Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/10

Hi, all, and happy Friday.

I’ve got another shorter-than-usual newsletter for you today as I prepare to fly back to Los Angeles tomorrow with Mj. I’m sending it in the midst of all of this chaos because, well, that’s what I do. But also, at least one of the calls below holds some urgency. And there are lots of families who need help. And letters to send! And great, hope-inspiring events to attend.

First, about the call: On Wednesday the House of Representatives, with a slim Republican majority and support from 48 Democrats, approved H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act, named for a young woman killed by an undocumented man in Georgia in February 2024. The attacker had been charged with shoplifting but was not detained. The legislation would require federal officials to detain undocumented people who commit crimes of theft and burglary, among other charges, requiring their detention until they are deported.¹

The measure is opposed by immigrant advocates because, despite the horrible crime it invokes, immigrants are less likely than citizens to commit crimes. These advocates believe the bill is a mechanism for mass detentions and deportations, including for minor infractions. It also requires the mandatory detention of anyone who merely admits to having committed a crime or is arrested for committing a crime, thereby taking away any due process rights. ²

The National Immigration Law Center wrote, “supporters of the Laken Riley Act call it a public safety measure, but in reality the bill's provisions would undermine constitutional protections and do nothing to keep us safer.”

Despite this, many Democratic Senators voted for cloture on the bill yesterday. This doesn’t necessarily mean they will support the final legislation—most of them claim that they merely wanted to open debate on the bill with an eye toward offering amendments. Still, it means it has a very real chance of passage. If I thought it would stop a single tragedy I would celebrate it; I think, instead, it will cause many more. So we are going to push our Senators to either oppose the bill completely so that a better one can be written or, at the very least, oppose the worst parts of it.

I’m also including in the newsletter some Go Fund Me links for families I know who have lost their homes. The need is staggering, but I trust that Americans’ generosity will prove equal to the moment. I know there are many, many worthy recipients, so ignore the below if you’ve found other places to give. I just wanted to provide some trustworthy links in case you were looking for some. At least two families at Mj’s school have lost everything. One of these families has been forced to move in with a relative who has a two-room home. Ten of them are now sleeping on the floor. This family’s Go Fund Me link is at the top of the below list. There are several others below it.

An important thing to remember about Altadena, where all of these families resided, is that, unlike Malibu or the Pacific Palisades, it was not a haven for millionaires. A few wealthy people lived there, sure, but it was mostly a working class neighborhood with a large and thriving Black community. To quote BET.com:

Altadena has long served as a refuge for Black families seeking asylum from systemic racism, a sanctuary where they can thrive…Altadena’s open spaces and relative affordability compared with neighboring Pasadena made it an attractive destination. By the 1920s and 1930s, a thriving Black community had taken root and flourished, overcoming redlining and restrictive housing covenants to create a rich cultural and social network.

It’s worth reading the whole article and considering donating to the three families whose Go Fund Me pages are linked therein.

Anyway. It’s a really, really hard moment, my friends. It’s easy to feel despair and overwhelm—how could one not? But please remember that the only day we need to get through is this one. We don’t need to know how we will handle future calamities or trials. We only need to survive now, this day, this moment. We can keep taking smart, productive actions even if we feel like they won’t work, or it’s all too much, or the bad guys are winning. Remember: FEAR is “False Evidence Appearing Real.” We don’t know what the future holds. We only know that taking right action now will make that future better, and that looking for someone to help—tuning our radio dials to the signal of those in need, if you will—will enable us to survive and even thrive.

So let’s do that one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

Please vote no on S. 5, the Laken Riley Act. This is NOT a border security bill. It's unconstitutional and puts hardworking immigrants, including DACA-recipients, at risk of indefinite detention and deportation. It will not prevent future tragedies; it will instead make more communities across America less safe while destabilizing those communities and their economies. Please, ask the Senator to oppose it and work to craft legislation that actually addresses our border crisis. Thanks.

[If Democrat please add:] Please file as many amendments as possible to slow down this bill. And please, at the very least, strip out the provision to empower state attorneys general to sue the federal government. It would almost certainly be exploited by bad actors. Thanks.

(Here’s a list of Democratic and Independent Senators who are expressing willingness to support this bill—they need special attention.)

Get Smart! 📚

Movement Voter Project is having a national briefing on Thursday, January 16 to share the latest updates on how MVP partners are gearing up to block Trump’s agenda, protect vulnerable communities, and innovate to win in 2026 and 2028.

The briefing is open to all – please share with anyone who is worried about the Trump presidency, and looking to channel that worry into constructive action.

Movement Voter PAC Briefing: Before Inauguration Day

Thursday, Jan 16 from 1-2pm ET/10-11am PT

RSVP

Give 💰!

I know there are lots of Go Fund Me pages being circulated right now, but in case you don’t know where to start (or which ones you can trust) I am posting a few for families I either personally know or who go to Mj’s or my nephew Max’s school. All of them have lost everything. Honestly, the need out there is just overwhelming—I have been sent scores of such fundraisers, all of equal merit. But we have to start somewhere.

Here is a GoFundMe for the family of a senior at Mj’s school.

This is my nephew’s best friend’s family’s Go Fund Me page.

Here’s one for the dance teacher at Mj’s school, Yuka Fukuda.

This is the Reed family, very close friends of my friends Wanni and Brett.

This is Bryn, my friend Erinn’s sister.

Here’s one for two families Mj knows in Altadena—I bought a crocheted item from one of their daughter’s at a craft stand recently.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

Looking for an antidote to the feelings of doom caused by the recent election (and the fires in SoCal)?

Join the folks at Climate Action Now on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 7 pm ET for a review of the most hopeful climate trends from 2024, straight from Sam Matey, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Dose of Climate Hope newsletter. Sam's infectious optimism will give you a boost - guaranteed or your money back! (Actually, it's free, but donations are welcome! 🤓). You'll learn about unprecedented world-changing growth in solar and battery technology deployment, an international surge in rewilding, an imminent peak in global carbon emissions, and rapid innovations to sustain agriculture.

The times may be trying, but that's even more reason to rely on hope!

REGISTER NOW

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

[To: your Senators] [H/T] [Text SIGN PJKPNR to Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, or by text to 50409]

As someone concerned about climate and air pollution—especially after the horrific fires in Los Angeles this week—I’m asking you and your colleagues to pursue tough questions during the nomination hearing of Lee Zeldin to head the EPA.

We all depend on EPA to protect our air and water from pollution. I worry that Lee Zeldin would be a gift to the extremely powerful chemical and fossil fuel industries. His nomination comes at a crucial time, as the plastics and petrochemical industries are preparing an onslaught to shortcut the process of getting chemicals onto the market—and we already are awash in toxic, cancer-causing, and hormone-disrupting chemicals.

Lee Zeldin’s record of voting against critical environmental protections—and his stated goal of launching a deregulatory spree—makes clear he would be quick to support corporate polluters.

This nomination is not a matter of Republicans versus Democrats. It is a matter of caring about human health and safety, protecting all that we love and hold dear. The nomination of Zeldin is profoundly alarming. Please, please block it and commit to only supporting a nominee who takes climate change and pollution seriously. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess

1. Source: America’s Voice

2. Source: www.theimmigrationhub.org