Members Speak
Where Do We Go From Here?
By Mary Force—Protest Rally Coordinator
Our Gladwin County Democratic Party (GCDP) made many strides in 2025. Our membership has jumped from 12 to 89 members. We held 4 “Donuts for Democracy” protest rallies this year. Our best attended was the “No Kings” rally on 7/12/25 with 161 people protesting from Gladwin and neighboring communities. Our momentum regarding our democratic voice in the community continues to grow through community involvement and awareness that we are loud & proud! Our rally on October 18, 2025, supported a food collection for the Sacred Heart Thrift Store & Food Pantry. Protesters brought enough food and non-perishables to fill a full-size van!
Protest rallies project our Democratic message to the community. We will not be silent, even if we are a minority party here. Our new professional sound system was 100% funded by our members to support our cause to raise the professional level of our organizational rallies. Thank You! Our group collected a total of $1,017.58 for our sound system. This enabled us to stop begging and borrowing an outdated sound system for our functions. The more professional the GCDP presents itself in public, the more respected our voice will be in the community. Right or left, right or wrong; we are a force to be reckoned with as we stand for democracy and support actions toward impeachment of Trump and his corrupt administration.
In 2026, where do we go next when planning our rallies in Gladwin? What good do the protest rallies do to fight Trump’s corruption and Project 2025. Protest rallies are happening across the country now and in our past 250 years of American history. Our rallies empower participants to gather with like-minded people to reduce feelings of frustration and isolation with our political climate. Our voices will be heard! We will not stand by silently and let our democracy be dismantled by evil politicians. We cannot grow numb to the many, many injustices that are pervasive in the government right now. In front of Gladwin Courthouse, we are challenging the people in power that we will not allow these crimes to be normalized. Nonviolent mass protests take time to make a difference, but they do succeed. Let’s remember just a few USA protests that changed our culture: Women’s suffrage movement (early 1900s), the Civil Rights Movement (1950-1960s) and The March on Washington with MLK (1963), the Vietnam Moratorium (1969), Earth Day (1970), and Black Lives Matter (2020).
Because of the icy, snowy weather predicted in January & February 2026, we will not be planning an outdoor protest rally during these months. Our goal is to organize at least one Anti-Trump and administration rally per month starting in March 2026. Our next theme will be:
IMPEACH. CONVICT. REMOVE.
Please stay involved and attend the GCDP monthly meetings to watch for updates on the organization of the next local rally.
Concerned citizen on the Great Lakes Oil tunnel
Concerned citizen
To the Editor:
It is time for us to cause some good trouble in the state of Michigan. The Enbridge’s Great Lakes Oil Tunnel cannot be allowed to receive a permit to build from the State of Michigan. This project is an experiment in the hands of people that do not even know, what they don’t know.
They know that there are pockets of methane gas under the Straits of Mackinac, but they do not know where or how large these deposits are. They know that under the best conditions it would take a minimum of 23 minutes to shut down the oil flow if there is a leak detected under the straits. That would result in 500,000 gallons of oil leaking into this fragile ecosystem; it is more likely to leak at least a million gallons before it would be stopped. It is important for Michigan residents to know that the oil pipeline in Michigan is owned by two subsidiaries for Enbridge’s INC. If the company’s past practices are to hold when an accident were to occur, these subsidiaries will become insolvent and we, the people of Michigan, would be left to pay for the cleanup through our taxes. Enbridge would not have to pay anything to clean up the mess they profited from.
It should also be clear that the oil industry does not clean up any site 100 percent. If they get 60 percent of the oil cleaned up that is a huge success. Nearly half of the spill settles on the bottom or gets washed to other areas. One is left to wonder how much debris would have to be carried away from digging a 30 foot tunnel under the bed of the Straits of Mackinac.
According to Enbridge’s own estimates, it will take 283 dump trucks a day for six years to remove all of the debris that will need to be excavated from the site. No where in the United States has such a project ever been attempted and to make our first attempt in an ecosystem that contains 21 percent of the entire fresh water on the face of the planet is absurd.
If we can make enough noise to keep the State of Michigan from giving a permit to build to Enbridge, we can stop this project from ever happening and shut down Line 5 for good. We need each of us to write to EGLE demanding an end to this folly before it is too late before Aug. 29, 2025. There have been 30 line spills along the Line 5 pipeline since 1968. Fortunately none of them have been in the straits yet. The pipeline has outlived its original life expectancy by 23 years as of this writing. Please write to the Michigan Department of Environmental Great Lakes and Energy at https://www.michigan.gov/egle/ about/featured/line5/comment tell them to examine all aspects of this project before writing any permits. Please plan to attend meetings online on Tuesday August 12, at 6 p.m., and August 19, 6 p.m. Go to oilandwaterdontmix.org for more valuable information.
Michael Fields
Gladwin County
Hear from high-profile alumni of the Trump Administration who were first-hand witnesses to its chaos and venality
As the Trump campaign ratchets up its contemptible rhetoric and tactics, voters will find it valuable to hear from high-profile alumni of the Trump Administration who were first-hand witnesses to its chaos and venality. These fast-paced, powerful one-minute videos recount the experiences of people who came to the Administration to serve Trump but left sounding the alarm. Their voices can matter — but only if heard.You can view the videos at the links below. Please take a few moments to watch. And if you agree that these voices matter, please share these links with colleagues, family, friends, and neighbors.You can also find short videos HERE featuring the stories of White House Coronavius Coordinator Dr. Deborah Bix, election security czar Chris Krebs, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, Attorney General William Barr, and White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin.Sincerely,Mark CohenFounder, Our Future, Our ChoiceEmail: ofoc2024@gmail.com
Women For Biden - May 17, 2024 - Midland, MI
So happy we got to see Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff on Friday in Midland! They were GREAT! Very relaxed and personable. Chair Michael Fields had VIP status and got separated from us. But he got his photo taken w/Jill and Doug!!
