Bearing Witness to Bravery
Meeting local resistance groups; answering calls for actions - together
I joined a small group of local resistance activists on a pedestrian bridge near my house in Fort Worth Friday morning at 7AM. They display oversized messages on the overpass for rush hour commuters every Tuesday. Friday it in coordination with the Be Brave With Us Campaign by Visibility Brigade. I didn’t know any of the people and wasn’t really there to join, so I just decided to show up and report on it. You never know how just showing up with a camera and a microphone is going to go, but you learn about about people in moments like this that’s hard to replicate in any other way. I loved what I learned Friday.
There are a number of local MAGA figures who wear their service on their sleeve and project that supporting the President no matter what defines patriotism. Ken Shimamato in the video is the third local veteran I’ve found this month being vocal in different ways in defense of the United States Constitution. The last thing he said to me today was “Thank you for being here, brother. Because you’re here, this really happened.”
I also met a older gentleman who’s been holding about sign about Trump on the busiest non-highway in my neighborhood seemingly every day, for months. He seemed like a character from Facebook post, but meeting him and hearing the absolute heartbreak about feeling like he was losing his country and Constitution was both moving and inspiring. The organizer Sabrina Ball is the head of the resistance group Indivisible 12 for my congressional district. Here’s the full vide, but there’s more below:
Rallies, Unexpected Protests & Surprise Hearings - Oh My!
This week and weekend already had a full schedule of resistance activity with the seemingly most important event being Saturday’s Move Texas rally at the Austin Capitol about Texas’ sham mid-decade redistricting process. However, a funny thing happened on the way into a pretty coherent weekend schedule. A community group in Bryan, Texas announced a protest against Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s improper transfer to their small town where she’s being kept in a deluxe minimum security prison and possibly qualifies for work release. That seems more where the attention should be than Austin and also like it needs people more than the crowd that will likely be in Austin.
Today — Leave Fort Worth by 7:30 AM to make the 10AM-3PM Hearing. A CLEAR member from New Braunfels is driving up while I’m driving down grabbing sign making signs on the way.
Sunday — in what should be shocking news, the Texas Senate posted a calendar for Sunday that includes probably the last hearing for citizens to be able to testify to the Senate Redistricting Committee. The seat for my Senate District 9 in Fort Worth has been empty since June and the election is not until November. People that would love to testify can’t go. I won’t miss it for the WORLD, and I’ll be more prepared on content, emotional precision, and timing.
Monday — Hearing content and outreach day. For the first hearing, I posted the full length Senate video with chapters for each speaker and, besides sharing on social media, I reached out to every person who testified with their own specific video. That was very effective I believe.
Tuesday — I’m interviewing the Democrat candidate for Fort Worth Senate District 9’s special election, Taylor Rehmet.
Wednesday — a local pastor and I are going to the ICE recruiting facility to hand out Constitutions, Bill of Rights and tracts on Biblical passages related to immigration while interviewing anyone who will agree on camera.
Doing this Together
On togetherness, besides all of the people sending encouraging notes, I want to thank what’s turned out to be the most passionate and supportive group that I work on these issues—nurses. I literally cannot afford these trips and I received an unexpected Zelle from a nurse just south of Fort Worth that will go a long way to covering the gas for one of them. Another is leaving New Braunfels at 7AM today to join the protest at Maxwell’s club fed.
If you’d like to help Substack subscriptions, Zelle/Venmo donations, and Amazon wishlist items really help. The traditional kick off for campaign season is Labor Day and we’re already at a late October pace. Speed is their tool, but that speed also creates chaos and potentially fatal mistakes. I’m here to be ready to pounce—there’s no passive, casual observer path to stay there. Help is appreciated.