“This Far, No Further.”

September 19, 2026

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Protesters took to the streets in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening to form a human chain around the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

And so it begins.

The strong emotional reaction of millions of Americans to Trump’s possible assault on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has given protesters a place to draw a line in the sand. Not a sprawling city, not the economy, not the Constitution, not the rule of law. A building. A physical structure, a monument made of stone and steel that reminds Americans of an age that celebrated grace and culture, bravery and leadership, science and audacious ambition.

Protesters know that their presence at the Kennedy Center raises the stakes, daring the administration to act against Americans who personify the constitutional right to “peaceably assemble” and “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The protesters have become the memorial to a slain president by protecting the Constitution that he swore to protect and defend. They and the building have merged into a single monument that will defeat Trump. An attack on one is an attack on all. Not just on the protesters in D.C., but on every American whose disgust and anger have reached the boiling point.

The protesters numbered in the hundreds, or maybe in the thousands. The size of the protest is less important than its symbolic power: This far, no further.

The Kennedy Center will become a rallying point for the resistance. Trump will lose no matter what. He will back down or escalate. Either way, the resolution will be a new beginning for the resistance, not an end. Trump’s Waterloo. How fitting that it takes place in the literal and figurative shadow of the memorial to the president who gave us Profiles in Courage.

We have had enough.

This far, no further.

Trump says he will ban MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House.

Aspiring tyrants have always tried to suppress freedom of speech and the press. In 1722, sixteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin stepped in to run The New-England Courant while his older brother was in jail for offending colonial authorities. With that attack on freedom of the press firmly in mind, Franklin published the following excerpt from the London Journal:

Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech; a Thing terrible to Publick Traytors. [¶]

That Men ought to speak well of their Governours is true, while their Governours deserve to be well spoken of; but to do publick Mischief, without hearing of it, is only the Prerogative and Felicity of Tyranny: A free People will be shewing that they are so, by their Freedom of Speech.

This bears repeating, three centuries later: A free people show that they are so by their freedom of speech.

On Friday, Trump threatened to ban MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House. See CNN, Trump says he’s ‘banning’ CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

Trump's petulant threat to ban three leading news outlets from press briefings at the White House is a pathetic sign of weakness and desperation. It cannot stand, and it will not. Trump has lost this issue in two prior iterations, and a third loss is on appeal.

For our purposes, the overreach is so repugnant that it will drive away more independents and wavering Republicans regretting their vote in 2024. In an evenly divided electorate, a pickup of a few percentage points can flip a handful of tight races, adding to a wave election.

This latest ban offers a lesson for the media. If the White House press corps had walked out en masse the first time Trump banned a reporter from the White House, he would not have done so again. A point on which the press corps should reflect over the weekend.

Media coverage is oxygen to Trump. Without it, he will suffocate. The press corps has leverage over Trump as he flails and fails. Walk out. He will beg for you to come back.

Trump is trying to intimidate the press to prevent the true magnitude of his failures from receiving accurate coverage. Read on!

New report: Pentagon is undercounting U.S. military deaths from Iran war

Per the Washington Post,

More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, according to six U.S. officials familiar with the Defense Department’s internal casualty accounting data.

See WaPo, More U.S. troops have died amid Iran war than Pentagon has disclosed publicly.

The Pentagon is undercounting by pretending that the initial war against Iran is over, attributing the additional deaths to new operations in the Middle East that are part of the same war.

Moreover, the Pentagon appears to be underestimating the cost of the war. The Washington Post reports it has reviewed an internal Pentagon document that says the Iran war “has cost about $43.6 billion through early September. The total includes $28 billion in munitions expended during the conflict but does not account for the damage to U.S. bases.”

Damage to US bases is extensive. If it is excluded from the 43 billion figure, the true total could be significantly higher.

On Friday, Trump suggested that his ban on news outlets could be expanded, calling out the “disgusting” Washington Post by name. No mystery why.

The administration is undercounting the number of measles deaths in the US

Pennsylvania reported two more measles deaths this week, bringing total measles-related deaths to four and the total cases of measles in the state to 3,471. But according to the CDC, there have been zero deaths from measles in the US.

Why?

Because in the past, the CDC relied on states to report measles deaths. Because the existence of measles deaths contradicts the administration’s anti-vaccination policy, the CDC has suddenly decided that the federal government will determine when a death is measles-related. But because the new federal definition has not yet been finalized, the death count sits at zero. See US News, US CDC Works on Standard Definition for Measles Deaths as Cases Rise.

Four additional screenings of Lightworkers documentary

Filmmaker Bobby Roth and Today’s Edition Newsletter will be hosting four additional online screenings of the Lightworkers documentary. Each free screening will take place at 4 pm Pacific / 7 pm Eastern on the following dates:

Tuesday, September 24 | Register

Tuesday, September 29 | Register

Tuesday, October 6 | Register

Thursday, October 14 | Register

Lightworkers is an inspiring documentary about the power of grassroots organizing and civic engagement. It meets the moment and will give you a much-needed boost as we sprint toward the midterms.

Join one of the online screenings above or go to Lightworkersdoc.com to watch the film on demand ($5) or to host a screening for a grassroots group (free).

Some readers who joined this week’s screening via a browser could not see the video. With Zoom’s help, we resolved that technical issue. If you were unable to see the film during Tuesday’s presentation, please register for one of the upcoming screenings.

In-person group screenings continue and are a great way to build community and raise funds for your group. (See below, e.g., the in-person screening in Seattle on 9/24 by Wallingford Indivisible.)

Opportunities for Reader Engagement

In-person screening of Lightworkers in the Wallingford area of Seattle on 9/24

Get inspired for the final push to the midterms! Join Wallingford Indivisible (Seattle) and Communities Rising for a special screening of Lightworkers, a Documentary Film about Democracy, Hope, and Civic Action, followed by a virtual Q&A with director Bobby Roth,at the Keystone Church in Seattle’s Wallingford area on September 24 from 6:00-9:00 PM.

Get your ticket ASAP; seating is limited to 75. Questions? Contact us at wallingfordindivisible@gmail.com

Postcards to Voters (PTV) needs your help!

PTV is on fire! Addresses and scripts are being distributed for lots of campaigns from Abby the bot. Many more campaigns are waiting for their turns, if we can get to them. WE NEED HELP!! The lists are very big. We are a giant national team and together we can do tons!

As of tonight, there are 6 campaigns up for you to choose from: Red-to-Blue candidates for Congress Denise Powell in NE-02; Nancy Lacore in SC-01; Dr. Amish Shah in AZ-01; and Bobby Pulido in TX-15 paired on one card with James Talarico for US Senate.; along with Roy Cooper for Governor & Justice Anita Earls in NC. Campaign scripts for GA, WI, IA and OH are in the works.

There are In-Person writing sessions on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning near Union Square, NYC next week. Join us!

If you have already joined PTV, then you can just go to Web Abby to request addresses & script. If you have never joined but would like to now, then email Join@TonyThe Democrat.org. Check back often for new campaigns! The more volunteer writers, the better!

Concluding Thoughts

New polling continues the trendline of Democratic candidates making gains in swing states and deep red states. We cannot be distracted by the polls. Although we can see the finish line, the volatility of the political environment means that we must redouble our efforts to protect against unexpected setbacks. Moreover, it is not enough for us to win; we must hand Democrats a mandate to begin the work of reclaiming democracy through bold action.

Talk to you tomorrow!

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Pro-democracy protest photos.

Within the national activist group Th!rd Act, our DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia) resisters formed a new subgroup called DMV Kayak Action.  We held our first major event on Sept. 17 in Washington, on the Potomac River beside the Kennedy Center. Our signs said Hands Off Kennedy Center and Elders Fighting for Climate & Democracy and Your Vote Can Rock The Boat. 

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There were 45 of us here in Howard County (MD) over I-95, greeting the usual busy Friday afternoon traffic. We emphasized “VOTE AND BE HEARD!” northbound and “211 DAYS OF TRUMP’S WAR!” southbound. We had great responses. 

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September 18, 2026, Shelburne, VT: Reasons To Vote demonstration, hosted by Champlain Valley Indivisible

Many honks and waves were received, and very, very few negative responses were directed at us as people came through Shelburne Village this evening.

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Pasco County FL Democrats. Ready to canvass in a very Red County which we are turning Blue!

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North Country Resilience volunteers displayed messages today, 9/18, on the I-93 overpass in Franconia Notch in Franconia, NH.

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Friday in Tolland CT

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Our group, Blue CD2 New Mexico, doesn’t have boots on the ground.  Instead we keep in touch with 40,000 reluctant voters in the huge, rural NM 2nd Congressional District year in and year out to motivate them to vote.

This billboard (recently put up in Alamogordo and Socorro New Mexico) is one of eight this year.  We also send postcards, texts and programmatic ads.  

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Visibility Brigade! GOTV in St Augustine, FL

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13 Sept. 33rd & Killingsworth Photos!!!

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Cumberland, Maine Friday, Sept 18 postcard writing to get out the vote

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Sarasota, FL represents!

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Westchester Citizen Therapists Indivisible registered college students at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY.

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Friday, September 18, 2026. A small but intrepid group of volunteers from SCI Visibility Brigade in Bridgewater, NJ displayed a meaningful economic message to morning rush-hour traffic on I287.

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Voting message from the Raleigh Bridge Brigade in Raleigh, NC

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Lewis Terrace Newton MA 9/18/2026

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Make Good Trouble Get out the vote event 9-17 in Ambler, PA

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Indivisible Lake Norman, NC . Postcards and Vote Bracelets

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Carpinteria, CA. We took a break from writing postcards today and made some posters 

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Hudson River Brigade took to Croton, NY bridge to ask WTF?! WHAT THE FUEL?! and to remind folks to VOTE ‘EM OUT! (and we even had a little pilates action in the process!!)

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We’ve been bannering over this and other local highways since February of 2024 and have never had such constant and enthusiastic responses the entire 2 hours. It felt to all of us that the damn is breaking…. The messages today seemed to have more cross-over than usual …election security and working toward a Blue Wave…and that the lake we live on is and always will be LAKE ONTARIO and our love/respect of our neighbors to the north. Our spirits were raised by the east-going and west-going cacophony!

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Today, September 17th, a group from “Field Team 6 “ based in Westchester came together to help students at Pace University, Pleasantville NY register to vote. With training by Gabe we were able to register 7 students. We all were impressed by how many students were already registered to vote. It gives us hope.

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Democracy on the Corner, Hopewell, NJ 9/17/26. Every Thursday, 5:30-6:30.

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Focus on Social Security - Cambridge, MA, Alewife Parkway

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“A group of friends gathered in Great Barrington, MA to write get-out-the-vote postcards from Markers for Democracy for a PA House race in a district that can be flipped. Besides getting out the vote, we had lots of fun.”

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September 17, 2026, Colchester, VT

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Chesapeake Indivisible is working with other local Indivisible organizations to get ALPRs out of Maryland.

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Friday September 18, 2026 - Vancouver, WA - Banners Over I-5 Freeway Rally on the Evergreen bridge. Wake up America! If you’re not outraged with what’s happening, you’re not paying attention! Vote them out!

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Washington Heights, NY was greeted with honking, waves and fist pumps in response to our “END THE SH*TSHOW - VOTE EARLY” and “GRAB ‘EM BY THE MIDTERMS”. Felt like they understood their assignment!

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Shenandoah County, Virginia Democrats. First day of voting and we are there!

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Albany, CA Face Down Fascism Friday action bringing back the theme: “Disco Balls not Wrecking Balls” 

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San Jose, CA.  Indivisible San Jose’s  messages today resounded with drivers as the honks and waves were continuous on both sides of the freeway. The loudest support came from the truckers and motorcyclists,  rarely was negative response noted.  

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We were out for our regular Friday Visibility Brigade in Lawrenceville, NJ. We’ll keep it up weekly until the election! Lots of honks and waves.

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9/18 -  Exit 2, I-91 VT,  Friday bridge brigade

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Photos from Face Down Facism, Berkeley CA. 9/18/26

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Bethel CT Bridge Brigade Photos 9/18/26

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Brooklyn Bridge Visibility Brigade (Laurel, MD). Our I-95 northbound overpass sign today. We coordinate messaging with the group at the Gorman Road Visibility Brigade just a few miles north.