Resistance Daily Brief for 2025-02-21
Information, insight, and inspiration for resisting tyranny in America
Welcome!
Welcome to The Resistance Sentinel, a publication dedicated to documenting and amplifying the movement to defend democracy against authoritarian rule. Our collective of researchers and analysts highlights the inspiring responses of citizens and organizations across the country while providing curated coverage of resistance activities and practical knowledge for effective engagement. Join us in turning awareness into action as we work together toward a more just and democratic future.
Resistance Today
Judicial Branch
Judge Orders Trump Administration to Resume Foreign Aid Amid Defiance
What happened: A federal judge has reiterated that the Trump administration must temporarily lift its freeze on $60 billion in foreign aid, accusing officials of defying his earlier order. Despite this, the judge declined to hold the administration in contempt, as it continues to justify withholding funds under new legal interpretations.
Why it matters: This ongoing defiance highlights the administration's resistance to judicial oversight and its prioritization of an ideologically-driven purge of government spending over immediate humanitarian needs. The freeze has caused severe financial harm to aid organizations globally, leading to layoffs and operational shutdowns. For resistance movements or stakeholders, this situation underscores the importance of leveraging legal mechanisms while recognizing the challenges of enforcing court orders against executive actions of autocrats.
Legislative Branch
Take Action: Support the Bipartisan House Bill for Military Spouses
What happened: A bipartisan bill, H.R. 977 or the Support Military Families Act, has been introduced in the House of Representatives to exempt military spouses working for the federal government from mandates requiring a return to full-time in-person work, allowing them to continue teleworking or working remotely. This bill seeks to provide clarity and stability for military families, ensuring military spouses can retain their jobs and support their families during frequent relocations. Otherwise, military families could be torn apart as a result of one partner working in one state while the other “returns to work” in another.
Why it matters: The vulnerability lies in the executive branch's inconsistent interpretation and application of telework policies, creating uncertainty and anxiety for military spouses, and this inconsistency exposes a weakness that can be exploited by domestic resistance. By codifying telework exemptions into law, the resistance can ensure more consistent application across the government and reduce the impact of policy changes on military families. Success here would demonstrate the power of targeted legislative action and emphasize the importance of bipartisan efforts in addressing the grievances and needs of specific groups, offering a model for future advocacy. Support of the security services, including the military, are a key pillar of regime power. Democracy advocates must work to undermine support of the security services for the regime and bring them over to the side of democracy. Fighting on their behalf when the autocrat takes actions that harms them or their families is one way to do that.
✅ Action Item: Contact your representatives today and urge them to co-sign H.R. 977 to support military spouses. You can find their contact information on Congress.gov or complete this form (https://moaa.quorum.us/campaign/109912/) on the Military Officers Association of America website. Your voice matters in ensuring that military families receive the support they need!
Executive Branch
Pentagon Freezes Mass Civilian Firings Amid Legal and Readiness Concerns
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/pentagon-firings-review/index.html
What happened: The Pentagon has temporarily paused planned mass firings of civilian probationary employees following concerns over their legality and potential harm to military readiness. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the pause to allow for a legally mandated review of the impact on mission effectiveness.
Why it matters: The decision highlights internal resistance to rapid workforce reductions that could undermine critical national security roles, such as cyber operations and intelligence. This pause reflects broader tensions between cutting costs and maintaining operational readiness, with legal safeguards emphasizing mission priorities over financial savings. For resistance movements, this underscores the importance of leveraging legal frameworks and readiness concerns to challenge potentially harmful government actions effectively. Again, rifts between the security services, especially the military, and the regime can undermine regime authority. Calling attention to regime actions, like this one, that harm the military is important to diminishing regime authority and legitimacy.
States
State Courts: A Critical Battleground Against Trump's Extremism
What happened: With the Trump administration enacting numerous extreme policies, state courts are becoming increasingly important for defending civil rights, health, and safety, as they can counteract federal actions and uphold rights through state constitutions. Upcoming state court elections in battleground states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will be crucial in determining the ideological balance of these courts.
Why it matters: The article highlights a vulnerability for the regime: challenges at the state level. Resistance movements can exploit this by focusing on state court elections and judicial appointments, mirroring strategies used to contest federal policies. Considering the regime's vulnerability to legal challenges, focusing on state courts could prove to be a highly effective resistance strategy, providing immediate relief and setting precedents that could influence future federal policy. The regime's overreach at the federal level creates an opportunity for state-level resistance to gain traction and legitimacy, potentially inspiring broader opposition.
✅ Action Item: Pledge to use your voice and your vote to protect our courts. https://afjactioncampaign.org/actions/statecourtsmatter/
Public
GOP Congressman Heckled at Town Hall Over Trump-Musk Federal Cuts
https://newrepublic.com/post/191808/republican-congressman-mccormick-uproar-town-hall-trump
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/politics/video/rich-mccormick-town-hall-trump-power-digvid
What happened: Republican Representative Rich McCormick faced a hostile crowd at his town hall in Suwanee, Georgia, due to anger over federal cuts enacted by Trump and Musk. Constituents voiced concerns about the impact of these cuts on social programs and criticized McCormick's support for the administration's policies, with the representative comparing the crowd to January 6th insurrectionists.
Why it matters: This incident highlights growing discontent among Republican voters as the consequences of Trump and Musk's policies become apparent, indicating a potential vulnerability for the ruling party. The public's strong reaction against cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, coupled with their frustration over the replacement of CDC employees with AI, reveals specific policy areas where the regime is facing resistance. The regime's vulnerability lies in the potential for widespread public backlash against unpopular policies, offering an opportunity for resistance movements to capitalize on this discontent and mobilize support.
International
French Far-Right Leader Ditches CPAC After Bannon's Alleged Nazi Salute
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/21/steve-bannon-cpac-nazi-salute-french-leader
What happened: French far-right leader Jordan Bardella canceled his scheduled speech at CPAC after Steve Bannon appeared to have made a Nazi salute during his own remarks at the conference. Bardella cited the gesture as the reason for his withdrawal from the event.
Why it matters: This incident reveals the potential for missteps by prominent figures to disrupt carefully planned international collaborations and damage reputations. The swift condemnation and withdrawal by Bardella indicates a sensitivity to associations with extremist ideologies, which could be leveraged to isolate and delegitimize individuals or groups within the regime who express or condone such views. This could create opportunities to pressure those in power to publicly denounce extremism or risk losing international allies.
Organized Opportunities
Organizations Planning Regular Resistance Actions
Federal Unionists Network - https://actionnetwork.org/groups/federal-unionists-network
Indivisible -
https://indivisible.org/
5051 -
https://www.fiftyfifty.one/
Organizations and Resources
Alliance for Justice - https://afj.org/resource-library/tools-for-effective-advocacy/
International Center on Nonviolent Conflict -
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/
Choose Democracy -
https://choosedemocracy.us/
We will continue to update this section. If you have organizations or collections of resources for activism or nonviolent resistance you’d like to see added here, please reach out to us on BlueSky @resistancesentinel.bsky.app
MAGA Regime CVEs
In cybersecurity, CVEs are “common vulnerabilities and exposures.” These are the cracks in the system that adversaries exploit for their own ends. Political CVEs are those cracks in an authoritarian regime, points of vulnerability that can be exposed and exploited by defenders of democracy.
Military Families Face Hardship as Federal Budget Cuts Loom
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/20/politics/military-families-federal-government-cuts/index.html
What happened: The U.S. government is considering significant budget cuts that would directly impact military families. These cuts, set to take effect in the next fiscal year, would reduce housing allowances, healthcare benefits, and education support for service members and their dependents.
Why it matters: This development reveals vulnerabilities in the government's ability to maintain support for its military personnel, potentially weakening morale and readiness. The proposed cuts could be exploited by resistance movements to highlight the regime's failure to prioritize those who serve, possibly garnering support from affected military families. Additionally, this situation presents an opportunity for nonviolent action, as outlined in Sharp's work, where military families and their supporters could engage in selective resistance and symbolic challenges to pressure the government to reconsider these cuts. The resistance could use this as a moment to spread the idea of noncooperation among military personnel, potentially weakening a key pillar of the regime's power structure.
NY Post’s Anti-Putin Critique Highlights Growing Concern in Conservative Circles
What happened: The New York Post published an opinion piece outlining ten critical truths about Vladimir Putin's authoritarianism and the Ukraine-Russia war, warning against Western complacency. The article critiques Putin's regime and emphasizes the global risks of underestimating his actions.
Why it matters: This piece is significant because it appears in a publication known for its support of Donald Trump, a figure often criticized for his perceived leniency toward Putin. The Post’s willingness to publish such a critique indicates a potential shift in conservative discourse, reflecting broader recognition of the dangers posed by authoritarian regimes. For resistance movements, this signals potential opportunities to leverage bipartisan acknowledgment of Putin’s threat to rally international support against not only his aggression, but also authoritarian consolidation in the United States.
Mass IRS Layoff Reveals Systemic Vulnerabilities in Government Power Structure
What happened: A former IRS employee who supported Trump describes his experience of being terminated along with other colleagues in what appears to be an abrupt mass layoff, discovering their fate through technical issues before receiving official termination notices. The employee details how management and union representatives scrambled to help workers, indicating this was an executive action taken outside normal channels.
Why it matters: This incident perfectly illustrates the vulnerability of power structures when institutional cooperation is disrupted. The chaotic nature of the layoffs demonstrates the internal inefficiencies and institutional conflicts that weaken authoritarian systems. The fact that local management opposed the terminations shows the kind of internal power rifts that can become critical weaknesses in hierarchical structures. Most importantly, the mass removal of skilled tax workers is an example of how withdrawing specialized knowledge and human resources can severely impact a system's ability to function, as these employees were responsible for funding government operations through tax collection. This case study demonstrates how sudden disruptions to institutional knowledge and bureaucratic capacity can create exactly the type of systemic vulnerabilities that resistance movements could potentially exploit.
Some Trump Supporters Having Second Thoughts After Getting What They Voted For
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/02/trump-strickland-remorse-policy/681746/
What happened: The article highlights growing discontent among some of Donald Trump’s supporters over his administration's pivot towards an isolationist foreign policy. This shift has led to concerns about the U.S.'s global leadership and its implications for allies and security.
Why it matters: This dissatisfaction reveals fractures within Trump's base, particularly among those who expected a more assertive international stance. These divisions could weaken his political support and create opportunities for opposition groups to exploit these vulnerabilities. For resistance movements, understanding the discontent can help in crafting strategies that appeal to disillusioned supporters, emphasizing the perceived consequences of such policy changes. It also underscores the importance of monitoring shifts in public sentiment to anticipate political realignments.
Resistance School
It’s the weekend! Take some time to relax and recharge. Self care is essential for maintaining the physical and mental stamina to resist tyranny. Engaging in creative activities is a great way to do that. Of course, creative, artistic endeavors can also be tactics of resistance in their own right. Some even call it “craftivism.” What kinds of creative activities can you engage in to both relax and fight fascism?
Photo Credit: @freshprintsdesign
“Coloring Through Chaos”
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1847181751/coloring-through-chaos-anti-trump-adult
Art therapy serves as a powerful tool for individuals living under authoritarian regimes, offering a safe haven for emotional expression and processing. In environments where personal freedoms are restricted, creative activities provide a crucial outlet for managing stress, anxiety, and trauma. Moreover, art therapy can function as a subtle form of resistance and dissent against authoritarian control. It enables people to externalize their experiences, raise awareness about societal issues, and maintain a sense of inner freedom. For example, you might turn your coloring into more overt resistance action by pasting or taping your completed coloring pages in public spaces.
Learn About The History And Opportunities For “Craftivism”
YouTuber Amy of Melbourne discusses craftivism, which can take the form of knit-ins, making plays or banners for protests, embroidering political messages, and much more. Her video is very interesting and brings to mind lots of creative ways to resist.
Daily Inspiration
Youth Movement Launches Bold Campaign of Mass Resistance Against Authoritarian Policies
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2025/02/youth-led-group-get-free-wants-to-spark-mass-refusals-maga-white-supremacy/
What happened: Get Free, a youth-led organization, staged the first civil disobedience action at the White House since Trump's second term began, protesting at the Office of Management and Budget. The group is launching a "first 100 days campaign" to establish "freedom beacons" across the country, responding to new federal policies threatening to withdraw funding from educational institutions that don't comply with segregationist orders by March 1.
Why it matters: The emergence of Get Free represents a significant escalation in organized resistance, employing strategic nonviolent action techniques that have historically proven effective against authoritarian regimes. Their focus on creating "freedom beacons" and building a multiracial youth base demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how to build sustainable resistance movements through institutional non-compliance. The March 1 deadline for educational institutions creates an immediate focal point for resistance, while their fellowship program at major universities suggests they're building the organizational infrastructure needed for long-term opposition.
“Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right.” -- Ani DiFranco
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BEeirUzNz/
Can you consider raising awareness for this February 28th grassroots consumer strike on major chain retail purchases?
It's not clear who the primary sponsor of this protest is, And maybe you can figure it out or interview them?
In any case it seems worth publicizing.
Also your credibility and impact could be enhanced if you could at least identify one or more editors or writers so we know who you are in terms of your past background and experience? So far it's excellent and I've posted about it under Twitter @artl7. However I guess because you don't want to contribute to a fadcist-oriented platform ,you're not on Twitter whete most of the journalists and activistd still are although more are migrating to Blue sky. In the short run,to keep spreading the word of your publication you should also have a Twitter account?