Engaged Citizen

Episode 50 | Blatant Corruption

If we are being honest, I think we all know what’s going on here. The overt corruption carried out by the Trump administration—from the billions pocketed by his family from cryptocurrency, social media, and presidential merch to stripping away human rights and launching an unprovoked war—is so blatant. If we ignore or wave it away at this point, we are responsible for enabling it. While I think some are weirdly excited by a strong-man, balls-to-the-wall approach to the presidency, it seems the majority of us are not. So it is truly on us to stand up for the rights we have left before any remnants of democracy completely fall by the wayside. Specifically, if you are a White voter, it is your moral obligation to be an ally and protect the rights of Black and Brown voters, who are the ones most squeezed by newly gerrymandered maps. If you are a male voter, it is your moral obligation to stand up for your female family members’ right to vote. They are coming for those, too. We’ve said before that Trump telegraphs his every move. We should not be surprised but utterly sober and awake to what is happening. Check our various resources, and stay informed and aware of what you can do. https://www.lwv.org [https://www.lwv.org] https://snyder.substack.com [https://snyder.substack.com] https://campaignlegal.org/exposing-president-trumps-pay-to-play-administration [https://campaignlegal.org/exposing-president-trumps-pay-to-play-administration] https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com] Blatant Corruption Holly & Josh Hudley

Episode 49 | Gutting the Right to Vote

The conservative Supreme Court has once again sliced up the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Regardless of whether you identify as Conservative or Liberal, Democrat or Republican, or somewhere in between, we should all be horrified by the efforts to manipulate and deny individuals’ right to vote. There is no doubt that Trump and his buddies are feeling their unpopularity and trying to do everything to hang on to power. Too many people have fought long and hard to win their right to vote. It is an insult ot democracy to erase the political power of the voting populace. Hopefully, we will use this alone as motivation to vote—perhaps not simply along party lines, but in favor of preserving whatever remnants of democracy we have left to work with. It will take years to rebuild and improve upon what has been broken in the last 19 months, but the only way we can recalibrate is to show up at the polls. Resources: https://substack.com/home/post/p-197076970 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-197076970] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf] https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/scotus-greenlights-11th-hour-alabama-redistricting-plan-for-2026-election/ [https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/scotus-greenlights-11th-hour-alabama-redistricting-plan-for-2026-election/] Episode 49 | Gutting Voting Rights Holly & Josh Hudley

Episode 48 | Violence begets More of the Same

Let it be said very clearly that political violence does not belong in a functioning democracy. Let it also be said that if our democracy were functioning, it would neither be fomented nor tolerated. What happened at the White House Correspondent’s dinner was wrong. And how might we examine it as a shadow aspect of what happens when unchecked anger guides our behavior? James Baldwin once wrote, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost all of the time.” How that applies today is that if we are relatively conscious, we likely feel some rage at what is happening in our country. Anger can be informative and activating, but as we have seen, it can also be dangerous. It feels more important than ever to greet our anger with curiosity and compassion, to let it fuel desires for change in positive ways rather than destructive ones. For further reading: 1. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/correspondents-dinner-shooting-suspect-wrote-about-grievances-against-trump-and-targeting-administration-officials [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/correspondents-dinner-shooting-suspect-wrote-about-grievances-against-trump-and-targeting-administration-officials] 2. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-recent-political-violence-in-the-u-s-fits-into-a-long-dark-history [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-recent-political-violence-in-the-u-s-fits-into-a-long-dark-history] Episode 48 | Violence Begets More of the Same Holly & Josh Hudley

Episode 46 | The Coup Playbook

Last week, Timothy Snyder published a Substack on the five things we need to watch for in anticipation of Trump trying to manufacture a coup to prohibit November elections. While some of them may seem far-fetched, I honestly would not put anything past this administration to hold tight to power. We walk through the scenarios and give our own take. They are: 1. Promoting the need for a “steady hand” during wartime, which involved prolonging the war in Iran. 2. Bonapartism, which refers to how Napoleon used might abroad to rally support even as he crumbled freedoms at home. 3. Bismarckian Unification, which refers to the forced unification of outside countries while continuing to make a tiny elite powerful at home. 4. Fascist Sacrifice. It sounds exactly like what it is and may be the least likely scenario, but again…I wouldn’t put anything past this guy. 5. Exploitation of Terror, which involves drumming up fear of a real or manufactured terrorist attack on the United States. Prevention of this one relies on cooler heads prevailing, and I am wondering where those cool heads are. It’s important that we stay aware of these plays, that we anticipate them so that we are better able to resist them. Remember: a democracy is only ever as strong as our participation in it. Stay engaged, y’all. Resources: https://substack.com/home/post/p-193162758 [https://substack.com/home/post/p-193162758] [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6514a2ca9b95501c64844004/e8d947e0-720a-4093-8c56-ff07bc5bdce7/IMG_0443.jpeg?format=1000w] Episode 46 | The Coup Playbook Holly & Josh Hudley

Episode 45 | “The Ministry is Interfering at Hogwarts”

The title comes from Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when the cruel and sadistic Delores Umbridge takes over the school of witchcraft and wizardry. My guess is most of you are like, “Well, duh. It’s been taken over.” And you would be right. If we aren’t currently feeling government interference in our lives, then I have to wonder what rock we’re living under. We are a nation at war. We are a nation whose democratically elected president is actively trying to undermine and downright take away the vote of millions of people. ICE is in the airports, and some analytical readers of Project 2025 say it was always part of the design. We have primaries and elections coming up in every state. What can we do about any of it? Well, we can show up locally. We can raise our voices, call our representatives, protest on March 28, send letters, and vote. We are not powerless even if it takes longer than we would like. Today Heather Cox Richardson did a live post about what is at stake is her usal, measured way. You can listen here. [https://substack.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Other Resources: 1. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/20/congress/texas-senate-talarico-cornyn-paxton-poll-00837336 [https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/20/congress/texas-senate-talarico-cornyn-paxton-poll-00837336] 2. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-texas-could-determine-which-party-controls-the-senate-in-2027/ [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-texas-could-determine-which-party-controls-the-senate-in-2027/] 3. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/iran-war-creates-growing-cracks-within-trumps-maga-movement [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/iran-war-creates-growing-cracks-within-trumps-maga-movement] Episode 45 | "The Ministry is Interfering at Hogwarts" Holly and Josh Hudley