Power to the People News — March 19, 2026
March 19, 2026: Power without accountability — abortion, ICE, and the courts. Power to the People News from People Power United.
When Power Abuses, the People Respond
This week's stories share a single spine: what happens when power operates without accountability — to law, to the planet, or to the people it governs. From Trump-appointed judges backing his administration 97% of the time, to sweeping voting restrictions designed to keep millions from the ballot box, to a world hurtling past 1.5°C while the U.S. abandons climate commitments entirely, the pattern is consistent: those who wield authority face no consequences, while those with the least power absorb the most harm. And yet resistance persists — in a congresswoman forcing lawmakers on record to defend the Fourteenth Amendment, in a military archbishop telling troops they may refuse illegal orders, even in a tiny wildflower that evolved its way back from extinction. The question before us is not whether the damage is real — it is who will organize to stop it.
📰 Stories Shaping Power to the People Right Now
🌡️ UN Climate Chief: The Iran War Is an “Abject Lesson” in Fossil Fuel Dependence Speaking at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels, the UN’s top climate official declared that the energy chaos from the Iran war is a direct consequence of fossil fuel dependence. Fossil fuel dependency is “ripping away national security and sovereignty.” Sunlight doesn’t depend on vulnerable shipping straits. In 2025, clean energy renewables overtook coal as the world’s top electricity source, with $2 trillion invested in clean energy — double fossil fuels. UN News / Reuters
🌸 A Tiny Flower Just Proved That Life Will Fight to Survive A landmark Science study documents the first-ever “evolutionary rescue” in wild plants. Researchers tracked the scarlet monkeyflower through California’s 2012–2015 drought and found populations facing extinction rapidly evolved genetic adaptations and rebounded. Scientists caution this won’t work for every species, but it opens new frontiers for conservation planning. USA Today
⚠️ The World Is on Track to Breach 1.5°C Before 2030 New analysis across five global temperature datasets confirms the world will breach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit before 2030 — 15 years earlier than projected. The EU responded with a 90% emissions reduction target by 2040. The US under Trump has abandoned protecting the planet entirely. World Economic Forum
⚖️ Trump’s Hand-Picked Judges Are Voting For Him 97% of the Time An analysis of federal appeals court rulings found Trump-appointed judges sided with his administration on emergency stays 97% of the time. Three more conservative judges are now stepping into semi-retirement, giving Trump new vacancies to fill before the midterms. New York Times
🗽 Congress Fights Back: Resolution to Defend the Fourteenth Amendment Rep. Rashida Tlaib and thirteen co-sponsors introduced a resolution calling on Congress to recommit to defending the Fourteenth Amendment — birthright citizenship, due process, and equal protection — as the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on Trump’s executive order targeting it. Rep. Tlaib’s Office
🗳️ Republicans Unveil the “MEGA Act” — A National Voter Suppression Blueprint House Republicans unveiled the Make Elections Great Again Act, the most sweeping federal voting restrictions ever attempted. Paired with the SAVE Act’s citizenship documentation requirement, experts warn millions would be disenfranchised — especially married women, rural voters, and communities of color. 69 million Americans lack a birth certificate in their current name. Half don’t have a passport. Democracy News
✝️ Catholic Military Archbishop Tells Troops: You May Disobey Illegal Orders As the Trump administration threatened military force to seize Greenland and deployed troops to Venezuela, the Catholic archbishop for the U.S. armed forces said it “would be morally acceptable” for troops to refuse orders violating their conscience. Three top cardinals simultaneously issued a rare joint statement questioning U.S. foreign policy’s “moral foundation.” Washington Post
💥 Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today
🛑 Take Action Now: Tell Congress: Block the $10 billion scam to fund Trump’s Orwellian Board of Peace
👉 Take Action Now: Stop the Republican Attack on Voting Rights
📩 Take action: Tell Congress to reject the SAVE Act bills
⚡ Take action: Tell Congress to subpoena Hegseth about the Iran school attack
👉 Take action: Tell Congress to stop Trump from sending American troops into Iran — and vote no on the draft
📞 Take action: Call Congress at (202) 224-3121 today — and every day until the vote — and urge your senators and representative to vote no on Mullins for DHS and NO on the SAVE ACT
🗳️ Bonus action: Register to vote, vote in every election, and help your community do the same. Reproductive freedom is won and lost at the ballot box.
👑 Bonus action: Sign up for the next national No Kings Day of Action and show up in solidarity with everyone whose rights are under attack. The Complete Guide to the No Kings Day of Action is now available.
The movement for progress and power to the people starts here.
🔥 What Comes Next: The Work Is Ours
This week’s stories are not seven separate events. They are one story told seven ways — about what it costs when power goes unchecked. Judges installed to serve an administration rather than the law. Voting restrictions engineered to keep millions from the ballot box. A planet pushed past 1.5°C while the country that did the most damage walks away from the table. The throughline is always the same: the people who bear the cost are never the people who made the decision.
And yet the resistance is working. A congresswoman forced her colleagues on record to defend the Fourteenth Amendment. A military archbishop told troops they have the moral right to refuse illegal orders. Three Catholic cardinals broke with silence to question the foundations of U.S. foreign policy. And a wildflower in California — facing extinction in a historic drought — evolved fast enough to survive. None of these are final victories. But all of them prove that organized people, and even nature itself, push back against the machinery of harm. Show up. Stay in. The work is ours.
Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.
Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United
People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry!
This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.
Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.
The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.