Chop Wood, Carry Water 12/12
Hi, all, and happy Monday!
I hope you had a restful and sweet weekend. I had both— the latter quite literally, as MJ and I devoted all of Saturday to baking vast quantities of Christmas cookies. (They did all of the decorating, if you couldn’t guess from the photo.)
And speaking of sweet, yesterday I had the great honor and delight of attending a small gathering at the home of
and his wife Jill. It was happy indeed to finally meet this prolific and brilliant Substack author—as well as his “Managing Director”— in person; a fine time was had by all. We celebrated our victories in recent elections with cake and a toast, and enjoyed a lively conversation on everyone’s favorite subject—POLITICS!Speaking of which, as the holidays are bearing down on us let me tell you what to expect from Chop Wood, Carry Water in the weeks ahead: I will publish daily for the rest of this week, then likely pare back quite a bit for the remainder of December. While I can always find things to do, I think we all deserve (and have earned) a respite. “Extra! Extra!” will continue to go out every Sunday, of course—we can’t live without good news!—but calls to action will largely cease while we take time to be with family and friends.
Of course if something time-sensitive and important comes up—it often does—I’ll be right here to shepherd you through it with appropriate actions.
No matter what happens I’ll be back to regular newsletters on Monday the 2nd.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This week, after all, there’s lots to push for as we continue to encourage Congress to use their final moments of this (relatively sane) session for good.
So let’s get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling [again] to ask the Senator to prioritize passing S.4573, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022. We’re running out of time, and the results for our democracy if this bill doesn’t get passed could be disastrous.
I also want to ask the Senator to prioritize passing two critically important gun violence prevention bills: first, the House-passed version of the Assault Weapons Ban (bill number HR 1808), and also S. 190, Ethan’s Law, a common-sense safe storage bill. [Optional: share why passing common sense gun laws is important to you.] Americans are tired of inaction on guns. Please get this done. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
[H/T Newton Alliance:]
Please call Chuck Schumer at (202) 224-6542 or (518) 431-4070 or (212) 486-4430 and say:
Hi, My name is _____ and I live in [city, state].
I’m sure Leader Schumer saw President Biden call for a ban on assault weapons during his remarks at last week’s Annual Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence on Capitol Hill. I’m grateful to the Senator’s staff for meeting with New York survivors the next day to hear their plea for an accountability vote on the Assault Weapons Ban.
I join them in asking Leader Schumer to schedule an accountability vote on the House-passed bipartisan assault weapons ban as soon as possible.
American Families don’t have much time before the next mass shooting. Thank you.
Extra Extra Credit ✅✅
Y’all, if you haven’t yet signed this petition asking the FDA to hold an “AdComm” (a committee that reviews and evaluates data concerning the safety and effectiveness of drugs) for NurOwn, a new and extremely promising ALS drug, please do.
Background: the FDA is slow-walking hearings on a drug that could slow or even stop the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a horrific disease. ALS advocates are begging them to move faster. We need large numbers of folks to sign on as “ALS Advocates” before this petition gets turned in this week.
Sign here. And please share!
Get Smart! 📚
Simon Rosenberg and Tom Bonier On the 2022 Elections
Please join NDN and their friends at Future Majority for a live, in-depth look at the 2022 elections with our favorite strategists, Simon Rosenberg and Tom Bonier.
Simon and Tom will offer their thoughts about what happened and what it means for 2024. Tara McGowan of Courier Newsroom will moderate the discussion. This will be Simon and Tom’s most extended public appearance together since the election and will be a great opportunity to reflect on our successes in 2022 and look ahead to 2024.
Mark Riddle of Future Majority will be offering some introductory remarks to kick off the conversation.
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 12:00 PM ET
Spread the Word! 📣
President Biden’s economic plan is bringing manufacturing jobs home: This morning, the Biden administration announced a $2.5 billion loan to support GM and LG’s EV battery production facilities. This investment in American manufacturing is estimated to help create 11,000 jobs in Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan. Help us uplift this story.
Give 💰!
As you all know, we won a majority of seats in the PA House in November (102-101)! BUT, one member of the majority (Rep. Tony DeLuca) has passed away, and two other members will be resigning their seats to take other positions (Rep. Summer Lee won a seat in Congress and Rep. Austin Davis won the Lt. Governorship — bench building!). This means there will be three upcoming special elections that will determine control of the chamber again, and we need to hold these seats. The States Project is working closely with their PA partners to make sure we hold the chamber. If we lose any one of these elections, Republicans will have a majority in Harrisburg again. Gah!
The special elections will happen in the first few months of 2023. I’ve re-launched my PA States Project Giving Circle to help raise money for them— can you help? They want to raise 100K altogether.
Give to my States Project PA Giving Circle here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to your Senators] [H/T and more info] [Quick send: text SIGN PDEEQZ to 50409]
As our nation continues to face a crisis of housing affordability, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley has just introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act, a piece of legislation aimed at ending Wall Street ownership of residential housing.
This legislation bans hedge funds and all other investors from owning large numbers of homes by establishing a $20,000 federal tax penalty per single family home owned in excess of 100. To help ensure affordability for families, revenues from this tax are reserved for down-payment assistance programs.
While aspects of the housing crisis— including a supply shortage—will take years to remedy, others can be addressed immediately. This bill does just that. To quote Senator Merkley:
“Everyone should have a safe, affordable place to call home. In every corner of the country, giant financial corporations are buying up housing and driving up both rents and home prices. They’re pouring fuel on the fire of the affordable housing crisis that so many of our communities are facing, leaving working families behind. The housing in our neighborhoods should be homes for people, not profit centers for Wall Street. It’s time for Congress to put in place commonsense guardrails that ensure all families have a fair chance to buy or rent a home in their community at a price they can afford.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’d like the Senator to immediately sign on to this bill as a co-sponsor. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Senator Merkley's bill is a potentially great Christmas gift to the American people. I wish you and family a blessed Christmas season. Enjoy every moment, Jessica!
Great newsletter as always, but Aw - the cookies! They reminded me so much of the ones my daughters used to make with me. I miss those days. Enjoy!!