We Win If We Don’t Give Up

Trump is weak. Abbott is weak. Republicans are weak.

Aug 26, 2025

Today, a United States veteran was arrested in Washington, DC, for setting an American flag on fire in front of the White House, shortly after our so-called President signed an Executive Order making it illegal and punishable by up to a year in prison.

The Supreme Court previously ruled that flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment, making today’s arrest not only unconstitutional but a direct assault on the very freedoms that the flag is supposed to represent.

This comes on the heels of Trump’s plans to send the National Guard to 19 states, including Texas.

Needless to say, we are not in a very good place as a country right now.

Be angry, but don’t feel despair.

Join the resistance.

If you haven’t already, make Mobilize your go-to app. Sign in to discover events in your town and neighborhood, happening almost every night of the week, including online events.

I’m trying to keep the list of candidates updated. If a Democrat is running in your area, volunteer now. If we want to get Democrats elected next November, the work starts now.

Every single county in Texas needs precinct chairs. The most concrete path forward is with precinct chairs in every precinct vacancy. If you aren’t one already, consider becoming one. Find and contact your local County Party here.

In 2024, there were 4.3 million eligible voters who weren’t even registered to vote. Powered by People, Beto’s group, is the largest organization focused on registering and turning out voters. Volunteer for them.

This coming election, Mothers Against Greg Abbott are going to be door-knocking all across the state. Sign up with them if you’re ready to help.

And if you’re ready to get out there and protest, join your local Indivisible group or find a local 50501 event.

If learning that veterans are being arrested for something that is supposed to be protected under the First Amendment angers you, then turn that anger into action.

There’s an online anti-fascist book club that meets once a month. Next month, they’re reading George Orwell and Matthew MacWilliams.

Find your communities where you live, whether that be through your local political groups or online. And trust that there are many layers to the resistance, and we’re all needed at each level. Whether that’s protesting in the streets, donating silently, educating yourself, or having tough conversations with your family and friends, we’re all traveling in the same direction. We just cannot stop, under any circumstances.

Are you on TikTok much?

The TikTok rumor last week was that a psychic predicted the orange one was going to croak of natural causes on August 24th. Obviously, that didn’t happen, so millennials don’t believe in magic again. But the discourse the entire week was around this psychic prediction.

I bring that up to tell you that although psychics are not real, I can predict the future.

Unemployment grew sharply in July, and Gen Z (especially young men) is unemployed at high rates. The AI revolution has already started, and despite recent chatter about a possible “bubble pop,” AI replacing employees is a trend that isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.

And while Trump fired the BSL Chief, to hide that the unemployment numbers are going up, he isn’t going to be able to hide the unemployment problem forever. I see a lot of young people in the DFW area on TikTok talking about how hard it is to find a job right now.

Last week, in Texas, another wave of mass layoffs hit from San Antonio to Dallas, from UPS, CarOffer, TechWerks, and Promises Behavioral Health. This, after job losses surpassed 35,000 in Houston in July. The hardest hit this year, so far, has been in North Texas.

Republicans are trying to hide it. Greg Abbott is bragging about the economy. Trump is firing the guy who publishes the data, but the unemployment in Texas is going up, and it’s Trump’s fault. It’s Abbott’s fault. It’s the Republicans’ fault.

And that needs to be repeated, again and again.

And holy shit, have you gone to the grocery store lately?

Food prices are up 2.9%, but they are expected to continue rising. Economists remain steadfast that we are headed for a recession.

What do you think is going to happen in six more months, when hundreds of thousands more people are unemployed, have no money, and housing is unaffordable? And it’s Trump’s fault. It’s Abbott’s fault. It’s the Republicans’ fault.

And a year from now?

The resistance is going to grow. Which is why setting the foundation for it now is more important than ever.

And Democrats will have a blowout in 2026. We just have to make it until then.

So yes, things are bad.

Veterans are being arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights. Trump is deploying troops against his political enemies. People are losing jobs, groceries are expensive, and housing is out of reach. The Republican machine is doing everything it can to break us, silence us, and strip us of hope.

But despair is the one luxury we cannot afford.

The truth is, we’ve been here before, at moments when democracy looked fragile, when authoritarianism was clawing at the door, when the powerful thought they had the final say. And every time, ordinary people organized, resisted, and fought back until the tide turned.

That’s our job now. To push forward. To build community. To keep showing up, precinct by precinct, protest by protest, conversation by conversation. Because the only other option is surrender, and that is not on the table.

The resistance isn’t abstract. It’s you, it’s me, it’s all of us. And if we keep at it, if we refuse to back down, we can and will win. 2026 is closer than it feels, and history is being written right now.

So take your anger, bring your fear, take your exhaustion, and turn it into action. Because together, we’re not just going to survive this. We’re going to beat it.