ICO Newsletter - 4/16/25
More rallies this Weekend
Another round of rallies are planned for this coming Saturday in dozens of cities across the state. Here’s info about a few in Central Ohio:
The event in Columbus is an opportunity to show up with your signs and express your dismay with what is happening in our country. There will be a couple of scheduled speakers, but also an opportunity to spread out up and down High street with your amazing signs. It would be fantastic to see protesters stretching for blocks on either side of the Statehouse! If you don’t have signs or don’t like to stand, consider “drive by protest”: Supportive honks really lift the spirits of those standing on the roadside!
Westerville: Noon-1:30pm, Westerville City Hall.
It’s exciting to see rallies popping up in cities and towns big and small across the region! Please give these events some love.
Reynoldsburg: 11am-noon, Reynoldsburg City Hall
Circleville: 12-3pm. Address after registration.
Lancaster: 2-4pm, Fairfield County Courthouse
Newark: 1-2pm, Courthouse Square
Delaware: 12-1pm, 1 Sandusky Street
Marysville: noon-2pm, Uptown Marysville at the intersection of 5th and Main
Trump openly defies the Supreme Court
There is no shortage of urgent issues to protest. Top of the list is Trump’s refusal to follow SCOTUS’s ruling requiring the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after his illegal (and erroneous) deportation to a notorious El Salvadoran prison. Words cannot adequately express how alarming this is. It’s a five alarm fire for our democracy.
Maybe you will be inspired to make a sign about this for this weekend. Here is another idea for how to push back.
MILLION LETTERS TO SCOTUS CAMPAIGN
Instructions:
ASAP, let’s flood the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) with a million letters urging them to use their power to hold this administration accountable.
Below is a sample letter to handwrite or type to all nine Justices. (Nine names and address are below)
Feel free to make the letter your own and include the importance of due process, separation of powers, and checks and balances. Be respectful and do not write anything that could be misconstrued as threatening. Consider personalizing the envelope or letter so as not to appear as a form letter.
Please send this campaign info and request to five friends and ask them to also send it to five friends. If you happen to have friends who are lawyers or law professors, it’s especially important to urge them to write.
Dear Chief Justice or Justice [last name],
You have ruled that Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be returned to the U.S. and given due process. It’s shocking to see a president ignore a clear Supreme Court order.
Without your intervention, there will be a major breakdown of the checks and balances that keep our democracy solid. If it is not compelled to follow the rule of law, what is it to stop the current administration from deporting U.S. citizens or anyone else they want without due process?
I am urging you, for the sake of our democracy, to use your power and enforce the rule of law and court decisions.
Sincerely,
Your name
_____________________________________________________________
US Supreme Court Justices receive mail at the same address. If you are able to write a letter to each Justice, please use the following address and use this format:
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Chief Justice John Roberts
Justice Clarence Thomas
Justice Samuel Alito Jr.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Justice Elena Kagan
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
If you can only write one letter, write to:
Clerk of Courts
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
RALLIES & PROTESTS
Find info about these protests & more in the Events section of our website, indivisiblecentralohio.org.
Wednesday, 4/16/2025: Weekly Wednesday’s at Bernie’s, 12pm, Bricker Federal Building, 200 N. High Street. All hell is breaking loose in the country and our members of Congress are missing - Especially Bernie Moreno! More info and register HERE.
Weds, 4/16/2025: Weekly Hold Highway Signs! 4:30-6pm, over 71 and 315 (details in the sign up). Every week we have a new highway sign project. Bookmark this Sign Up Genius and join the team! (We have the signs. You bring the manpower.)
Saturday, 4/19/2025: 50501 Rally, noon - 2pm, Ohio Statehouse and other locations. See the flier and list of events above.
Saturday, 4/19/2025: Weekly Tesla Protest! 4:30-5:30, Easton Tesla Dealership. Join the weekly Tesla Takedown protest! Please make sure to ignore any counterprotesters and annoying drivers. Any fighting or fuss just looks bad on us and literally gives Elon fodder to attack us. Even driving by and giving us a supportive honk is appreciated!
Tuesday, 4/22/2025: Congressman Mike Carey Office Visit, 2-4pm, 140 E Town Street. Ohio Congressional District 15: Let’s meet with our US Congressman, Mike Carey, so that he can have a real conversation with his constituents. We will go to his office at 140 E Town St, and ask for a meeting with Carey or his staff. Bring your talking points, and we can present our concerns. More info and register HERE.
Tuesday, 4/22/2025: Support Veterans Rush Hour Rally, 4:30-5:30pm, Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care Center, 420 N James Rd, Columbus. Join our Rush-Hour Resistance Rally to protest the cuts to the VA and support veterans! Registration (plus more info about the location & parking) HERE.
*** Saturday, 4/26/2025: Save the Date for a Carey-related action at Schiller Park (across from where Carey lives)! Time and details TBD.***
Thursday, 5/1/2025: National Day of Action, Fight for Public Education! 4:30-7pm, Ohio Statehouse!
Miscellaneous Action, Information and Invitations
You’re Invited – Join Indivisible Central Ohio: Rise Up and Sing Together
Rise Up and Sing Together is back! We believe in the power of singing together to build community. We invite you and anyone passionate about freedom, justice, and community to join us in song. After a two-month hiatus, we will resume meeting once a month to sing songs that inspire and ground us. Members are invited to recommend songs from Rise Up Singing, Rise Again, or other sources for us to sing and play together. Whether you sing, play an instrument, or just love the idea of connecting with like-minded people through music, we welcome you.
If you are interested in joining and aren’t already on our list, please complete this form to let us know. Thanks!
Easy Daily Resistance Action —Enhance Your Email Signature
One simple way to take a daily action is to set up your email signature to add an anti-authoritarian message. Let everyone receiving any email from you know that you actively resist the current political landscape. You can state that you are a “Democracy Defender” or that you support something specific, “Supporting Public Education Daily.” It's another way to remind people that what is happening is not normal and they are not alone in their opposition. Some suggestions:
Your Name Here
Doing Good Trouble Every Day
No Kings in America
Stop the Coup!
Immigrants Make America Great
A New Tool — OSU’s “Impact Map - The Impact Project”
OSU has developed a new, interactive tool that assesses the impact of Trump Administration cuts to counties and districts. This may be a very timely tool to use as you prepare your letters/emails/calls to elected officials, prepare for meetings with them, when drafting testimony, or authoring Letters to the Editor. It’s a “living” document and will be updated as new information becomes available. Check out The Impact Map.
Info about the Insurrection Act
Some questions have come up about the possibility of Trump invoking the Insurrection act. Check out this useful resource from Indivisible national: Could Trump Invoke the Insurrection Act? What to Know—and How to Prepare.
Don’t forget 5 Calls!
In all of this chaos, we have to continue to pressure our Senators and Representatives and demand that they step up to stop the madness. Pressure is needed especially on Husted, Carey and Balderson! 5 Calls is an easy way to make these important calls daily.
Linktree & “Join us” Interest Form
TAKE ACTION THIS WEEK
The Ohio budget is moving from the House to the Senate and is full of harmful provisions. Some of the most important are highlighted below.
1. REQUEST Full Implementation of Fair School Funding Plan
What’s new: The full House has passed a substitute version of HB 96 (the budget bill), which removes the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan from the budget. After recess, the Senate will consider Sub HB 96.
Sub HB 96 would: Eliminate the implementation of the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan and increase funding for school vouchers, transferring additional public tax dollars to private education with little government regulations or oversight.
What to do (LEVEL – URGENT):
Contact Senate President Rob McColley – 614-466-6344; rep78@ohiohouse.gov (Consider asking Pres. McColley if he plans to act on Matt Huffman’s orders, or if he will run his chamber independently.)
Contact these Senate Finance Committee members:
Jerry Cirino, chair - 614-644-7718; cirino@ohiosenate.gov
Brian Chavez, vice chair - 614-466-6508; chavez@ohiosenate.gov
Paula Hicks-Hudson, ranking member - 614-466-5204; hicks-hudson@ohiosenate.govContact your state senator
Consider contacting additional senators (find a list here)
Sample script:
My name is ______ and I’m calling from [full address if leaving a message]. (Start by sharing your own positive public school experience if applicable.) The House Republicans’ proposed budget is shameful and unacceptable. If Ohio does not fully phase in the Fair School funding Plan, rural areas will be hit hardest, but the 90% of kids in Ohio who attend public schools will be affected no matter where they live. I expect [elected official] to support the state budget ONLY if it fully phases in the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan, INCLUDING updated cost inputs. I will be sharing [elected official’s] response with my friends, family and networks.
Want to know more? Take a look at the Honesty for Education budget resource.
OPPOSE Elimination of the Requirement that a Percentage of the General Revenue Fund Be Dedicated to the Public Library Fund
What’s new: House reps made changes to Gov. DeWine’s proposal in Sub. HB 96 (budget bill) that would drastically cut state funding for public libraries. The House version of the budget (now in the Senate) has gutted and reworked the Public Library Fund.
What this does: The Public Library Fund will remain, but lawmakers will determine the funding amount, rather than using a fixed percentage of the state’s revenue.
What to do (LEVEL – URGENT):
Contact these members of the Senate Finance Committee:
Jerry Cirino, chair – 614-644-17718; cirino@ohiosenate.gov
Brian Chavez, vice chair – 614-466-6508; chavez@ohiosenate.gov
Paula Hicks-Hudson, ranking member – 614-466-5204; hicks-hudson@ohiosenate.gov
Contact your state senator
Say or write something like this:
Hi. My name is ____________ and I’m calling from [full address if leaving a message]. I urge [elected official] to restore the Public Library Fund to at least a fixed 1.7%, the current amount of state revenue. Ohio’s public libraries depend on funding from the state’s Public Library Fund. This fund not only sustains day-to-day operations, but also the books, resources, programs, and services that all Ohioans, from children to seniors, rely on. [Say how important the library is to you and your family, and how a cut to libraries will affect you and your neighbors.] Thanks for your consideration.
Want to know more? The budget can bring out the best in Ohio and the Public Library Fund.
SUPPORT Continuation of the Child Tax Credit – Refundable Income Tax Credit for Parents with Children up to Age 6
What’s new: The child tax credit was removed from the state operating budget in the Ohio House.
What it does: Ohioans with children up to age six would have received a refundable income tax credit (5% of a taxpayer’s income, capped at $1,000 per child). The tax credit would phase out based on income. Families could use the child tax credit to pay for groceries, rent, etc.
What to do (LEVEL – URGENT):
Tell Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino to put the child tax credit back in the budget bill: 614-644-7718; cirino@ohiosenate.gov
Tell these Finance Committee members to help put the child tax credit back into the budget bill:
Brian Chavez, vice chair – 614-466-6508; chavez@ohiosenate.gov
Paula Hicks-Hudson, ranking member – 614-466-5204; hicks-hudson@ohiosenate.gov
Lou Blessing, member – 614-466-8068; blessing@ohiosenate.govContact your state senator
Sample script:
Hi. My name is ____________and I’m calling from [full address if leaving a message]. The child tax credit has been removed from the House version of the budget bill. Ohio business leaders, prominent nonpartisan organizations, and the Chamber of Commerce support the child tax credit. I urge [elected official] to help put it back in the budget. Thanks for your consideration.
Ideas and Inspirations for You
Short listen: Trump confronted by pissed off americans
Scherb: 10 questions Congress must ask Elon Musk | Opinion | thedailynewsonline.com
Upcoming Events (Calendar view)
Wednesday, 4/16/2025: Gathering for Good, 4:30-7:30, Mozart’s, 4784 N High St, Columbus. You are invited to an evening of connection, stories and fundraising for CRIS. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar. No ticket or RSVP is required, but feel free to RSVP to the Facebook event where we will continue to post additional info. You can also donate to the Indivisible Central Ohio fundraiser for CRIS HERE.
Wednesday, 4/16/2025: What’s Next in the Fight? 8-9pm, via Zoom. “On April 5, millions of Americans took to the streets—in big cities and small towns—to remind Donald Trump and Elon Musk that our democracy doesn’t belong to billionaires—it belongs to the people. This wasn’t just a one-off event. It was the start of something bigger. Join Hands Off! for a nationwide call to find out how we can build on the resounding success on April 5th and keep the pressure on Trump, Musk, and their enablers in Congress.” Register HERE.
Saturday, 4/26/2025: Town Hall with invited “Representative” Troy Balderson, 1-3pm “Balderson needs to face our community! We need to hold Balderson accountable for bowing down to Trump, Musk, and their billionaire friends at the expense of the American people. "Representatives" like Balderson are the ones rolling out the red carpet to authoritarianism. We need to let them know we see their actions, and we will not stand by. We must spotlight their refusal to fulfill their duty to the very people who elected them. We may have a few special guests joining us! (You **must** use THIS Mobilize link to register, and we will send you the location of this event 24 hours before.)
Sunday, 4/27/2025: Postcard Party! 6pm, 219 W Dublin Granville Rd. Let’s stand up for democracy while building a community via a postcard writing party. We will supply cards, snacks and drinks. Feel free to bring anything to make the postcards more fun to read with stickers or markers. For those who are able, stamps are appreciated. Register HERE.
Wednesday, 4/30/2025: Indivisible Central Ohio Social Hour! 6pm, Wolfe’s Ridge Tap Room. Our first ICO social hour is coming up soon! Look for the people in the political t-shirts.
Mia & Linda for the Indivisible Central Ohio Team
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