I won't be able to update the blog for a few days, so I'm going to leave here my recent list of ways to approach the current distressing political situation and things you can consider doing as we keep up the fight.
Here is the list: 1. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Win elections? Build community? Protest? All these things have value. None are exclusive of the others. You can divide your efforts between these and other efforts. You have solid judgement and there is no clearly correct course. Do your best according to your skills, goals and the demands of the moment. 2. We must fully understand the stakes so we can fight as needed. Musk does want to tank the economy. The goal of Trump/Musk is to destroy democracy. They are white supremacists and eugenicists. They do support dictators abroad. They are a direct threat our freedom and safety. Everything is on the line. 3. Accept that this is a mental health crisis for millions of people. This includes you. Take time for yourself and the people in your life. 4. When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with someone in your community--Take it. We did this in Houston recently when many people e-mailed Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare calling for charges to be dropped against activist Sarah Terrell after her wrongful arrest by the unelected HISD Board. In part thanks to these e-mails, charges were dropped. Let's have the backs of people here at home who stand up for us. Even if they are strangers or from a community you are not part of. 5. When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with others across the country--Take it. This is why so many took part in the February 28th economic blackout. It did have some financial impact. Even more important than that, we saw we can work together across racial, class and geographical barriers. All our actions are a test run for the weeks and months ahead. How about a general strike next? 6. Ask more of Democratic Party elected officials. They are our elected employees. Contact both local and national elected officials. Politicians from across Harris County and across the whole country send us fundraising e-mails. So we can contact them no matter where they are. Here are some things you can ask/demand: * Aggressively push back against attacks on our freedom. * Work year-round to improve turnout in safe gerrymandered Democratic districts. Hold your fellow elected officials who don't do this accountable. * Address the fact that even when we win elections, Republicans want a Viktor Orban-authoritarian state. What is a way forward other than lifetime of conflict? * Given that we may be in for a lifetime of conflict, have our backs for strategies such as economic boycotts, general strikes and large-scale protest or whatever is a path forward. 7. Support independent media or media you feel works to tell the truth. The Associated Press is a good general news service that has not allowed Trump to bully them to use the term "Gulf of America." It merits support. Here in Houston, the Egberto Willies' Politics Done Right program is fully independent and also merits support. 8. Municipal and local politics matter. Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure to implement Trump/Musk policies. Follow & become involved in local politics. Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember. The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. The Houston Landing (RIP) recently wrote a good article about interacting with Houston City Council. It's a useful start to learning about Council 9. I'm not aware of any centralized place for information about protest in Houston. There is a protest at Senator John Cornyn's office each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. Keep an active eye out for actions you can take part in. There is also a weekly protest from noon to one at the Social Security office at 13302 Westheimer at the very busy corner of Westheimer & Eldridge. Protest is essential. People must see others like themselves willing to stand up no matter the aggression of the right. Voting is critical but it is not enough. We saw this not long ago in South Korea where protest was vital in fighting off martial law. The First Amendment is your permit to protest. The next protest will take place when organize it. 10. Think about what self-defense looks like for you and the people in your life. You have a right to be as safe as you can be. 11. If a Trump supporter wants to change his or her mind--Welcome them even if it is difficult. We need all the numbers we can get. 12. Please support the Houston Democracy Project. The Houston Democracy Project is an independent source of action and information. This is just what is required as traditional institutions struggle to respond to current realities. Please read the Houston Democracy Project Blog often. 13. Do your best. Hold on to your people. Admit to yourself and others you trust how painful this is. Enjoy life because life is good. Find the courage you can muster. Welcome anyone who wants to join us even if they did not grasp it already. Keep fighting. 14. Every act of opposition matters. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.
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Call Twila Carter & Tell Her Protests Were Safe-Is Far-Right She Supports Who Are The Menace6/18/2025 ![]() At the Council Agenda business session on June 11, far-right Republican Councilmember Twila Carter said she'd gotten calls of concern about the Saturday, June 14 protests & advised people to stay away. Above you see Ms. Carter at Council telling people to stay away. Ms. Carter begins her comments at the 44:50 point of the 6/11 session. Last year, Ms. Carter took part in a Mattress Mack political rally to help elect the people now using ICE to disappear people, slash Medicaid and Medicare & trash our democracy. Councilmember Carter has things all mixed up. The protestors Downtown were plenty safe. The people Ms. Carter actively supported in 2024 are the actual menaces to society. Councilmember Carter holds At-Large position #3 on Houston City Council. She is accountable to the entire city. It is not just her city Ms. Carter fails. Ms. Carter often remarks how she lives in Kingwood. There was a strong No Kings protest in Kingwood on Saturday. They had 660 people. It was totally volunteer organized. The people who took part were fine law-abiding residents of the community. Below you see a picture of the Saturday Kingwood rally. Call or e-mail Councilmember Carter! Call her at 832-393-3005. E-mail her at [email protected] Tell her she should support peaceful citizens who fight for democracy & strongly oppose people who are attacking democracy. Tell that by campaigning for the Republican ticket in 2024, Ms. Carter is responsible for cuts to NASA, the National Weather Service, FEMA & to research at the Texas Medical Center that directly harm Houston. Tell her whatever works for you. Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure. Local officials will be needed to support Project 2025 and cheer on ICE. We've not paid enough attention to Houston City Council over the years. This absence of attention is why we elect folks like Councilmember Carter who are out of step with Houston & disrespectful to politically active residents from her own part of town. Ms. Carter will be up for re-election in 2027. Let's begin the work right now of voting her out of Council. Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember. The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. ![]() The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest had 38 in attendance for today's 436th week outside the Senator's office. Above you see our team today. We meet each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. Please join us. Yesterday evening, I watched/listened to a one hour Zoom call held by some of the national coalition members for the No Kings protest which took place this past Saturday in the Houston-area & across the nation. You can watch the call & review the No Kings website here. It is estimated that there were--at the least--five million people five million people who took part in the protests. Some estimates are as high as 11 million. In the No Kings call yesterday, the organizers said the next big protest will be on Thursday, July 17. I've also seen some online discussion for an event on July 4th. We'll see where it all goes. I don't understand how an event on a Thursday will get the biggest possible crowd. The organizers on the call last night were unions, non-profit advocacy groups and Indivisible. There was also progressive Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal from the Seattle-area. Rep. Jayapal thanked the big groups involved, but did not thank the many thousands of volunteers who did the work to get the big crowds on Saturday. It was disappointing. It was volunteers who did the great bulk of the work for this past Saturday. Here are two things I would say: 1. Take part in whatever protests you want to take part in. I'm sure I'll be at the July 17 event referenced above. But also understand that these groups have their own motives. They will ask us to provide the volunteer infrastructure for all this & to take on the risks of dealing with far-right counter-protestors and the police. It is less likely that they will offer resources or engage in meaningful consultation with us about strategy. The people who work for these entities may well be good people. They are also are very much about their careers and their relationships with elected officials. It's best to be wary when interacting with them. We are doing the work. Much of the work is being done by older people. These are the hours of our lives. We can decide how we will proceed with our own efforts. 2. We don't need to wait for anybody to hold a protest or to engage in an action against the authoritarian, white supremacist takeover of our nation. The next protest is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. Do things on your schedule. Don't wait for word from above. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. ![]() Nearly all the work for the successful June 14 protests was done by volunteers. The risks of interacting with aggressive right-wingers--which did in fact happen locally--was also taken up by the rank & file. And there is always risk when protestors interact with police. There were no police incidents reported at any Houston-region protests. (Picture above of the No Kings Protest in League City. Picture from KGTX Channel 7 in Galveston County. That's a really good crowd in Republican League City.) So as-for example-Senator Carol Alvarado, Commissioner Rodney Ellis & Mayor John Whitmire sit on over at least $10 million in campaign cash on hand acquired in public offices that belong to us, it was us who did the work to oppose the authoritarian outcomes that the systems they have so successfully navigated have produced. I know the organizers for the Kingwood, Katy, Conroe and Huntsville protests this past Saturday. They are just everyday folks. I also know or am aware of a number of the organizers of the big Downtown Houston 50501 protest. They also are everyday people who stepped up to fight authoritarianism. (There were elected officials who spoke Downtown on Saturday. Here are ways electeds can fight for us.) Nobody was getting paid to put all this together. At least five million people attended No Kings protests over the weekend. These rallies across the country were organized by people no different than you and I. The next protest is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The systems that brought us this nightmare will not be saving us. Each of us are the leaders in the challenging days ahead. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. ![]() Five Democratic members of Houston City Council were at the No Kings Protest at Houston City Hall. Houston City Council has ten Democrats and six Republicans. Councilmembers present yesterday were At-Large members Letitia Plummer and Sallie Alcorn & District Councilmembers Abbie Kamin, Mario Castillo and Joaquin Martinez. Top left above is Mr. Martinez, bottom left is Ms, Kamin, top right is Ms. Alcorn and bottom right is Mr. Castillo. The pictures are mine other than Mr. Castillo. His is from his Twitter. Ms. Alcorn is on the left in her picture. She included her friends. That’s good. Ms. Kamin’s picture is from a video I made. She is on the right. It’s not a good picture, but I like the kid to the right in the Dead Kennedy’s Nazi Punks F Off shirt. I had that song on vinyl back in the day. Mr. Castillo’s shirt says “Don’t get mad, get elected.” Running for office isn’t practical for most people. I’m wary of elected officials saying what the rank & file should do. If they do, they should detail how they will help people reach the objective. I appreciate Councilmembers who joined the rally. All officeholders take an oath to defend the Constitution. Attacks on democracy and on our rights are a matter for all officeholders. Elected officials see they are subject to being physically pushed around or even arrested by Trump’s people. The terrible violence against the legislators in Minnesota yesterday came from the right. They are no safer than any of us. We all need each other. In addition to the meaningful act of showing up yesterday—It is important to show up and be seen. It gives people hope and resolve in difficult times—here are additional things Councilmembers could do: * They could ask—"With HPD cooperating with ICE, what process is in place to make certain Houstonians will receive due process & not be sent/disappeared to places like the El Salvador torture prison?" (Thanks to Ms. Kamin, who said she’d use funds allocated to her district office to pay for Freedom of Information Act requests for body cam footage of HPD calling ICE on people. Mayor Whitmire stonewalled the offer.) * They could also ask—"If/When the Trump Administration moves forward with threats to civil liberties such as the suspension of habeas corpus, will HPD resources be used to assist Trump?" * They can directly ask Republican Council colleagues when they will advocate with federal Republican officeholders about budget cuts that impact Houston & how much longer they will be silent on the bigotry and cruelty we are seeing from the right? * They can commit to actively campaigning for the 2026 Harris County Democratic slate. * They can commit to showing up in the difficult days ahead no matter where this all goes. Yesterday, police facilitated the protest. Going forward, we may have to decide which side of a police line to stand on. Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember. The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. Thoughts & Observations About Successful 6/14 Protests Across Houston Region-We Are The Leaders6/14/2025 ![]() Some Houston Democracy Project thoughts/observations about today's protests across the Houston region. * The crowd at the Houston No Kings 50501 rally was great. The organizers say 26,000. I’ll go with that. Thank you to the organizers. The picture above is just as the march began after the city hall rally. Here is a report on today's marches from NPR station KUHF. The work to make today was successful was done by volunteers. The people who showed up were rank & file folks. We are doing the work. We are showing up. We are the leaders in the challenging days ahead. The next protest is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. Each of us are the leaders. People must see others like themselves willing to stand clearly for freedom no matter the aggression of the right. * The youth and diversity people have correctly been looking for at these marches, was very much in evidence today. * There were strong crowds also in Cypress, Huntsville, Katy, Sugar Land, League City & Kingwood. The Katy organizer, Marsha Kamish, is a core member of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest Team. They had almost 1,800 today in Katy. Great work by Marsha. Marsha is in the cape in the picture below. I had a brief stuopid Twitter exchange recently with Nick Long who is the right-wing Mayor of League City in Galveston County. As he supports our felon President, he was going on about law and order. I saw on Tik Tok they had this morning 1,000 law-abiding people out in League City. Mayor Long should focus his concerns on League City residents who support far-right extremists. We must make certain we see people all across the Houston-region who are showing up. There are friends of freedom everywhere. Don’t write anybody or anyplace off. We need everyone. * Mayor Whitmire was at today’s Downtown march walking around with Police Chief Diaz. The city has had a light-enough hand with protest so far in the 2nd Trump term. That’s fine. Ongoing questions for HPD are: With HPD cooperating with ICE, what process is in place to make certain Houstonians will receive due process & not be sent/disappeared to places like the El Salvador torture prison? Our city government can't be complicit with such actions. If/When the Trump Administration moves forward with threats to civil liberties such as the suspension of habeas corpus, will HPD resources be used to assist Trump? * Some of the elected official speakers criticized ICE. I did not hear any directly address the fact that the City of Houston is working with ICE. * Today appears to have been successful across the country. (Of course there was the terrible violence against the Minnesota legislators.) My hope and belief is that today leads to more and bigger actions in the immediate days ahead. Today was a strong step forward in our long path ahead. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. Here are some Houston Democracy Project thoughts & observations the day before the June 14 protests:
* We simply must show up. There is nothing complicated about it. Show up tomorrow and then again and again. People who don’t normally show up need to show up. Tomorrow’s protests must lead to even larger protests and to further actions to protect our freedom and our futures. Tomorrow will be successful and our political situation will become more tense. And then again the same next time. * These protests are volunteer-organized. There is some money from outside helping a few of protests in larger cities with needed infrastructure, but very few are paid to put these actions together. In places like Katy, Conroe, Jersey Village, League City, Sugar Land, Huntsville, Kingwood and so on, it is about people who step up. There is more likely more risk involved for people away from center cities. Thank you to these citizen-organizers. The next protest is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. Each of us are the leaders. People must see others like themselves willing to stand clearly for freedom no matter the aggression of the right. * More elected officials appear to be attending tomorrow’s 50501 Houston City Hall Protest than before. This is a good first step. As it becomes more apparent each day elected officials are no safer than the rest of us, they will have to be fully engaged in the challenge ahead even as it deepens in unpredictable ways. * Mayor Whitmire has been directing HPD to keep what they see as a light hand dealing with protest. He does not want Trump on him, even more HPD overtime than already & he wants a smooth World Cup next year. I’m not saying trust HPD. I’m saying they are not looking for a hassle if they feel by their standards they can avoid it. * When at the weekly John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, I try to be aware of where the app to take a picture & record video is on my phone. The Protest last year got a conviction in municipal court of a man who threw eggs at us. The only reason we got him was that we had it on video. It took a bunch of effort to get the police and a Houston city attorney to take up the matter. But we did it. The guy who tossed eggs at us is a scary guy. We know who he is. We stayed the course. Use your judgement of course, but don't be afraid. We can't be bullied off the streets. * Normalize talking to police. Even if just to look them in the eye and say good morning or good afternoon. If you feel officers are not acting in a way that keeps us safe--politely say something. Sometimes at the Cornyn Protest, we don't feel the officers assigned to us are parked in a way where they can clearly see us if attacked. We have many times gone up to an officer & asked they move to where they can see us. Sometimes they do it. Every cop is in individual we don't presume anything. Soon we may be asking police directly if they will be following orders that suspend our civil liberties. Get used to speaking to them now as preparation for what is on the way. * Thank elected officials who are there tomorrow. But realize much more difficult expressions of solidarity may be called for soon. Thank them for coming & tell them you expect to keep seeing them. * We are up against a violent, white supremacist, authoritarian opponent. They see Trump as the chance they’ve been waiting for. They’ll do anything to maintain that chance. * Find A June 14th Protest near you. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. ![]() Elected officials can see as clearly as the rest of us how Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed & that they are no safer than any of us. Above you see Senator Padilla pinned down by law enforcement officers. Elected officials should encourage people to attend June 14 protests, attend even if they are not speaking & stand up to Greg Abbott if National Guard troops are sent to Houston for the June 14th protests. There is a No Kings Protest at Houston City Hall on the 14th from ten to noon. Call or e-mail Houston City Council Democrats and ask them to go to the protest. Tell them freedom begins at home & Houston City Councilmembers must fully join the fight. Tell them that cuts to NASA, the National Weather Service, FEMA & to research at the Texas Medical Center directly impact Houston. You can say that ICE is disappearing people and that you want to live in a free society. Here is contact information for the ten Houston City Council Democrats: At-Large-Letitia Plummer 832-393-3012 [email protected] At-Large-Sallie Alcorn 832-393-3017 [email protected] District B- Tarsha Jackson 832-393-3009 [email protected] District C-Abbie Kamin 832-393-3004 [email protected] District D-Carolyn Evans-Shabazz 832-393-3001 [email protected] District F-Tiffany Thomas 832-393-3002 [email protected] District H-Mario Castillo 832-393-3002 [email protected] District I-Joaquin Martinez 832-393-3011 [email protected] District J-Edward Pollard 832-393-3015 [email protected] District K-Martha Castex-Tatum 832-393-3016 [email protected] Here are Council district maps so you can see who represents you. Both at-large Councilmembers represent the entire city. Martha Castex-Tatum is Mayor Pro-Tem which is the number two official in the city after Mayor Whitmire. It would be fair to see her a citywide representative. All would be happy to send you a fundraising pitch no matter where you live & some may run for other offices in the future. We are past the point where we can afford to view Houston City Council as non-partisan & it is overdue that Councilmembers play a more active role outside of City Hall. We need them and they need us. We must all be in this fight together. Find a June 14 protest near you. Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember. The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. I've heard a few people say they are a bit nervous about attending one of the Saturday protests. Fair enough.
What I'd say is we are facing an authoritarian, white supremacist opponent & there is no guarantee of safety. There certainly will be no safety under an authoritarian regime. Just as June 14 builds on the successful April 17 protests, I believe June 14 is a step toward larger actions in the near future. Nothing is going to be easy. There is no promise of safety. (We can take steps to be as safe as possible.) We will be called insurrectionists no matter what we do. There is a considerable struggle ahead. Let's stay our course. Find a June 14 protest near you. Here is the Houston Democracy Project list of things each of us can do to fight back. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. ![]() The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest had 33 people today for Week 435. Above you see our team today. It is essential that people see others like themselves willing to stand openly and confidently no matter the aggression of the right. Protest can never be guaranteed safe—Especially now. We are confronting an authoritarian and white supremacist opponent. The Cornyn Protest stands fully open to all at a busy corner. We will continue to do so. The National Guard has been sent to Los Angeles over the objection of Mayor Bass & Governor Newsom. Trump has threatened potential protesters at his military parade & declares all sorts of “emergencies" to extend his power. Our most basic freedoms are at risk. Some questions the Houston Democracy Project continues to ask-- * With HPD cooperating with ICE, what process is in place to make certain Houstonians will receive due process & not be sent/disappeared to places like the El Salvador torture prison? * If/When the Trump Administration moves forward with threats to civil liberties such as the suspension of habeas corpus, will HPD resources be used to assist Trump? * When will Houston/Harris County elected officials--all who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution-- step up? Elected officials not speaking and showing up, shift the effort & risk of protecting democracy to us. These officials must assume a greater share of the burden of the effort ahead. Freedom begins right here at home. Please find a June 14 protest near you. We need millions of people on the streets on June 14. And then we’ll take it from there. Here is the Houston Democracy Project list of things each of us can do to fight back. Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel. |
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June 2025
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