@maddow.msnbc.com

And definitely, NEVER let it slip that access to the DUBW can only be gained by enlisting Ben Gates to reveal the secret codes hidden in Antarctica.

I would, of course, never suggest revealing the existence of the Federal Department of Underwater Basket-Weaving, as it would almost certainly divert Doggie’s laser-focus on destroying democracy as we know it.

She concocts a fictitious target for Umbridge’s attention - Dumbledore’s “secret weapon” - drawing Umbridge’s focus away from the Hogwart’s students as they organized to protect their community from the true threat, Voldemort.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hermoine makes a desperate attempt to stave off the cruel authoritarian (Professor Umbridge).

Kennedy Center performance featuring Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is canceled www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

I don’t know what stage you’re in, but if you’re grieving too, know you’re not alone.

Let’s turn our grief into action.

#Resist #ACLU #DefendDemocracy #NotMyPresident

🚫 Acceptance? – No. Not now. Not ever. Some things should never be accepted. Democracy is worth fighting for, and as long as there is breath in my body, I will resist its demise.

💔 Depression – The exhaustion of watching rights stripped away, truth drowned out, and injustice metastasize. The fear that we are powerless against it.

🙏 Bargaining – Maybe if we vote harder, donate more, raise our voices louder—maybe we can turn this tide. Maybe this is just a phase, not the end of something once great.

🥺 Denial – “This can’t be happening. Surely checks and balances will hold. Surely people will see what’s happening and stop it.”

🤬 Anger – At every broken norm, every abuse of power, every lie that goes unchecked. At those who enable, those who look away, and those who cheer it on.

I never thought I would witness the collapse of democracy in the United States that feels increasingly inevitable, yet here we are. And like grief, it comes in waves:

My program’s mission - “…to prepare public service professionals to address problems of democratic governance with ethical, inclusive, and effective leadership…” - felt like a calling. I refuse to accept that this calling was in vain.