Dear Gentle Readers,
On January 28th, 2026, I spoke at the Ravalli County Commissioners meeting, because Congressman Zinke’s people were attending. I’m sharing my words, because even though there’s little I can do for Minnesota and the other communities under attack by government forces, it’s important to do what I can. I very rarely mention my military rank, but I earned it. I use it when it’s important.
“My name is Anne Marie Scott, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Retired, from Victor, Montana. My views are my own, and not those of the US Air Force, and I can’t believe I have to say that now.
Mr. Zinke, you could end the destruction and thuggery of ICE tomorrow. Republicans could restore the rule of law and the Constitution tomorrow—if you choose to do so.
And you should. Not just because you swore an oath and it’s the right thing to do. But because the American people have proven, time and time again, that they will stand up to tyranny.
Trampling the Constitution will not succeed.
On Jan 6th, the outgoing president clearly expected hundreds of thousands, if not millions, to show up for him. Estimates max out at 2,500. Many of those were criminals.
Recently, Jake Lang, a convicted and pardoned Jan 6th rioter, called for a demonstration in Minneapolis. He got 10 to 20 people. When the pro-American crowd threw water balloons—water, not bullets—he begged for peace. A Black Muslim man escorted him out of the crowd. A woman, there for the protests, helped him afterwards. The very people he hates, and continues to spew hatred at, saved him.
In other words, the base you are depending on, the people who revel in destruction, thuggery, and cruelty, and make money from nasty words, those people are not going to show up for you. They will stay safe, cowering in their basements, just like they are now.
Who is going to show up? Real Americans. Like the Americans in Minneapolis, the Americans in Maine. Americans who believe in the Constitution. Americans of all colors, creeds, and genders, who understand that diversity of thought is what makes us strong. Americans who believe in kindness, in doing the right thing no matter the cost, who believe in the shining city on the hill, they will show up.
We are not Iran, downtrodden by thousands of years of misused theology.
We are not Russia, downtrodden by hundreds of years of serfdom.
The American military is not going to fire on their fellow Americans. They will refuse those orders as illegal.
If you and the Republican party continue to attack American’s Constitutional rights, We the People will continue to rise up and speak out. We the People will show up.
I know this for a fact. The people of United Airlines Flight 93 proved it. Even knowing they were probably going to die, they said, “Let’s roll,” to save their fellow Americans.
Minneapolis, Maine and Montana prove that.
Renee Good and Alex Pretti proved that. They protested peacefully, exercising their first Amendment rights, only to be gunned down by cowardly thugs.
I do not consent to my taxpayer dollars funding secret police or neo-Nazi slogans spouted by the Dept of Homeland Security. I do not consent to my taxpayer dollars paying the Dept of Justice to break the law. Release the Epstein files.
Americans will not tolerate this unlawful behavior. We will not pay for this with our taxpayer dollars.
I swore an oath to the Constitution of the United States of America, and my oath remains in effect.
I recommend, strongly, that you remember yours.”
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Thanks for reading. For those of you who say “I don’t want authors talking about politics,” you might recall that all my books push back against authoritarianism in one way or another. I will use the platform I have to push back against government overreach regardless of party.
I’m not going to allow comments on this post, because my last post got hundreds of spam bots. If you’d like to comment, send me an email. It’s on the contact page.