Trans Rights Rally in Utica Tomorrow, 12-1 pm

IMV is a co-host with Oneida County Pride Alliance of our local Trans Rights Rally, Saturday, March 29th at noon at Oneida Square (Roundabout at Genesee & Oneida St.) in Utica. Please join us for a fun and colorful celebration ahead of International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31st).  Bring signs or flags in support. 

IMV Meeting This Sunday: Bring a Friend!

We have a lot of work to do!  We will have the physical space and setting to roll up our sleeves and get to work.  Start thinking now: What role will you take in the resistance? What are your interests and capacities?  Your strengths and skills?  What issues do you want to focus on?  We are going to have some great conversations about building the powerful local pro-democracy movement for the time we are in. 

Will it Be Musk or Us, Elise?
Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome 

Speaker Mike Johnson has instructed his Republican caucus members--including Rep. Stefanik-- NOT to hold or attend town halls during the March recess; he does not want them to face their angry voters. Meanwhile, Elise voted for a budget that will slash Medicaid, SNAP, and children's health insurance (CHIP), and she has been complicit in the mass layoffs at the VA, and the firing of thousands of veterans at federal agencies across the government without cause. Billions of dollars will be sucked out of our local Mohawk Valley economy over the coming years because of these Republican cuts, and put directly into the pockets of Billionaires like Elon Musk.  And Stefanik is cheering it all the way.  

Show up and speak out about how you and your community are being affected already or will be impacted by what's going on in Washington. Share your stories. Ask the questions to the empty chair that you would ask of her if she had the courage to face her constituents. 

Medicare Monday Rally March 10th, 5-6 pm

Join IMV to rally in support of protecting Medicaid!  This is the first big fight to save public services from the Trump-Republican Tax Scam.

Why? Republicans are on the record in supporting $2 trillion in cuts to programs that everyday Americans need to survive so they can give $4.5 trillion in tax breaks to billionaires. Programs that are on the chopping block include Medicaid, which pays for the majority of births, nursing home residents, and healthcare for low income New Yorkers. Our local nursing homes and rural hospitals depend on Medicaid to keep their doors open. If the Republicans in Congress get their way, people will suffer or even die. Co-hosted by labor union 1199 SEIU-- front line healthcare workers caring for people and saving lives every day.  For details…

Rescheduled IMV Meeting Sunday, 1:30 pm

We are looking forward to seeing everyone for our rescheduled monthly meeting!  Thanks for your patience when we had to cancel last minute last weekend--a first for us.  The New Hartford Library is open once again, so

IMV Monthly Meeting
Sunday, March 2nd 1:30-3:30 pm
New Hartford Public Library (Sammon room, the big room at the lower level)
2 Library Lane, New Hartford 

We are now starting our 9th year of monthly meetings. And these meetings are where we connect with each other and where our work gets done. We make political activism local, but-size, and fun! For details…

We are looking forward to seeing everyone for our February 2025 meeting!  We'll be reviewing what's going on locally, in Albany, and in Washington and how we can take action, 

Agenda for this meeting includes
1) What we can do to resist the Trump/Musk administration and the Republican congress
2) Structured & interactive planning session for a local public demonstration related to the protecting the Department of Education
3) Announcements/Updates: NY21 election, Climate, Petitioning

We are now starting our 9th year of monthly meetings. And these meetings are where we connect with each and where our work gets done. We make political activism local, but-size, and fun! See you on Sunday.

There are three special elections for Congress in coming months--and one of them is right here in New York!  Following a selection process by the Democratic Committee Chairs of the 15 counties that make up the NY21 congressional district, our candidate to replace Elise Stefanik is...Blake Gendebien! 

What if you don't live in NY21?  Not an excuse! We will all be needed to help flip NY21 even if we live in NY22 or another district, and in fact, Indivisibles from across the state are going to help flip this geographically huge, mostly rural seat. The most populous city in NY21 is our very own Rome--right here in Oneida County and in our Indivisible Mohawk Valley territory.  So, join us: 

Virtual Meet-n-Greet with Blake Gendebien
Date: Tuesday, February 18th
Time: 6:30-7:30pm 

To register, read on.

IMV members participated in a big rally (250 in attendance!) on Wednesday at the federal building in Syracuse where Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand have offices.  There was a great lineup of speakers, protest music, and lots of chanting. People came from Oneida, Madison, Onondaga, Cayuga, St. Lawrence, Oswego, and other counties across CNY. Following the rally, a smaller group met briefly in the building's lobby with a Schumer staffer. A photo of the Syracuse rally was featured on Rachel Maddow on Wednesday evening.

Because there was not staff available to have constituent meetings in Sen. Schumer's conference room (and we had so many people!) Josh Pearlman, from Schumer's team offered us a Zoom meeting on 10:30-11am this morning, Friday, Feb 7th. Everyone is welcome!

Sens. Schumer & Gillibrand Office Visits 

Join IMV members for emergency office district office visits to Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand in Syracuse:

IMV's photo of our December meeting was featured on the Tuesday night broadcast of The Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC about the vibrancy of the Indivisible movement and other grassroots activism to resist Trump and the Republicans and fight for democracy.

If you're ready to get involved in the resistance to the Trump movement, read on.   You'll find events to attend and easy, practical, impactful actions you can take. As Rachel Maddow noted, we're showing up and flexing our power, built over eight years of the hard work and experience of regular volunteer activists just like you.

Join Us For Our Jan. 2025 Meeting, Bring a Friend
At the New Hartford Public Library

 It's been the week from hell and it's going to get worse. We believe the only way to survive these difficult times is to stick together and work together to lift up our values, resist wrongdoing at every level of government, and press our elected officials to slow down the MAGA Trump onslaught.  We know you are demoralized but we promise it feels better to come together with like-minded activists and start taking steps to make life better. You'll leave more energized than when you came--and you'll have a bigger network and better tools to start helping those who are going to need us first.

The People's March (Utica) is Tomorrow!

We look forward to seeing everyone at our Mohawk Valley People's March Rally, Saturday, January 18th, 12pm-1:30pm at Oneida Square Roundabout in Utica.  Dress warmly and you might want a hat or coat with a hood if it is snowing/raining.

What is the People's March all about?  
This event is about building our local coalition as we face challenging years ahead. Our co-sponsors include Citizen Action, the Oneida County and Kirkland Town Democratic Committees, the Oneida County Democratic Women's Club, the Oneida County Pride Association, Mohawk Valley Latino Association, and the Utica/Oneida County Branch NAACP.  

Please sign up and then spread the word about our Mohawk Valley People's March Rally, Saturday, January 18th, 12pm-1:30pm at Oneida Square Roundabout in Utica.  Currently it looks like it should be a bit warmer next weekend than the weather we've had this past week, but we still urge everyone to dress warmly!

What is the People's March all about?  
IMV is working with a broad local coalition to plan this event.  Our co-sponsors include Citizen Action, the Oneida County and Kirkland Town Democratic Committees, the Oneida County Democratic Women's Club, the Oneida County Pride Association, Mohawk Valley Latino Association, and the Utica/Oneida County Branch NAACP.   We all march for different reasons, but we march for the same cause: to defend our rights and our future from the greedy billionaires about to take the reigns of government.

Over the past eight years, Indivisible Mohawk Valley has engaged in a wide variety of actions strategically targeted to the moment and to political objectives. Our collective experience is going to help us as we gear up in 2025 for some of the biggest challenges we have ever faced. It's critical that we stick together.

What is the Women's March People's March all about?  
IMV is working with a broad local coalition to plan this event. We all march for different reasons, but we march for the same cause: to defend our rights and our future from the greedy billionaires about to take the reigns of government.

The past year of political action may have left you exhausted and the results of the election may have left you discouraged. It's ok to not feel "happy" this holiday season. Eat the cookies!  Spend time with loved ones and take care of yourself. Play games, do puzzles, visit family and friends, and watch favorite movies.  You'll feel more rested when we get busy in the new year.  Very soon we'll be busy making political activism bite size, local, and fun. We need to take a breather now because very soon we have to talk to lots of voters for the NY21 special election. 

IMV Members are amazing. Some folks are giving up, but you're just getting started.  We are proud of every single one of you--whether you write Letters to the Editor, make calls to Members of Congress or state and local electeds, run for office, work the polls, knock doors, or participate in the climate rally "Die ins" in Albany.  You are the ones you've been waiting for. You take care of each other and take care of your neighbors.  And as IMV, you actually work in the public, political sphere to gain and wield power to make life better for everyone.

We just really don't know what all the crazy will be, but we know it will start on Day 1.  We will work to build power, connect with allies on the issues as they arise, and continue to reach out to find all the "blue dots" on every street and in every town. Maybe you are one. Maybe you know one.  We want every single one to know: "You are not alone.  We are here for you. Join us."

(I❤️NY Photo of Mohawk River near Rome, NY)

WE WERE MADE FOR THIS MOMENT.  

Indivisible Mohawk Valley has adopted and uses many slogans:

"Democracy is not a spectator sport."
"We make political activism local, bite-size, and fun."
"Breathe, then PUSH."

Let's add this one, which became the solidarity rallying cry for pro-democracy activists in Brazil following the election of authoritarian fascist president Jair Bolsonaro:
"No one let go of anyone's hand."

Let's come together and hold on tight to each other and especially the people who will be the targets in the months ahead, those they will try to scapegoat, strip of jobs and rights, demonize, and de-humanize.  No one let go of anyone's hand. We'll start figuring out how we're going to do that together at our meeting on Sunday.  See you then.  

Contact Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand and tell them to confirm Biden’s judicial nominees -- There are at least 29 pro-democracy judges waiting to be confirmed ahead of the new administration, folks who have been handpicked by Biden for their diversity, ethics, and commitment to justice. If the Senate doesn’t confirm them all before Trump takes power, he’ll be able to stack the judiciary with MAGA sycophants. We cannot let that happen.  Especially because we know one of these nominees--Anthony Brindisi--who appeared before the judiciary committee in September and has been waiting ever since.

There is no more time to waste. Make your calls right now and keep calling every day.  Sen. Majority Leader Schumer wants to put the pedal to metal on this, and it helps him when he can point to a heavy volume of constituent calls. And it helps us build movement power when we can get a lot of people to make those calls. 

Much of what we do in the coming 2-4 years is going to be ad hoc and defensive.  With MAGA running the tables in the Senate, House, and White House, and the courts largely infiltrated and compromised, we will be playing defense on many fronts…

What we won't do is give up or throw in the towel.  We will come together and we will work together and will build strength and power.  

"Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine initial act of insurrection."  --Rebecca Solnit

This was always going to be a tough one.  We helped flip a congressional district, decisively ousting Brandon Williams and electing John Mannion in NY22.  We helped pass Prop 1 to protect all New Yorkers from discrimination and safeguard reproductive freedom by changing New York's state constitution.  We even helped turn out voters to hold the one Democratic representative the Mohawk Valley has in the state legislature--Marianne Buttenschon.  But it feels like cold comfort because. of....all the rest of it.  It's okay to feel gutted and wonder how this happened.