as any I’ve found.
• Join an organization. I belong to a union, also to Common Cause, and will be joining the ACLU, whose sworn purpose is to protect and defend the Constitution of this country. Consider People for The American Way, founded by Norman Lear. Find a group whose work you can get behind, give a little money if you can. In unity there is strength.

We are not alone. There is a rapidly growing resistance to trumpism. Just do an internet search.

I believe that republican Senators hold one of the keys here. It will only take a few to stand up and others will follow. Accordingly, I intend to write to every Republican Senator, starting with John Thune (Majority Leader), asking them to stand up to Trump and stand up for America. As in, now. No, they won’t listen to me, as a single person, but the more letters they get, the more they will begin to understand how Americans really feel. When it reaches a critical mass, when they believe that Trump is no longer winning public opinion, they will find their spines again.

It Can’t Happen Here is a 1935 dystopian political novel by Sinclair Lewis. Set in a fictionalized version of the 1930s United States, it follows an American politician who quickly rises to power to become the country’s first outright dictator (in allusion to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Nazi Germany). It isn’t the best book Lewis wrote, but it is eerily prescient. Specifically, every move the trumpians make is right out of the Nazi playbook, up to and including The Big Lie. The reality is right in front of us, and if we don’t act America is going to be destroyed.

Reach out to your Republican neighbors and friends and open a dialog . No recrimination, no name calling, but honest questions and honest answers; did they really think this is what they were voting for? If they are hard-core magattes, move on. Contact your republican politicians at every level and let them know in no uncertain terms it is their responsibility to stand up to this encroaching fascism in this country, and that they will be held accountable if they don’t. This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans. This is about America. If we don’t come together and fix it we’re not going to have a country left.

Do you write? Then write an editorial for your local paper (if you still have one), or the paper in your state capital, an epub, find an outlet. Do you sing? May be time to channel a little inner Woodie Guthrie. Paint? Draw? Act? Compose? Preach? Choose a medium and send a message. When we raise our voices as one, we will be heard. Read “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”, or anything by MLK for more ideas and inspiration. Reach out to everyone you know and ask them to do the same.

I don’t know the final answer, but I do know this: we are Americans, and we figure out how to do stuff. So, let’s get with it. They aren’t wasting time; neither can we.

I’m interested in any thoughts you may have about this. Please forward as you see fit. Meanwhile, I’ve got a letter to John Thune to write.

Terry Mitchell