Onward through the Bullshit

They Had a Bad Week

You know it, I know it, and the American people know it.

Now is the time to ratchet up the pressure and make the protests even bigger and louder.

We Had a Good Week: McCaul Town Hall Update

GREAT NEWS from the team working on a plan to hold an Empty Chair Town Hall for Mike “AWOL” McCaul: they’re very close to securing a venue within District 10!

That means that we are FULL STEAM AHEAD for an event on Saturday, April 26 at 10 am.

We’ll have a breakout group specifically for planning this event at our meeting next Thursday, April 3. (Don’t forget to RSVP!)

About Our Next Meeting ….

More than 100 people have RSVP’d … this is shaping up to be another high-energy, high-impact event. And this time we’ll have plenty of space and plenty of seating!

Next week we’ll be asking you to pre-register for a breakout session (so we can put the biggest groups in the biggest rooms). To remind you, here are the sessions we envisioned:

• Activism 101:  If you are new to activism and/or are operating under intense time constraints, this group will identify some of the simplest actions you can take regularly that really make a difference.

• Arts, Music, Culture:  For the creatives among us that would like to help FORWRD-ATX tap the rich community of artists in Austin and bring their talent to bear on our efforts, this is the group for you.  

• Writer's Room:  Do you develop talking points for a living and/or in the shower? Have you been frustrated by the Democrats’ messaging and want to take a crack at it? Come unleash your muses here.

• Brand Activation:  Following the presentation of FORWRD-ATX's brand work during the large group session, this break-out group will consider ways to focus and amplify the network's effect locally, and how best to disseminate our values and methods to others (we are regularly being asked).

• Merch & Swag:  If a design charrette is your speed, join this group to identify or mock-up potential posters, apparel, and other merchandise for FORWRD-ATX members to carry/don in the world in coming weeks and months.  Most pressing will be the Hands Off Protest on April 5th.  How might we make our mark there?

• Adopt a Winner:  At a recent rally, Congressman Lloyd Doggett encouraged attendees to "adopt a winner" - that is, identify (and throw our weight behind) one or more candidates anywhere in the country with a fighting chance of winning us back some leverage in Congress in 2026.  While this break-out group will not be identifying potential candidate(s) on April 3, we are seeking early input on the criteria and considerations we ought to be giving to this longer-term initiative. 

• Repair and Restore to Resume:  If your general mood is: "I just can't", then look no further. Join this circle to catch your breath, recenter, and generally re-energize. 

• McCaul Town Hall: We’ll need help planning, promoting, and executing this event. We’ll need district outreach and talking points. Let’s hold his feet to the fire for rubber-stamping the illegal and unpatriotic Musk/Trump agenda!

If you’re not excited by one of these, please reply to this email and let us know what breakout session you’d like to see. Our goal is that everyone leaves feeling energized and inspired, ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work on a tangible project. Let’s make that happen together!

How Things are Working Right Now

• Beehiiv: Our official home on the web. You can come here to access our calendar or other resources, and read all our past messages. You can also share this URL (forwrd-atx.beehiiv.com) with your like-minded friends to invite them to join.

• Signal: This is the daily stream of conversation among members, a way to share what you’re seeing and hearing and thinking about, and learn from each other. It can get overwhelming, we know, and we’re open to ways to adjust it to make it more user-friendly. We’ve found that it helps to turn off the notifications when new messages come in. (We’re also considering adding a “Links from Signal” page here on Beehiiv, so that everyone can keep up with the chatter ….)

• Email: You can always reach us via email at [email protected].

FORWARD-ATX CALENDAR Highlights

Click the link above for more details and to RSVP to any of these events:

• There are some cool webinars all hyperlinked on the calendar, including “Digital Defenders” (Women’s March team) and “How to Talk to Your Son About Fascism,” by an author of the book of the same name.

• TONIGHT (Friday, 3/28): Texas Democratic Party Chair Candidate Forum, Hotel Vegas

• TOMORROW (Saturday, 3/29): Cesar Chavez March for Justice
  Rep. Lloyd Doggett will be speaking after the March

• TOMORROW (Saturday 3/29): Tesla Takedown This week’s Tesla Takedown is a “Global Day of Action.” From the Austin organizers: “We are speaking to the Austin PD … to get more information and find out how the police can work with us and other resistance groups in Austin to help keep us safe. We will keep exercising our First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful assembly!

• And don't forget the HUGE nationwide Hands Off rallies on April 5th. From Indivisible: "April 5 isn’t just a protest -- it’s a recruitment drive. There are millions of people watching this crisis unfold, waiting for a reason to jump in. We need to show them the resistance is real. We’re proving they won’t be alone if they choose to fight. That courage is contagious -- and public, peaceful resistance is how it spreads." Be sure to RSVP and help spread the word with their incredible Social ToolKit.

  
  If you have events that you'd like to add, you can send an email to this address, [email protected], with the word "Calendar" in the subject line.

Thanks to calendar volunteer Wendy Salome
for maintaining this valuable community resource!