Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/12

Hi, all, and happy Thursday!

Sorry I’m running late this morning. There’s a lot going on, needless to say.

Instead of a pep talk—and instead of addressing Merrick Garland’s announcement of a Special Counsel to investigate Biden’s trove of classified documents—I’ve got a few housekeeping matters:

1. The price of postage stamps does, indeed, go up January 22, 2023. Postcard stamps will increase from $0.44 to $0.48. Whatever you do, only buy stamps from the USPS. “Discount stamps,” as I’ve learned to my regret, are almost certainly fraudulent.

2. Some of you asked where you could access the graphic in yesterday’s newsletter. It’s from the amazing Into Action website (link to that specific graphic here). Into Action has a vast treasury of politics-related graphics, with new ones being added daily. All are free to download and use as desired, without credit. It’s the best resource no one knows about.

3. I’ve finally deleted my main twitter account. If you want to find me on social media I’m on Mastodon, Tiktok (@jesscraven101), or Instagram (@jesscraven101).

4. Tomorrow I will resume my Friday discussion threads for paid subscribers. I’ll be there to answer all of your activism-related questions—to the best of my ability. I’ll also have a new pet photo, more books and TV shows to discuss, and an incredible movie to recommend. Paid subscriptions enable me to keep this newsletter going. If I could do more to thank those of you who have them I would. 💙

Now on to our actions—“housekeeping” for our democracy.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

Republicans in the House just passed a bill called the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This bill is performative nonsense, and it was was one of two measures approved Wednesday targeting abortion. Once again Republicans are ignoring the will of the American people. We want greater access to reproductive care—including abortions if needed or wanted—not less.

[If Democrat add:] Please work on passing a bill to codify Roe v Wade into law.

[If GOP add:] Please stop wasting time on bills that will and should never pass and focus on issue that matter to the American people. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m calling about George Santos. He is a fraud, a pathological liar, and very likely a criminal. Has the Congressmember made a statement calling for him to resign? [If yes thank. If no add:] Santos was elected under false pretenses. He lied to voters about everything from his race to his college degree to his resume. He’s made money off of a Ponzi scheme. He’s violated campaign laws. And that’s all just the tip of the iceberg. What, exactly, would it take for the Congressmember to call on him to step down?

Extra Credit ✅

At the start of the new year, millions of dollars in grants, loans, and tax rebates are rolling out the door to fight climate change thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A lot of the details and rules are still being finalized, but what we know for sure is that we need local governments, starting with our governors, to get involved. So let’s give them a push!

Enter your address and contact information here, and Climate Hawks Vote will pull up a sample letter addressed to your Governor. The content is customized based on whether they’re a Republican or Democrat, and includes some basics on how to get started using the climate benefits in the IRA and BIL. You can also customize the letter to include more local ideas and specific messages. Again, send the letter here.

Get Smart! 📚

Indivisible has another AMAZING sounding webinar coming up, and you’re invited! It’s called Race Class Fusion: Creating a Broader “We,” and it’s on Wednesday, January 18 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. This will be a virtual conversation with UC-Berkeley constitutional law professor Ian Haney López to discuss his new book Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America.

From the invite:

The race-class-gender approach is a messaging framework that allows us to call out the strategies the right uses to divide us, so we can build power across those lines of difference and fight back. In this conversation, we will explore the limitations of how the left has historically called out racism and how we can use the race-class-gender approach to provide a roadmap for building a cross-racial progressive movement, winning elections, and saving our democracy.

Register to secure your spot!! (If you’re not an Indivisible member just write N/A in that field.)

Spread the Word! 📣

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released this morning shows President Biden’s economic plan is working as annual inflation has come down for six months in a row. The report also showed gas and airfare prices are down and food price increases are slowing. Please help spread the word!

Reuters: U.S. consumer prices fall in December; weekly jobless claims edge down

“U.S consumer prices unexpectedly fell for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years in December amid declining prices for gasoline and other goods, suggesting that inflation was now on a sustained downward trend. The consumer price index dipped 0.1% last month after gaining 0.1% in November, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the first decline in the CPI since May 2020, when the economy was reeling from the first wave of COVID-19 infections.”

Give 💰!

You may remember that last year I ran a Giving Circle to raise money for The States Project’s efforts in Pennsylvania—they were working to help flip seats blue in the PA House of Delegates. And they succeeded! Democrats won a majority by one seat! 102-101!

Since then, though, one member of the majority, Rep. Tony DeLuca, has passed away, and two other members will be resigning their seats to take other positions. This means there will be three special elections in February that will re-determine control of the chamber, and we need to hold these seats.

Fortunately, the States Project team is working in PA to make sure we prevail.

So once again, I’m raising money for them— I hope you’ll consider giving if you can! Every penny you give will go to the States Project’s work in Pennsylvania for these February elections.

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

[to President Biden] [Source] [Quick send text SIGN PUMORP to 50409] Should you wish to edit this letter you can send it through the White House portal—just copy and paste it here, then edit away.

I have grave concern regarding the recent invasion of the National Congress of Brazil, the Palacio do Planalto presidential palace, and the Supreme Court by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Two years ago, the US faced a similar assault on our democracy. We know firsthand the impact—both immediate and long-term— when government officials subvert democratic norms, spread misinformation, and foment violent extremism.

We must not allow Mr. Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian officials to take refuge in the US to escape justice for any crimes they may have committed when in office, and we should cooperate fully with any investigation by the Brazilian government into their actions, if requested.

Since Mr. Bolsonaro entered the United States when he was still the President of Brazil, he may have done so on an A-1 visa that is reserved for individuals on diplomatic or official visits. As he is no longer the President of Brazil or currently serving as a Brazilian official, please reassess his status in the country to ascertain whether there is a legal basis for his stay and revoke any such diplomatic visa he may hold. And please ask the FBI and other relevant U.S. law enforcement agencies to investigate any actions that were taken on US soil to organize this attack on the Brazilian government.

I stand with the Brazilian people as they recover from this challenging time in their democratic history. As your constituent, I call upon you to support the newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva and the Brazilian people in seeking justice, upholding the rule of law, and protecting democratic institutions in their country. This includes ensuring Mr. Bolsonaro is held accountable for his role in enabling these criminal acts and other crimes he may have committed. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess