Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/1
Hi, all, and happy Wednesday.
Also, happy Black history month! I’ve decided to honor it (and thumb my nose at Ron DeSantis) by reading multiple books on the subject this February. I’ll be encouraging everyone I know to do the same. Want to join me? Tell me in the comments what you’ll be reading to take a deeper dive on the subject. I received a biography of Shirley Chisholm for Christmas, so I’ll be starting with that. Readers of this newsletter have also recommended "My Grandmother's Hands," by Resmaa Menakem and Joy DeGruy's "Post-traumatic Slave Syndrome,” both of which I just reserved at the library. So I’ve got my list! What’s yours?
After all, Republicans like DeSantis can pass all the awful laws they want; nothing can stop us from educating ourselves. So let’s do that.
On another note, yesterday I got an email from one of my subscribers. It said:
As someone with a vocal cord disorder who avoids the phone like the plague, it would be so wonderful to be able to participate by sending emails (vs making phone calls) to my Reps and Senators.
I hope my response to this reader may be helpful to many of you who can’t (or prefer not to) use the phone:
Any of my phone scripts can be copied and pasted into a Resistbot letter and sent to your reps in written form. You can also go to your representatives' official websites, look for the “contact us” tab, and enter my script—slightly modified, of course, to say that you’re writing instead of calling--as an email to them (you’ll have to enter your name and address—a step Resistbot will save you). Either way is valid and packs almost the same (if not the same) punch as a phone call.
If you want to send a Resistbot to your House rep just send the word HOUSE to 50409 (or to @Resistbot on FB or Twitter DMs). It’ll walk you through the rest. If you want to contact your Senators send the word SENATE. Resistbot has a prompt for pretty much any lawmaker you can think of, in fact. Find their keyword guide here.
The long and short of it is that, while calling is great, the above two options are excellent alternatives!
Hope that helps many of you.
Now let’s get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
Yesterday Senators Blumenthal and Murphy reintroduced Ethan’s Law, legislation requiring gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms. With loaded and unlocked guns in the homes of an estimated 4.6 million American minors, Ethan’s Law would reduce access to these unsupervised firearms often used in suicides, school shootings, and other acts of violence. Will the Senator please co-sponsor this bill? Gun violence is a top concern for me. Thanks.
[If they ask, this new version of the bill is as yet unnumbered.]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
Yesterday Representative Rosa DeLauro reintroduced Ethan’s Law, legislation simply requiring gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms. With loaded and unlocked guns in the homes of an estimated 4.6 million American minors, Ethan’s Law would reduce access to these unsupervised firearms often used in suicides, school shootings, and other acts of violence. Will the Congressmember please co-sponsor this bill? Gun violence is a top concern for me. Thanks.
[If they ask, this new version of the bill is as yet unnumbered.]
Extra Credit ✅
Indivisible San Francisco has a great blog post today about qualified immunity and how it contributes to police violence. I highly recommend reading it—you can do so here. Afterwards please consider signing up to get updates from Americans Against Qualified Immunity and using their quick and easy tool to send your state legislators a letter asking them to work on legislation to ban QI in your state.
Get Smart! 📚
Neighbors On Call, a wonderful grassroots organization based in North Carolina, is having an event tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET that sounds like it’s going to be great. It’s a talk with Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes called “How Michigan Did It.”
NC Rep. Diamond Staton-Williams - who just flipped NC House District 73! - will lead the discussion! From the invite:
In 2022, Michigan Dems swept every statewide partisan election and took the majority in both state legislative chambers. What is their formula for success?
The Michigan state party built a robust, year-round, grassroots organizing program, and we want to know how they did it.
I want to know, too! Let’s go and find out!
Spread the Word! 📣
This week, President Biden traveled to New York and Baltimore to kick off major projects to be funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The president’s travel comes as the White House announced new large scale infrastructure projects of regional and national economic significance. These projects will create good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that do not require a college degree, and will grow the economy, strengthen supply chains, improve mobility for residents, and make our transportation systems safer for all users. Read more from the White House about these investments and projects.
Win Races! 🗳
Y’all, we have critical PA Statehouse Special Elections next Tuesday, and the PA Dems have phonebanks every day between now and then (except for today). I’ll be at tomorrow’s phonebank and would love to see some of you there. Sign up here.
And if you want to call today, the Environmental Voter Project has a phonebank at 7pm ET / 4pm PT. Sign up here.
We must, must, must hold these three seats. Please help!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PWKAEP to 50409]
As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to pledge that you will never vote to cut Social Security or Medicare under any circumstances. If anything you should be looking for ways to strengthen and expand them.
You can publicly commit to the pledge through a tweet or press statement. I will be looking for it. I am also happy to receive such a pledge in writing.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I too was going to recommend reading the 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah Jones. You can pick and choose amongst the chapters and read it a little at a time. Added incentive: it is banned in Florida (or at least in the schools)!
Love this initiative. I'm in! Reading "The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America" by Carol Anderson.