Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/26
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
This newsletter comes to you from the 5 Freeway—we’re currently driving North from San Francisco—where we’ve just spent two days—towards Portland, where we’ll spend the next three. It’s a gorgeous day, with a brilliant sun-cloud balance, immaculate air, and pleasantly cool temperatures. Julius Eastman is on the car stereo. I’ve been taking long breaks from staring at my computer to stare, instead, at the beautiful landscape unspooling before us. It’s all very salutary, to say the least.
I hope that you, wherever you are, are also managing to take breaks to fill up your tanks. Rest and beauty are so important. Yesterday we went to SF MOMA and saw the Amy Sherald show, followed by a video installation called “the Visitors” which may have been the best piece of art I’ve seen in years. All of this, along with time with old friends, good food, and a rainy walk near the Golden Gate Bridge, has left me feeling much restored.
Remember: art, music, time with loved ones, fine cooking, a great book—these are not just luxuries. They are indispensable survival tools during hard times. They strengthen us immeasurably; plus, fascists can find no foothold in them. They provide, therefore, both a safe and a salubrious space.
So avail yourselves of them this week, my dear friends, if you possibly can. Then come back to me on Monday, restored and ready to fight.
Before you sign off completely, however, here are a few important and quick actions. Thanks for taking them!
And thanks for believing that your actions matter—because they do!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to ask the Senator to vote against H.R. 9495 and oppose attaching it to any other legislation. This bill would give the incoming Trump administration unchecked power to threaten and shut down any dissenting nonprofit organization by declaring them a “terrorist supporting organization” without having to provide any evidence or justification. I am deeply concerned that it could be used to target any non-profit organizations that Trump dislikes. Please vote NO on H.R. 9495. Thanks. [H/T]
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s call Senator Schumer in his capacity as Majority Leader and ask him to bring the PRESS Act up for a vote. This is really important. (212) 486-4430 or (518) 431-4070 or (202) 224-6542 or (914) 734-1532.
Say:
My name is ____ and I’m calling the Senator in his capacity as Majority Leader to ask him to bring the PRESS Act, S. 2074, up for a vote ASAP. This is the most important press freedom bill in modern history. It passed the House unanimously in January and has been waiting all year for Senate action. It is urgent for the Senate to pass it this year! Please bring this bill up for a vote now! Thanks.
Schumer's comment page does accept comments from out of state, too. But calls are ideal.
Get Smart! 📚
Do you or a friend want to learn more about the Environmental Voter Project and what they do? Sign up for their Introduction to the Environmental Voter Project deep dive webinar on Wednesday, December 4, at 12pm ET / 9am PT or Tuesday, January 7, at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
They'll send out the recording to everyone who signs up but can't make it as well.
Win Races—Make Calls!
The Environmental Voter Project also has lots of new phone bank opportunities, and they need you on the team! We can't afford to let our momentum stop just because the Presidential Election is behind us. Join your fellow volunteers to take action and make calls on Monday, December 2, at 7pm ET / 4pm PT; Tuesday, December 3, at 12pm ET / 9am PT; Monday, December 9, at 7pm ET / 4pm PT; Tuesday, December 10, at 12pm ET / 9am PT; and Wednesday, December 11, at 7pm ET / 4pm PT. These calls are for local elections so they are even more impactful!
Win Races—CALIFORNIA! 🗳
Did you hear that Derek Tran has declared victory? YES! Thank you to everyone who worked on this race! You did it!
There are still, however, a couple of elections that need help and I'm hoping some of you California residents can support these uncalled races by volunteering IN PERSON to ensure every vote is accurately counted:
***CA-13 (San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera and Fresno) for Adam Gray. IN person. Sign up here. MOST IMPORTANT!
Assembly District 58 for progressive Clarissa Cervantes. Also in person. Sign up here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your HOUSE Rep] [H/T] [Text SIGN PUPLEK to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages or MESSENGER]
I understand that Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA) have introduced a bill called the Security Clearance Review Act (it’s as yet unnumbered). I’d like you to support it.
This piece of legislation would reform the process by which security clearances are approved for political appointees in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), amid reports that President-elect Donald Trump and his advisors intend to bypass traditional background checks to grant security clearances to political appointees. The bill would codify the FBI’s role in conducting background check investigations for EOP employees, and require congressional notifications in cases where the President overrules the FBI on granting such employees access to classified information.
The Security Clearance Review Act would require the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to make a written recommendation to the President that an individual flagged by the White House security office be denied final approval to receive a security clearance. Such a recommendation would be accompanied by notifications to the Chair and Ranking Member of House and Senate Intelligence, Oversight, and Judiciary Committees. In compliance with Article II of the Constitution, the President would have the ability to overrule such a recommendation and grant approval to persons so flagged, but the legislation would require that such a decision be justified to Congress in writing.
Please do all you can to pass this bill before Trump becomes President. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
My God Jess... you don't stop. What an inspiration you are; I have truly come to love your spunky notes, your fiery TO DOs, and your encouragement to enjoy beauty and love every day! Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. I am so grateful I found you!!!
The person who answered the phone at Chuck Shumer’s office listened to my schpiel and asked if I had been given a script by an organizing group so the they could ‘understand staffing needs(?)’. That has never happened before.