Voice or Silence

Vol. 5, No. 6 23 June 2025

VOTE BY MAIL

The list of those who receiced a ballot by mail for the last election has been purged. In order to vote by mail in future elections, a request for a ballot should be made soon. The easiest way is online; click here for the Miami-Dade link. To get a mail-in registration form that is good state-wide, click here. A person can request a ballot-by-mail for another, if s/he has the other's permission and identification information.

ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ

More destruction of people's rights, of the Everglades, and of what has been known as a "republic ... with liberty and justice for all" has been proposed. A good write-up about this has been published by South Miami's long-term Mayor, Philip Stoddard. Click here to read about the proposal, who made it, and what it could mean.

NO KINGS PROTEST

On June 14, there were protests across the United States and in some European countries.

I was one of the approximately 2000 at the Torch of Friendship at Bayfront Park. Where I was, people were friendly and complimenting each other on their signs.

"Organizers estimated that more than five million people participated in more than 2,100 cities and towns across the country, according to statements by No Kings and the American Civil Liberties Union, a co-sponsor of the protests. The No Kings statement said the day saw the largest coordinated protests since the start of the second Trump administration.

A crowdsourcing effort to tally participation was led by data journalist G. Elliott Morris, who wrote on June 15 that "back-of-the-envelope math" put total attendance "somewhere in the 4–6 million people range. That means roughly 1.2–1.8% of the U.S. population attended a No Kings Day event somewhere in the country yesterday." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kings_protests

"Wasow compared protest movements to standing ovations given at a theater. 'We see a cascade effect: if one person stands after the curtain drops, then more follow,' he said. 'If 1.8% of the US adult population showed up to protest on Saturday, those are the people who stood up to clap first. It sends a signal to all these other people that you can stand up, too.' " https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/no-kings-how-many-protesters-attended

MY TAKE AWAY

As the weeks pass and more and more hard-to-accept events take place (like the United States bombing a county it is not a war with, and criminals being pardoned or not prosecuted), I come face-to-face with what feels like powerlessness. And then I think of the extermination camps and the quiet (as far as I know) cititizens of Germany and France and ....

I no longer have the energy, nor the quickness of mind to be an elected official. BUT I can speak up, and I can vote.

Keep safe, stay healthy.