Welcome to our new Chair
Welcome to our new Chair for the MCDC! Butler Knight will bring a wealth of experience and energy to share.
Thoughts from our Chair
January 27, 2026
Good afternoon Dems,
Republicans are finally starting to speak up with Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, stating that the federal immigration operations are "at worst...a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that is resulting in the murder of Americans...The president should pause these operations, de-escalate the situations, and reset the federal government's focus on truly criminal illegal immigrants. In the absence of presidential action, Congress and the courts must step up to restore constitutionality." Maybe someone is listening because Gregory Bovino is out and Tom Homan is in, hopefully the lesser of two evils.
1. Tuesday, in lieu of NO TYRANTS Tuesday, there will be a vigil to remember Alex Pretti at 5:00 on the Liberty Square Courthouse Green, 10644 Buckley Hall Road. If you are interested in making a new sign, "ICE OUT" or "No $ for ICE" are good messages.
2. Update: the Mathews County Public Schools' Community and Civic Group Tour will take place on February 3 at Thomas Hunter Middle School, 9:00-10:00 AM. Two representatives from each community or civic group are allowed. If you are interested, call Butler Knight at (804-366-0024) for registration information.
3. Update: DPVA Legislative Day scheduled for 1/29/26 has been rescheduled for 2/3/26 at 8:30 at the General Assembly Building. If you are interested in attending, you can register using this link https://forms.gle/fTj8YdomyPmDAaaD6
4. NAACP collections of health supplies for MCPS. The Mathews NAACP is doing a drive to collect boxes of tissues and containers of disinfectant wipes for every classroom in the Mathews County Public Schools. It seems that the schools are without these supplies that are essential during the cold and flu season. You can bring your donations to the Alex Pretti Vigil tonight. Collections will be delivered on the February 3rd Mathews County Public Schools' Community and Civic Group Tour.
4. If you don't already subscribe to Wittman Watch, it is worth the deep research dive https://www.wittmanwatch.com
5. Keep calling our Congressional delegation to object to any more funding for ICE in the upcoming Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The funding bills must pass by January 30 to avoid another government shutdown. I was informed that Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are opposing more funding. You can call and thank them, Kaine 202-224-4024 and Warner (202-224-2023), and shame Wittman (202-225-4261) for endorsing violence and the public execution of Alex Pretti Wittman.
6. Update: VADC reported that the proposed Redistricting maps may still be released by the end of this week.
Stay warm and be safe,
Butler
And remember....
If you missed the CD1 candidates' forum held by the Historic Triangle Democrats last Thursday, you can view it on YOUTUBE here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&list=RDph1GU1qQ1zQ&start_radio=1
Republicans are finally starting to speak up with Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, stating that the federal immigration operations are "at worst...a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that is resulting in the murder of Americans...The president should pause these operations, de-escalate the situations, and reset the federal government's focus on truly criminal illegal immigrants. In the absence of presidential action, Congress and the courts must step up to restore constitutionality." Maybe someone is listening because Gregory Bovino is out and Tom Homan is in, hopefully the lesser of two evils.
1. Tuesday, in lieu of NO TYRANTS Tuesday, there will be a vigil to remember Alex Pretti at 5:00 on the Liberty Square Courthouse Green, 10644 Buckley Hall Road. If you are interested in making a new sign, "ICE OUT" or "No $ for ICE" are good messages.
2. Update: the Mathews County Public Schools' Community and Civic Group Tour will take place on February 3 at Thomas Hunter Middle School, 9:00-10:00 AM. Two representatives from each community or civic group are allowed. If you are interested, call Butler Knight at (804-366-0024) for registration information.
3. Update: DPVA Legislative Day scheduled for 1/29/26 has been rescheduled for 2/3/26 at 8:30 at the General Assembly Building. If you are interested in attending, you can register using this link https://forms.gle/fTj8YdomyPmDAaaD6
4. NAACP collections of health supplies for MCPS. The Mathews NAACP is doing a drive to collect boxes of tissues and containers of disinfectant wipes for every classroom in the Mathews County Public Schools. It seems that the schools are without these supplies that are essential during the cold and flu season. You can bring your donations to the Alex Pretti Vigil tonight. Collections will be delivered on the February 3rd Mathews County Public Schools' Community and Civic Group Tour.
4. If you don't already subscribe to Wittman Watch, it is worth the deep research dive https://www.wittmanwatch.com
5. Keep calling our Congressional delegation to object to any more funding for ICE in the upcoming Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The funding bills must pass by January 30 to avoid another government shutdown. I was informed that Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are opposing more funding. You can call and thank them, Kaine 202-224-4024 and Warner (202-224-2023), and shame Wittman (202-225-4261) for endorsing violence and the public execution of Alex Pretti Wittman.
6. Update: VADC reported that the proposed Redistricting maps may still be released by the end of this week.
Stay warm and be safe,
Butler
And remember....
If you missed the CD1 candidates' forum held by the Historic Triangle Democrats last Thursday, you can view it on YOUTUBE here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&list=RDph1GU1qQ1zQ&start_radio=1
Mourning in America
What you can do to Organize
This is copied from an essay from Robert Reich (who I follow on Substack) on January 26. I love that he frequently has a list of things to do... Diane
Today we mourn the death-by-execution of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. I use the term execution intentionally because they were murdered intentionally by Trump’s goons. (I’ve seen the videos; I’m sure you have as well.)
At times like this, Gandhi used to say, “The truth is revealing itself.”
To show our grief and solidarity, you might want to wear a black armband this week and light a candle in your window this evening and for the remainder of the week.
But there is much more to do than mourn. As the labor leader Joe Hill asked in 1915 just before he was executed: “Don’t mourn … Organize.” The best way to honor the memories of Alex Pretti and Renee Good is to take action against the forces that executed both of them.
Obviously, your energies are needed in organizing your congressional district and your state for the midterm elections, and getting out the vote. (I’ll be back in coming months with detailed suggestions for how.)
But the midterms are nine and a half months away. In the meantime, Trump and his thugs can do a great deal of damage if not stopped. What can you do now?
A few action items occur to me:
1. Tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the Department of Homeland Security spending bill they’ll be considering this week — unless ICE is disarmed and prohibited from using racial or ethnic profiling and its agents are explicitly liable to criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits. At the very least, DHS’s funding should be slashed. If DHS is shut down after January 30 because no spending bill has been enacted, so be it. (The congressional switchboard is: (202) 224-3121.)
2. If you’re represented by Republicans, call them and demand they rein in ICE. They need to hear from you. Some Republicans are beginning to come around. (Remember: They now have a margin of only 3 votes in the House.)
3. Urge your state attorneys general to join with other state AGs and to investigate ICE, the Border Patrol, and their leadership (Noem, Miller, Trump), with a view toward possible criminal prosecution. Trump cannot pardon them or protect them from state-level prosecutions. (You can locate the office of your state attorney general through the National Association of Attorneys General website or the USAGov directory. Most offices have official websites with online complaint forms, phone numbers, and mailing addresses for submitting consumer inquiries, complaints, or reports.)
4.. If ICE is coming to your city or is already there, call on your mayor and your state police to protect those protesting ICE.
5. Circulate a pledge in your community to oppose ICE if and when it arrives there. Aim for signatures from 10 percent of the adults residing there.
6. If you are a member of your local Indivisible group (or if you’re not a member, join one; or if there’s none in your community, start one), suggest a general strike. What might this entail? I can imagine three elements: (1) no one goes to work (call in sick), (2) no one buys anything (stock up beforehand), and (3) no one uses social media (except Substack). In coordination with other Indivisible groups and other resistance groups across America, decide what date and for how long. (Then let me know!)
7. Isolate the United States economically, even more than Trump is doing. If you live in an EU country, urge your government to activate the Anti-Coercion Instrument. The Trump regime represents a clear and present danger to the world, including the sovereignty of European nations. The Anti-Coercion Instrument in the EU would allow the sanctioning of Trump regime officials, freezing of assets of corporations benefiting from the theft of Venezuelan oil, and expulsion of U.S. forces from European bases.
8. Allow the U.S. dollar to fall. Under the Trump regime — which is actively trying to take over the Fed, America’s central bank, and is dissolving ties with the rest of the free world — the dollar is becoming a highly risky currency. It’s already falling. Allow it to fall further. If you work in a large global corporation, urge your top executives to do the firm’s international transactions in currencies other than dollars. If you are in a large financial institution, urge traders to dump dollars.
Clearly, this is an incomplete list of the peaceful “good trouble” we could make. If other actions occur to you, please share them with the rest of us in the comments.
Friends, have courage. Be strong. Hug your loved ones. Remember Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Please do not succumb to fear or despair. We will be victorious.
Today we mourn the death-by-execution of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. I use the term execution intentionally because they were murdered intentionally by Trump’s goons. (I’ve seen the videos; I’m sure you have as well.)
At times like this, Gandhi used to say, “The truth is revealing itself.”
To show our grief and solidarity, you might want to wear a black armband this week and light a candle in your window this evening and for the remainder of the week.
But there is much more to do than mourn. As the labor leader Joe Hill asked in 1915 just before he was executed: “Don’t mourn … Organize.” The best way to honor the memories of Alex Pretti and Renee Good is to take action against the forces that executed both of them.
Obviously, your energies are needed in organizing your congressional district and your state for the midterm elections, and getting out the vote. (I’ll be back in coming months with detailed suggestions for how.)
But the midterms are nine and a half months away. In the meantime, Trump and his thugs can do a great deal of damage if not stopped. What can you do now?
A few action items occur to me:
1. Tell your U.S. senators to vote NO on the Department of Homeland Security spending bill they’ll be considering this week — unless ICE is disarmed and prohibited from using racial or ethnic profiling and its agents are explicitly liable to criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits. At the very least, DHS’s funding should be slashed. If DHS is shut down after January 30 because no spending bill has been enacted, so be it. (The congressional switchboard is: (202) 224-3121.)
2. If you’re represented by Republicans, call them and demand they rein in ICE. They need to hear from you. Some Republicans are beginning to come around. (Remember: They now have a margin of only 3 votes in the House.)
3. Urge your state attorneys general to join with other state AGs and to investigate ICE, the Border Patrol, and their leadership (Noem, Miller, Trump), with a view toward possible criminal prosecution. Trump cannot pardon them or protect them from state-level prosecutions. (You can locate the office of your state attorney general through the National Association of Attorneys General website or the USAGov directory. Most offices have official websites with online complaint forms, phone numbers, and mailing addresses for submitting consumer inquiries, complaints, or reports.)
4.. If ICE is coming to your city or is already there, call on your mayor and your state police to protect those protesting ICE.
5. Circulate a pledge in your community to oppose ICE if and when it arrives there. Aim for signatures from 10 percent of the adults residing there.
6. If you are a member of your local Indivisible group (or if you’re not a member, join one; or if there’s none in your community, start one), suggest a general strike. What might this entail? I can imagine three elements: (1) no one goes to work (call in sick), (2) no one buys anything (stock up beforehand), and (3) no one uses social media (except Substack). In coordination with other Indivisible groups and other resistance groups across America, decide what date and for how long. (Then let me know!)
7. Isolate the United States economically, even more than Trump is doing. If you live in an EU country, urge your government to activate the Anti-Coercion Instrument. The Trump regime represents a clear and present danger to the world, including the sovereignty of European nations. The Anti-Coercion Instrument in the EU would allow the sanctioning of Trump regime officials, freezing of assets of corporations benefiting from the theft of Venezuelan oil, and expulsion of U.S. forces from European bases.
8. Allow the U.S. dollar to fall. Under the Trump regime — which is actively trying to take over the Fed, America’s central bank, and is dissolving ties with the rest of the free world — the dollar is becoming a highly risky currency. It’s already falling. Allow it to fall further. If you work in a large global corporation, urge your top executives to do the firm’s international transactions in currencies other than dollars. If you are in a large financial institution, urge traders to dump dollars.
Clearly, this is an incomplete list of the peaceful “good trouble” we could make. If other actions occur to you, please share them with the rest of us in the comments.
Friends, have courage. Be strong. Hug your loved ones. Remember Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Please do not succumb to fear or despair. We will be victorious.
Axioms for Interpreting Trump
The following is copied from an email sent to subscribers of Robert Reich, January 22, 2026. I found him on Substack and subscribed. He is quite progressive in his positions, but this is just plain common sense.
Thought you might be interested. Diane
Thought you might be interested. Diane
As Trump’s dementia worsens, several axioms are useful for interpreting his increasingly incoherent bloviation.
Axiom #1: Whatever he asserts to be a fact is either a wild exaggeration or a bald-faced lie. Always disregard.
Axiom #2: Whatever he blames on anyone else is something he’s done. He projects like mad, so his accusations are always windows into what he’s worried that others will discover about himself.
Axiom #3: Whatever he criticizes as being fake news is a fact he doesn’t want you to know. So pay special attention to it.
Axiom #4: Whenever he attacks some source of information — a survey, poll, or report — it’s come up with some truth he fears. So look at it and share it.
Bud Ward with President Obama
Bud Ward worked at Anheuser Busch in Williamsburg starting in 1982. He was a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Bud was active in the Mathews Democratic Committee for many years and became chair in 2012. He also became vice chair for the Southeast Region of the Virginia Democratic Party in 2012.
Under Bud’s leadership, our annual Crab Steam grew to be one of the most successful fundraisers of rural Democratic Committees in the state. He was well known among Democratic leaders across the state and was close friends with former Governor Ralph Northam. He completed his tenure as chair of the Mathews committee in 2020, but continued to be active in local and state Democratic affairs.
In recent years, Bud became an integral part of the effort to tell the story of the Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island. He helped form the association of the descendants of Black people who were enslaved by Gwynn’s Island white families and who lived and worked on Gwynn’s Island after emancipation. The first reunions of the descendants were held on Bud’s property on the Piankatank River. He was so determined that the historic marker commemorating the Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island be located on the island that he offered his property as the place for it to be installed. It is a fitting tribute to Bud that this historic marker will be erected in front of his house on Old Ferry Road.
Bud was an unapologetic champion of all principles and priorities of the Democratic Party in a place where not too many people agreed with him. He loved Mathews County nonetheless.
Bud was active in the Mathews Democratic Committee for many years and became chair in 2012. He also became vice chair for the Southeast Region of the Virginia Democratic Party in 2012.
Under Bud’s leadership, our annual Crab Steam grew to be one of the most successful fundraisers of rural Democratic Committees in the state. He was well known among Democratic leaders across the state and was close friends with former Governor Ralph Northam. He completed his tenure as chair of the Mathews committee in 2020, but continued to be active in local and state Democratic affairs.
In recent years, Bud became an integral part of the effort to tell the story of the Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island. He helped form the association of the descendants of Black people who were enslaved by Gwynn’s Island white families and who lived and worked on Gwynn’s Island after emancipation. The first reunions of the descendants were held on Bud’s property on the Piankatank River. He was so determined that the historic marker commemorating the Black Exodus from Gwynn’s Island be located on the island that he offered his property as the place for it to be installed. It is a fitting tribute to Bud that this historic marker will be erected in front of his house on Old Ferry Road.
Bud was an unapologetic champion of all principles and priorities of the Democratic Party in a place where not too many people agreed with him. He loved Mathews County nonetheless.
But What Can We DO?
Posted by Inequality Media, Robert Reich, professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator, tells us the 5 things we can do to protect our democracy.
Reich served in the Ford, Carter, Clinton, and Obama administrations.
Reich served in the Ford, Carter, Clinton, and Obama administrations.