Jess someone in the comments yesterday said they use the app 5 calls. Has anyone used this? I downloaded it and it has all the info of sen. reps. Etc and scripts to call them about a lot of these action items. I just want to know if you have heard of it and if it’s a useful tool? I’ll be chopping wood and carrying water today! Thank you for all you do.
Thanks for the recognition, Jess, and thanks for targeting "Dr. Oz." He's one of the other misfits that I forgot to mention. He's got as much business running Medicare and Medicaid as I have doing brain surgery blindfolded.
I agree 100% with your thoughts on Plutocracy and that we should focus on it, not partisan poitics. That will give us a goldmine of opportunites to point out how the disparity of wealth gives unfair advantages to the wealthy that include, justice, health care, free speech and most importantly government influence (Citizens United and Musk buying votes). There is a lot to critisize and it will be a powerful message because as you pointed out, many people are already enraged about income inequality. And mesages that reinforce exsiting bias are powerful (Fox uses that all the time). I think I will become a paid subscriber to CW/CW to better support your excellent line of thinking.
Yay B Evans - Jessica needs all the support she can get so she can keep bringing us all this amazing information and easy tasks for us to do to make a difference in our country's politics. The more people who can afford to be a paid monthly subscriber the better, AND it helps a lot for all those subscribers who are not able to financially support her but still want to do all this work to save our democracy. We especially need their voices in this oligarchy we live in. So thank you!
I decided that Jessica’s newsletter, with its practical suggestions of action steps, was well worth the price of subscription. I subscribed last week! I know we need to pick and choose how we use our resources, but this newsletter is uplifting as well as motivating, by giving us easy ways to reach out to Congress people and links to presentations by other groups involved with the Resistance movement. Jessica truly helps us to find ways to Chop Wood and Carry Water in this difficult time.
I don't use social media and maybe someone has already posted this idea there, but here's an idea that might resonate. "Who's Trump working for, you or billionaires? Followed by a picture of the billionaires sitting behind Trump at the inauguration.
If people hate income inequality, we should loudly show them who Trump's hanging out with.
Relieved to hear Hickenlooper was one of the converts!! Lately I have been emailing him and Bennet daily on both the LR Act and the cabinet nominations/hearings. I was thrilled to be able to email Hick and enthusiastically tell him THANK YOU!
Since Doug "Less Useful Than Hemorrhoids" Lamborn retired, we have a new R house rep, Jeff Crank (I can't even think that name, let alone say it out loud, without adding an eye-roll accent to it.) After learning he won, I pledged to be an absolute thorn in his side at every chance I get. Your scripts are invaluable for this!! I always add a little spicy mustard to them (I'm still polite, of course), and I've adopted "Have a great day doing nothing that actually helps people" as my closing. I get a little evil satisfaction typing that, along with the imagery of him (or staffers) going "UGH, this b*tch again??!" every time they read one of my frequent emails :-)
If anyone is interested in doing more for climate change, I’ve just downloaded an app called Commons, and I LOVE it. It helps you make personal changes that help impact the environment. It’s completely changed my way of thinking about what I buy, and how my purchases impact the world.
I just downloaded the app Good on You this week, which helps rate fashion brands on sustainability/climate impact (and workers rights and animal cruelty)-- and the Commons app sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the rec--I'm going to download & take a look at it now!
Not nearly as sophisticated as Commons, from what I've seen so far, but I like it as a starting point. I'm trying to buy very few clothes this year so want to make sure that what I do need to buy aligns with my values. Helpful to know which brands I already have are good too!
Please note: First on the list of items she and Jess and Robert will be reading aloud and discussing is the Letter From The Birmingham Jail.......written by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
We are not without political power. We can vote and donate and volunteer and all the things we've been doing and will continue to do. But what means do we have to protect ourselves from billionaires? Musk is worth half a trillion dollars. What force on Earth could prevent him from buying any outcome he wants in any situation at all?
The force of the people in opposition has been able to trump oligarchs in the past. Our job is to help mobilize this army to fight the current iteration.
Feel free to use my email to California representatives (who were losing their elections and then obtained narrow victories through our grassroots efforts) as a sample:
Dear Rep. _______,
I put in a lot of time, effort, donations, and rallying others to get out the vote for you, and then to cure ballots for you. I am very disappointed that you voted for the Laken Riley Act.
The Laken Riley Act significantly erodes due process for immigrants. Eroding due process is a slippery slope relished by authoritarians, and Trump's crew are chomping at the bit to order the military and DOJ to act against people perceived to dissent against the Trump regime--arrest first with no concern for legitimacy, placing the burden on those arrested to find resources to defend themselves while incarcerated with very limited means of communication.
At the next vote on the Laken Riley Act, please do the right thing and vote No.
Good on you! These craven Reps want to cave at the first hard vote? Hold their feet to the fire - we actually were the folks that got them elected, after all.
I think your plans for MLK day are admirable. I don't know how to say this without sounding critical but I am disappointed that all three of your speakers are white. I follow each of you on substack, but I have trouble giving my attention on this day of all days to white voices even if they are reading the words of Black leaders and poets.
Yay! for Biden and finally, the ERA is in our constitution. From the Contrarian:
With three days left in his presidency, Joseph R. Biden ensured that the United States Constitution, the oldest on earth, would finally include an explicit guarantee of sex equality. In truth, the Equal Rights Amendment should have been recognized as part of our Constitution nearly half a dozen years ago, when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it on January 27, 2020.
By proclaiming, in effect, “Yes, Virginia, you have made history by repairing a glaring omission in our most fundamental law,” President Biden made official a reality that many Americans failed to recognize at the time: that Article V of the Constitution expressly makes any proposed Amendment to that document “Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.” Nothing in Article V makes the Constitution’s binding contents depend on any further official action by any branch of the federal government, whether Congress or the Judiciary or indeed the Executive.
I would love Jess's take on the status of the ERA at this point, because Biden saying it's part of the Constitution while saying he's not going to direct the National Archivist to publish the ERA has made little sense to me today...
We are going to visit Longwood Gardens, a lovely Arboretum and sustainable growing space in SW PA on Monday. My husband and I feel the need to nourish our souls and fill our minds with beauty to counteract the ugliness of the inauguration. I’m torn, as spending time with Jessica, Jess and Robert discussing the legacy of MLK is a wonderful alternative, but I believe at this point that each of us must do whatever gives us strength for the fight ahead.
Great newsletter yesterday and so glad you'll be on the Substack App on Monday! Re: getting our consumption under control: single use plastics are a must-go. Simply stop buying bottled water and sugary drinks. If you buy anything in a plastic container, transfer it to glass when you get home. I travel with a pyrex bowl or 2 and a spoon and knife from my kitchen.
Read Casey Means M.D.'s book "Good Energy" to learn how chemical industry, big Ag, Pharma, Oil and Gas, processed food industries are poisoning us (have been for decades) while medical industrial complex profits off lab tests/imaging, procedures, doctors visits and expensive drugs aimed at treating the symptoms (which will never go away) but not at curing. Prevention would be preferable, but that cat's long since out of the bag!
Jess someone in the comments yesterday said they use the app 5 calls. Has anyone used this? I downloaded it and it has all the info of sen. reps. Etc and scripts to call them about a lot of these action items. I just want to know if you have heard of it and if it’s a useful tool? I’ll be chopping wood and carrying water today! Thank you for all you do.
Yes it's EXCELLENT.
Thank you!
I’ve used it before! I like that they keep track of how many calls you made per year
Thank you!
Thanks for the recognition, Jess, and thanks for targeting "Dr. Oz." He's one of the other misfits that I forgot to mention. He's got as much business running Medicare and Medicaid as I have doing brain surgery blindfolded.
Good letter Bob.
Thanks, Dave!
I agree 100% with your thoughts on Plutocracy and that we should focus on it, not partisan poitics. That will give us a goldmine of opportunites to point out how the disparity of wealth gives unfair advantages to the wealthy that include, justice, health care, free speech and most importantly government influence (Citizens United and Musk buying votes). There is a lot to critisize and it will be a powerful message because as you pointed out, many people are already enraged about income inequality. And mesages that reinforce exsiting bias are powerful (Fox uses that all the time). I think I will become a paid subscriber to CW/CW to better support your excellent line of thinking.
Yay B Evans - Jessica needs all the support she can get so she can keep bringing us all this amazing information and easy tasks for us to do to make a difference in our country's politics. The more people who can afford to be a paid monthly subscriber the better, AND it helps a lot for all those subscribers who are not able to financially support her but still want to do all this work to save our democracy. We especially need their voices in this oligarchy we live in. So thank you!
I decided that Jessica’s newsletter, with its practical suggestions of action steps, was well worth the price of subscription. I subscribed last week! I know we need to pick and choose how we use our resources, but this newsletter is uplifting as well as motivating, by giving us easy ways to reach out to Congress people and links to presentations by other groups involved with the Resistance movement. Jessica truly helps us to find ways to Chop Wood and Carry Water in this difficult time.
I don't use social media and maybe someone has already posted this idea there, but here's an idea that might resonate. "Who's Trump working for, you or billionaires? Followed by a picture of the billionaires sitting behind Trump at the inauguration.
If people hate income inequality, we should loudly show them who Trump's hanging out with.
Relieved to hear Hickenlooper was one of the converts!! Lately I have been emailing him and Bennet daily on both the LR Act and the cabinet nominations/hearings. I was thrilled to be able to email Hick and enthusiastically tell him THANK YOU!
Since Doug "Less Useful Than Hemorrhoids" Lamborn retired, we have a new R house rep, Jeff Crank (I can't even think that name, let alone say it out loud, without adding an eye-roll accent to it.) After learning he won, I pledged to be an absolute thorn in his side at every chance I get. Your scripts are invaluable for this!! I always add a little spicy mustard to them (I'm still polite, of course), and I've adopted "Have a great day doing nothing that actually helps people" as my closing. I get a little evil satisfaction typing that, along with the imagery of him (or staffers) going "UGH, this b*tch again??!" every time they read one of my frequent emails :-)
As always, thanks for all you do!!
If anyone is interested in doing more for climate change, I’ve just downloaded an app called Commons, and I LOVE it. It helps you make personal changes that help impact the environment. It’s completely changed my way of thinking about what I buy, and how my purchases impact the world.
I just downloaded the app Good on You this week, which helps rate fashion brands on sustainability/climate impact (and workers rights and animal cruelty)-- and the Commons app sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the rec--I'm going to download & take a look at it now!
Going to check out Good On You, thanks for the rec!
Not nearly as sophisticated as Commons, from what I've seen so far, but I like it as a starting point. I'm trying to buy very few clothes this year so want to make sure that what I do need to buy aligns with my values. Helpful to know which brands I already have are good too!
Hi Jess,
How about adding something from MLK to your list on the 20th? Thanks for all you do!
Please note: First on the list of items she and Jess and Robert will be reading aloud and discussing is the Letter From The Birmingham Jail.......written by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thanks for pointing that out for me. And I hope more of his history!
From The Democracy Labs - a way to keep Zuckerberg from profiting from your FB and Instagram https://thedemlabs.org/2025/01/17/how-to-stop-zuckerberg-from-profiting-off-your-privacy-without-leaving-facebook-of-instagram-make-it-private-
We are not without political power. We can vote and donate and volunteer and all the things we've been doing and will continue to do. But what means do we have to protect ourselves from billionaires? Musk is worth half a trillion dollars. What force on Earth could prevent him from buying any outcome he wants in any situation at all?
The force of the people in opposition has been able to trump oligarchs in the past. Our job is to help mobilize this army to fight the current iteration.
Writing your Dem. Congress representatives to vote No on the Laken Riley Act:
Shame on the Dem. representatives who have initially voted Yes on the Laken Riley Act. Find yours on Jessica's spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N_eYQt5mqUq_kI2rhFcdf_Z3RiDKpUF7P-6FQZsmPTA/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Feel free to use my email to California representatives (who were losing their elections and then obtained narrow victories through our grassroots efforts) as a sample:
Dear Rep. _______,
I put in a lot of time, effort, donations, and rallying others to get out the vote for you, and then to cure ballots for you. I am very disappointed that you voted for the Laken Riley Act.
The Laken Riley Act significantly erodes due process for immigrants. Eroding due process is a slippery slope relished by authoritarians, and Trump's crew are chomping at the bit to order the military and DOJ to act against people perceived to dissent against the Trump regime--arrest first with no concern for legitimacy, placing the burden on those arrested to find resources to defend themselves while incarcerated with very limited means of communication.
At the next vote on the Laken Riley Act, please do the right thing and vote No.
Thank you,
[your name and city/state]
Good on you! These craven Reps want to cave at the first hard vote? Hold their feet to the fire - we actually were the folks that got them elected, after all.
Thank you, Ellie, for including your template. I just used your template and sent a note to my rep (Janelle Bynum, Oregon District 5).
https://bsky.app/profile/malena.bsky.social/post/3lfyof7e7rc2u
I think your plans for MLK day are admirable. I don't know how to say this without sounding critical but I am disappointed that all three of your speakers are white. I follow each of you on substack, but I have trouble giving my attention on this day of all days to white voices even if they are reading the words of Black leaders and poets.
Add Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address to the reading list on Monday. It’s like a sermon and very powerful.
Yay! for Biden and finally, the ERA is in our constitution. From the Contrarian:
With three days left in his presidency, Joseph R. Biden ensured that the United States Constitution, the oldest on earth, would finally include an explicit guarantee of sex equality. In truth, the Equal Rights Amendment should have been recognized as part of our Constitution nearly half a dozen years ago, when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it on January 27, 2020.
By proclaiming, in effect, “Yes, Virginia, you have made history by repairing a glaring omission in our most fundamental law,” President Biden made official a reality that many Americans failed to recognize at the time: that Article V of the Constitution expressly makes any proposed Amendment to that document “Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.” Nothing in Article V makes the Constitution’s binding contents depend on any further official action by any branch of the federal government, whether Congress or the Judiciary or indeed the Executive.
I would love Jess's take on the status of the ERA at this point, because Biden saying it's part of the Constitution while saying he's not going to direct the National Archivist to publish the ERA has made little sense to me today...
I agree. It will take a case that then gets challenged in the courts to see where this lands...IMO.
I read somewhere that it's the archivist that's dragging their feet.
Called and emailed.
Can we please refer to Monday as MLK day, which is what it is, and not Inauguration Day? And then do something (serve your community) in honor of MLK.
Oh yes, I've 100% been referring to Monday as MLK Day, without hesitation!
We are going to visit Longwood Gardens, a lovely Arboretum and sustainable growing space in SW PA on Monday. My husband and I feel the need to nourish our souls and fill our minds with beauty to counteract the ugliness of the inauguration. I’m torn, as spending time with Jessica, Jess and Robert discussing the legacy of MLK is a wonderful alternative, but I believe at this point that each of us must do whatever gives us strength for the fight ahead.
Great newsletter yesterday and so glad you'll be on the Substack App on Monday! Re: getting our consumption under control: single use plastics are a must-go. Simply stop buying bottled water and sugary drinks. If you buy anything in a plastic container, transfer it to glass when you get home. I travel with a pyrex bowl or 2 and a spoon and knife from my kitchen.
Read Casey Means M.D.'s book "Good Energy" to learn how chemical industry, big Ag, Pharma, Oil and Gas, processed food industries are poisoning us (have been for decades) while medical industrial complex profits off lab tests/imaging, procedures, doctors visits and expensive drugs aimed at treating the symptoms (which will never go away) but not at curing. Prevention would be preferable, but that cat's long since out of the bag!