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.
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.
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 :-)
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 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.
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!
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.
That makes total sense. I think Robert has reached out to a bunch of other Substack authors and none have agreed to come on. Do you have one in mind you'd like to see?
at this late date, I’m sorry but I do not.I guess I was counting on y’all to have those contacts. I follow a number of activist writers of color (including Ijeoma Oluo, Shay Stewart-Boulet) Qasim Rasid, Jay Kuo, Roxane Gay, and Eddie Glaude), but I can’t imagine they’d be available. My apologies for not being able to help with ideas.
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.
Absolutely. We are simply there for anyone who doesn't have something better to do. Once we're done doing the Live I will go volunteer for fire victims again.
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!
Oh man, Lauri you are preaching to the choir on that one. I am a huge anti-plastic person--my husband and I are those people who wash and reuse plastic bags when we have to accept them. We are VERY fortunate in having a plastic free grocery store near us that carries almost everything we need, but most aren't so lucky. It requires government cooperation and that's hard to get when politicians are taking so much money from the oil and gas industry. Yet we must keep trying.
"First, we must unite around electing lawmakers who are actively anti-plutocratic."
"Notice I didn’t say “we must unite around electing Democrats.” That’s because I think it’s important to emphasize policy positions instead of candidates’ parties."
Right on, Jessica. While we may find resonance more often among Democratic legislators than Republican currently, the focus on policy positions instead of parties offers huge potential in actually getting something useful done. The parties do not, for at least two reasons.
1. They have long since drifted (some would say, marched) into a stance where the most important thing in life is to denigrate the other party rather than compromise on behalf of the American people.
2. They commonly erect barriers against and in any case look down their noses at the majority of American voters who self-identify with no party at all; so-called independent voters (of which I am one). A focus in issues to be resolved has a chance of capturing more of those voters--enough despite the systemic hurdles placed in front of them--to make the difference in close elections, of which there are many in legislative districts around the land.
Ironically, it is these voters who recognize that, as a nation, we are massively INTERDEPENDENT. Our Nation, our society, or economy work, to the extent the do, because of the millions of fellow Americans on whom we each depend every day. The parties behave as if their members are the only ones who count, who should have equal rights, who deserve respect, and whom our governments should serve. That is not only destructive and counterproductive, it is un-American. Perhaps, non-American or anti-American would be closer to it.
In any case, the premise of your argument is, I believe, central our potential for getting out of this black hole we have created for ourselves. Thank you so much for that clarity!
I recently downloaded the app https://www.goodsuniteus.com/. You can look up brands and see who and which party companies donate to. This helps decide where you shop and shows you what your spending supports.
I am in complete agreement with you with a possible exception on plutocracy . I agree that the rich are in control but I also think that there is a handful of oligarchs that actually has trumps ear. The rest of the billionaires will also benefit from the 3 or 4 that are actively pursuing their interests which translates into the interest of all billionaires.
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!
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!
Thanks, Cathleen!
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 so appreciate it, Wendy. Truly.
Why thank you!
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!!
OMG love it! lol
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 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.
I like it.
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!
I will check it out and recommend it in the newsletter! Thanks!
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.
That makes total sense. I think Robert has reached out to a bunch of other Substack authors and none have agreed to come on. Do you have one in mind you'd like to see?
at this late date, I’m sorry but I do not.I guess I was counting on y’all to have those contacts. I follow a number of activist writers of color (including Ijeoma Oluo, Shay Stewart-Boulet) Qasim Rasid, Jay Kuo, Roxane Gay, and Eddie Glaude), but I can’t imagine they’d be available. My apologies for not being able to help with ideas.
Add Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address to the reading list on Monday. It’s like a sermon and very powerful.
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.
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.
Absolutely. We are simply there for anyone who doesn't have something better to do. Once we're done doing the Live I will go volunteer for fire victims again.
100%
Oh yes, I've 100% been referring to Monday as MLK Day, without hesitation!
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!
Oh man, Lauri you are preaching to the choir on that one. I am a huge anti-plastic person--my husband and I are those people who wash and reuse plastic bags when we have to accept them. We are VERY fortunate in having a plastic free grocery store near us that carries almost everything we need, but most aren't so lucky. It requires government cooperation and that's hard to get when politicians are taking so much money from the oil and gas industry. Yet we must keep trying.
"First, we must unite around electing lawmakers who are actively anti-plutocratic."
"Notice I didn’t say “we must unite around electing Democrats.” That’s because I think it’s important to emphasize policy positions instead of candidates’ parties."
Right on, Jessica. While we may find resonance more often among Democratic legislators than Republican currently, the focus on policy positions instead of parties offers huge potential in actually getting something useful done. The parties do not, for at least two reasons.
1. They have long since drifted (some would say, marched) into a stance where the most important thing in life is to denigrate the other party rather than compromise on behalf of the American people.
2. They commonly erect barriers against and in any case look down their noses at the majority of American voters who self-identify with no party at all; so-called independent voters (of which I am one). A focus in issues to be resolved has a chance of capturing more of those voters--enough despite the systemic hurdles placed in front of them--to make the difference in close elections, of which there are many in legislative districts around the land.
Ironically, it is these voters who recognize that, as a nation, we are massively INTERDEPENDENT. Our Nation, our society, or economy work, to the extent the do, because of the millions of fellow Americans on whom we each depend every day. The parties behave as if their members are the only ones who count, who should have equal rights, who deserve respect, and whom our governments should serve. That is not only destructive and counterproductive, it is un-American. Perhaps, non-American or anti-American would be closer to it.
In any case, the premise of your argument is, I believe, central our potential for getting out of this black hole we have created for ourselves. Thank you so much for that clarity!
Sure! I'm glad you like it. I've really been thinking about this a LOT.
On moving your credit cards out of the big banks & more: Third Act, co-founded by Bill McKibben, has tools and help with doing that here:
https://thirdact.org/act/move-your-money/
And learn about Clean Energy Banking here https://thirdact.org/events/hope-joy-banking-on-clean-energy-a-conversation-with-ken-laroe/
Yes yes yes thanks!
I recently downloaded the app https://www.goodsuniteus.com/. You can look up brands and see who and which party companies donate to. This helps decide where you shop and shows you what your spending supports.
Yes! I linked to it in the body of the introduction but I should have been more explicit.
I am in complete agreement with you with a possible exception on plutocracy . I agree that the rich are in control but I also think that there is a handful of oligarchs that actually has trumps ear. The rest of the billionaires will also benefit from the 3 or 4 that are actively pursuing their interests which translates into the interest of all billionaires.
Really a shame. So many non answers from these Cabinet nominees.