Today:
DC Day of Prayer and Action in Support of Immigrant Families

March 5th Double Header:
Ash Wednesday National Call for Repentance and Truth Telling
Hosted by Rev. Barber’s Repairers of the Breach

RSVP for in-person or virtual. Can’t attend in-person? Watch the Live Stream.

Join Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director of UUSJ, when he attends this event hosted by Bishop William Barber, II. We will gather and walk to the U.S. Supreme Court for a press conference at 11:00 a.m. ET to release an open letter and report that addresses the dangers of the administration’s policy and budget proposals. Following the press conference, attendees are invited to walk to the U.S. Capitol Building to help deliver moral demands to House and Senate leadership. This will be a sacred act of witnessing and truth-telling.

Wednesday, March 5 

11:45am ET (In-person gathering)
12 noon ET • 11:00am CT • 10:00am MT • 9:00am PT (Press Confrence)

Join UUSJ as we attend this event led by Rev. Adam Russell Taylor of Sojourners with the Washington Interfaith Staff Community (WISC). UUSJ is a member of WISC, and Pablo DeJesús, our Executive Director, is one of the WISC Chairs. We are co-organizing a series of faithful witness vigils at the Capitol every Wednesday in March at noon, starting this week on the 5th. Review the event flyer.

These multi-faith vigils will call on Congress to exercise greater moral courage to uphold its Article 1 powers and prevent executive overreach. (Cornell Law School, Legal information Institute) (Constitution Annotated).

Our nation faces an escalating threat of a constitutional crisis fueled by the Trump administration’s overreach and unconstitutional actions. A lack of leadership in Congress has allowed this crisis to grow, as it cedes its role as a co-equal branch of government.

Reconciliation Rundown: Understanding the Basics of Budget Reconciliation
Hosted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, Indivisible, and the National Women's Law Center

Thursday, March 6
2:00 p.m. ET • 1:00 p.m. CT • 12noon MT  • 11:00 a.m. PT

What do you need to know about reconciliation, and what does it mean for our communities? Why this process matters, history’s lessons learned, and answers to YOUR questions! If you have not done so already, register by Wednesday, March 5, for this can't-miss conversation!

Immigrant Justice Training for Allies & Organizing
Congregation Action Network 

Sunday, March 9
3:00 p.m. ET • 2:00 p.m. CT • 1:00 p.m. MT  • 12 noon PT

Register Here: Hybrid event, via Zoom and in-person at Cedar Lane UU Congregation

As allies who believe in justice for immigrants, how can we act in support and solidarity? This hybrid in-person and Zoom training will share information and explore multiple ways you can make a difference. Topics include: Know Your Rights, Family Preparedness, Bystander and Rapid Response, De-Escalation, Accompaniment, and Organizing Together, with Q&A.

Mobilize to Save Healthcare
Popular Democracy

Help take over Capitol Hill to save the years of work done to create a healthcare system that cares for us all! Join the mobilization demanding no cuts to Medicaid or Medicare, funding and protection for abortion access, and lower drug prices.

Building a UU Democracy Leaders community

Right now we are facing direct attacks on our democracy, on immigrants, on minority groups, on our environment, on our health care systems, on our way of life. The UUSJ Democracy Action Team saw this coming and, for the last year, has been working with UU democracy leaders from congregations around the country to help build a strong pro-democracy community to counter authoritarianism. 

We have been holding monthly meetings to understand better what is happening nationally, and to identify what actions we can take. We also have been helping these local leaders create Democracy Action Teams in their congregations. The local Democracy Action Teams are working with members of their congregations to resist attacks on democracy, assist those in need, and help move the country in a better direction. 

Our work reinforces the important values of justice, compassion, and community building. By being a part of a larger group of democracy leaders, local congregations can learn from others while having a support group to help with ideas and actions.

We explored options for civil resistance and moving toward Faithful Defiance at the February meeting. In March, we will discuss ways to help immigrants. For more information about our work, view our webpage at UUSJ Democracy Leaders. If you want to attend our next Democracy Leaders meeting on March 19, register at Democracy Leaders March 2025

Build your own personal grassroots movement 

Advocacy is taking a position on an issue and sharing that position with someone who can do something about it to bring systematic, lasting change.

Write, email or call friends and family members nearby and across the country. Share your concerns and ask them to contact their members of Congress to express their concerns. All members of Congress need to defend democracy. 

• When you call or write, be yourself. Use your own words. It gets easier the more you do.  
• Find your senators and representatives at https://www.senate.gov/senators/  or https://www.lwv.org/take-action/find-your-elected-officials
• Tell them to stop intruding into your privacy. It is against the law. 
• Ask the elected officials what they are doing to protect your privacy and our democracy. 
• Leave your name and email and request a response. 

The more calls, the better. They need to hear from We the People!

The People’s Union boycotts

The People’s Union USA is a grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform. They are NOT a political party, they are a movement for ALL people, regardless of race, gender, religion, or political affiliation. The goal is to unite Americans against the corruption and greed that has kept us struggling for decades. Learn More

March 7-14: Amazon Blackout – No Amazon purchases, no Whole Foods, no Prime orders.

March 21-28: Nestlé Blackout – Boycotting Nestlé-owned brands due to water exploitation, child labor, and corporate greed.

March 28: 24-Hour Economic Blackout #2,  No spending for one full day.

April 7-13: Walmart Blackout – Shutting down spending at one of the biggest price-gouging, worker-exploiting corporations.

April 18: Economic Blackout #3, Another full 24-hour halt to the economy.

April 21-27: General Mills Blackout, exposing food industry corruption and the poisoning of our families

Livable Future: World Water Day & microplastics
Food & Water Watch

Microplastics are becoming increasingly common in our drinking water, and researchers daily identify new health risks associated with these tiny bits of plastic pollution.

On Wednesday, March 19, you are invited to hear from Food & Water Watch Researcher Natalie Balbuena and Public Water for All Campaign Director Mary Grant about the dangers of microplastics in your water.

They’ll discuss the human health risks and how they’re helping communities test for and remove these contaminants. RSVP

States must lead the way on climate

Environmental and climate action at the State level is critical. The current administration’s intention to stall and reverse federal climate and clean energy policies means it is even more important that states lead the way on climate.

Across the U.S., states are crafting bills to reduce carbon emissions and boost renewable energy; some states have passed or are considering laws to require corporations that have contributed to the climate crisis to cover some of the costs of addressing the harms of a warming planet. Others are incentivizing, requiring a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources. Many have adopted climate action plans, including policies and strategies for adaption to climate change.  

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions provides maps highlighting state policies. You can click on your state to see what your policymakers have done and press them to strengthen those policies.

Environment and Climate coverage

• The Trump Administration’s Deletion of Environmental Justice Data Does Real Harm, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Closure of EPA Environmental Justice and Civil Rights Office, Earth Justice
• Why an upside-down American flag was hung in Yosemite National Park, CNN
• Trump is freezing climate funds. Can he do that?, Grist
• Global Warming Has Accelerated: Are the United Nations and the Public Well-Informed?, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development
• Trump Administration Shutters Climate Health Office, Scientific American
• USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites, Politico
• Scientists Pinpoint 'Tipping Point' for Greenland's Melting Ice Sheet, Gizmodo
• Kentucky reels from flooding that killed 11 as another storm will bring snow and cold, NBC
• How huge parts of the US could become uninhabitable within decades — even so-called ‘climate havens’, Yahoo
• Oh, great: Rat populations are surging as cities heat up, Grist
• Faith groups' environmental projects halted by Trump's climate funding freeze, NCR
• Why do cars get a free ride? The social-ecological roots of motonormativity, Global Environmental Change
• The ‘Blackest City in America’ Is the Embodiment of Environmental Injustice, Time
• Was the world’s most influential climate target doomed from the start?, Grist
• Vince Beiser - "Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future", The Daily Show (YouTube)
• What Now for Climate Under Trump? Act Locally, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Rolling Stone
• Peatlands store twice as much carbon as forests – here’s what we can do to save them, World Economic Forum
• Black Churches Are ‘Seeding’ Climate Change Solutions, NPR
• Faith-Based Green Initiatives: Churches Lead the Way in Environmental Stewardship, Religion Unplugged
• Change is in the air: considerations for how we communicate about climate change and health, APHA CFH Ambassador Julia Kish-Doto (May 2024)
• Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Jack E. Davis on the Gulf of Mexico, History and Hope, SRQ Mag

UUSJ endorses the Dream Act

UUSJ joined nearly 120 organizations and 201 members of Congress in supporting the Dream Act upon reintroduction.

Formally titled the American Dream and Promise Act (no bill number), Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29) reintroduced the bill (Press Release), co-authored with Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09) and co-leads, Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Lou Correa (D-CA-46), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), and Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03).

Take Action: Tell Congress they need to protect the Dreamers and other DACA recipients

A Strategic Approach: expanding our advocacy reach

During the past month, the Trump administration has implemented a broad strategy to change U.S. immigration policies and practices drastically. Elements of this strategy include:

1. Increasing immigration enforcement to deport not just criminals but all undocumented immigrants and their families.
2. Beginning to build mass detention centers at Guantanamo Bay and other military bases throughout the country.
3. Ending humanitarian parole for residents of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and ending Temporary Protected Status for people from Haiti and Venezuela.
4. Suspending refugee admissions and ending halting funding for refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S.
5. Rescinding the policy prohibiting immigration enforcement actions in sensitive areas, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.

Since November, the Immigration Action Team (IAT) has been developing and deploying new plans to oppose the inhumane treatment of immigrants. In the near term, those plans include advocacy actions to urge Congress not to appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars to fund the unprecedented effort for mass roundups, detentions, and mass deportations of the millions of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for many years and who pose no threat to public safety or national security.

The strategic backbone of the team’s approach has been identifying and focusing on a select group of Members in the House. The team has begun a concentrated effort to contact UU congregations in those districts to discuss working together proactively to oppose legislation that seeks to harm immigrants. This effort aims to develop long-term relationships with the relevant UU congregations and build-out UU engagement.

News and information

• Judge blocks Trump’s executive order suspending refugee admissions to the US - Politico
• Senate GOP Pushes Ahead with Budget Bill That Funds Trump's Mass Deportations and Border Wall, 
• Recent Developments Affecting Unaccompanied Children, Immigration Hub
• How Trump’s State & Local Strategy Targets Local Service Providers, Immigration Hub
• Immigrant Rights Organization Asks Court to Halt Remain in Mexico Restart, NIPNLG
• 5 Ways to Help Refugees & Immigrants in 2025, Global Refuge
• Denmark Immigration Policy Progressives, NY Times

The emerging truth about the cuts

The Republican budget plan leans on work requirements and purportedly looking for fraud, waste, and abuse as the source for savings in areas of human needs spending. That is clear from recent comments following the passage of the two Budget Resolutions.

Remarks by President Trump Before Cabinet Meeting, February 26, 2025

Q: Can you guarantee that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security will not be touched?

A: THE PRESIDENT: “ Yeah. I mean, I have said it so many times, you shouldn’t be asking me that question.  Okay? This will not be “read my lips.”  It won’t be “read my lips” anymore: We’re not going to touch it.

Now, we are going to look for fraud.”

See official full remarks and video by Forbes

Comments by Representative Don Bacon (R-NE-2) to Washington Journal, C-SPAN

Q: “Which means there will be cuts to Medicaid?”

A: “Yeah, but not cuts that will affect the quality of care.”

Video via Rumble and 'Yeah, but...' Republican admits GOP will cut Medicaid rolls — just 'not quality of care', Raw Story.

For more information on the cuts, see CAP’s The Republican House Budget Resolution’s Potential $880 Billion in Medicaid Cuts by Congressional District and Reconciliation is the key to unlocking Trump's agenda. Here's how it works, NPR.

Fraud, waste, and abuse alone can't do the job

“Benefit reductions do not get much in terms of savings, so it almost always has to come out of participation numbers,” says Jonathon Coppess, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for Food Print in What could massive cuts to SNAP benefits mean for the U.S. economy – and for all of us?.

Here is what other non-partisan issue experts have to say about these issues:

• The Truth about Waste and Abuse in Medicaid, The Center for Children & Families (CCF) at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University
• 5 Key Facts About Medicaid Work Requirements, KFF
• Medicaid Work Requirements Could Put 36 Million People at Risk of Losing Health Coverage, CBBP
• Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid and Work: An Update, KFF
• Medicaid Work Requirements Continue to Be a Bad Idea, Medicare Rights Center
• Research Note: Most Medicaid Enrollees Work, Refuting Proposals to Condition Medicaid on Unnecessary Work Requirements, CBBP
• Work requirements for Medicaid do not address the real barriers to work and risk throwing many into health insecurity, EPI
• Expanding Work Requirements Would Make It Harder for People to Meet Basic Needs, CBBP
• The Truth About Food Stamps, Just Harvest
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Work Requirements and Safety-Net Program Participation, NIH Library of Medicine
• SNAP work requirements: Did research lead to the homeless exemption?, Univ. Rochester
• SNAP Work Requirements Put Low-Income Americans at Risk, Milken Institute School of Public Health
• The Effects of SNAP Work Requirements in Reducing Participation and Benefits From 2013 to 2017, NIH Library of Medicine

The DEI effect

“The Trump administration’s three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a ‘shock and awe’ approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed” reports the ACLU in Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained.

They go on to say that “With these actions, the administration is not only undoing decades of federal anti-discrimination policy, spanning Democratic and Republican presidential administrations alike, but also marshalling federal enforcement agencies to bully both private and government entities into abandoning legal efforts to promote equity and remedy systemic discrimination.”

• State Street Drops Corporate Board Diversity Requirement: Here Are All The Companies Cutting DEI Programs, Forbes
• The Major U.S. Companies Scaling Back DEI Efforts as Trump Targets Initiatives, Time

Many who oppose the administration’s DEI moves frame the assault on equity and inclusion programs as a new version of the Jim Crow policies throughout U.S. history or as wreaking havoc for existing programs.

• Chicago Women In Trades Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s ‘Anti-Diversity’ Executive Orders, Block Club Chicago
• Federal Court Temporarily Blocks Enforcement of President Trump’s Anti-Diversity Equity and Inclusion Executive Orders, CDF Labor Law LLP
• President Trump’s Recent Executive Orders and Their Potential Impact on Social Initiatives, The National Law Review
• Why and How to Protect DEI, The Humanist.com
• How to Keep Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Alive at Work, Greater Good, Berkeley
• Silent, Defiant, Private: Big Philanthropies React to Trump’s DEI Order, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Trump’s War on DEI Opens the Door to Jim Crow’s Return, Intelligencer
• Crow Jim: Project 2025’s Obsession With Reverse Racism, The American Prospect

Modern roots of wokeness

It is easy to forget that the ideas and sentiments behind being “woke” have roots that go back to the racism of the Southern criminal justice system and the counter-culture of 1930s folk music. It is easy to denigrate the ideas as an element of today’s cancel culture. See Juergen Martschukat Traces of ‘woke’ in 20th-century U.S. history, On Education, Journal for Research and Debate for an overview.

Yet, our modern socio-political sentiments are anchored in Martin Luther King’s 1965 speech "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution" at Oberlin College during the height of the civil rights movement. While the term had previously been used, after King’s speech, being “woke” gained traction as shorthand for aligning with King’s vision and language when he asked the youthful crowd to “remain awake through a great revolution.” 

UUSJ agrees with King’s vision, and we strive to “achieve the new mental outlooks that the new situation demands,” which he encouraged in that speech.

Many UUs feel we need to defend the word “woke” as much as they want to see Americans reclaim the symbol of the U.S. flag or challenge the popular notion that religiosity equates to conservatism and rationalized indifference rather than progressivism and compassion. 

• Wrecking ball: Trump’s war on ‘woke’ marks US society’s plunge into ‘dark times’, The Guardian
• Why we have to keep talking about reparations in 2025, Economic Policy Institute
• Black-led Climate Groups Won’t Yield to Trump’s Crusade on Wokeness Atmos
• How Black farmers are sowing seeds of racial justice, liberty, and equity, Brookings
• The Implications of a 504 Rollback on Disability and Economic Justice, The Century Foundation
• The Infrastructure of Racial Justice Is Under Attack. We Must Fight for It, ACLU
• How Woke Went From "Black" to "Bad", Legal Defense Fund
• How Language is Weaponized to Oppress and Marginalize, Legal Defense Fund

Tax Policy content and clippings:

• Bessent, Republicans in Congress Kick Start Tax Cut Talks, Bloomberg
• The Other Threat to Democracy, TPC
• Republicans’ plans for Medicaid have a political problem, Politico
• White House to host weekly tax discussions with congressional leadership, Politico
• GOP Split on Medicaid Imperils Trump’s Tax-Cut Plans, WSJ
• It’s crunch time for Mike Johnson and the GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’, WaPo
• Thousands of layoffs expected to start hitting the IRS on Thursday, Politico
• IRS plans to lay off 7,000 probationary workers beginning Thursday, MSN, Independent
• A New Plan To Create a World Without Elon Musks, Inequality.org
• How Congress can turn tariff lemons into lemonade: A border-adjustment tax, Brookings