An Andisheh Almanac

Tag: Trump

  • ICE kidnapped my friend

    Reza Zavvar and his grandmother

    Reza Zavvar was kidnapped by ICE while walking his dog in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Why do I call it kidnapping? Because he is not charged with any crimes; he hasn’t committed one. He’s a legal, permanent resident of the U.S. and has been for 40 years. His detention is cruel and unjust.

    Many of us know him as a friend and Walter Johnson High School Alumni classmate. I know him and his family as extraordinarily kind, thoughtful friends who held me and my mother up when my dad was dying of cancer.

    This NBC4 story refers to him as a gentle giant. That’s exactly right. We played high school football together, and one of my clearest memories is Reza’s worried face looking down at me after he accidentally knocked me out during a tackling drill. That our team had a starting defensive tackle whose primary personality trait is empathy might help explain our team’s poor record that season.

    His kindness, his loving family, and the affection so many have for him should not matter. He’s a human being with human rights—a legal resident of a nation of laws. Reza should be at home right now. Instead, he’s being held in an ICE jail in Texas while his family grieves and tries to figure out how to get him back the freedom that is the right of every person in this country.

    Keep Reza in mind and spread the word about what is being done to him and others like him, others like us.

  • Tell your representative and senators to fight Trump harder and louder

    If Trump’s coup against Constitutional rule horrifies you, you write a letter to Congress and call.

    I know from professional experience that members of Congress pay attention to their constituents. It doesn’t mean they always act accordingly, but if enough people push, they will bend.

    I live in Georgia’s 5th Congressional district. I’m represented in the House by Rep. Nikema Williams and in the Senate by Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock. I have left phone messages with all three of them, and several emails.

    Find your representatives and your senators here.

    Here’s my latest letter to them. You’re welcome to use it and adapt it if you find it helpful:

    Hi, my name is [NAME]. I am one of your constituents. I live in [City, State, Zip Code]

    I voted for you. I donated to your campaign, and regularly volunteer in support Democratic candidates.

    I am calling to implore you and your Democratic colleagues begin treating Donald Trump’s historic crime spree like the mortal threat to the republic that it is. 

    Trump is conducting a coup against Congress’s Constitutionally mandated control of the nation’s budget. And every day since January 20, it seems Trump has committed an impeachable crime bigger than the day before.

    Trump will not stop. He must be stopped. We elected you to try to stop him.

    I implore you and every Democrat to tell your constituents every day that Trump is committing historic crimes that must be stopped and punished. No one is stopping Democrats from using their voices to rally the country.

    I implore you tell media and constituents that restoring the rule of law and protecting Constitutional rule is your top priority. Every day. Make it the only issue.

    I demand you take every opportunity to stop Republican initiatives you can stop, and slow the ones you can slow. Withhold Democratic support for any budget resolution or debt ceiling increase until the rule of law is restored. No unanimous consent until the crimes stop.

    Trump is carrying out a coup and so far Democrats are taking a wait and see attitude. Our house is burning and Democrats are worried yelling “fire” might upset a mythical swing voter somewhere.

    I’m taking note of who is forcefully and convincingly speaking up for democracy – Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. Sen. Brian Schatz. Rep. Sean Casten. Sen. Adam Schiff. and handful more. I want to put your name on that list.

    History, and voters, will remember as heroes the people who fought for our country and the rule of law. They will remember everyone else as collaborators and enablers who fiddled while American democracy burned.

    I’m begging you to scream and yell about Trump’s real and unprecedented crimes with the same intensity and relentlessness as Republicans scream about made-up crimes.

    We need your leadership now.

    Sincerely,

    NAME