Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
Yesterday I got another question from a new reader, and again felt it was worth answering here. She wrote:
The expression ‘chop wood, carry water’ is new to me. So I googled it & found it to be a saying associated with Zen Buddhism. I was wondering what it means to you & why you use it to define your activism.
The short version is this: I learned the expression “chop wood carry water” from my dad. I was going through a terrible divorce and—at the age of 35—living with him while I got back on my feet. Feeling in a terrible way I asked him—a person who had been through two divorces—how he’d gotten himself through such a protracted period of emotional pain. His response?
“You get up every day and just chop wood, carry water. No matter how you feel. No matter how hopeless things seem. One day you wake up and realize you made it through.”
It was advice that worked quite well. I didn’t think my pain would pass, but I knew how to do simple actions. So I did. Day after day. Eventually, after many such days in a row, I woke up and realized that I had, indeed, made it through the emotional storm. I hadn’t believed I would, but my simple actions were more powerful than my beliefs.
When Trump was elected, and someone asked me how we were to get through four years of his leadership, the same words immediately came to mind. I found myself saying:
“We’ll chop wood. And carry water. Some day we’ll wake up, and we will have made it through.”
It brought a modicum of comfort then, and it still does. Some days I believe we’ll be OK, and others I’m not so sure. But my actions? They remain consistent, because they’re simple.
They keep me sane and they bring me hope.
They also create a new future. One I may or may not be able to imagine right now.
I hope they do the same for you.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m concerned that the Senate is moving forward with reforming the Electoral Count Act in a way that will do more harm than good. Many qualified people have now drawn attention to the fact that the fix Congress is considering—giving the final say over a state’s electoral slate to state elected officials—assumes that they will act in good faith and not seek to undermine a legitimate election. A governor who “goes rogue,” however, and certifies a slate of electors that is contrary to the state’s popular vote would potentially wield enormous leverage in a closely contested national election. This could be catastrophic. Congress needs to re-examine its approach and make sure not to pass a bill that does more harm than good. Thanks. [H/T]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m glad that the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Subcommittee hasn’t abandoned President Biden’s goal of significant action to address our climate emergency. Please ask the Congressmember to support all the amendments that the subcommittee's task forces propose to address the climate emergency in every must-pass spending bill going forward. We are in a climate crisis. We need to act now. Thanks. [H/T and more info]
Extra Credit
The good news: Last week, a court invalidated President Biden’s 80-million-acre lease sale for oil drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico – ruling that his administration must consider the climate impacts of oil drilling.
The bad news: despite how sound a ruling this was, the administration and the Department of the Interior may APPEAL! Ugh. Let’s nip this in the bud by doing the following:
Post this on social (ideally twitter)
WIN! A judge ruled that the biggest oil & gas lease sale in US history was ILLEGAL & a climate assessment must be conducted.
But @Potus & @SecDebHaaland could try to appeal. Tell @Interior 866-834-8040 to accept the ruling!
https://act.350.org/signup/stop-lease-257/
Then call the Department of the Interior at 866-834-8040 and say:
Hi, my name is _____, and I live in _____.
I’m calling to urge Secretary Haaland and the Interior Department to not appeal the decision on lease sale 257, and to stop all new oil leasing in the Gulf.
At the start of her time as Secretary of the Interior, Secretary Haaland vowed to make climate a top priority. We need to rise to the challenge of the moment – that starts with banning drilling on federal lands and stopping future sales. Thank you.
If the voice mail box is full you can email the same (tailored for mail and ideally personalized) to feedback@ios.doi.gov or use their contact form here.
Get Smart!
Friendly reminder: tonight I’m co-sponsoring a Groundhog Day postcarding webinar with Swing Blue Alliance. It’ll reveal the results of their 2020 postcard campaigns and discuss what kinds of handwritten letter/postcard writing campaigns are likely to be effective in 2022. This is such important info for us to have as we decide how best to use our time heading into the midterms.
Tonight, 4-5 PT / 7-8 ET. Sign up here.
Win Races! 🗳
Defend Democracy is having their next voter registration day of action on Tuesday, February 8th and as part of it I will be leading a phonebank into North Carolina! Woot!
It’ll be from 4-6 PM PST and we will be using Field Team Six’s list and script. Training provided. Sign up here!
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here!)
[to your Senators] [H/T] [Quicksend code text SIGN PKXHYB to 50409]
I’m writing to ask you to co-sponsor the bipartisan PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (S. 1658), a critical bill for working moms who want to continue breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is the norm for many mothers (over 84% of newborns were breastfed in 2017). These moms are also breadwinners for their families and more than half of mothers return to work before their children are three months old. Many choose to continue breastfeeding after returning to work and they need to express breast milk on a regular basis.
Many mothers are already protected by the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law passed by Congress in 2010 but millions were inexplicably excluded. The PUMP Act would close the gap. No one should be fired or suffer painful illness or infection because their employer won’t support pumping at work.
The PUMP Act enables nursing mothers to remain in the workforce, helps babies stay healthy, and provides clarity and support to employers.
This bill passed with strong bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and in the Senate HELP Committee. Please let me know if you will support nursing moms by co-sponsoring the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Some thoughts on how to make using Resistbot EASIER.
This is what I do for Resistbot and I realize everyone does NOT have the same configuration.
I get your email on my MacBook Air. I open it up and read it.
I open MS Word on my Macbook Air.
I open Resistbot and type SENATE.
I copy from your email, into MS Word, the info for “today” mailing to senate and house. Copy into MS Word. Edit, customize, add something that might be on my mind. Cut the Senate text into SENATE. Type DONE and SEND, Repeat for HOUSE.
I then look at extra credit and try to accomplish each of these. Sometimes I just use Resistbot to send something to the President. Again, I type President in Resistbot. Write up what I want (or cut and past from you) into MS Word. Edit then copy, and then move that into Resistbot and type DONE and SEND.
You make it so easy to “save democracy”.
Thank you for all you do and all your positive energy. I think you are great.