July 7, 2025 - Could We Have Saved More Lives in Texas?
Plus, Trump cuts off Ukraine (again), one million will rise, Philly on strike and more
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HOW MANY DEATHS IN CENTRAL TEXAS FLOODING WERE AVOIDABLE?
There are 82 people now confirmed dead after flash floods ripped through communities in Central Texas on Independence Day, with at least 41 more still missing. At least 28 of the lives lost were children, with Camp Mystic among the summer camps in the region inundated by floodwaters.
This is a horrific tragedy, and our hearts are with Texas and all those affected. But as many experts will tell you, there’s no such thing as a solely natural disaster, and we are seeing indications that much as was long feared Donald Trump’s cuts to the National Weather Service may have cost us lives. Key roles were vacant at weather service offices in Texas as the floods hit, and former NWS officials have said the lack of experienced people who would typically coordinate with local authorities could have hampered efforts to get Texans to safety.
We will surely learn more in the days to come. But the risks we’re running right now are completely unacceptable regardless, and we should not wait around to try to stop avoidable loss of life.
Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and push them to reverse Trump’s cuts and fully staff and fund the National Weather Service immediately. We can find scripts from 5Calls here and language to use at Resistbot here.
Further, let’s support folks on the ground leading relief and recovery efforts. We can find a list of vetted local organizations to contribute to via the Communities Foundation of Texas here, and GoFundMe has set up a page for verified fundraisers for those affected by the flooding here. We can back local mutual aid efforts from Austin Mutual Aid here and Hands Off Central Texas here.
HEGSETH IMPOSES UNILATERAL HALT ON UKRAINE AID
For the third time in six months, the Trump Administration is holding back promised aid for Ukraine, even as our friends fight for their lives against some of the worst Russian aerial attacks of the war.
We learned last week that right-wing extremist and accused rapist Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a pause in sending shipments of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems to our Ukrainian allies. While the administration claims this is out of concern about the U.S. military’s stockpiles being depleted, their excuses have no credibility from an administration with a long record of cozying up to Moscow. An analysis by senior military officers found the aid package would not jeopardize our own supplies, and Democrats and even congressional Republicans aligned with Trump accused Hegseth and policy chief Elbridge Colby of putting this halt in place unilaterally without notifying the rest of the administration.
The public must make it clear that the American people still stand with Ukraine. Let’s reach out to our members of Congress and urge them to push the White House to release the aid Ukraine needs as soon as possible. We can also demand they work to investigate how this decision was made and executed, because the reports about the lack of coordination are deeply alarming. We can find scripts and language here or send this Resistbot letter by texting SIGN PLJSNF to 50409.
RESIST FASCISM THROUGH NON-COOPERATION
Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations, rollbacks of civil rights, weaponized courts, and full-scale attacks on our democracy.
We can stop this. But it’ll take all of us—not just on single days of mass action, but through sustained organizing in our communities. That’s why this summer, the No Kings coalition is launching One Million Rising — a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. We can sign up to join this Indivisible-led initiative, which launches next Wednesday, here.
SOLIDARITY WITH STRIKING WORKERS IN PHILLY
The billionaires are amassing power in Washington, and the workers are organizing to fight back. While Congress spent last week passing another billionaire tax cut, AFSCME District Council 33, the labor union representing city workers in sanitation, libraries, the water department, emergency dispatch and street maintenance in Philadelphia, went on strike. They’ve now been out for six days with no end in sight.
These are workers in some of the most dangerous jobs in the city who are making as little as $38,000 a year and are being offered an estimated $1,300 raise – meanwhile, Mayor Cherelle Parker just gave herself a pay hike of over $21,000. They’re also pushing for better health care benefits and an end to policies functionally punishing workers for using their earned sick time.
The old chant is right: the people, united, will never be defeated. Let’s reach out to Mayor Parker, top city officials and council members and urge them to give workers a fair contract. We can also follow District Council 33 on Facebook or Instagram, along with the Unity Council, to get updates on more ways to help – they’ll be launching a website to take donations for the strike fund soon, and we can mail checks for the fund here. And if we’re local to Philadelphia, we can offer our assistance by filling out this form or join the union on the picket line – locations here.
LEARN ABOUT THE “TRADWIVES” EXTREMIST AGENDA - TONIGHT
We may have noticed an increasing number of of sourdough-baking, “tradition”-embracing influencers in our social media feeds, painting a gauzy picture of a return to outdated gender roles. Pleasant as these images may seem, they aren’t just daydreams or harmless lifestyle content but part of a coordinated effort by extremists to push women away from power and normalize anti-feminist, anti-democratic ideas. If we want to take a closer look, Red, Wine and Blue is ready to talk about it with us. TONIGHT at 7PM, we can join political strategist Jess McIntosh and journalist/author Jo Piazza for a powerful conversation. Jo’s upcoming book, Everyone Is Lying To You, explores how “trad wife” influencers and some picture-perfect momfluencers are using domestic imagery to promote a regressive political agenda. We’ll break down what’s really behind this content—and what we can do to push back. We can check it out and register here for this evening’s event.
KEEPING AN EYE ON…
John Lewis Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action July 17th, find events near us here, host info session Thursday
Tesla Takedowns this weekend and every weekend; join the divestment movement here and here, petition for T-Mobile to cancel Starlink contracts here
Find protests near us daily via
’s We The People DissentJoin the federal workers #SaveOurServices rapid response network here
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