Hey hey, Secular FAM! 2025 is almost in the rearview mirror, and I for one cannot wait to let the figurative door hit it in its ass. I’ve been bidding an aggressive adieu to every single year since 2016, but this year of our lordT, 2025, can really go f*ck itself. 

2025 started with a bunch of twenty-something douchelords, one named “Big Balls,” being granted access to absolutely all of our private information and seems to be ending with the president of the United States calling veterans in Congress “traitors” who should be executed and going to war with checks notes Venezuela. 

Good thing the Nobel Committee didn’t give in to his tantrum earlier this year, amirite?

Pete Hagueseth is leading the entire country to war and governing through Xitter posts because of unsubstantiated drug trafficking claims, while our feeble Pedo-in-Chief pardons one of the worst checks notes drug traffickers in history.

I know for all of us who possess eyes and ears, this is another incomprehensible example of hypocrisy coming from this regeme, but to his followers, it makes perfect sense because they get their news and govern their elected offices based on whatever pops up on their algorithmically-cultivated stream. 

Oh, and if you don’t think you’re being spoonfed information on your own social media streams, I have some really bad news for you. 

To the techbros, our eyeballs and earholes and the amount of time we glue them to their crappy products and sponsors, are all that matter. When they see us, they see dollar signs. And the more time we give to their garbage products, the more we damage ourselves, while only enriching them. 

What started as a seemingly harmless opportunity to connect with family and old friends has become a big, fat, money making machine that floods the system with bots and trolls. If you ever find yourself arguing with someone on your favorite community Facebook page or Xitter account, remember, there’s a really good chance that they aren’t even here in the United States.

I spent most of this year paring down my social media consumption, but I found myself replacing it with an equal amount of screentime. Information is still information, and I am convinced that our brains are not meant to consume a steady stream of information, even if it isn’t being shoveled into our heads by billionaire broligarchs. 

Speaking of social media information (and hypocrisy👀), I was on BlueSky today and read a post by author and professor, Jes Battis, and he shared his concern for his current college students and the very real damage that has been done to the brains of a generation raised with too much technology. 

I encourage you to read the whole thread, but this little bit here should have all of us worried. 

I know this is anecdotal, but I feel this myself. I have had so many conversations recently about the desire to switch back to my old Nokia. 

It was indestructible, AND it wasn’t tracking, suggesting, or questioning your every move. 

Of course, there are bright spots to social media and technology, and one great thing about it is that any of us can use our technology, social media presence, and our voices to speak out during this rise of fascism (at least, while we still can). 

Earlier this year in Fountain Hills, one such individual used their voice to raise awareness about the constant religious and political indoctrination taking place at all of their meetings. In September, a substantial part of a public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was spent eulogizing Charlie Kirk with some dark verses from the bible equating anyone that disagreed with their viewpoint as demonic and evil. 

When an audience member at the meeting tried to force this woman’s son to stand for the unbelievably long IndoctrinationInvocation for Charlie, both she and her husband were PISSED (you can see what happened here). She decided to use her voice, and now, there is a whole community - both online and in Fountain Hills - who have learned all about the Fountain Hills Town Council and the Christian nationalists who sit on the board. 

She didn’t stop there. She rallied the troops in Fountain Hills, and their attendance at meetings has increased so much that the snowflake aLpHa MaLe Mayor Gerry Friedel had a temper tantrum(p), called a recess, and cleared the room. 

His campaign website only includes a donation link and links to his only two social media channels, FB and Instagram (where he’s literally only made one post). A quick search of his social media reads like everybody’s uncle who has been watching Fox for the last 20 years, and arguing with trolls and bots on Facebook for the last fifteen. Like his neighbor, Senator John Kavanagh, he’s been transphobic for a long time. 

It also seems that Hillary Clinton occupies a lot of real estate in his brain, and he posts a bunch of stuff about honoring our troops and first responders, cycling, and when athletes kneel for the National Anthem. 

He also seems to be a big fan of stoking anger about everything, swallowing fringe conspiracy theories whole, and regularly going against the advice of Fountain Hills’s legal counsel. 

The guy crumbles under pressure, and the good people of Fountain Hills have been squeezing him like VP Vance testing out a new sleeper sofa. Because of this, the majority MAGA Council voted to permanently remove public comments. Huh…Friedel reminds me of someone…

The thing is, public comment is not required by law, and I’ve advocated for moving public comments or getting rid of them before. This board could have moved public comments to the end of their agendas, but they went nuclear. Next month, they plan on discussing and possibly voting on a memorial to honor Charlie Kirk. 

This little enclave is fired up, and even people that lean conservative are starting to speak out. It looks like their next meeting is on January 13, 2026. 

Throughout much of 2025, I felt like I was on fire, but now I. AM. FIRED. UP. 

Interestingly, it was the death of Charlie Kirk that seemed to rile me out of my fever dream. Suddenly, the number of emails Secular AZ received skyrocketed, and all throughout the state, people were targeted for exercising their First Amendment rights. 

Now, it is time for all of us to shake off the shitstorm and dig in for the long haul. We all need to prepare for at minimum five years of discomfort the likes of which many of us haven’t seen in our lifetimes. 

And so much damage has already been done, we may not be able to right this ship during our lifetime. 

So much damage done, so many lawsuits filed, so many lies told, and so many people in this country suffering, uncertain, and even dead because a handful of people in America hold the vast majority of wealth and don’t give a flying fig about anything but power and control. 

We’re all just collateral damage. 

It’s been clear for a while that colonialism and capitalism are the root of all evil, and now we have the opportunity to right the wrongs of our forefathers and build systems that work for everyone, not just the privileged few. 

We know that at the end of the year, folks are giving to the organizations and causes that they care about, and we hope that you’ll consider giving to Secular AZ. We are your voice for the separation of religion and government, and we are nearly fully funded by the donations of individual donors. 

First, if you haven’t subscribed to our Beehiiv publication, please do so today. Second, please consider becoming a monthly donor. Even small donations make it easier for us to budget, and allow us to focus on what matters most: our legal and lobbying efforts.

Additionally, you may have noticed that we’ve added a long list of actions in our weekly newsletters that you can contribute to. With all of the chaos and suffering that this administration has unleashed onto our communities, we all need to step up regularly - not just at the next big protest. 

There are many opportunities as well to volunteer with Secular AZ in 2026, and be sure to mark your calendars for our Festival of Pies on December 27th, and our Secular Summit on January 10th, 2026. 

We are in a fight for the Common Good, Secular FAM, and we need you now more than ever. If you’re ready to stand up to Christofascists and want to create comfortable community with your people, join us. Courage is courageous friends. 

There is only one way out, and it is us.