Chop Wood, Carry Water 3/22
Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
I recently finished a biography of Shirley Chisholm. It was a long book and somewhat dry, but I still recommend it wholeheartedly. It will inspire you and remind you, again, how long the fight for social justice has been going on in our country, and how unchanging are the forces arrayed against it. It wasn’t Bernie Sanders, after all, but Shirley Chisholm who said: “When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.”
This, apparently, is an unchanging truth.
Chisholm served in Congress under Nixon, Ford, Regan, Carter, and Bush; during her long tenure she worked tirelessly to further the causes of women, Black people, and other marginalized communities in a country that undervalued all of them spectacularly. She espoused intersectionality before there was a word for it, increased the minimum wage, and was an early champion for universal childcare, which she came within a hairsbreadth of getting passed in the early 70’s (Nixon vetoed it).
While Chisholm saw both great successes and many heartbreaking failures, she never stopped advocating for those causes in which she believed. She commenced doing so at a time when the number of Black congressmembers was vanishingly small, and the number of Black and female House representatives was nil. In her position as the first Black Congresswoman she was regularly dismissed, derided, and ignored.
And yet she persisted.
While Chisholm lived to see only modest gains in many of the areas she cared most about, her legacy was nevertheless profound. By the end of her tenure in the House she was respected and admired by both Democrats and Republicans—even those who disagreed with her on everything. Her long stint in Congress, moreover, plus her unprecedented run for President in 1972, inspired an entire generation of Black activists and political leaders. Even her detractors had to admit that her influence was huge.
One of her former presidential campaign co-chairs in California, Barbara Lee, is even running for Senate!
The point, I suppose, is this: when we join a fight like ours we must remember that our efforts will have both short and long-term effects. And while some of our attempts at change may seem to fail in the moment, they will inspire others to continue that same fight. Those others will, in turn, set aflame more hearts like ours.
So while it’s easy to get caught up in immediate losses or victories, we must also remember that each of us walks in the footsteps of giants and also, through our continued work, enlarges those footsteps for the next fighter to come down the path.
So let’s get to work today doing what we know is right, regardless of our chances for success. This will ensure, at best, some spectacular victories, and at the very least that a path remains for others to finish what we started in the years and generations to come.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling to find out if the Senator is yet a co-sponsor on Senator Warren’s new bill to tighten bank regulations. This is absolutely critical if we want to avoid more bank failures. The bill number is S. 817, and the title is “To repeal title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.” Will the Senator support it? [If yes thank. If no add:] That’s very disappointing. Rolling back Dodd Frank has led to disaster, and it will continue to until we reverse it. Does the Senator work for his/her constituents or do they work for Wall Street? If the former they will co-sponsor this bill right away.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling to find out if the representative is yet a co-sponsor on Representative Porter’s new bill to tighten bank regulations. This is absolutely critical if we want to avoid more bank failures. The bill number is HR 1602, and the title is “To repeal title IV of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.” Will the Congressmember support it? [If yes thank. If no add:] That’s very disappointing. Rolling back Dodd Frank has led to disaster, and it will continue to until we reverse it. Does the Congressmember work for his/her constituents or do they work for Wall Street? If the former they will co-sponsor this bill right away.
Extra Credit ✅
The EPA is considering a new rule on soot pollution—the current standards haven’t been updated since 2012 and are insufficient to protect our health.
The EPA’s new proposal, however, doesn’t go far enough. In fact, the proposed rule fails to meet the recommendations of the agency’s own scientific advisory panel. Let’s tell it so, using the official public comment portal.
This is a sample comment from Public Citizen, but please use it only as a starting place. Duplicate comments will be discarded.
I am writing today to highlight the devastating impact of toxic soot pollution, which harms millions of Americans. The Biden administration has proposed a weak standard that fails to meet the recommendations of your own scientific advisory panel. The EPA must act swiftly and boldly to finalize the strongest possible science-based soot pollution standards that will ensure cleaner and safer air for families, advance environmental justice, and protect our health.
Soot pollution – also known as particulate matter, or PM 2.5 – poses a special danger for the most vulnerable people in our communities: kids, seniors, and people with chronic illnesses.
Soot particles are microscopically small – about 1/36th the size of a grain of sand – and can be inhaled into our lungs and delivered to our bloodstream. Exposure to soot is linked to many health risks and chronic conditions, including asthma, heart disease, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, low birth weight, greater risk of preterm birth, and higher rates of infant mortality.
Soot pollution affects millions of people each year. According to the American Lung Association, 63 million Americans each year are exposed to repeated short-term spikes in soot pollution, and more than 20 million Americans suffer dangerous levels of soot pollution on a year-round basis. Vulnerable, low-income communities and people of color are most exposed to this pollutant and most harmed by our failure to curb it.
The current standards for soot pollution haven’t been updated since 2012 and are insufficient to protect our health or the environment. With stronger, updated limits on soot pollution (i.e. no higher than 8 mcg/m3 annual and 25 mcg/m3 daily), the EPA can save nearly 20,000 lives each year. And a stronger soot rule is expected to at least partially close some of the well-known racial disparities in health outcomes. By tightening soot protections, other dangerous pollution from these soot sources will also be reduced.
The EPA must take bold action to cut dangerous pollution and protect our health and environment.
Get Smart! 📚
Are you interested in learning how to message more effectively, especially when it comes to counteracting GOP propaganda?
They'll discuss their latest disinformation targets, then break out into two rooms. People new to fighting disinformation with the Truth Brigade will learn about the program and practice writing messages in a supportive environment. Experienced Truth Brigaders will focus on Facebook, and refresh and amplify their current "Solve, don't Scapegoat" message to apply to today's news.
Together you'll create an on and offline storm of disinformation-blocking!
Spread the Word! 📣
Want to help amplify the DNC’s message online? Join the DNC’s Greenfly to start receiving daily content updates and access to social media resources. Click here to download the app and use code: DEMSTALKERS at sign up.
Win Races—textbank
If you’re NOT coming to my phonebank today with Brian Tyler Cohen please consider signing up to send texts to Wisconsin voters with Stand Up America instead! You can do so either today from 12-5PM ET or tomorrow from 12-5PM ET. This race is TIED! Agh! Please help us win. Sign up here.
Win Races—postcard! 🗳
There is another REALLY important election happening in Wisconsin on April 4th. It’s for Jodi Habush Sinykin, who is running to block a Republican Supermajority in the WI State Senate! This one seat matters so much!!!!
PostcardsToVoters.org volunteers are almost done writing to Democrats in Jodi’s district to remind them to vote for Jodi & Judge Janet! Help finish Jodi’s list… and/or write for Judge Janet when it’s done! ONLY A WEEK LEFT TO WRITE!!!!!
To join PostcardsToVoters.org text “join” to 484-275-2229 or email "Hello" to join@tonythedemocrat.org. If you are already a member, just text “hello” to Abby the bot at same phone number.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to President Biden] [H/T and H/T] [Quick send text sign PHEIGH to 50409]
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just released a synthesis of the main findings of its earlier reports—and the news is startlingly bad. According to The Guardian, “There is no new science in the synthesis report… [rather, it includes previous] warnings that the world [is] approaching “irreversible” levels of global heating, with catastrophic impacts rapidly becoming inevitable; and that it [is] “now or never” to take drastic action to avoid disaster.”
To stay under the 1.5 C marker, we would need to cut emissions in half by 2030—an assertion made with “very high certainty” by the IPCC. That means no new oil and gas drilling. Period.
We’re running out of time, and the Biden administration isn’t treating this situation with nearly the urgency they ought to.
Rather than approving the Willow Project, President Biden and Secretary Haaland need to reverse course and choose the no-action alternative suggested by Senator Markey and his colleagues. Even if they anticipate being sued and losing such a fight, that delay will give us more time to elect to Congress more representatives who prioritize staving off the climate crisis. It will also tell young people that they needn’t succumb to despair, as many of them, right now, are doing.
This is life or death. Please, please reverse course before it’s too late. Let your legacy be that of saving, not dooming, future generations. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I just upgraded to a paid subscription after about two weeks of free emails from you. I find your emails to be a daily boost of optimism and action and I'm grateful for your work. Thank you.
Has anyone heard of any unions striking for climate change action? I am a union member (CSEA, which is part of AFL-CIO) but I have not heard of any specific actions.