Stand Up RI Answers the Question: 'What can I actually do to make a difference in the midterms?'
Monday, October 12, 2026
Many people here in Rhode Island — and other reliably blue states — who care about saving our democracy and believe the Republican stranglehold on Congress must be broken are asking the same question: What can I actually do to make a difference in the midterms?
Stand Up Rhode Island (SURI) has an answer, and it starts with something simple: your own network. Here's what can help. Think about who you know in a key swing state, whether a family member, old friends, former coworkers, college roommates. Right now, those key states include: Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. If you know even one person in any of these states, reach out — by phone, text, or email — and ask them, first, if they have a plan to vote. Second, tell them how important it is to vote for the Democratic House and Senate nominees over the Republican candidate. Your contacts can even go one step further and send a letter to their local paper urging others in their state to do the same and explain why it matters. For instance, Susan Collins in nearby Maine, has voted consistently with the Trump agenda on almost everything. It’s crucial to ask our friends in Maine to turn out to defeat her.
The past two years under the Trump administration have been nothing short of a disaster – economic, political, environmental, and moral. Here in RI we may not have had many ICE raids, but construction and other businesses are hurting because workers are self-deporting or disappearing into the shadows. Many people have seen their health premiums skyrocket. The rising costs of food, caused by nonsense tariffs, and of fuel, caused by a senseless war (one that has given Iran the upper hand and shows no sign of ending) are hurting everyone.
There is only one way to stop this train wreck of an administration, and that is for the Democrats to take back the House and the Senate. Only then will we be able to put any meaningful check on this administration in its final two years. Doing so is what stands between us and more Trump Supreme Court nominees, and between us and free and fair elections going forward. That’s why even in reliable blue states like Rhode Island we need a massive turnout in these midterms, one that can withstand any attempts to challenge its legitimacy. We need to put a stop to the Trump agenda, and the Republicans have refused to do so. Only by electing Democrats to the House and Senate do we stand a chance.
The members of SURI are presently doing this outreach, and we urge others to do likewise. Please reach out to your friends, family, and other contacts in swing states and urge them to vote, to vote early if possible, and to vote Democratic.
Sincerely,
MaryKae Wright
On behalf of Stand Up Rhode Island (SURI)
Nuclear Fission is the Wrong Choice
Wednesday, October 7th, 2026
It burns me up (no pun intended) to see that nuclear fission is being considered as a clean energy. Despite having some recyclable components, it necessarily leaves behind radioactive nuclear waste that we, still, don’t know what to do with except to bury and hope for the best. This is so terrifying! We saddle our children and theirs on and on for thousands and thousands of years to oversee that this waste stays contained! Look at the devastation at Chernobyl where they can’t use 150,000 square kilometers, which includes parts of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia AT ALL for 10,000 years, at least!
Here is the map of the devastation: https://chernobylnuclearmeltdown.com/map. No and NOOO! Ugh! So frustrating that our country and many other countries are not going all-in with building out true renewable energies before resorting to dangerous nuclear fission. At least nuclear is expensive and that’s what I hope happens, that it is shown to be the most expensive source of energy and, so, is put aside. We can build more solar farms, put solar on roofs, over parking lots, etc. and, of course build more offshore wind turbines which have shown not to hurt marine life (well, it disturbs while being built, but, after that, it, actually, helps lots of marine life as another habitat.) We should be leaving our children with real clean and reliable energy structures like wind and solar. So, why are we calling nuclear fission clean? It is NOT!! Stop lumping nuclear fission in with our real renewables!
Thanks for helping to protect our planet.
Camille Nixon
Bradford Street