I want to share an update regarding my health. I’ve been diagnosed with superficial punctate keratitis in both eyes, caused by a product I used to help with my lashes. My doctor originally thought this would clear up in three to four months, but at my most recent appointment he was concerned with my lack of progress and has now referred me to a specialist for further treatment.

Because of this, I need to step back for a while from updating events, posts, and PDFs so I can focus on resting my eyes and healing. I truly apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

I’ll be honest — I’m scared. My eyes are very important to me, not only for everyday things like driving, but also for the work I do on the website, designing materials, posting PowerPoints, and even creating fundraising designs like the flags for our group. These are things I care deeply about, and I don’t want to risk losing the ability to do them.

If others would be willing to help with posting events on the site or keeping things moving during this time, I would be very grateful. Thank you for your understanding, patience, and support as I focus on recovery.

Updating Our Calendar: Iowa First, California Next

We’re in the process of updating the events calendar with a new look and new categories. Right now, I’m working through the Iowa events and have October and November left to redo. Once that’s complete, I’ll build the categories for California.

When Diane lets me know which counties she’ll be covering in Southwest California, I’ll begin adding California events to the calendar. This way, our calendar will grow step by step while staying organized.

The site will always be a little “under construction” because I’m constantly adding and improving. Thank you for your patience and understanding as these updates roll out. My hope is that this new layout will make everything easier to read and more useful as we expand.

Judy T.

I’ve been diagnosed with a severe case of Superficial Punctate Keratitis in both of my eyes.

My treatment plan includes two different prescription eye drops four times a day and an eye ointment overnight. My doctor is confident it should heal within 6 weeks to 2 months, but I’ll need weekly check-ins until then.

I’m not sure yet how this will affect my role in our organization during this time, but I want to be upfront that updates, articles, and PDFs may come a little slower as I focus on healing.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. Taking care of my eyes is the priority right now so I can get back to doing this work fully.

– Judy T.

Check our Upcoming Events Calendar for more info!

🗓️ Upcoming Iowa Events: August 27 – September 1, 2025

August 27 (Wednesday)
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Meet & Greet
📍 Arandas 3 Mexican Restaurant, Wapello (Louisa County)

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Midwest Old Threshers Harvest Day Parade
📍 Henry County

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Fairfield Farmers Market
📍 Jefferson County

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: Action Iowa Indivisible – August Community Event
📍 Des Moines

---

August 28 (Thursday)
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Guthrie County Fair
📍 Guthrie County

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly Protest – Ames

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Produce in the Park Farmers Market
📍 Atlantic, Cass County

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly Protest – Panora

---

August 29 (Friday)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Protest – Jefferson (Jefferson Square)

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Fed-up Friday
📍 Federal State Building, Des Moines

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Town Hall
📍 Maquoketa Brewing Co., Jackson County

4:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Freedom Family Picnic
📍 Location TBD

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Town Hall
📍 Great Revivalist Brewing, Clinton County

---

August 30 (Saturday)
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Nathan Sage – Buchanan Farmer’s Market
📍 Independence, Buchanan County

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Nathan Sage – Jones, Delaware, Dubuque & Jackson County Dem Gathering
📍 Anamosa, Jones County

10:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Nathan Sage – John L. Lewis Labor Festival
📍 Lucas County

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Rally – Wayside Park (Decorah, by Indivisible)

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Weekly Protest – WERESIST Perry (Big Bicycle, 1st & Willis)

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Weekly Protest – Boone

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Nathan Sage – End of Summer Blast
📍 McGregor, Clayton County

---

August 31 (Sunday)
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Fort Dodge Labor Day Weekend Picnic
📍 Fort Dodge

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Nathan Sage – Iowa Craft Beer Bash
📍 Millstream Brewing Co., Amana, Iowa County

---

September 1 (Monday – Labor Day)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Ames Rally for the Working Class
📍 Ames Bandshell Park

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Newton #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Newton

10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Des Moines Labor Day Parade
📍 Downtown Des Moines

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Labor Day Parade with Team Sand
📍 Location TBD

10:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Nathan Sage – South Central Iowa Federation of Labor Parade & Picnic
📍 From State Capitol to State Fairgrounds (Polk County)

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM: SCEA joins NW Iowa Labor Federation Picnic
📍 NW Iowa

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Spirit Lake #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Spirit Lake

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Cedar Rapids Educators at Hawkeye Area Labor Council Picnic
📍 Cedar Rapids

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Decorah #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Rally
📍 Decorah

1:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Nathan Sage – Dallas County Dems BBQ
📍 Dallas County

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Iowa City #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day Picnic
📍 Iowa City

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Weekly West Des Moines Protest
📍 Walgreens on Grand Ave, across from Normandy Terrace Hy-Vee

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Labor Day Picnic for Patriots
📍 Location TBD

I want to take a moment to be open with you all. Over the past couple of months, I’ve had to step back from Rescue Our Democracy because of illness and ongoing health challenges. What I thought would be a short break turned into a much longer one. I was also feeling weighed down by the constant flood of troubling headlines and the sheer amount of work it takes to keep everything running.

On top of that, I was juggling the website, keeping the events updated, creating educational PDFs, and trying to manage all of it on my own while still building out the site. I pushed hard, but eventually I hit a wall — I burned out, and my health took a turn.

My health is still not 100%, but I’m easing back in and focusing on the behind-the-scenes work. To help keep things manageable, I’ll only be updating events once a week moving forward. That means if an event isn’t posted before Wednesday, it won’t make it onto our calendar for that week. I want to be consistent, but also realistic about what I can take on.

I’m excited to share that we’re also welcoming a new staff member to ROD! She’ll be handling social media and launching a podcast to help expand our reach and conversations. This is a big step forward for us.

Finally, I want to be clear about where our focus will be. For now, we’ll be centering our efforts in Iowa and California. Those are the two states we’ll maintain resources and event calendars for until we have active members ready to represent additional states. This way, we stay focused, effective, and sustainable.

Thank you all for your patience, encouragement, and understanding while I’ve been regrouping. We’re still here, still building, and still fighting for democracy — one step at a time.

Rescue Our Democracy is powered entirely by passionate volunteers who believe in protecting our democracy, building community, and empowering people to take action. We’ve come this far without outside funding—just dedication, time, and personal contributions.

So far, our founder has invested over $400 and our SE Iowa Head Guerilla, Stef, has contributed $100 toward getting our movement off the ground. These funds have gone toward website hosting, essential tools, printed materials, and event costs.

We’re now opening the door for supporters like you to help us keep building.

Your contributions will help cover:

• Website hosting and domain renewals
• Premium site plug-ins to improve resources and accessibility
• Printing and materials for events, outreach, and education
• Other overhead costs needed to keep our mission strong

A Note on Tax-Deductibility

We’re not yet an independent nonprofit, so donations are not tax-deductible at this time. We have a dedicated account earmarked exclusively for Rescue Our Democracy transactions, so every dollar you give goes directly to the cause.

Other Ways to Support

Purchases from our online store, Head Guerillas Bananas, also go directly into the same account to help sustain our work.

Every contribution—whether $5, $25, or more—helps us grow stronger, reach more people, and continue standing up for democracy.

Together, we can make our voices impossible to ignore.

Going to make this quick.

Been very ill for 9 days now. ER was subpar, phlebotomist used one needle twice cause she missed the first time, and the list goes on.

3 hours after discharge, I am throwing up blood.

I need to get help. Real help.

I feel it’s obvious that I will not be able to do the August 9th Meet & Greet.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Judy T.

Today, we gather in honor of the legacy of Representative John Lewis, a giant in the fight for civil rights, whose courage and conviction continue to inspire us all. As part of our event and in solidarity with the national day of action, we invite you—wherever you are—to join us in reflection and dialogue.

Here’s how you can participate:

🌟 Share your favorite quote from a civil rights activist in the comments.
🗣️ Tell us:

• Why does this quote speak to you?
• How does it connect to the moment we’re living in right now?
• What can we do—together—to hold on to the spirit of that quote and the rights it represents?

Whether it’s words from John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, MLK, Dolores Huerta, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, or someone from your own community, your voice matters here.

Let’s build something powerful together—a living archive of truth, struggle, and hope.

✊🏽✊🏿✊🏻 Share below—and let’s keep marching forward.

Personal

Hey everyone,

Judy T., here. Just got the events updated for the week, my apologies for it taking so long, I was dealing with a deathly ill furbaby. She’s doing pretty ok now, acting more herself. Still has an infection, but there is medication for it.

Kevin Techau

Unfortunately, last night, Kevin Techau announced he was dropping out in the race for IA02 against Ashley Hinson (booo! hisss!).

Staff

Due to real life issues, our Databack Guerilla has had to step away. The position is back open and you can see all our positions available here.

We are seeking podcasters, writers, artists to express themselves regarding our political climate and issues through our Voices menu.

Locations

We are currently working on creating state pages that will show election information for each state. We are now open to people outside of Iowa who would like to work with us, perhaps start a chapter of ROD in their location, or even to help out with posting events for their state, even join our main staff. Contact Judy T. today!