Not My Last Heart

Years ago, in response to some scolding, a beloved child told me, “Mom, you broke my last heart!” I know the feeling, but I also know that there is no “last heart.” 

What the Trump/Musk cabal is doing to our country, to our world, is heart-breaking. But that is not the end of it. I refuse to give in or give up or stop fighting. 

Even when my heart breaks over what my government is doing in my name, I will not quit living and loving, failing and falling, getting up and going on. I take heart again from brave people speaking out and fighting back. 

• Representative Al Green was censured by the House for standing up to Trump during Trump’s address to Congress. Green was called to the well of the House to hear the censure resolution read. At least 20 other Democratic Representatives joined him there, singing “We Shall Overcome,” as House Speaker Mike Johnson tried unsuccessfully to get them to shut up and sit down. Eventually, Johnson gave up and recessed the session.   
• Danielle Sassoon quit her job as acting U.S. Attorney, refusing to follow the administration’s order to dismiss corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. “The reasons advanced by Mr. Bove for dismissing the indictment are not ones I can in good faith defend as in the public interest and as consistent with the principles of impartiality and fairness that guide my decision-making,” she wrote in her letter of resignation. Six more senior prosecutors also resigned rather than follow the clearly corrupt order. 
• Nicholas Enrich, a high ranking administrator at USAID, gave the news media internal memos estimating the numbers of people who would suffer from the Trump/Musk closure of USAID: millions of additional malaria victims and more than a hundred thousand dead; 200,000 children paralyzed by polio each year; a million severely malnourished children no longer given food assistance. He was placed on “administrative leave.”
• Maine Governor Janet Mills refused to back down when challenged by Trump in a White House meeting. “We’ll see you in court,” she told him. 
• Lin Manuel Miranda canceled a scheduled run of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center. “The Kennedy Center was not created in this spirit, and we’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center,” he said. “We’re just not going to be part of it.”
• Keith Ellison and 22 other Democratic state attorneys general are waging legal battles against the Trump/Musk cabal. 

Beyond official Washington, people packed town halls of Republican representatives, demanding that they listen to their constituents instead of Musk. 

Growing numbers of protesters take to the streets. 

In Willmar, Minnesota, more than 300 people came out in the cold to protest Trump, Musk, and Republican Representative Michelle Fischbach this week. 

That’s one protest in one city. Across the country, there are thousands more. 

When I feel overwhelmed by grief and despair, I take heart from their example. And, of course, in the words of others fighting the same fight. Like the posts from Jess in Missouri, writing as a fighting Democrat in a red state:

“I will not run. I will not compromise. I will not collaborate. I will be the opposition. 

“I know this is a lot for all of us, but I have decided I will do one thing a day to stop the fascism creeping in. …

“We can’t do everything, but we can do one thing. One thing. Every day. I can’t run away, but I can stand up.”

I know I cannot save the country. Neither can you. But we are not alone. Each outraged citizen shouting at a town hall meeting, each protester holding a sign in subzero wind chills, each anonymous person with their hand-written protest Post-It notes, each judge defying threats from Musk and Trump and their goons—we are in this together. 

So grab your felt marker and Post-It notes, your protest sign, or your telephone and list of politicians, and stay in the fight. 

x x x x x

Just in case you need an easy action, try calling a Representative. If you are shy, call after hours and leave a message on the answering machine. If you can’t get through to the DC office, try a local office. Keep the pressure on! The New York Times reports:

“Congressional phone lines have been jammed to the point of failure, according to lawmakers and officials on Capitol Hill, in a stark reflection of a political system buckling to a breaking point under an emboldened and unbound Mr. Trump.

“Calls are pouring in from constituents outraged about Mr. Trump’s unilateral moves and how he has allowed Mr. Musk to gain access to and begin dismantling critical parts of the federal bureaucracy, and demanding that members of Congress take a stand against them.”

Here are the office numbers for all of Minnesota’s Representatives. You can call your own representative, or you could call all of them. 

Minnesota 1^st District. Brad Finstad—Republican
Washington, D.C.
2418 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2472

Rochester
2746 Superior Dr. NW, Suite 100
Rochester,  MN  55901
Phone:  (507) 577-6140

New Ulm
110 N. Minnesota St., Suite 5
New Ulm, MN 56073
Phone: (507) 577-6151

Minnesota 2^nd District  Angie Craig—Democrat

Eagan, MN Office
1915 Plaza Dr, Suite 202
Eagan, MN 55122
651) 846-2120

Washington, DC Office
2052 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2271

Minnesota 3^rd District Kelly Morrison—Democrat

Washington DC Office
1205 Longworth House Office Building 
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-2871

Minnesota 4^th District Betty McCollum—Democrat

Washington DC Office
2426 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-6631
Fax: (202) 225-1968

St. Paul Office
661 LaSalle Street, Suite 110
St. Paul, MN  55114
Phone: (651) 224-9191
Fax: (651) 224-3056

Minnesota 5^th District Ilhan Omar—Democrat

Washington DC Office
1730 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-4755

Minneapolis District Office
310 E 38th St
Suite 22
Minneapolis, MN  55409
Phone: (612) 333-1272

Minnesota 6^th District Tom Emmer—Republican

WASHINGTON, D.C.OFFICE
326 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2331

OTSEGO, MN OFFICE
9201 Quaday Ave. NE
Suite 206
Otsego, MN 55330
Phone: (763) 241-6848

CHASKA, MN OFFICE
1107 Hazeltine Blvd
Suite 476
Chaska, Minnesota 55318
Phone: (952) 262-2999

Minnesota 7^th District Michelle Fischbach—Republican

Washington, D.C. Office
2229 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2165
Fax: (202) 225-1593

Moorhead District Office
2513 8th Street S
Moorhead, MN 56560
Phone: (218) 422-2090

Willmar District Office
2211 1st Street S
Suite 190
Willmar, MN 56201
Phone: (320) 403-6100

Minnesota 8^th District Pete Stauber—Republican

Washington DC Office
145 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC  20515
Phone: (202) 225-6211

Brainerd Office
Brainerd City Hall
501 Laurel Street
Brainerd, MN  56401

Cambridge Office
Cambridge City Hall
300 3rd Avenue NE
Cambridge, MN  55008

Chisholm Office
Chisholm City Hall
316 W Lake Street Room 7
Chisholm, MN  55719

Hermantown Office
5094 Miller Trunk Hwy
Suite 900
Hermantown, MN  55811
Phone: (218) 481-6396