Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/22
Hi, all, and happy Monday!
Whew! What a busy weekend! I feel I’ve been in constant touch with you, so I’ll keep this short.
It’s the 51st anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision, so expect to hear a lot about abortion today, as well as about the draconian bans Republicans have passed. You should—and hopefully will—also hear Trump’s name invoked repeatedly. Because he did this. The loss of half of the country’s bodily freedom lands squarely on him. Sure, Republican lawmakers across the country are capitalizing on what he started with a savagery that few of us could have imagined. But Trump and Trump alone made it all possible. Let’s not let anyone forget it. (The White House isn’t.)
Speaking of the White House, they will be hosting a briefing today at 4:30 PM EST to discuss President Biden’s commitment to defending reproductive freedom. You can register to join it here.
According to the White House:
The president will “hear directly from physicians on the frontlines of the fallout” since the landmark decision was reversed and detail new actions his administration is taking to strengthen access to contraception and medication abortion, as well as ensuring patients can receive emergency medical care.
Could be interesting.
One more thing. Many, many, many of you reached out to me about Joyce Vance’s post on Friday. I subscribe to her, so likely would have seen it anyway, but I loved your enthusiasm. I have turned her call to action into a Resistbot letter. You can find it at the bottom of today’s newsletter.
OK, all. Let’s go do some democracy-saving together!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to say that I’m furious that Roe v Wade was overturned, and heartbroken that women have fewer rights in this country now than they did a few years ago.
Everyone should be able to make their own reproductive health decisions without interference from Republicans and their extreme, anti-abortion agenda. We need Congress to act now to pass federal legislation and protect our reproductive freedom.
Please ask the Senator to cosponsor S. 701, the Women’s Health Protection Act, and S. 1656, the My Body, My Data Act. These bills are critical to ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access abortion care. I expect my elected representative to be a champion for reproductive freedom. Thanks. [H/T Indivisible Team]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling to say that I’m furious that Roe v Wade was overturned, and that women have fewer rights in this country now than they did a few years ago.
Everyone should be able to make their own reproductive health decisions without interference from the government. We need Congress to act now to pass federal legislation and protect our reproductive freedom.
Please ask the Representative to cosponsor HR 12, the Women’s Health Protection Act, as well as HR 782: the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, HR 3420: the My Body, My Data Act, and HR 4303: the Abortion Justice Act.
All of these bills are critical to ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access abortion care. I expect my elected representative to oppose anti-abortion MAGA extremists and be a champion for reproductive freedom. Thanks. [H/T Indivisible Team]
Extra Credit ✅
Interested in (or horrified by) No Labels’s attempt to sabotage Biden? I highly recommend getting on Third Way’s mailing list. They’re a great organization who’s making stopping No Labels’s dangerous plan a major target of their efforts this year. You can check out their website here, read their latest (extremely informative) email about No Labels here, and if you want to sign up to be on their list send a quick email to kdegruyter@thirdway.org and tell her I sent you.
Remember, when we organize we win. So let’s organize against this threat and defeat it.
Get Smart! 📚
Please join Alliance for Justice Tuesday, January 23rd at 2pm Eastern for Holding Court: Becoming Justice Thomas. AFJ President Rakim Brooks will be in conversation with Joel Anderson, Slate staff writer and host of the podcast Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas. Join them for this timely conversation as new headlines break seemingly weekly about corruption at the Court and specifically Justice Thomas.
RSVP here and it will be streamed through AFJ’s YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter page.
Spread the Word! 📣
Did you know that U.S. citizens living abroad can register and vote in U.S. elections? And there are millions of overseas voters! Democrats Abroad knows this well and wants to register and engage every possible new Blue voter.
If you know an overseas American who is:
working or retired
in a study abroad program
on sabbatical
in the military
temporarily abroad during the primaries or the November 5 general election
Please make sure they register to vote by going to https://www.votefromabroad.org. There, they will find all the information they need.
Also, ask them to join Democrats Abroad, the official Democratic Party arm for millions of Americans living outside the United States. Democrats Abroad gives overseas Americans a voice and helps elect Democratic candidates by mobilizing the out-of-country vote.
Imagine the impact if millions of overseas voters cast their ballots in 2024! Make sure your out-of-country friends and family know they can protect our freedoms by voting from afar!
Give 💰!
The 2024 election has officially begun. With the Iowa Caucus last week, we see again what we’re up against. Not sure where best to give your money to make sure we win? Register here for Focus For Democracy’s next event.
The super smart people at F4D will share their 2024 strategy and explain how their recommendations are timed for each stage of the presidential election cycle.
Join them Sunday, January 28th at 5PM Pacific/8PM Eastern.
Click here to register. As always, they invite you to extend this invitation to friends and family, but please no social media.
Win Races! 🗳
Black Voters Matter is ready to get to work in 2024. Right now, they have a 190K text campaign up on Impactive, and they need to get all texts out before Tuesday. Sign on to Impactive today to start texting! Below are the links for the campaign.
Web Link https://links.impactive.io/t/myurmnwq
App Link (Apple) https://links.impactive.io/t/u4i6khn6
Also, Texting Tuesdays is back on February 6th! You can sign up for dates here through the end of June.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Do you or someone you know want to receive news and announcements from the White House Council on Environmental Quality? They only send out one or two emails a week and they have SO MUCH information in them about what the Biden-Harris administration is doing on climate!
Sign up using this form.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: ] [H/T Joyce Vance—this letter is largely taken from her post] [Text SIGN PIYDKC to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I understand that the Senate just passed a bill, S. 3250, to permit victims of crimes associated with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 to access court proceedings in the criminal case against the perpetrators. This new law will mean that affected people who are too old or infirm to travel to Washington, D.C., or those who are too far away to readily make the trip will still be able to observe court proceedings. Prosecutors at the Justice Department supported the move because they thought it was important for people affected by the crime to see justice in action. They are correct.
Bearing this precedent in mind, I would like Congress to swiftly pass a similar bill for Trump’s prosecution for interference in the 2020 election. This case, United States v. Donald J. Trump, is of even more singular importance than the Lockerbie case. If such access can be offered for those victims it can be offered to the American people for a trial in which they have a distinct and unparalleled interest.
This is one of the most important court cases this country will ever see. It is in the best interests of every US citizen to provide full access to it. There are, furthermore, no compelling reasons not to do so.
Please introduce and/or support such a bill right away. People will be able to learn more about the arguments being made and it is more difficult to pass off disinformation about a proceeding that the public has full access to. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
There are more than 3 million expats. They are eligible to vote via absentee ballots, yet less than 8% bother to vote.
It's literally the difference between winning or losing the Electoral College vote.
Even if expats are uninterested in US politics, the 2024 outcome will impact them, because a Trump victory will lead to a realignment of alliances throughout the world, as well as economic instability.
As importantly, it will impact millions of vulnerable American citizens.
Tried Resistbot for the first time, using my cell-phone’s texting feature. Went very slowly, step by step (over 70, “digital immigrant” here, and a bit “tech challenged”) but was able to get the message sent. Did not expect the request for “coins” at the end, but gave me the opportunity to practice that old-fashioned notion that “No” is a complete sentence!