The Villages Joins National John Lewis Day of Action:

‘Good Trouble Lives On’

THE VILLAGES, FL — On Thursday, July 17, Villagers and members of surrounding communities will join thousands of other Americans at events across the nation to honor the legacy of Congressman John Lewis and fight back against the growing attacks on our civil and human rights.

“We are seeing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations,” said co-organizer Phyllis Leopold, vice president of The Villages Democratic Club.

“The Trump administration and its allies have passed laws making it harder to vote, tried to criminalize peaceful protest, slashed healthcare and programs working families rely on, and targeted Black, Brown, immigrant, and trans communities with hateful policies,” she added.

A roadside, sign-holding rally will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. on Morse Boulevard between the Lake Sumter Landing roundabouts. Participants are encouraged to travel by golf cart and to bring their own chairs, if they are unable to stand the whole time. Car parking will be limited to public parking lots within Lake Sumter Landing.

Good Trouble Lives On is a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action rooted in the legacy of the civil rights movement and inspired by John Lewis’ call to make “good trouble, necessary trouble.” The date of July 17 marks the fifth anniversary of the death of this civil rights hero.

More information about the national campaign is available at https://goodtroubleliveson.org/

Next All Member Meeting 

featuring Speaker

Nuveen Marwah

Demystifying Hedge Funds

Financial firms are opening new offices in Florida, and some are even relocating their headquarters, earning South Florida the nickname of Wall Street South.  As the financial sector becomes a larger part of Florida's economy, and as hedge fund billionaires like Citadel's Ken Griffin exert greater influence on the state and local governments, it begs the questions: What are hedge funds? How do hedge funds work?  How might hedge funds impact my retirement assets?  Join Nuveen Marwah on July 12 to explore the answer to these questions.

Saturday July 12

10 am

Doors open at 9 am for socializing and information sharing

Location: Colony Recreation Ctr

510 Colony Blvd

Contact: Bill Knudson

America declared its independence from the crown

249 years ago - today it has a would-be king

Trump sees himself as a king, and so does his party — and they're spending billions on detention camps.

By Adam Gurri, 

co-founder and editor-in-chief at Liberal Currents 

As published by msnbc.com

The narrow Republican congressional majority has passed, by an even narrower majority, an enormous an megabill. The unpopularity of its substance was swept under the rug on Trump’s say-so. “As the President said, it’s his bill. It’s not a House bill, it’s not a Senate bill," noted House Speaker Mike Johnson. Coverage of the bill has focused on cuts to Medicaid and handouts to the rich. Less noted, but no less significant, is the enormous infusion of cash into immigration enforcement that will have lasting implications for our system of government and our society.

Read more

Spanish Springs

Tuesday, July 8

5 pm

Rundown

For details contact: Bill Knudson

bill.knudson@yahoo.com

Lake Sumter Landing

Friday, July 18

5 pm

Live Effect

For details contact

Bill Knudson

bill.knudson@yahoo.com

Why Big Tech Turned Against Democrats — and Democracy

Trump’s America is turning its back on the future — with Big Tech’s help

In just 6 short months under Donald Trump, federal funding for science has been slashed and there are clear attempts to censor research. Our great research universities are under assault, and foreign scholars are being denied visas. Many are foregoing coming to America for fear they may be deported or even arrested. We have a health secretary who isn’t just anti-vaccine — he reporterly doesn’t accept the germ theory of disease, preferring the “miasma theory” that was discredited by Louis Pasteur in the 19th century. The acting head of FEMA said he wasn’t aware that the US had a hurricane season.

"Silicon Valley used

to support Democrats"

Read more...

Paul Krugman, June 24, 2025

                             Natanz Enrichment Facility                                                                                                                                                            

FILE PHOTO: A satellite image shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran

after airstrike in Iran in this handout image dated June 15, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters/File Photo

What to know about the 3 Iranian nuclear sites that were hit by U.S. strikes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. forces have attacked three Iranian nuclear and military sites, further upping the stakes in the Israel-Iran war.

President Donald Trump said the strikes, which he described as “very successful,” had hit the Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan sites, with Fordo being the primary target. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed there were attacks early Sunday at all three nuclear sites.

Fordo Nuclear Facility

A satellite image shows the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran January 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters

Isfahan Enrichment Facility

A satellite image shows the Isfahan enrichment facility after strikes in Iran in this handout image dated June 14, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters

Other Iranian nuclear sites

Tickets

Meet, Greet & Eat with like minded Singles

The Club's "Meet, Greet & Eat Singles" group welcomes new members. Visit with coordinators Linda Ballou and Mary Ferguson at the monthly membership meetings, or email them.

Email

Love planning events?

Join the Hospitality Committee and lets have some fun. We need boots on the ground for upcoming social events. Contact: Sue Houston

Education Forum

will not meet in July

It’s official: David Jolly is a

Democratic candidate for governor in ’26

Following the exploratory phase of his campaign this spring, David Jolly says he’s ready to go and has officially entered the Democratic primary for governor of Florida. He acknowledges the challenges about running in an electoral landscape that hasn’t elected any Democrat to a statewide office since 2018, but says the environment is ripe for that to change in 2026.

“We will be in every community, building trust and building relationships and building a coalition that will ultimately and successfully win an election where a Democrat hasn’t won in 30 years and where the voter registration rolls are against us,” he said in a phone interview with the Phoenix on Wednesday.

Watch the Announcement

By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix

“In Florida we are in the midst of a generational affordability crisis,” he added. “Everybody feels it. I mean this has been affirmed everywhere I’ve gone, every group I’ve sat with.

Read more

Elon Musk departs DOGE with a horrific legacy

The malignancy that is his Department of Government Efficiency project lives on.

Elon Musk's government service has supposedly come to an end, with the billionaire decamping to his company town of Starbase, Texas. Except there he was in the Oval Office on Friday, in a press availability alongside President Donald Trump. Sporting a black eye — given to him by his 5-year-old, he said — Musk grumbled about his time in the nation's capital. "We became essentially the DOGE bogeyman," Musk said. "It just became a bit ridiculous."

By Paul Waldman, author and commentator, MSNBC

Read more.

Musk claims to have saved the government $175B. No where near his original target of $2T, or his revised target of $1T and not even close to the cost of Trump's "Big Beautiful bill" $3.8T - CBS Sunday Morning

A call for civic institutions to defend the First Amendment

Universities, law firms and media organizations must stand up for their rights while there’s still time

Will our nation’s top civic institutions – universities, media organizations, law firms, and the like – stand up for the First Amendment? Or will they bend the knee to the Trump regime when their rights – and the rights of those they represent – come under threat?

It’s an open question. Trump has taken shocking, really almost unimaginable steps to punish major institutions for their speech – for their support of diversity initiatives he opposes; for representing clients he doesn’t like; even for calling the Gulf of Mexico by its common name.

Dan Froomkin, Heads Up News May 21, 2025

Some institutions have risen to the challenge and fought back. But too many have surrendered. 

Read more.

Trump's 'big, beautiful' military parade

perfectly distills his presidency

Trump is finally getting the expensive, infrastructure-damaging ceremony

he wanted badly in his first term.

President Donald Trump is finally nearing the fulfillment of a dream that he’s had since his first term in office:

a lavish military parade that proceeds through the streets of Washington.

NBC News reports the parade will be “to Flag Day,” and will also mark the Army’s 250th birthday on June 14.

As it happens, that’s also the president’s birthday, though Trump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press”

moderator Kristen Welker that the “big, beautiful” parade is “not necessarily” about his birthday.

But, he said, “It’s a very important day.” Read more...

By Zeeshan Aleem MSNBC Opinion Writer/Editor

Trump throwing a party for himself with jets and tanks parading down Constitution Avenue

will be a wasteful, infrastructure-destroying display of jingoism

Over 200 attended "The State of Our Democracy"

on May 17 with special guest speaker Harry Dunn,

capital city police officer on Jan 6. Sponsored by

Sumter County Democrats.

Watch the Video

Watch the slideshow

TVDC is looking for a member to fill vacant board position : Communications Director. 

Contact: Bill Knudson

Most Trump voters still say 

they have no regrets.

Here's why that matters.

A noticeable contingent of Kamala Harris voters has spent this year demanding that people who didn’t vote for her — whether for Donald Trump or another candidate — admit to a mistake that’s not only hurting the country but is hurting (or will hurt) them, too. Social media feeds are filled with people citing the latest Trump outrage and mockingly asking Trump voters, “Did you vote for this?!”

In the main, the Trump voter with buyer’s remorse is a mythical character not unlike, say, the moderate Republican.

Meet, Greet & Eat with like minded Singles

The Club's "Meet, Greet & Eat Singles" group welcomes new members. Visit with coordinators

Linda Ballou and Mary Ferguson at the monthly membership meetings, or email them.

Email

CHANCES TO DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK AND BEYOND

We're rounding up petitions for Barbie

and a Medicaid ballot measure

Barbie for Congress website

All of Sumter County is in Congressional District 11 and we are collecting 

Barbie Harden Hall petitions to get her on the ballot again for 2026.

We also are actively collecting petitions for a Florida Constitutional Amendment to expand Medicaid. 

You can find information and request a petition form at

https://floridadecideshealthcare.org/

Turn completed forms in the Sumter Democratic HQ on Wednesday afternoons or Saturday mornings.

You also can pick up the forms at the headquarters.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It's been a horrific month of MAGA madness.

We must find ways to fight back, for ourselves and the future of our nation.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. And do it loudly.

Don't despair and don't appease

Source: Paul Krugman, New York University professor of economics

Read

Oops, you've got to do it again!

Thanks to Florida Republicans trying everything they can to suppress our votes,

we all must reapply for Vote By Mail ballots.

What will it take? How many of us, regardless of party, still care about truth and democracy?

Source: Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse

Read

Scores of legal actions have been filed to block and challenge President Trump, Elon Musk, and others in the administration. Here's a one-stop nonprofit site, Just Security, where you can keep track.

Trump litigation tracker

Food pantry donations are always welcome

The Club and its generous members support multiple local food pantries. The preferred donations include food in cans, boxes, and jars, toiletries, and laundry and cleaning supplies.

View Club President Bill Knudson's analysis of economic data and policies

Economics in Perspective