Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/13

Surge in MN / defund ICE / rein in this authoritarian regime / ways to get more informed / where to give to help immigrants in Minneapolis / protect the Fed's independence!

From my friends at Civic Sundays Los Angeles

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

Hope you’re hanging in there.

I know this newsletter is out late again today, so I’m going to start by writing about my process for a second.

Over the holiday break, when I was posting newsletters earlier in the day due to being on the East coast, a reader noted that he loved the earlier publishing time as it gave him more hours in the day to take my recommended actions. He asked if I could try to get my posts out earlier going forward.

The short answer is, of course, that I would LOVE to do that. I recognize it would be much better for all of my readers—and me!

This morning, however, was the kind of morning that encapsulates why this is so difficult.

I am currently on seventeen active Signal group chats. They range from a group monitoring and reporting on the ICE raids in Minnesota, an ICE watch group here in LA, a clip thread, a number of Democratic comms groups, groups of activists, teams of content creators, random political operative chats, and more. On any given morning I wake up to between 300 and 3000 new messages—on Signal alone.

The same is repeated on my phone, in my Instagram DM box, on Substack, on Slack, and, to a lesser extent, on What’s App.

I feel duty-bound to try to keep up with all of these messages, as they often contain up-to-date information on issues, bills, or situations we are following. They also often contain requests for immediate and urgent amplification. On some days, like today, there are almost nonstop messages about ICE attacks —in this case in Minneapolis. There are clips that need to be posted for amplification, people posting donation links, folks reacting to videos that have been uploaded to the chat by asking things like “do we know if he’s alive?” or '“OMG is that a child?” It’s pretty intense.

There is a constant stream of notifications popping up on the upper right side of my laptop, even as I write now. I don’t turn them off, because it’s important that I know what’s happening so I can convey that information to you. But also because if I can help raise the alarm by, for example, stopping what I’m doing to post a brutal ICE video that the media isn’t covering, I feel I must do that.

I also, of course, read a lot every morning—everything and everyone from Heather Cox Richardson to Robert B. Hubbell to Jay Kuo to The Message Box to Strength In Numbers to BIG by Matt Stoller to Popular Information to MurMur’s Substack to The Defiance Dispatch…and more. Plus articles from Ground News, the Guardian, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, occasionally the New York Times (for free—I cancelled my paid subscription) and sometimes others.

All of that information needs to come in before I feel equipped to come to you with actions that go out. Make sense?

I tell you all this to explain that even when my intentions are good, it is difficult and time-consuming to filter through all of the information I receive—particularly at a time of crisis such as now— in order to get you the data and actions you need. I also sometimes have to stop and make videos. Or sit in on an emergency briefing. Or what have you.

I do this all gladly and willingly, mind you—I absolutely recognize that it’s an honor. I just don’t do it as quickly as we all might like. And I won’t work at night, because, for many reasons, I need a break in the evenings.

So that’s why the newsletter isn’t out earlier in the day. I’ve been wanting to explain this for awhile. I wish I worked another way, but this is just my process. Sorry!

One last thing, on a related note: I don’t think most Americans understand the absolute insanity and horror that is unfolding in Minnesota right now. The ICE surge there is like nothing we’ve ever seen. It’s a full-on assault, and the corporate media is nowhere to be found. So if you’re in Minnesota please know that there is a huge, dedicated group of activists and content creators working to both send help and get the word out.

And if you’re not in MN but know someone who is I’d recommend reaching out and checking on them. I am doing all I can to gather information about where and how we can help there—I’ll post everything I learn in the newsletter as I get it.

We’re in the thick of it, folks. It’s ugly and getting uglier. We knew Trump would escalate as he loses support, but it’s still painful to watch. Having said that, I’m also deeply inspired by and proud of the response we’re seeing from citizens like you across the country. It’s magnificent, brave, and relentless. Let’s keep it up!

We’re going to win. We ARE winning. Trump is weak and scared. Unfortunately the more this becomes the case the worse he’ll act…for now.

But he’s still losing. Never forget it.

Let’s get to work.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲 and Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

First, I’m calling because I’m horrified by what ICE is doing right now in Minneapolis. The violence, lawlessness, and unconstitutionality of their actions is appalling. Even worse is Congress’s failure to do anything about it. You’re a co-equal branch of government. Act like it! Rein this lawless agency in! ICE needs to be defunded and abolished, Kristi Noem needs to be impeached, and the officer who executed Renee Good needs to be arrested and charged. Americans don’t want this and we won’t accept it. Make it stop now!

Also Trump’s DOJ needs to drop its sham criminal investigation into Jerome Powell now, before they tank our economy. Trump is playing with fire — we will all lose if the Central Bank loses its independence. The DOJ must drop the charges now. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

URGENT! Democratic senators are about to cave again on a crypto bill called the Clarity Act and a vote is expected this Thursday in both the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. The Democratic Senators on these Committees need to hear from us—especially if one of them represents us!

130 Indivisible groups around the country have urged the Senate to make sure that bill includes binding, enforceable provisions to prevent crypto money laundering, crypto corruption, and crypto risks to the economy and financial system. But what the Senate is considering is just window dressing that fails to meaningfully address these issues. Should this bill pass we will be surrendering our economy to crypto oligarchs without needed oversight.

Everyone should call their Senator but especially call these in the Banking Committee and the Agricultural Committee below. Script below: 

Banking committee 

Jack Reed, Rhode Island 202-224-4642

Mark Warner, Virginia 202-224-2023

Chris Van Hollen, Maryland 202-224-4654

Catherine Cortez Mastro Nevada 202-204-3542 

Tina Smith Minnesota 202-224- 5641

Raphael Warnock, Georgia 202-224-3643

Andy Kim, New Jersey 202-224-4744

Ruben Gallego, Arizona 202-224-4521

Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware 202-224-2441

Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland 202-224-4524

Agricultural Committee

Amy Klobachar, Minnesota 202-224-3244

Michael Bennet, Colorado, 202-224-5941

Tina Smith, Minnesota  202-224-5641

Richard Durbin, Illinois 202-224-2152

Cory Booker New Jersey 202-224-5702

Ben Ray Lujan New Mexico. 202-224-6621

Raphael Warnock Georgia 202-224-3643

Peter Welch  Vermont 202-224-4242

Script : 

My name is _____ and my zip code is _____ . I’m asking the Senator to vote no on the Clarity Act when it comes up in the Banking/Agriculture Committee. Democrats shouldn’t give away the future of the American economy to crypto oligarchs who are dismantling our democracy. This is exactly what we elected you NOT to do. I will be furious if this passes with Dem help. Vote no. Thank you!

Get Smart! 📚

I want to (again) recommend the Unbreaking newsletter.

Unbreaking, which is run entirely by volunteers, aims to provide clear and rigorously sourced explanations of what’s happening to our federal government and why it matters. Their chosen battle against rising authoritarianism is combating information overload. They bear witness to human costs and track the pushback and resilience work already underway. Their all-volunteer team of researchers, writers, editors, and community organizers works collaboratively to curate and contextualize the nonstop firehose of news. They maintain timelines, publish and update explainers, and provide a briefing each week. What they accomplish is INCREDIBLE. I absolutely love this resource and use it often.

Check it out here.

Give 💰!

One place I know that is good to give in Minnesota right now is:

The Immigrant Defense Network of Minnesota

I am having trouble finding other places so if anyone knows of any please drop them in the comments! But the one above is the gold standard so please give if you can.

Chop Wood, Save the Planet!

Climate Action Now has a new action carousel for democracy and climate!

This is so cool! CAN has created a new tool that makes it easy to take multiple actions in minutes, right from their website. Once you give a bit of information, you can send personalized, well-researched, well-written messages to your federal, state, and city leaders in just seconds demanding action to preserve our democracy and our climate. CAN recommends people take 5 actions a day, but most people take 10 at a pop. AMAZING! It has never been easier to take action. What’s more, with each action you earn points, and when you’ve earned enough points, Climate Action Now will plant real trees on your behalf.

But this may be the best part -- any group can publish their own version of the CAN Action Carousel on its own website, for free, in a matter of minutes. In the last month, church groups, local civic groups, chapters of national orgs, university clubs, even a chemistry professor at a community college have requested their own Action Carousels. If you belong to a group that wants its own carousel, all you have to do is ask! Get the CAN Action Carousel for Democracy and Climate.

In the coming days and weeks, I’ll be working with the CAN team to get my recommended actions into the CAN Action Carousel. In the meantime, let’s get busy!

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

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PHNNKH to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)

I am writing to urge you, as a Member of Congress, to use every constitutional tool at your disposal to rein in an increasingly authoritarian Trump regime before its escalating abuses cause irreparable harm to our democracy, the rule of law, and global stability.

We are living through a deliberate split-screen strategy. On the domestic front, the Trump regime is on a historic losing streak—losing in the courts, in Congress, at the ballot box, and in the streets. Public sentiment has turned decisively against ICE abuses and in favor of immigrants, civil liberties, and peaceful protest. The killing of Renee Nicole Good has become a moral and political turning point, galvanizing opposition nationwide.

[Read the rest here.]

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

Talk soon.

Jess