Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/15
We can do this.
Hi, all, and happy Friday.
We made it through our first full post-election week! Bravo!
This new reality isn’t easy—that’s an understatement—but I’m so proud to see us all here together again, accepting what we cannot change and getting ready to change what we can. Some of us have been preparing for this moment, knowingly or unknowingly, for eight years. Others are new to this movement but finally galvanized to act—welcome! Collectively, folks, we’re ready. We have to be.
If you’re just beginning this work and have basic questions about calling your representatives, curing ballots, or anything similar, please drop your queries into the comments and our more veteran readers will answer them. There’s a lot of experience, expertise, and ingenuity in this group—use it! And if you want to find in-person gatherings in your state try asking for help with that, too! I have subscribers from everywhere—if you think you’re alone wherever you live, I’m happy to report that you’re wrong.
Finally, I found this recent Rebecca Traister article to be encouraging. It observes that the so-called Resistance is no longer the fresh-faced naif it began as in 2016—it has changed. But it has by no means gone away, and it is not folding in the face of Trump’s win. Quite the contrary, we have the advantage, as Leah Greenberg points out, of not having to “build the plane while we’re flying it” this time. We know how to do this, we’re seasoned, and we’re extremely familiar with Trump’s ways.
We’re also growing every day. There were something like 147,000 people on last week’s Indivisible call. That’s stunning!
Look, I know this is hard. The news is dizzying, shocking, and deeply dismaying. Trump will try to wear us down with chaos, piled-up outrages, and bellicosity. Don’t let it work. Take one thing at a time, remember to breathe, know when you’ve done enough in a day, and bear in mind that YOU on your own do not need to fight every battle. Pick one or two that speak to you. Work on those. There are lots of us here. Trust that we will each bring our skills to the tasks that fit.
Remember: you are strong. You are smart. You are able. Combined with the rest of us, who are equally so?
We’re unstoppable.
Let’s get to work.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
[If your Senator is GOP]
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I know that Trump is asking lawmakers to let him name his unqualified cabinet nominees as “recess appointments” without a vote, a move that would require the Senate to adjourn for long periods of time. The Senator should refuse to comply. Under the Constitution, the Senate must confirm cabinet secretaries. There’s a reason for that—unqualified nominees can then be blocked. I expect the Senator to stand by the vow s/he took to uphold the Constitution. And for God’s sake vote no on Gaetz, Kennedy, Gabbard, and Hegseth. I’d like to remind the Senator, as Timothy Snyder said this week, that “the United States Senate will not outlast the United States.” If these appointments end the American experiment your jobs will go with it. Fight back. Thank you.
[If your Senator is a Dem]
I’m calling to ask the Senator to prioritize confirming pro-democracy judges during the final session of Congress. There are still dozens of nominations pending. We need to ensure that those vacancies are filled by judges that will uphold the Constitution and our democracy before Trump returns to the White House. Democrats also need to ensure we have a Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board, appoint key regulators to the SEC and FDIC to protect the American people from financial fraud, and reappoint FTC Chair Lina Khan. Democrats need to act aggressively to protect us. Thanks! [H/T and H/T]
Extra Credit ✅
Please push President Biden to make the ERA the law of the land by asking the national archivist to sign and submit the amendment (which has been ratified by the required 38 states) to the Federal Registry.
This website has a whole host of things anyone can do from sending a postcard, making a phone call to joining a vigil near the White House in DC.
Extra Extra Credit ✅✅
Common Cause has launched a petition to Congress demanding that they not confirm Matt Gaetz. Sign here. [H/T]
Get Smart! 📚
Many are wondering how best to get news in an environment where so many outlets seem to have failed us completely. I want to recommend a couple of places to start, and I urge you to sign up for paid subscriptions if you possibly can. If we don’t back these outlets with our money it’ll be hard for them to continue their vital work. Having said that, none, to my knowledge, keep their reporting behind paywalls.
These outlets are the Guardian, ProPublica, Popular Information, Sludge, and The 19th.
There are other excellent news sources—I have a list of my favorites here, most of which are on Substack. But today I’m focussing on fearless and effective investigative reporting, as it’s is something we’re going to need in a big way during Trump 2.0, and the above publications specialize in it.
If you know of others please drop them in the comments!
Win Races! 🗳
Repro For All is doing phonebanks and canvasses into two districts in CA that are still curing ballots. These are crazy close races and every ballot cured can make a difference. Please help if you can!
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
From the terrific
newsletter:The USDA has announced $1.5 billion in funding for 92 landscape conservation and climate-smart agriculture projects across America. Tell Congress to sustain this funding using this easy tool.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: President Biden] [H/T] [Text SIGN PQKSJZ to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages or MESSENGER]
I'm writing to urge the White House to cement Biden’s legacy as the Climate President and adopt the Fair Share NDC as a framework for the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution in 2025.
The Fair Share NDC emphasizes
an 80% reduction in GHG emissions domestically
providing finance to reduce our historical emissions internationally and to support adaptation and Loss & Damage
a Fast, Full, Fair, Funded, and Feminist Fossil Fuel Phaseout by 2031
If there is any time to be ambitious, it is now.
Please pass a Fair Share NDC before Trump takes office. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
The President could also substantially solidify his legacy by 1) lifting all of the Trump tariffs for the balance of his term, thereby reducing the cost of a lot of what we'll be buying for the holidays, 2) pre-emptively pardoning everyone even potentially on a Trumpista enemies list; these people have committed themselves to the preservation of our system and don't deserve harassment because of it, and 3) publicly pushing Senators Schumer and Durbin on judicial confirmations. Neither the Majority Leader nor the Senator from Illinois are noted for excessive energy and zeal and this is a time for both.
In respect of news, Andy Borowitz does good research for both is satire and his occasional forays into hard news and is worth supporting for the element of humor he brings to the scene. If we forget how to laugh, even under dire circumstances, we're done.
Making the calls, doing the work, and adding to my list outreach to MSM to do more to put Dem Senators on record about what they are planning to do RIGHT NOW, in this moment, to reveal the full-on ugly of these appointees. My calls to Senator offices were less than satisfying in response, and so I felt the need to kick this all into more gear.