Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/3

We're baaaack!

Fighting words from Senator Schumer’s latest “Dear Colleague” letter. Well worth a read!

Hello and happy Monday, everyone!

I hope you had a happy and—especially under these circumstances—healthy New Year. Needless to say COVID cases are exploding, so I send extra warm wishes for anyone who’s tested positive (or been exposed) and is quarantining. I know it must be difficult, and I want you to know that you’re not alone. We all stand with you and thank you for taking care of yourself—and us.

Fortunately, we can make phone calls from home! Or from our car, or from work, or from a treehouse! So let’s make some today. From what I understand, Congress (at least the Democratic part of it) will be coming back to work with a vengeance, starting today. And—according to Chuck Schumer, at least—Senate rules reform is really on the table at last! He’s asked us to vocally support it, so let’s do that!

Let’s also make sure we’re signed up to do something to defend our democracy on January 6th. There are a gazillion options here, and the voter registration phonebank I’ll be running is here.

Thanks to all of you for being with us in this fight. 2022 is going to be 🔥.

Why?

Because of you. Because of me. Because of us.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

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

[If Democrat:] I understand that Democrats are considering changes to the Senate rules if Republicans keep obstructing progress on voting rights. I 100% support this, and want the Senator to as well. We should do whatever it takes to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, then move on to pass Build Back Better and the many other excellent bills Democrats have already passed in the House. There’s no time to waste, please get this done! Thanks.

[If GOP:] I understand that Democrats are considering changes to the Senate rules if Republicans keep obstructing progress on voting rights. I 100% support this, but hope it won’t come to that. I want the Senator to change course and commit to voting for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. S/he needs to put country over party now. As Liz Cheney stated this weekend, the Republican Party “can either be loyal to Donald Trump or…to the Constitution, [not] both.” Tell the Senator that Cheney and one or two others shouldn’t have to be the only courageous Republicans in Congress. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

First, I’d like to know whether the Congressmember is a co-sponsor on HR 748, Ethan’s Law. This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels, and should be a no-brainer. Will the Congressmember support it?

Second, I support the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act H.R. 2238, which would reduce plastic production, increase recycling, and shift the burden of cleanup to the corporations that produced the plastics. I’d like the Congressmember to support this bill as well. Thanks.

Want to Fight Fox? 👺

I know a lot of you do! So here’s an event just for you.

On January 6 at 7PM EST, Defenders of Democracy Against Disinformation, Hear Yourself Think, and many other co-sponsoring grassroots groups will mark the one-year anniversary of the attack on the Capitol with a webinar on countering one of the most significant sources of the disinformation that created the conditions for the Jan. 6 attack: Fox News.

There’ll be a keynote video from Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD), and breakout sessions with live training on actions to reduce the normalization and revenue of Fox News.​

To register, sign up on the DDAD contact us page and include a message about this event.

Win Races! ☎️

Today the Environmental Voter Project (a group I absolutely love) is launching calls into Florida CD-20 ahead of their January 11th Special Election. This election is to fill a vacancy for the 20th congressional district in Florida, and, depending on the county, voters also have several other offices up for election. For anyone who cares about voter turnout in Florida in state and federal elections, we can't afford to wait to start our 2022 mobilizations.

Sign up to join EVP for a Zoom training and phonebank tomorrow at 12pm ET, Thursday at 5pm ET, Tuesday at 12pm ET, or another time!

We need to get on the phones this year, folks. Postcards aren’t enough. Letters aren’t enough. Voice to voice engagement matters. Please consider moving out of your comfort zone a bit if you can and signing up for a phonebank now. 💙

Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)

[To President Biden (send PRESIDENT to 50409 then copy and paste the below for your letter. Or text SIGN PGVDZG to 50409 for a quick send.]

The world faces an indisputable plastic pollution crisis. More than 99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels, and fracked gas is fueling an unprecedented boom in plastic production. Plastic is an environmental nightmare at every step of its life cycle.

Plastic production fuels the climate crisis, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and harming local communities with toxic air and water pollution.

Plastic pollutes and kills wildlife. It fills our rivers and oceans, chokes out wildlife, threatens public health, permeates our drinking water, and persists in the environment for centuries.

The solution to plastic pollution is clear: Reduce the amount of unnecessary plastic produced. We can transform our extractive, throwaway economy into a regenerative, inclusive one that's good for our country and creates U.S. jobs.

President Biden, I urge you to take the eight crucial actions outlined in the Presidential Plastics Action Plan, supported by more than 600 organizations. These actions will immediately set the nation on a pathway to a plastic-pollution-free future while longer-term measures that require action at all levels of government and society are developed.

Plastic pollution kills. Please be a champion for communities, wildlife and our future generations. Thanks.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess