Voices and Vision August 11, 2025

This was a week with more bad news than good for our democracy. We are grateful to Robert Reich for writing about finding optimism, and thank goodness for humor, as in the AI generated Mr. Rogers video.

The week ended with a slew of alarming attacks on the rule of law . Joyce Vance summarizes these, saying, “I don’t want to depress everyone, but I believe in being a realist, and it hasn’t been a great week in America “

What is going on in Texas? Jon Lovett of Pod Save America/Crooked Media interviews Texas State Representative James Talaric, who explains Trump’s drastic voter redistricting power grab, and why it matters beyond Texas, for the future of democracy in our country.

We’ve heard about Trump efforts to dissolve the EPA. Read here how the Trump administration is taking back an already awarded $62 million dollar grant to Maine to expand solar access for low-income families.  

Ever feeling like giving up this fight for democracy? In his Sunday Substack, Robert Reich encourages us to keep going, because it’s the right thing to do — whether or not we succeed.

For a moment of real feel-good, watch an AI generated video of Mr. Rogers telling ICE they are not welcome in his Neighborhood!