Blue 812 News Issue 42 - October 19

Oct 19, 2025

Yesterday was the latest No Kings rally, and according to organizers, nearly 7 million overwhelmingly peaceful protestors gathered at more than 2700 events across the country. The mobilization was 14 times larger than both of President Trump’s presidential inaugurations combined, marking a historic moment of unity and resistance and the largest single-day demonstration against a sitting U.S. President in history. From rural communities to major metropolitan centers, the message was clear: America will not be ruled by fear, force, or one man’s power grab.

Now Trump’s big mad as evidenced by this AI-slop he posted of himself wearing a crown and dropping poo on protestors. Just a reminder that this is the President of the United States. This video could show up in history books of the future! facepalm

Here in Indiana, from Indy to Fort Wayne, Muncie to Lafayette, Evansville to Jeffersonville, and dozens of towns in between, tens of thousands of Hoosiers marched, rallied, and protested yesterday for No Kings 2. Indivisible Wabash Valley reported over 1100 participants at the Vigo County Courthouse. You can find coverage at Indiana Capital Chronicle or watch/listen to a livestream from around the state from HoosLeft.

So what’s next? We need to keep up the momentum. Here are some ideas from MAD Voters of how you can keep supporting the principles of No Kings even after the protests are over:

1. Contact your elected officials. Even if you think they aren’t listening, they do track constituents’ calls and emails. Contact them about current events, laws, or policies. Hold them accountable for their actions and votes. Be sure to complete our online action form to oppose Trump’s election rigging scheme.

2. Show your support. Yard signs, shirts, bumper stickers, and more are “social proof” that like-minded folks are in your community. Purchase from local sellers if possible, and use it to demonstrate your commitment to democracy, social justice, and a better future for all.

3. Build community. Connect with a community organization or nonprofit, and offer to volunteer with them. We will need to help each other, especially the most vulnerable of our community, as long as the Trump regime is in power. If you only have a couple of hours a month to give, that’s ok! There are large and small jobs to do. MADVoters is entirely volunteer-powered [as is Blue812News!].

4. Get civically engaged. We know it can feel overwhelming, but plugging into local politics and educating yourself about current events can also be empowering - it gives you an opportunity to know what’s happening, and what needs to happen to make change. If you feel like you need a refresher, check out our Issues page, or schedule a Civics Literacy Lab for your local group! [Check the events section for Wabash Valley opportunities]

5. Connect with your local political party. Ask about precinct chair vacancies. These roles within the county party are the foundation of democracy in our communities. Plus, PCs elect county leadership, which in turn elect district, statewide, and national party leadership. If you want to change a party, become a PC.

6. Run for office, or support a candidate. Official filing opens in January, but many candidates have already announced they’re running. Most are grassroots, working without much support, and they need your help. Help them design graphics, donate to them, help them organize their campaign, and more. Every State House seat and half of the State Senate seats are on the ballot, plus the Congressional seats, and many county offices.

7. Host action events. Put together a postcard writing party. Support mutual aid in your community. Plan a march or town hall. Pass out informational flyers. Use our toolkits, or make your own.

8. Listen, Learn, and Defend. Marginalized and vulnerable communities, like immigrants, are in danger. Use your privilege for good and do what you can to support and protect these communities. Learn de-escalation techniques, read up on the Civil Rights movement, and ask local immigrants-rights groups (some churches may also be good allies) what they need and how you can help.

9. Write about it. Submit Letters to the Editor that offer insight (and often much-needed fact-checking) to current events and news, especially in your local area. Pay attention to what your local officials are doing, saying, and supporting. While some officials are standing up for their constituents, others are throwing them under the bus by allying with the Trump regime and ICE agents. Help your community know what’s going on.

10. Talk about it. Talk about everything on this list. Talk about current events. Talk about voting. Talk about the news. Social media has isolated us and curates our reality, and so many of our neighbors are being sucked into propaganda. Remind them what the progressive movement looks like: people-power, dignity and respect for all, inclusion, and a better and more equitable future. Each of us is an ambassador for progress and democracy.

Despite all the vindictive prosecutions going down these days, the federal indictment of John Bolton in Maryland seems more solid, evidence-based, and plausible than the bogus charges wielded against other indicted Trump nemeses, James Comey and Letitia James. There’s no evidence that career prosecutors balked at Bolton’s 18 charges, and the acting U.S. attorney in Maryland is herself a career prosecutor.

Bolton comes off in the indictment as looking downright dumb in additional to careless and even reckless in how he allegedly handled classified information. While Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton shared more than 1,000 pages of “diary-like” entries with two family members, reported by the WSJ to be his wife and daughter. This alleged exchange is peak WTF:

One set of plausible criminal charges by themselves do not eliminate the stink that Trump has put all over this investigation which began in Trump I, had been closed under the Biden administration, only to be revived once Trump took office again. John Bolton would not have been indicted but for his role as a critic of Trump.

The same day John Eisenberg, former deputy White House counsel and legal advisor to the National Security Council before Bolton was at the White House (to brief the White House on the coming indictment?), Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel together made an Oval Office appearance with President Trump in which he publicly called for them to target former Special Counsel Jack Smith, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, and former deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.

Pilots and co-pilots eat different in-flight meals in case something causes food poisoning. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The Supreme Court seems open to handing Donald Trump and Republicans a staggering victory: A big, new, long-term advantage in elections for the House of Representatives.

Ever since President Donald Trump took office in January, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has seemed hell-bent on thanking him for adding several of their members to the bench. Their gratitude was on display last week, when those conservatives expressed openness to flambéing the historic Voting Rights Act. To be clear, conservatives don’t wanna scrap voting rights entirely — just an extremely crucial part, in a change that could help Republicans maintain control of the House for a generation. No big deal!

Such a ruling could supercharge Trump’s efforts to push red states to redraw their election maps to elect even more of his allies into the House. Gutting the act removes a key barrier that has blocked Republican politicians in Southern states from effectively wiping out about a dozen majority-minority districts.

The case in question focuses on one district in Louisiana, which was recently redrawn to better represent the majority Black community that had been represented by white Republicans for more than three decades. A Democrat won the seat, some white residents argued that they were discriminated against, so now the Supreme Court is considering reversing the part of the Voting Rights Act that has been interpreted to require the creation of majority-minority districts.

The Supreme Court’s decision to rehear arguments—a rare move—suggests the justices may be poised to issue a landmark ruling. Liberals warn that dismantling the law would allow politicians to redraw districts to their own benefit, but not help remedy historic discrimination. Conservatives seem open to imposing a time limit on using race to determine district lines, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh even calling for “an end point” during the oral arguments.

This case is a very big deal for the future of elections in the United States. It’s unclear if the Supreme Court will rule in time for the midterms next year. (Such decisions are typically released in the summer after the oral argument — which would be just months before the November 2026 midterms.) But there is at least a chance that Republicans could be allowed to reshape districts across the country in this next election, dramatically lowering Democrats’ chances of winning back the House.

“The new seats would eventually be enough to make Republicans favored to win the House even if they lost the popular vote by a wide margin,” Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for the New York Times, wrote. “With those new seats added to the ones Republicans already seem poised to gain, the House would not be competitive in most election years.”

In another attack on free speech, the powers that be at IU have decided to try to rank even lower than they already have in terms of free speech on campus. The university’s Director of Student Media Jim Rodenbush was fired Tuesday after he said he refused to intervene in deciding what news student editors would put in a Homecoming-related print edition of the newspaper. Administrators expected “that edition should contain nothing but information about homecoming — no other news at all, and particularly no traditional front page news coverage.” Hours later, Media School Dean David Tolchinsky announced the university would eliminate the Indiana Daily Student’s print editions the day before its next edition was set to go out.

On Friday afternoon, in a heart-warming show of solidarity, students and staff from Purdue’s student paper, The Exponent, traveled two hours from West Lafayette to Bloomington to do what the Indiana Daily Student couldn’t: deliver a paper to newsstands. The Exponent’s presses are privately owned and fully independent of Purdue.

The statue of Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent and Indiana Daily Student alum Ernie Pyle holds a copy of The Purdue Exponent’s IDS Special Edition.

Multiple prominent journalists and IU alums have spoken out, including Mark Cuban, who recently donated a quarter of a million dollars to the student publication. A few students had reached out over the summer to ask for financial support of about $100,000 to help pay staff salaries, who more than doubled their ask in a $250,000 donation to the general fund earmarked for the publication. “I told them I’m happy to help because the IDS is important to kids at IU,” his post reads.

Some legal experts say the IDS may not be able to succeed legally in their claims of censorship. Steve Sanders, a professor of law at IU and former IDS reporter, said if the university were punishing the IDS or trying to quash specific stories, the paper would have a strong First Amendment case. But if both sides understood that the homecoming special was a marketing vehicle, that looks more like a business dispute.  More at Indiana Public Media.

On Friday, Vigo County Council President David Thompson announced he would not be signing a controversial ordinance brought by Councilman Steve Ellis (also a candidate for Vigo County Sherriff), which was passed on a 4-3 vote Tuesday night. The ordinance proposes the County Council would not vote on any measure involving money for building or remodeling schools or acquiring land to build schools upon until the community has been allowed to vote on such a plan, for two reasons.

First, they say the county does not have spare money to give to the school district. They point to current or coming needs. For instance, the county is considering a new community corrections facility, which has been estimated to cost $41 million (I swear we just did this?). Second, they generally oppose county funds — especially those derived from taxation — being handed from the county to the school corporation short of explicit voter approval. They say the schools have their own taxing and bonding authority, as well as their own governance.

Ellis’ ordinance also blocks county money going toward creation of the oversight board, in addition to actual building uses. In late September, county commissioners announced they will ask the Vigo County Council to create and fund an independent oversight committee to review the proposed school facility plans. State Sen. Greg Goode, R-Terre Haute, who introduced legislation that made the oversight board possible, stated Wednesday, “I am optimistic that Vigo County leaders will reach consensus around a plan.” The law says, “If a county transfers or gifts any unencumbered funds to a school corporation located in the county, the county executive may establish a local board to exercise oversight and manage the use of the funds.” Members of that board would be one member appointed by the county commissioners, one appointed by the county council, one appointed by the mayor of Terre Haute; one appointed from the business community (as chosen by the commissioners), and the president of the VCSC school board.

Council President Thompson said he’d filed a letter with county auditor Larry Hutchings noting the council had not acted within its own rules when it brought the Ellis measure to a vote on Tuesday, specifically that the ordinance did not get a proper first reading. He also said it did not gather a two-thirds vote in favor, which he said is required for items passed without the opportunity for the public to comment.

It’s common knowledge that many of the Vigo County School Corp.’s buildings are dated and physical infrastructure throughout the district needs significant, expensive work. A VCSC proposal for a renovation and rebuilding project was rejected by voters in May 2022, leading to the district’s current consolidation plan calling for 23 schools to be trimmed to 16, in a process that could take up to seven years. The council plans a special call meeting for 5 p.m. Oct. 29 in the council chambers, Mark Clinkenbeard, president of the county commissioners, wrote on social media. The special call meeting is for information and questions, with voting to come in November.

I’m putting this action in the newsletter one more time so we can ALL be sure to comment, because it’s really important!

The EAC is considering adopting a requirement that voters show a passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. This proposed requirement was initiated by the America First Legal foundation (AFL), founded by PeeWee German himself, Stephen Miller, back in 2021.

Public comments are now open and this is our chance to fight back. Submit public comment here. The deadline is Oct 20, 2025 at 11:59pm EST. Anti-voter advocates have flooded the website with one-sided and misleading comments. Let’s even it out with our righteous indignation and opposition.

Sample Script from Chop Wood, Carry Water:

I vehemently OPPOSE this initiative which voters may have to register in person by requiring proof of citizenship. This could block tens of millions eligible US citizens from voting. Voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering using their driver’s license and/or social security number. It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The initiative’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary, seeks to divide us and creates another barrier to voting. It is a terrible idea.

Do the right thing and OPPOSE America First Legal Foundation’s petition.

Make sure to personalize a bit, though, or they will likely discard it.

Indiana’s Republican leaders say they’ll come to a decision on whether to redistrict “soon,” after the NYT reported Trump is calling Indiana Republicans directly to keep the pressure up (doesn’t he have anything better to do?) Some Hoosiers have been getting text messages from Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action in support of “conservative redistricting.”

The Indiana Capital Chronicle has been tracking public statements on the proposal — four Senate Republicans have come out in support (including one who came out in support right after that call with Trump) while three are against. The rest of the 40-member caucus is undecided or haven’t been definitive in their statements.

Call your State Senator today at 317-232-9400 and urge them to stand strong against this unprecedented political pressure, or use the online action form at MADVoters.org/no-cheaters to leave a message or send an email.

Indivisible has created a shutdown resources page complete with talking points and “where are we now” information. It’s got what you need to know, why it matters, what happens during a shutdown, and how it will end. It’s brief and packed with super useful info. A great resource to bookmark and share! Find it here: https://indivisible.org/campaign/stop-trump-shutdown

Nasty Women - Vigo County calendar | Indivisible Wabash Valley calendar

Tuesday, October 21st at 8pm: The Trump regime tried to paint No Kings Day as a “hate America” protest, but what we saw on display was the best of what this country is meant to be -- a nation that refuses to succumb to intimidation, a people that fiercely defends our freedoms and says in one voice, across generations, religions, races, gender identities, and nations of origin: We are all Americans, and we will not bow to kings. Join us on Tuesday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT for a mass call of movement leaders and activists to discuss what’s next.

Saturday, October 25th at 9am: Eugene V. Debs Historic Home and Museum Open House. Event is open to the public and includes refreshments and museum tours every hour. 9am - 2:30pm at the Eugene V. Debs home 451 N 8th St, Terre Haute, IN 47807

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from firing more federal workers, calling the purge illegal. The White House has “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to to assume that that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them anymore,” the judge said.

The Indianapolis International Airport won’t play a video featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that blames the government shutdown on Democrats.

A federal judge has denied Indiana’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit over Indiana’s ban on using student IDs for voting.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed Sonya Massey’s Bill, a law requiring police departments to investigate applicants’ history of disciplinary records and misconduct before hiring them.

The Supreme Court declined an appeal from Alex Jones, brushing aside the right-wing conspiracy theorist’s effort to overturn a $1.4 billion libel judgment a lower court ordered against him over his false comments about the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre

Alexandria, VA set up its No Kings end point next door to the early voting location that opened the same day. Their first day early voting totals were higher than the 2024 presidential’s.

Trump’s time in the White House runs out in:

The electric chair was invented by a dentist. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.