Get Your Donation to Newton Indivisible Matched!
Donations are the only source of funding for the expenses of our resistance. This month, any amount (up to a limit) you donate here or by check (but not by Venmo!) will be matched by National Indivisible (detailed instructions are at the end of this newsletter).
One example of our resistance work is our Know Your Rights group, which offers local businesses a packet of materials about employee protection. According to one group leader, “In the first round, we canvassed 100 businesses. The canvassing we did in Wegman’s plaza and Chestnut Hill Mall went very well. Businesses are so appreciative to get the materials.” The group and their packets, which so far have cost over $1000 to print, make Newton a safer place to work. Please help us continue growing and resisting.
Quote of the Week
“When resistance finally achieves power, it must act with ruthless clarity and speed to transform the structures that enabled oppression.”
— Tad Stoermer, A Resistance History of The United States.
Action of the Week: Prepare to Vote in the September 1st Primary
Check your voter registration status here. Your ballot is also available at that link. Early voting has already begun. The primary election day for Massachusetts is Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
Extraordinary Courage by Protestors
Last September, at ICE’s insistence, Burlington Police arrested Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor, Nathan Phillips, and Eleanor Reid for attempting to deliver food to people being held at the ICE Office in Burlington, Massachusetts. Nastasia and Nathan were scheduled to go to trial this Wednesday, August 26th, 2026.
The Middlesex County District Attorney’s office has dropped criminal trespassing charges against two anti-ICE protesters, just days before the beginning of the trial. Activists had said they planned to use the court case to highlight detention conditions inside ICE’s New England field office.
Instead of striking a deal with prosecutors, Nathan Phillips and Nastasia Lawton-Sticklor decided to go to trial and bring witnesses to testify about the controversial facility. “I am disappointed that we weren’t able to tell those stories in [court] and really shed light on what’s happening,” said Lawton-Sticklor, a Leominster-based activist who was representing herself pro se in the proceedings. “But I also think that criminalizing protest is not a good thing.”
Elections Actions Team
Your assignment this week: Sign the pledge to protect the 2026 elections! Indivisible is launching the Election Defense Corps, a grassroots network of volunteers dedicated to protecting the right to vote before, during, and after the 2026 election. When federal protections are removed, defending democracy becomes a community effort.
By signing the pledge now, you’ll receive strategic updates via email and text, training opportunities, and critical calls to action during key election protection moments. Tell your friends in other states to sign as well. Then head over to the Elections Action Team webpage to explore other ways to take action!
The Elections Action Team’s next meeting will take place on Monday, August 31st, at 7:00 p.m. If you’re not already on our distribution list, please email elections@newton-indivisible.org to receive the Zoom link.
Federal Incumbent Report Cards
Six US Congressmen from Massachusetts have received failing grades in the Political Integrity Index—an analysis by the Political Integrity Project, an independent, nonpartisan watchdog tracking the money behind American politics.
U.S. Representatives Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Bill Keating, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, and Richard Neal each received “F” grades in the latest index. In contrast, the two US Senators for Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, received “A+” and “A-” grades respectively.
Candidate Forum for Newton’s US Congressional District
We hosted forums to virtually meet the Democratic candidates to represent Massachusetts’ Fourth US Congressional District (CD-4), which includes Newton. Watch the forum recordings of challenger Jason Poulos and incumbent Jake Auchincloss. Or read more about Jason Poulos here and Jake Auchincloss here.
Surveillance Status Check
Watch a timeline of the recent evolution of Massachusetts as a surveillance state. While Newton may now only have Flock surveillance at the Pike and other vehicle-based automated license plate readers (ALPRs), Newton recently hired a Police Chief who is on record as strongly supporting surveillance technology, and Massachusetts as a whole has failed to protect its residents from surveillance.
Massachusetts does not regulate the use and implementation of ALPRs—unlike New Hampshire, which passed a law requiring deletion of ALPR data that is not connected to an alleged crime within 3 minutes of its capture. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the Massachusetts legislature has failed to pass any laws to protect its people’s privacy.
The ShoeString reports that in Easthampton, another Massachusetts “welcoming community,” the police department purchased ALPRs—without oversight from a mayor or city council. The Easthampton police department shared its ALPR data with police departments across the country. Police departments have searched Easthampton’s data for “ICE pick up” and “Immigration (civil/administrative).” The EFF reports that public records confirm that law enforcement has searched similar data for what they characterized as a “death investigation … of a non-viable fetus.”
Governor Healey announced in February that employees of the Massachusetts executive branch would use ChatGPT. Without having solicited their opinion, Healey asserted that executive branch employees were “eager to embrace this new technology.” ChatGPT claims that Massachusetts’ use of AI complies with state privacy laws. Indeed, Healey’s announcement itself may enable more AI surveillance by the executive branch. See Mass. Gen. Law Ch. 22 Sec. 99 (finding that “the uncontrolled development and unrestricted use of modern electronic surveillance devices pose grave dangers to the privacy of all citizens of the commonwealth,” and restricting secret use of surveillance technology).
There is no option for employees or residents to opt out of the use of AI. The Shoestring reported in April that at least 40 state agency functions, many of which touch sensitive resident data, are now or may imminently be powered by AI. Some of these AI applications include processing Medicaid claims, use of Meta Ray-Bans in the chief medical examiner’s office, and answering questions for Mass.gov visitors.
US House Republicans have introduced bills aimed at preventing state regulation of data privacy. Representative Auchincloss, who represents Newton in the US Congress, has accepted substantial donations from the founders of Palantir—a company that builds data integration, analytics, and AI platforms for government agencies, military branches, and large commercial enterprises.
Watch Darth Vader extol the benefit of flock technology.
People Power Primer: US Constitution 101
The US Constitution starts with three articles that create the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches of the federal government, respectively.
Article I, Section 1. “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” In other words, the US Congress has all the power to make federal law. Congress is made up of the House and Senate.
Article II, Section 1: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” In other words, the President has the power to execute the law. The President does not have any power to make law because the Constitution gives Congress all the law-making power. For example, any executive orders issued by a president are not law.
Article III, Section 1: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Thus, the Congress has some power to create lower courts in the federal court system. But as Alexander Hamilton put it in The Federalist No. 78, judicial independence “is the best expedient which can be devised in any government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.”
Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” In other words, the federal government at most has the powers that the Constitution delegates to it. The states and the people retain their own powers. For example, state courts generally decide questions of state law.
Rallies
Join us this Saturday, August 29th, from noon to 1:00 p.m., at our 77th RESIST standout in Newton Centre Green at the intersection of Beacon and Center Streets. Bring your own signs. Check out The Big List of Protest Signs for ideas. Contact rallies@newton-indivisible.org for more information.
Laughtivism Action Team
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 9th, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at our usual meeting place in Newton Centre. Please bring cartoons, articles, quotes, and actions that are inspiring and funny related to the elections. For more information and location, contact laughtivism@newton-indivisible.org.
Donate to Newton Indivisible
You can donate to Newton Indivisible to help defray our operating expenses. To donate via credit/debit card, click here. To donate via Venmo, pay @newton-indivisible. To donate via check (minimum $50), make a check out to “The Indivisible Project” with “Newton Indivisible” in the memo line and mail it to:
Newton Indivisible
c/o Larry Denenberg, Treasurer
31 Ripley Street
Newton, MA 02459-2209
Donations to Newton Indivisible are not tax-deductible.
More Opportunities to Take Action
Please visit our Opportunities to Take Action page for a listing of important ongoing initiatives. The list is updated weekly along with our newsletter.
Contribute Newsletter Items
To submit items for inclusion in our Newsletter, please send them to newsletter@newton-indivisible.org and include an image if possible. Submissions will be edited for brevity and clarity. The submission deadline is Monday at 8:00 a.m., and the newsletter goes live on the website and is sent to our mailing list on Tuesday mornings.
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This weekly newsletter is brought to you by Newton Indivisible. To send a message to the leadership team, use our Contact Form or email info@newton-indivisible.org.
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