SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
Save the Date for NO KINGS II
Saturday, October 18
Building on the momentum of June’s No Kings Rally, Indivisible Helena will again bring our community together to demonstrate our mass opposition to the authoritarian takeover of our federal government. Yes, we’re getting the band back together for No Kings II.
This event promises to be more than a rally. Details will be announced soon. In the meantime, you can register at nokings.org. Registration helps organizers plan for crowd sizes, share important updates, and build the network we’ll need to keep the movement growing.
Please reserve October 18, noon to 1 p.m. for No Kings II!
We’ll need volunteers before, during, and after the rally, so please get ready to get involved in the “production.” AND, everyone’s one big task is to bring friends to the rally: the main reason for having these events is to grow the resistance.
| Note: A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events. |
| Register for NO KINGS II |
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The Hard-Won Hope of the Long Defeat
A Mindset for A Dark Time
Ian Bassin
August 27, 2025
The escalating, unrelenting assaults on our democracy, our constitutional rights and freedoms, and any hope for improving our lives are designed by the autocrat to force us into despair and acquiescence. Ian Bassin’s Aug. 27 blog post, “The Hard-Won Hope of the Long Defeat: A Mindset for a Dark Time,” offers up “a framework for how to situate ourselves and endure.” His four simple guideposts are:
- Find the signal in the noise
- Cultivate strategic readiness
- Uphold a common truth
- Bolster each other
Read Bassin’s post, and pledge not to allow our democracy to fail — to commit to organizing our fellow Americans into a mass movement of resistance to the Trump authoritarian regime. We must know that the fight will be long, not always forward, and often seemingly hopeless. But, we must also know we can look to the community we’ve built and find the strength to continue the fight:
“Courage is contagious.”
Onward — together.
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Senate Bipartisanship Budget Bill Needs Full-court Press from Indivisibles
National Indivisible has made its top priority action for September the deluge of our Senators about the passage of the Continuing Resolution Bill that keeps the Government funded and open. The Republicans need Democrats’ votes to pass a funding bill — there must be agreement on the budget.
For Democrats to support the bill, they must demand changes to the proposed budget — like restoring full funding to Medicaid and restoring SNAP benefits.
We need to pressure Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy to work for us, not for the autocrat in the White House. If they allow a government shutdown, they will own it and face us in 2026. We will not forget nor forgive.
ALSO, tell Chuck Schumer not to cave and give the Republicans what they want, as he did in March. He works for us, not for Donald Trump.
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Tell Republicans They Will OWN the Government Shutdown if They Don’t Commit to a Bipartisan Funding Process
Nobody wants to see a government shutdown, but we expect our tax dollars to fund families, not fascism.
America knows MAGA Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. If party leaders prioritize Trump’s authoritarian wishlist over keeping our government functioning, it’ll be Republicans who are held responsible for a shutdown and the pain that follows.
This Week’s To-Do List
Resist in Helena!
1. Call Representative Troy Downing
(202) 225-3211
Demand Representative Troy Downing sign the discharge petition and force a vote to RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES immediately.
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2. Call Daines and Sheehy
Daines: (202) 224-2651, Sheehy: (202) 224-2644
Bombard Steve Daines & Tim Sheehy with demands to pass a bipartisan budget bill and keep the government from shutting down. We will not forget or forgive come 2026, when we go to the polls.
Not sure of what to say? Here’s a script to help:
Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. I’m calling because I’m deeply concerned about the potential government shutdown and how it would hurt businesses, workers, and families like mine.
It’s obvious Republicans are more focused on partisan pet projects than on the real issues people need solved – like healthcare. If the government shuts down because Republicans won’t come to the table on a bipartisan basis, I think Donald Trump and Republicans will be to blame. Will the Senator publicly commit to preventing a government shutdown by working with Democrats on a bipartisan budget deal? [Pause for response]
If you’d like to call them to address other issues, 5Calls is a great source for helpful scripts.
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3. Attend a Rural Virtual-Town Hall
Join Big Sky 55+ and Northern Plains Resource Council for a virtual panel discussion and Q&A about the impacts of the Federal Budget Bill (the “One Big Beautiful Act”) on Montanans.
Friday, September 10, at 6 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Get Town Hall Info and Register
IH is Offering Community Organizing Training
Monday, September 15
Lewis & Clark Library, Small Conference Rm.
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Join us for a One Million Rising Community Organizing practice session. This informal walk-thru is intended to help our members feel more comfortable and confident about holding their own gatherings.
Good Reads
GOOD READ #1
American Prospect
David Dayan
8/27/25
There’s No More Business as Usual in Washington
“So upon their return, Democrats in Congress have a choice. They can blind themselves to everything happening in the government, on the streets they walk in the nation’s capital, in the White House parked just a mile or so away from the House and Senate chambers. Or they can open their eyes and recognize that pretending the same old politics can deliver the same old results is madness. Treating the government funding fight like a normal process would be insane. Not only has public sentiment shown the desire to fight the unpopular authoritarian, but marginally better policy has historically been the subsequent outcome of such fighting. Collaboration or silence would simply betray the country.”
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GOOD READ #2
American Prospect
Robert Kuttner
9/4/25
The Joy of Bullshit
“…the bullshitter ‘does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.’”
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Support IH and Get NO KINGS Signs
If you’d like to support Indivisible Helena in pushing back against fascism, please consider a donation via this link to the Indivisible Helena ActBlue donation portal or use the QR code below. Your information will remain private — neither IH nor ActBlue shares or sells personal data.
AND, if you want a NO KINGS yard or window sign, email indivisiblehelena@gmail.com with your name, street address, and cell number. We want to see NO KINGS signs across the Helena area. Until our democracy is safe, keep them up.
Together, we’ll make sure the U.S. has NO KING.
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—Rebecca Solnit