Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/31 🎃

Upcycle the GOP!

Oct 31, 2023

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday. Also happy Halloween!

Some (silly) good news first: Dolly, our Staffordshire/pit mix, won first place in a doggie costume contest after marching in a local Halloween parade on Sunday. I was very proud of her—she’s a rescue and had a pretty rough time of it before coming to us, so it was great seeing her get so much love. I was also quite proud of Mj, my 14-year-old, who made Dolly’s flower costume out of an old E-collar, paint, and some second-hand odds and ends. Three cheers for upcycling!

But we can’t, alas, upcycle the Republican party. Or not yet, anyway. So now on to more serious business.

Mike Johnson has decided that he’s going to meet his first big legislative moment by trying to extort cuts to IRS funding in exchange for emergency aid to Israel. He also severed the latter from aid to Ukraine. Democrats and some Republicans have called his bill a non-starter. But something will eventually have to get passed.

Johnson intends, obviously, to make the process as painful, drawn out, and contentious as possible, which is the opposite of how legislation—especially “emergency aid” —is meant to be moved. We can disagree about the money being sent to Israel for arms—some support it, some don’t—but the larger point remains that Johnson seems eager to hamstring the government in order to score partisan points—never mind that cutting funding to the IRS actually loses us money. With wars burning on two fronts this is a discouraging development, and another reason we need to win the majority back commandingly in 2024.

I’ll end on a positive note. This morning I had the honor of speaking to a large group of postcarders on a Markers For Democracy Zoom. “Markers” is one of my favorite activist organizations—they’re a group of smart, effective, and hard-working people who have decided to just get busy and make a difference, and they’ve built up an incredible and growing community doing so.

Markers’ mission statement reads:

MARKERS FOR DEMOCRACY is dedicated to building and maintaining an inclusive and educated grassroots community focused on saving American democracy. We achieve this through daily engagement in postcard writing and other forms of activism to promote the election of Democrats up and down the ballot all over the country.

I can’t say enough good things about them. Today we talked about phonebanking and how important it is for winning elections. I offered some tips for making it easier and less fraught, and we shared stories of close elections where one vote could have made the difference. It was a blast and I’m cautiously optimistic I may see some of them—and maybe some of the rest of you—on my phonebank into Virginia later today.

Talking with the Markers folks reminded me once again what a large and vibrant community we’ve built up as a result of the nightmare of Trumpism. It’s been a painful time in our country—and it remains so—but getting to meet the incredible people fighting back makes it bearable and occasionally even fun.

Thanks for that.

Finally, two corrections, as I seem to be on a roll lately:

This Sunday’s edition of “Extra! Extra!” had an unfortunate typo. The young Native American woman whose likely murderer was just charged in Montana was Mika Westwolf, not Mike. Sorry about that—I knew this but apparently auto-spell did not.
The link for Guides.Vote that I posted yesterday was broken. This is the correct link. I’m told that the League of Women Voters’ nonpartisan candidate guide Vote411.org does a similar thing, by the way. And if you like something more partisan, bluevoterguide.org is for you!

OK. Let’s get to work!

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I strongly oppose cutting funding for the IRS in exchange for passing emergency funding for Israel, Ukraine, or anyone else. Emergency aid bills are not meant to be “offset” by cuts elsewhere. That’s why they are called emergency aid. Not to mention that cutting funding for the IRS is counterproductive. To quote the Washington Post from June 14th, “the agency pull[s] in $3.18 for each dollar spent auditing the top 1 percent, and $6.29 for the top 0.1 percent.” So when Republicans say they want to cut the IRS’s funding they are saying they want to increase our deficit unnecessarily. I see what they’re really doing: trying to protect their rich friends and donors—and I won’t stand for it. Stop attacking the IRS now. Keep it funded. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

Extra Credit ✅

December 7th marks the end of the comment period for a proposed background check rule update. Can you help?

Currently, gun sellers can legally sell firearms without conducting background checks at gun shows and online. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act revised the definition of “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms and President Biden directed the Attorney General and ATF to clarify what it means to be “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms.

ATF has now published a proposed rule clarification—Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms — which makes clear that posting ads online or selling guns at a gun show creates a presumption that the person is trying to make a profit. Trying to make a profit is the key test for whether a person has to become a dealer. The proposed rule will expand background checks to more gun sales than ever before and move us closer to background checks on all gun sales which is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. The public now has 90 days to submit comments in support of the rule.

Learn more about the proposal at regulations.gov. Then visit https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/ATF-2023-0002-0001 to share your comment in support of finalizing the rule. A recommended script from the Newtown Alliance is provided below.

As a (gun violence survivor/student/gun owner/veteran/faith leader/educator/practitioner/law enforcement family member/college student/parent/domestic violence survivor/ etc.), I strongly support the proposed rule to ensure that individuals who are “engaged in the business” of selling firearms are licensed, required to complete background checks for all firearm sales and required to engage in responsible business practices by maintaining records of those transactions. Dealers who have lost their licenses should no longer be legally permitted to sell firearms to the public.
With more than 20% of gun sales in the U.S. conducted without a background check, millions of off-the-books gun transfers occur annually. Firearms sold without background checks—both online and at gun shows—are a huge source for gun traffickers and people looking to avoid background checks. Guns trafficked across state lines are recovered at crime scenes in major cities and used against police officers.
I support ATF urgently finalizing this rule as soon as possible to save lives.

Get Smart 📚

This is going to be excellent:

On November 1st (tomorrow) from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT the wonderful org Big Tent will host Neal Katyal, the former Acting Solicitor General of the United States. Katyal has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, and will preview the cases before the Court this term. He’ll also discuss the hottest legal issues in Trump’s cases. A don’t-miss event!

RSVP HERE

Chop Wood, Carry…Peace in the Middle East?

I’ve been spending a lot of time looking for organizations that work for peace in the Middle East. I was fortunate to find a great one through my cousin this week. It’s called ALLMEP—the Alliance for Middle East Peace. Here’s a bit about them from their comms director:

ALLMEP is a coalition of over 160 organizations—and tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis—building people-to-people cooperation, equality, shared society, mutual understanding, and peace among their communities. We add stability in times of crisis, foster cooperation that increases impact, and build an environment conducive to peace over the long term. ALLMEP envisions a Middle East in which its community of Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders lead their societies toward and beyond a sustainable peace. During this critical moment, ALLMEP is focused on supporting our member organizations, providing them with resources, amplifying their voices, connecting them with donors, and ensuring that their work is part of the larger response strategy being championed by philanthropists, policymakers, media, and other stakeholders around the world.

More information on their response efforts can be found on their homepage. I will be donating to and also following them. Hope some of you will do the same.

Spread the Word! 📣

Can you share this new ad from Volunteer Blue on your social media? It’s silly but apparently shirtless men are what hook people in these days? The website to sign up to volunteer in Ohio or VA is https://volunteerblue.org/. We need more people volunteering desperately—especially in Virginia!

Give 💰!

The States Project is highlighting Virginia Giving Circles that started their cycle for the 2023 VA election and are between 60-90% of their goal. These three new circles would love support from you all in this last week before the fundraising deadline (Friday, November 3rd!).

Please consider making a donation to one (or more!). Let’s close those gaps!

For the People (Currently at 71% of their $25,000 goal)

Greater Boston Giving Circle (Currently at 72% of their $30,000 goal)

Make It Blue! (Currently at 92% of their $20,000 goal)

Win Races! 🗳

Democrats Abroad, one of the best organizations in the world, has partnered with Democratic Parties in six key states: Kentucky, Ohio, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia, who have asked for support to reach Democratic voters and urge them to vote.

To sign up for a phone bank, please click the links below. You will find phone banks for all six states and training sessions if you are new to phone banking.

Get Out the Vote Zoom Phone Banks for Kentucky and Virginia [here]

Make calls in Mississippi [here]

Make calls in Ohio [here]

Make calls in Virginia [here]

Make calls in Pennsylvania [here]

Make calls in New Jersey [here] Training for NJ [here]

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[to all 3 reps] [H/T][Text SIGN PRHUBN to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I am calling on Congress to make necessary critical investments in our care economy before it’s too late -- please make care a priority in negotiations over spending bills and emergency funding this fall.

A lack of investment in our care economy has left aging adults and people with disabilities without the ability to remain in their homes and stay active in their communities. And recently expired pandemic-era aid could lead to the loss of 70,000 child care centers, with 3.2 million kids losing care.

And while care is incredibly expensive to people needing care services, jobs in our care economy don’t pay a living wage -- disproportionately impacting the Black, Latina, Asian, and immigrant women who make up 90% of its workforce.

The median hourly wage for home care workers was $14.50 in 2022 according to PHI. That’s actually lower than it was in 2021 ($15.22), accounting for inflation. Their median annual income was only $20,599 in 2021 with 15% of home care workers living below the poverty line and 42% near poverty (below 200% of the poverty line). Because their earnings are so low, more than half received some form of public assistance.

10,000 Americans turn 65 every day and people over the age of 65 have a 70% chance of needing long-term care. There are currently 650,000 people with disabilities who are on waiting lists for Medicaid home- and community-based services, where the average wait time is 45 months.

In the richest country in the world, we can afford to invest in our care economy, provide dignity to older adults and people with disabilities, keep people active in their communities, provide child care for families with modest incomes, and ensure better pay and economic stability for some of our lowest-paid but essential workers. Please do so. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water