Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/10

Oct 10, 2023

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

I suspect I’m not the only one who’s feeling exhausted and a bit overwhelmed right now. It’s safe to say that the stress levels we’re experiencing are unprecedentedly high. Our country somewhat routinely feels unstable these days, but now it is the world itself that feels like it’s spinning out of control. Every moment brings a new crisis. Every headline is more troubling than the one before.

It’s a lot, and it’s especially a lot for those with direct connections to Israel or Palestine. I continue to send you my love and fervent—if perhaps unrealistic—hopes for a peaceful resolution to a situation that likely can’t be solved by more violence. I know how devastated so many of you are, and I want you to know I am with you.

It’s also, I might add, a tough moment for folks trying to cover the news. I’d like to make a special plea to be kind to those trying to write or talk about the situation in the Middle East. I’ve heard many authors and content creators in the last couple of days talk about a sharp increase in “hate mail”— even Heather Cox Richardson, who should be impossible to hate! I’m not speaking for myself, because as an activist focussed mainly on American politics I’m not bearing the brunt. But I do know it’s really, really tough out there for political writers, journalists, and video makers right now. Let’s all try not to attack those who are simply endeavoring to inform.

Speaking of getting informed, I attended a J Street webinar this morning featuring two amazing speakers: a retired IDF Brigadier General and the Co-Executive Director of the Israeli Policy Think Tank ECF. Their discussion helped me better understand what’s happening in Israel; mostly it underscored the enormity of the challenges facing the region—and the world—at the moment. I won’t try to summarize it here—the conversation was recorded and will be uploaded to J Street’s YouTube page later today. I can’t recommend watching it highly enough. It’s entitled “Expert Briefing: Terror Onslaught, Israel at War with Hamas.”

Beyond that, let’s remember, as we trudge through these challenging and uncertain days, the wise words of Greek philosopher Epictetus: “Act well the given part.” We can’t choose the times we live in. We can’t choose the place. But we can certainly choose how we live. So let’s do our best to be beacons of love, fairness, and determination today. Let’s keep working towards the common good. Let’s keep taking hopeful actions…even when we don’t feel hope.

Let’s keep chopping wood and carrying water. It’s how we survive.

It’s how we’ll eventually thrive.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Same call as yesterday. I can’t overemphasize the importance of this right now.

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m calling to demand that the Senate fill all national security positions immediately. This means Tommy Tuberville has to lift his blockade on military promotions—we have no senior military defense official in Israel because of him. We also have no Israeli Ambassador because of Rand Paul. We don’t have Ambassadors in Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, or Kuwait, either. We have no confirmed top USAID official for the Middle East. No State Department Coordinator to Counterterrorism. All because of Republican obstructionism. We are in a moment of crisis; these blockades are endangering our national security and hindering our ability to help our allies. Any Senator who continues to stop these confirmations in light of what’s happening should be censured and expelled. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

The House needs to immediately approve aid to both Ukraine and Israel. We can’t defend one without defending the other. The war on democracy has more than one front. We know Hamas has ties to—and is likely supported by—Russia. Russia is involved in all of this, and they benefit hugely from our defunding Ukraine. Let’s not be stupid.

Also, we need to investigate whether Donald Trump leaked highly classified Israeli defense secrets to Russia. We know he had access to them; we know he played fast and loose with such documents and we know he supports Putin. We also know he has no loyalty to anyone but himself. If he sold out Israel and helped enable this terrorist attack we need to know about it. Please demand an investigation. Thanks.

Get Smart ! 📚

Thursday October 12th at 7PM ET join NOPE for an awesome Virginia-related event.

Their lead speaker will be Delegate Dan Helmer. Dan is a two-term member of the VA House of Delegates and Vice Chair for Outreach for the VA House Democratic Caucus. He also leads Secure Progress, a PAC that’s fundraising for progressive candidates in the tightest VA House races.

We’ll also learn what VA grassroots organizations are doing right now to turn out the vote in underrepresented communities across the state. The VA State Director of CASA, Luis Aguilar, will explain how CASA’s year-round advocacy program for immigrants, communities of color, and working families builds trust, improves lives, and translates into votes this November.

Spread the Word! 📣

Here’s a messaging class from Swing Left that you won’t want to miss:

Dan Pfeiffer: "The Messaging Machine"
Thursday, Oct. 12, 5 p.m. PT

Get a masterclass in messaging from Dan Pfeiffer, the senior advisor to President Barack Obama for strategy and communications. We will then learn how to Muffle the MAGA Megaphone and get introduced to the Messaging Library for phonebankers and canvassers.

RSVP Here

Give 💰!

Readers have suggested a few more places to give money to help those suffering in Israel and Gaza. Please do what you can. I include their comments for context.

Magen David. “It’s the Israeli version of Red Cross. They help people in Israel and elsewhere no matter religion, race or nationality.”
“Anera is a wonderful organization/charity on the ground in Gaza. They are desperate for donations.” Give here.
Hadassah Hospitals in Israel “treats ALL victims of this war, regardless of who they are: to donate to their mission please consider this site. I have seen their incredible work first hand.”

Win Races! 🗳

The Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, MCDP, has urgently requested our help in the next five weeks. They, too, have elections in November. While these are municipal elections, we all know how critical those are to our greater purposes.

The MCDP sees its work this year as setting the stage for a much bigger program in 2024 in two major ways: Testing systems and people who can step up as volunteers and leaders, and winning some local elections in the county which will attract future volunteers and donors to the Party.

As both NC Attorney General Josh Stein and Congressman Jeff Jackson have said recently, Mecklenburg County increasing its turnout is the single biggest key to statewide victory in NC in 2024. So while everyone understands the priority of organizing in the VA legislative elections, I urge you to spend some of your time for Mecklenburg County, NC, now.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet! 🔥

Can you make some calls for energy democracy tomorrow? Climate Hawks Vote has endorsed Maine’s Question Three, to create a publicly-owned clean electric utility instead of the for-profit dirty utilities currently powering Maine. They’re joining Pine Tree Power to help reach Maine voters.

They’re asking national climate hawks to phone bank because we should all care about energy democracy across the nation – and because it’s a model for what could happen elsewhere. Almost all of Maine’s electricity is delivered via two for-profit utilities owned by multinational conglomerates. The utilities have made fortunes, blocked clean power, and left Mainers suffering through power outages and blackouts. Let’s help them change that!

OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water