Chop Wood, Carry Water 1/5

The beauty of life.

Jan 05, 2024

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

Also, happy Jobs Day! We got another stellar report today—let’s make sure we’re spreading the news!

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the weekend. It’s been a long first week back— a year’s worth of stuff feels like it’s happened already. It’s another good reminder that this is going to be a grueling year—a marathon, indeed; our break times, then, are so very important!

Something I’ve been doing on my breaks this week is re-reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. I’ve quoted Aurelius, a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, in this newsletter many times—Meditations is one of my favorite books. Reading it is an excellent reminder that humankind has been petty, torn with strife, and fractious for a very long time. There have always been bad actors, there have always been conflicts, there has always been greed. There have, too, always been those seeking to cleave to—and act with—higher values. Aurelius is one of them, and he thinks deeply about how to accept humanity’s darker aspects while adhering to his own more lofty beliefs. He espouses humility, consideration, and constant study. He reminds us repeatedly of the brevity of our lives.

For whatever reason, I find his writings deeply comforting, especially now. Perhaps you will, too.

Today I leave you with one of his many excellent quotes—this one about enjoying the natural world, keeping our perspective, and being mindful of our focus. Let’s remember it as we head into our weekends!

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life.

The dust of earthly life, indeed.

Remember, what we focus on grows. So let’s remember to spend at least some time focussing on what’s beautiful as we navigate the somewhat ugly moment we’re living through.

And now let’s get to work!

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m extremely frustrated that Republicans in the House are about to launch a baseless impeachment inquiry into Alexander Mayorkas while simultaneously refusing to participate in border policy negotiations between Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, and the White House. It’s unacceptable. I want Republicans and Democrats to sit down and hash out a reasonable, compassionate immigration policy. One that protects Dreamers and asylum seekers, stays true to American values, and will actually work. Mayorkas’ impeachment is not a solution and we all know it. Performative politics are NOT what Americans want. Please get to work on comprehensive immigration legislation now. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Alan Unell has a great and important post today in his

Healthcare Advocacy

newsletter about Medicaid unwinding for millions of children across the country. I highly recommend reading the whole thing, as there are a few good action items in it, but if nothing else please send this Resistbot letter to your lawmakers:

In it we’ll tell our Members of Congress and Senators to pass legislation to protect children’s access to Medicaid during and after this “unwinding.”

Text SIGN PEBBOA to 50409 to send this:

“I am your constituent and I just found out that 2.48 million children have lost their Medicaid insurance in the post pandemic unwinding. I want you to pass legislation to protect children’s access to Medicaid during and after this “unwinding” period. Thank you.”

Get Smart!

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on January 17 to overturn a 40-year-old legal precedent known as Chevron deference in the upcoming cases Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce. The ramifications of overturning Chevron deference are broad and would strip federal agencies’ ability to react quickly to address new problems and looming threats as society grows more complex.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a virtual event in which an expert keynote and panel will discuss the significant threat these cases pose to the ability of federal agencies to serve the American people and to protect them from bad actors and societal volatility.

Thursday, January 11, 2024 | 12:15 - 1:15 pm ET. Register here.

Spread the Word! 📣

On the eve of the anniversary of the MAGA attack on our country, the excellent messaging group Research Collaborative has updated messaging about January 6th in their Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit, including adding how to address Trump’s removal from the ballot in Maine and Colorado. Please take a look at the toolkit and use it to guide your communications.

In short, imperatives for their messaging include positioning January 6th within the broader criminal conspiracy planned, promoted, and paid for by Trump and MAGA Republicans to overthrow the will of the people. We should connect the attack to their broader agenda to take away our freedoms at the ballot box, by blocking and attacking policies the majority of Americans favor like Social Security and Medicaid.

Give 💰!

Sister District is officially launching their 2024 State Bridges program next week! The State Bridges program activates Sister District volunteers (like me!) to fundraise for grassroots organizations in swing states who are leading year-round power-building work. This year, they're supporting eight organizations in four battleground states: AZ, PA, MI & WI. The organizations are:

Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA)
Rural Action Arizona (RAZA)
Mothering Justice (Michigan)
We The People (Michigan)
PA United
PA Stands Up
Citizen Action of Wisconsin
WISDOM (Wisconsin)

Special ActBlue links (so I can keep track of what I raise) and more info for each of these orgs are in this doc. Please check it out and if one of these states is meaningful to you please consider donating. These are all STELLAR organizations. Truly.

Also, if anyone wants to do a matching campaign for one of them I will partner with you!

Finally, Sister District is hosting two events for these organizations on February 7 (for the MI & WI orgs) and March 13 (for the PA & AZ) orgs. Please save the date, and I’ll promote again when it gets closer!

Win Races! 🗳

I phonebanked for Tom Suozzi in NY-03 on Wednesday and it was remarkable how few people I spoke to knew about the Special Election. Please find a way to help amplify this race! This document contains every outreach opportunity I know of.

We can’t win if people don’t know the election is happening!

Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥

Here’s the Environmental Polling Consortium’s weekly roundup of environmental polling. Fascinating! A couple of excerpts:

Americans widely prefer that presidential candidates include clean energy subsidies for consumers in their platforms; overwhelming majorities support climate-friendly policies such as making it easier to build clean energy infrastructure and incentivizing energy efficiency.

Following COP28, “concern” and “worry” are voters’ most common reactions to hearing that the world is falling short on limiting global warming.

Climate change and the environment rank as Democrats’ top issue priority for 2024.

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: your Senators ] [Text adapted from a Sherrod Brown letter] [Text SIGN PEPHJB to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I’m writing as a constituent—and as someone who is deeply worried about the climate crisis—to ask the Senator to support S. 1863, the Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act.

Now, more than ever, it is important to protect our environment from harm and reduce our dependence upon fossil fuels, while holding other countries responsible for doing the same. The United States has a moral obligation to be a leader in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without action, we risk the health of our citizens and wildlife, the well-being of our coastal areas, and the productivity of our farms, forests, and fisheries.

The PROVE IT Act would direct the Department of Energy to study the emissions intensity of certain products produced in the United States, as well as trade partners and countries of concern. Through the collection of this high-quality data, the PROVE IT Act would compare the total emissions required to produce goods domestically vs. in other countries.

This is such an important bill. Please, please work to pass it. Thanks.

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

Talk soon.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water