Chop Wood, Carry Water 2/22
This is our country.
Hi, all, and happy Thursday,
Yikes! What a week! There’s a lot of stressful news right now. The Alabama ruling, Nex Benedict’s killing, the Russian infiltration of American political parties, Ukraine’s struggles, the continued carnage in the Middle East…it goes on.
One could be forgiven for throwing one’s hands up in the air and saying “it’s too much!”
Yet I know you won’t. And I won’t. We can’t! Because this is our country, and no one else will fight for it. Plus, many before us have stayed strong during times of enormous duress. They show us that it’s possible. Not only possible—necessary. Let us search history for such role models and channel them when we falter.
After all, it’s going to be a long year. So let’s remember our mandate as the chaos builds:
Chop wood. Carry water. Breathe. Rest. Focus on wins when we find them. Spend time with loved ones—including pets. Stay away from negative news. Disregard polls. Keep our heads in the day. DO something. (Small actions are fine. There are millions of us—little actions add up to big change.) DISREGARD POLLS.
Remember, we can’t control what happens in November, but we have a great deal of control over what happens today.
So let’s make the most of it.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m horrified by the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that embryos have the same rights as people. Republican extremists are trying to turn this country into a theocracy and rob Americans of their freedoms. Not only have abortion rights been taken from us, but Republicans are now clearly coming after access to contraception and fertility treatments. It’s an outrage. I want the Congressmember to support S. 3612 the Access to Family Building Act to protect access to IVF. I want him/her to support S. 1999, the Right to Contraception Act. And finally, I expect him/her to co-sponsor S. 701, the Women’s health Protection Act or I will be actively working to unseat him/her.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m horrified by the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that embryos have the same rights as people. Republican extremists are trying to turn this country into a theocracy and rob Americans of their freedoms. Not only have abortion rights been taken from us, but Republicans are now clearly coming after access to contraception and fertility treatments. It’s an outrage. I want the Congressmember to support H.R. 7056 the Access to Family Building Act to protect access to IVF. I want him/her to support H.R. 4121, the Right to Contraception Act. And finally, I expect him/her to co-sponsor H.R. 12 the Women’s health Protection Act or I will be actively working to unseat him/her.
Extra Credit ✅
I found a Nex Benedict-related petition that needs love. Please sign and share:
Hold Ryan Walters responsible for his role in Nex Benedict's death.
And if anyone sees *any* good actions or petitions related to Nex please send them to me at hijesscraven101@gmail.com. I really want to do more. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
🗓️ LAURA W. BRILL AND JAKE TAPPER 02.27 | 12:00PM ET
On Tuesday, February 27th at 12:00 PM ET, BigTent is excited to present a discussion featuring Laura W. Brill, CEO and Founder of The Civics Center and Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent. Their conversation will dive into the current state of youth civic engagement and explore strategies for lowering the barriers to registration and voting. Laura and her team are on a mission to make voter registration part of every high school in America.
🗳️ RSVP HERE: 02.27 | 12:00PM ET
Spread the Word! 📣
Grocery Runs For Democracy!
Call to action! Wear a Biden / Democrat shirt on EVERY grocery run until November 5! Why grocery stores? It’s a media strategy for maximum impact. Let’s concentrate our enthusiasm to turn the aisles into a sea of support for Biden. Let’s BE the billboard we wish to see in the world.
Need to buy a shirt? Here are some good places to do so:
👕 Biden/Harris shirt (Union Made)
👕 Etsy small biz Biden/Harris shirts
Win Races! 🗳
Activate America is doing GOTV postcards for the Ohio U.S. Senate primary encouraging folks to show their support for Senator Brown. This script has a social pressure message (the most effective kind, and my preferred script type, but some find it a bit pushy).
Deadline: Mail ASAP and by March 10 at the latest. You must provide your own postcards.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your Senators] [H/T] [Text SIGN PXVQWX to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
In the one year that the fully expanded Child Tax Credit was in effect, most low-income families spent their CTC on basic necessities like food, utilities, and rent or mortgage payments, as well as education expenses―and families need that help now.
The expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) that recently passed in the House of Representatives would increase the CTC for 80% of low-income families who do not currently receive the full credit. It would offer much needed income to about 16 million children in families struggling to meet basic needs and would lift 400,000 children out of poverty immediately, rising to 500,000 above the poverty line in 2025.
However, there are two dangerous amendments being considered by the Senate right now:
-One would eliminate a “lookback” provision in the House-passed bill that supports a family experiencing a temporary decline in their earnings;
-The second would completely deny the tax credit from citizen children with Social Security numbers in mixed status families―using xenophobic anti-immigrant attacks to deny children of immigrant parent taxpayers an economic benefit they are entitled to.
The CTC improvements in the bill that recently passed the House would give struggling families more money for food, for rent, and for their heating bills. This bill does not go as far as it should in providing the CTC to families with the lowest incomes; it should certainly not be changed to help fewer children and their families.
Parents and their children should not be penalized for a temporary decline in their earnings due to factors outside their control. And children and immigrants should not be pawns in political games.
I urge you to reject bad amendments to the Child Tax Credit and expand the Child Tax Credit as provided in the House-passed bill now!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
There are so many heroes out there. We cannot waste time with the goofballs. The same people who are bringing us the embryo ruling are probably the same people who brought us Citizens United making corporations count as people. It's about control, not about compassion. It is using the symbols of Christianity to wield power over people. If these folks cared about life, born or unborn, they would fund childcare, family leave, healthcare, and education so that the innocents they purport to treasure would have a shot at the good life growing up. But they don't care and they use this as yet another sanctimonious smoke screen.
Jess, thank you so much for urging your supporters to write postcards for Sherrod Brown. He's such a good person, has always fought for working-class people (he wears a canary pin on his lapel for coal miners) and is married to the wonderful journalist Connie Schultz. I so desperately want him to get re-elected in Ohio! Please folks write some postcards!