Newsletter – June 27, 2025

KCfD Members,

As we head into the end of this week, there are two “I” words on my mind: ICE and Iran.

ICE

At the request of many of our group members who do not have the time to research this issue, I have put together a bullet-by-bullet fact sheet called, Understanding the relationship between ICE, the Oldham County Detention Center, and other local jails around Kentucky (linked below) that lays out the following:

• A history of the Oldham County Detention Center (OCDC).
• The legal liability issues with ICE 287(g) agreements.
• The financial incentives and motivations behind Oldham’s relationship with ICE.
• How what is happening in Oldham County ties in with the big picture, state and nationally.
• The moral imperative to oppose Oldham’s relationship with ICE
• A call to action – What you can do.

If you are as concerned about these issues as we are, this document will give you the tools you need to communicate with our local officials and/or state legislators (all links are provided for you to do so).

Understanding the relationship between ICE, the Oldham County Detention Center, and other local jails around Kentucky

Here are a couple of articles that are located in the footnotes of this document, which show why this ICE relationship with local jails in Kentucky must be opposed:

Illinois Mom being held in Kentucky jail

Nearly a third of all people held in ICE detention now have no criminal history, up from 6% in January

I also want to point out the excellent Letter to the Editor in this week’s Oldham Era by our own Alex LeBlanc about the placement of federal troops in LA.

Our efforts in this area are bearing fruit. There is hardly a week that goes by that I do not have a reporter from somewhere contact me to discuss this issue. This week, I had a long discussion with a Lexington Herald-Leader reporter. Hopefully, some exposure will come out of this contact.

Iran

We were all dismayed to hear this past Saturday that another U.S. President authorized a strike on a sovereign nation without a declaration of war, or even consultation from Congress. Unfortunately, President Trump follows a long list of Commander-in-Chiefs, both Democratic and Republican, since World War II, who have ignored Article I of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to declare war.

For a complete explanation of why our group opposed this strike, please read the following press release sent out the next morning from KCfD.

If you have not had a chance to see the interviews I gave to WDRB and WAVE 3 at the protest, go to KCfD in the news on our website, where both stories are posted.

Monica Dean Campaign Launch Party

We are extremely excited that our friend Monica Dean is having the launch party for her campaign this weekend! She is going for Thomas Massie’s congressional seat in the 4th District as a Democrat! 3-5 pm this Sunday, June 29th, at the John Black Community Center. 1551-KY 393 LaGrange, KY 40031

A User’s Guide for Quality Media

Be sure to check out the Educate section this week. We provide a media guide that offers some sources you may have never checked out before! In an era where you must weed through a lot of crap to get quality news, this guide will help you discover some unique sources and avoid some absolute garbage!

Shoutout!

I also want to give a huge shoutout to our new social media director, Kelly Young, who came on board this past month! She has worked tirelessly to pump out our material on multiple platforms. Because of her efforts, our material is not only going out on Facebook, but also on Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok. It is no accident that our social media traffic has increased by leaps and bounds!

Leadership Positions Needed:

With the rapid growth of our group, we need to expand our leadership team to keep up with everything we have going on. We are currently in need of a Media and New Member Outreach Director. We do not have any paid positions, but if you are passionate about this type of work, contact the email address below, and we can discuss.

Fundraising

If you can, please consider donating to support our efforts. There are multiple forms of payment provided once you are on the page.

Thank you!

In conclusion, thank you all for your support. Your interest and involvement are what keep us motivated. If you have any feedback or questions for our group, please email us at the address below. We love feedback, and we enjoy interacting with our ever-expanding community.

Keep up the good fight and let us know how we can help!

Please join us!

Hello KCfD!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am sure all of our heads are spinning from news induced whiplash. Well, due to vacation schedules and my fatal flaw of never meeting a deadline I didn’t try to push, we will be switching things up a bit with this newsletter. Instead of another installment in Eric’s excellent Keeping it Constitutional series, we will introduce a new parallel series more focused on the news of today, Keeping it Current. Check it out below.

I would also like to give a special shout-out to our very own Executive Director, Slider, who has provided this week’s Clickbait contribution. Besides the three very informative links I am highlighting below, he has prepared an entire User’s Guide for Quality Media to help keep our members well informed. 

Keep an eye out next week for the new Educate publication, Civics in Action: Knowing is Half the Battle, for the next installment of Keeping it Constitutional and Rhett’s new multi-part series, From Constituent to Candidate!

Did You Know?

The Byrd Rule, a critical hurdle in federal budget reconciliation, was created by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia in the 1980s, one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with birds, music, or song—though some staffers jokingly call complex budget reconciliation “a nest of Byrd droppings” because of the Rule’s technical hurdles and surprising power to kill major legislation!

Clickbait

A User’s Guide For Quality Media 

FAIR – (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) Fair has been around for a long time. They watch the media and call out news outlets’ connections to corporate interests, the military-industrial complex, and other sources of power that may bias what they report and ignore.

Open Secrets – Open Secrets has been the go-to source for years for finding out who is funding candidates’ and parties’ campaigns. This site tracks federal and state election returns so you can see what interests may be influencing candidates with big campaign contributions.

Heather Cox Richardson – Substack

Keeping it Current

To kick off the new series, we will review two pieces of legislation recently passed by the House seeking to reshape the power of the Judicial branch as it exists today; H. R. 1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) – which will curtail the courts’ ability to hold those who violate court orders in contempt unless a bond has been paid by the plaintiff – which could be in the millions of dollars in federal lawsuits – and H. R. 1526 – No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (NORRA) – which seeks to prevent nationwide injunctions being issued out of lower level courts. As one of the three branches of government and a significant check on executive overreach, any legislation that seeks to reshape the judiciary warrants the highest levels of scrutiny, not just by our legislators but by every American.

While arguments can be made for and against any piece of legislation, it is important to keep in mind that nothing happens in a vacuum. Context matters. Let’s take a moment to zoom out and review the current political and legal landscape into which these two pieces of legislation have been launched.

Most Presidents have sought to expand the power of the executive in some form during their tenure, often through the use of Executive Orders. Since returning to office, President Trump has issued approximately 163 Executive Orders in six months, 383 if you include his first term. This puts him on pace for an unprecedented rate of issuance, surpassing even the pace set by FDR during the New Deal Era…(continue reading the full article here)

The Educate Committee has a lot of plans in the works to bring you, our members, even more helpful content in a wider variety of media formats. We can always use a helping hand to get things off the ground, and as a group of middle-aged guys, we would love to expand the kinds of voices we elevate. If you want to get more involved in what we are doing or have helpful feedback on what you would like to see, please reach out and let us know! Thank you for continuing to be the light in the darkness.

In the Activate section, we try to give you little steps you can take if you want to make a difference any way you can:

Here are a couple of items from Activate committee member Michael Duncan:

• A list of companies that contributed to President Trump’s military parade, if that particular issue concerns you.
• If you are a small business owner, here is a guide you can download that helps you understand your rights if ICE or any other law enforcement were to show up at your doorstep.

M. Slider and possibly a couple of others will be at this protest on Monday, June 30th. Join us if you are able. It is at the Clark County Detention Center in Jeffersonville.

Contact Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s 4th District and thank him for his vocal opposition to the strikes in Iran.

Concerned about Oldham County’s relationship with ICE? Here are some steps you can take:

• A good start would be to end the 287(g) relationship with ICE. Our group has a petition you can sign that calls for a revocation of this agreement.
• Email Jailer Jeff Tindall at jtindall@oldhamcountyky.gov and let him know you would like to find a way to end our relationship with ICE.
• Email the Oldham County Magistrates and let them know you want them to stop funding the transport of immigration prisoners to and from the Detention Center.
• Email your state legislators and let them know you want the practice of Kentucky jails importing immigration prisoners for their per diem payments to stop.
• Show up to the Oldham County Fiscal Court Meetings and use public comment time to express your concerns.

Resistance 101s: The Basics of Fighting Authoritarianism

The King’s Protest on June 14 was a remarkable demonstration of peaceful resistance to Trump and the MAGA movement. Millions across the U.S. and the world gathered, cheered, chanted, sang, and marched to visibly show that democracy-loving people are fired up and disgusted by the authoritarian in the White House. Contrast the almost festive and energized No Kings marches to the Soviet Union-styled, poorly executed military parade (aka Trump birthday parade).

As I marched in Shelbyville and watched coverage of the protests across social media, I saw the basics of resisting authoritarianism beautifully demonstrated. As members of KCfD (and for anyone joining in on the resistance), it’s critically important to understand and utilize the tools/basics that research has shown to work. The overriding theme of those? Joy…Hope…and, Peaceful, strategic and sustained resistance.

Those first two might surprise you, but authoritarians thrive on fear, disengagement, and hopelessness. The mere act of showing up and engaging in nonviolent protests punctures the authoritarian’s veneer of having the unilateral support of citizens. It demonstrates that people are not afraid, not hiding in their homes, and are not resigned to the authoritarian’s way of governing. Joy and hope are contagious; they are the authoritarian’s kryptonite. The atmosphere of the Shelbyville protest could best be described as that of a Saturday family picnic…with signs.

The No Kings Protest and the upcoming ones also burst the bubble for many Trump supporters who are surprised and often shocked that so many “normal” people don’t share their views. These outward displays of dissent are a reality check for many. The hope, too, is that a space is created for those who might be ready to join a peaceful, growing movement that’s based on decency and democracy.

These protests are strategically planned, and a tremendous amount of effort is expended on making sure people are safe, that there is coordination across the country, and that there is a united message. While there have been two nationally coordinated protests and several boycotts since Trump took office, the reality is that success will center around sustained actions that continue to expose the cruelty, the illegality, and show the unwillingness of many Americans to accept corruption and incompetence.

As we know, authoritarianism is never defeated with passivity. I encourage you to call your elected leaders (at all levels), join our presence at local government meetings to question ICE involvement, and commit to joining upcoming protests and boycotts. Please check our calendar for events that you may want to be part of, as well as our website for resources for engagement. Also, I highly recommend signing up with mobilize.us and indivisible.org to get the most up-to-date information on events, trainings, and other pertinent items.

Please mark your calendars for July 16 – plans are underway for another national day of protest. KCfD will share more in the upcoming days. And, remember what the good Reverend Barber says: A king only becomes a king when we bow.

Hello all!

In our last Elevate meeting, we discussed this article and the ways that building community is resistance. We talked about some ways that we can help meet needs in our community. While we all know that fundraising is key to meeting so many goals, we want to come up with some ideas on ways that we can give back without actually giving money. We would like our group to be able to do both!

To that end, this summer we will be working on a school supply drive and a period product drive with the target to have this wrapped up for when school starts in August. Additionally, we discussed other ideas that don’t require a financial burden. I am going to list ideas below. If you feel passionate about one listed or have skills that you would be able to add, please let us know!

Free Yard Sale – One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and we could have just what you or someone in the community needs! The target date is September.

Homecoming Help/Dress Drive – Collect donations and set up some kind of closet

Back to school free haircuts – Is anyone a barber or hairdresser and willing to donate a few hours if we set this event up, or does anyone know if this is already taking place somewhere?

Share Garden Overflow – Donate to Mission House but is there a way we could create an exchange or does anyone know if this is already taking place?

Help with Cleaning or Yard Work – How to identify folks who need help?

Suitcase/Duffel bag drive for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) – many kids arrive to foster care with their belongings in trash bags

Are there groups you know of who are already doing work like this? Please reach out and let us know; we would love to be able to jump in without re-inventing the wheel.

Want to get involved more? Join us on the committee! Reach out to Tarah LeBlanc (tarah.c.leblanc@gmail.com).

June 24-30: National Boycott of McDonald’s

Sunday, June 29th – Monica Dean Launch Party – 3-5 pm this Sunday, June 29th, at the John Black Community Center. 1551-KY 393 LaGrange, KY 40031

Come join Monica as she kicks off her campaign to unseat Thomas Massie for U.S. Congress in the 4th District! Monica will be running on the Democratic ticket.

Monday, June 30th – Clark County ICE protest – 8:30-10:30 am – Clark County Detention Center – 501 E Court Ave #159, Jeffersonville, IN 47130

Thursday, July 17th – Good Trouble Lives On Rally – Shelbyville, KY – 4-6 pm – 6th Street between Main and Washington. KCfD will be there! Come out and join us!

Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of nonviolent action to respond to the attacks posed on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration and to remind them that in America, the power lies with the people. We honor the late Rep. John Lewis in his dedication to enabling people to vote in our candlelight vigil. We honor his life and leagacy.

July 19 – Oldham County Day – KCfD will be present with a booth and giveaways!

KCfD General Meeting – Tuesday, July 22nd – St. James Episcopal Church, 401 La Grange Rd, Pewee Valley, KY 40056 – 6:30-8pm

KCfD General Meeting – Thursday, Aug. 28th – St. James Episcopal Church, 401 La Grange Rd, Pewee Valley, KY 40056 – 6:30-8pm

Check our calendar on the KCfD website for more information about these events.