Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/18

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

- The Talmud

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

Hope you had a lovely three-day weekend, and that you found a way to further the cause of voting rights as part of your MLK celebration.

Today the Senate starts debate on the Freedom to Vote: John R Lewis Act (remember, the two bills have been combined as part of a maneuver to evade the filibuster for a floor debate, and apparently the new bill is better than the sum of its parts!). We don’t know what will happen, but we know what our job is today:

Build that wall…of noise.

Not just Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but every single US Senator should have an office phone that literally doesn’t stop ringing today. Every voicemail box should be full. Once it’s emptied it should refill in minutes. All email inboxes should be exploding. All twitter feeds should be on fire.

This is all easily doable. We’ve had five years of training in bird dogging; now’s the time to use it.

Our job is not to weigh what’s likely to happen.

Our job is to fight for the unlikely.

So let’s go do that right now.

P.S. USPS will be packing and shipping 4 COVID rapid tests to every household in the U.S. that requests them. I just did it—it’s incredibly easy! Go to usps.com/covidtest and fill out the short form to get your 4 tests!

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

First, I want the Senator to co-sponsor and support S 3494, the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, as well as S 564, the Ban Conflicted Trading Act. America is facing a crisis of faith in its political system and elected leaders. These bills would reassure us that members of Congress aren’t profiting off of insider trading. [H/T]

Second, please fight to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R Lewis Act now. The right to vote is a cornerstone of American democracy. Federal protection of voting rights would guarantee this right for all eligible citizens and protect it from the whims of state politicians or of either political party. It’s a no-brainer. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I want the Congressmember to co-sponsor and support HR 1579, the Ban Conflicted Trading Act. America is facing a crisis of faith in its political system and elected leaders. This bill would reassure us that members of Congress aren’t profiting off of insider trading. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit

I decided to take what Robert Hubbell wrote last night about the fake electors Republicans created in order to throw the 2020 election and make it into an action! I’ve used some of his verbiage, as well as some from the Bulwark article he links to.

Let’s contact the Justice Department. Comment Line: 202-353-1555. Comment webform is here. (Choose as your General Topic “Messages to the Attorney General,” which is down towards the bottom when you scroll.)

Say something like (if written it’s really important that you personalize the below. Otherwise it will be discarded as spam. If you call you’ll have to shorten slightly):

We now know that one of the components of Trump’s attempted coup was a plan to convince Republican legislatures to create fake “slates of electors” who would claim to represent the “real” electors chosen in their respective state presidential elections in 2020. It seems beyond doubt that the effort to defraud Congress and impede the constitutional transition of power is a criminal act.

The phony Trump electors from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin certified that they were in fact the “duly elected and qualified Electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America” from their respective states. Those representations were lies. The individuals who signed the documents certifying that they were the “duly elected and qualified” electors from their states were not. Their certificates were fraudulent, full stop.

These phony GOP state certifications are criminal acts, part of a much broader conspiracy by Donald Trump and others to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede the electoral vote count proceedings within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). The signing and transmission of the phony certificates were also standalone crimes in and of themselves, committed in broad daylight and easily prosecuted.

So why hasn't the DOJ acted?

Robust prosecution of these cases is vital. Please get to work, lest such crimes be attempted again in 2024, with dire results.

Win Races! 🗳

Care about the environment? Want to elect people who will help protect it? You’ve GOT to learn about the Environmental Voter Project. I LOVE THEM! They really understand the argument made in this article (I put it in “Extra! Extra!” this weekend, but it’s SUCH an important read that I’m dropping it here, too). They are doing the work to win races up and down the ballot. Right now, for example, they’re phonebanking for a special election in Florida to to fill the vacant seat for Gainesville City Commission At-Large, Seat B. Why should you care about this race? Again, read the article.

EVP is also launching a postcarding campaign, and they have an orientation for it today at 4PM PST/7PM EST! I will be there!

Go here to sign up for the orientation or a phonebank. Or both! THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD! We either start this work now, or we lose in November. Period.

Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)

[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick Send: text SIGN POOJBR to 50409]

I am deeply, deeply concerned about plastic pollution.

As you likely know, the US is the second-largest driver of total plastic waste generated annually, only slightly lagging behind China. According to the EPA, we produced almost 36 million tons of plastic waste in 2018, more than 90 percent of which was landfilled or burned. That plastic breaks down into microscopic particles that seep into everything we touch, drink, eat. It's in Arctic snow, mountain soils and can be blown across the world.

The impact is enormous. Studies reveal that levels of microplastics we ingest daily cause cell damage, including cell death and allergic reactions.

Not only does plastic pollute our oceans, but plastics are made 99% from fossil fuels. And manufacturing plastic from fossil fuels often happens in low-income communities of color, it disproportionately harms Black and brown residents.

The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act (S.984/ H.R.2238) would address this, and other key parts of plastic pollution, by shifting responsibility for waste management and recycling to manufacturers and producers, setting up a national beverage container refund program, establishing minimum recycled content standards, phasing out certain single-use plastic products that aren’t recyclable, prohibiting plastic waste from being exported to developing countries, and placing a moratorium on new and expanding plastic facilities until the EPA updates and creates vital environmental and health regulations on those facilities.

We can’t continue to treat our land, waterways, and oceans as dumping grounds for our plastic waste. Please do everything in your power to pass the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act! Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess