Chop Wood, Carry Water 3/3
No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
H.E. Luccock
Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
No one can whistle a symphony. It’s true. But together, each of us can play our instrument—the one we excel at, the one we’ve practiced, the one we’ve learned is our strength—and bring it to the swell of greater sound. This is how we make a joyous noise; it’s how drops of water come together to carve stone; it’s also how we build an army that wins and wins and wins.
No one of us is the orchestra.
Each one of us is a vital player.
Alone our sound is small.
Placed within the greater effort it creates something overwhelmingly powerful.
Never forget it.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I know the Biden administration has asked Congress to approve $32.5 billion to bolster Ukraine against Russian aggression and shore up the United States in the battle against the coronavirus, and I know Republicans are delaying approval. The Ukrainians can’t wait. Please—fight to get this funding approved today. People in Ukraine are dying now. Dragging this process out is unacceptable.
Also, it’s time for Congress to go after price gouging, and lower prescription drug prices. This war will raise gas prices, which may be unavoidable, but the rest is within Congress’s control. Please ask the Senator to make this a top priority. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling as a person [who is on Medicare/who hopes a robust Medicare program is still there when I need it]. I want the Representative to urge HHS Secretary Becerra and the administration to stop ACO REACH and any other programs that privatize Medicare. I also want him/her to support and push through H.R.3 – the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would protect Medicare enrollees from excessive costs and unfair prices. Thanks. [H/T]
Also, I know the Biden administration has asked Congress to approve $32.5 billion to bolster Ukraine against Russian aggression and shore up the United States in the battle against the coronavirus, and I know Republicans are delaying approval. The Ukrainians can’t wait. Please—fight to get this funding approved today. People in Ukraine are dying now. Dragging this process out is unacceptable.
Extra Credit ✅
Want to stop Medicare from being privatized?
Please read this;
Sign this;
and send the below to President Biden at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.
While you were running for president, you said that every American should have a public health insurance option like Medicare.
So why are you selling Medicare itself to Wall Street? I don’t care what you call it – ACO REACH or “Direct Contracting”– it’s still a privatization scam started by Trump to enrich to his friends. Adding middlemen to Medicare allows big businesses to skim money off the top, raising our costs and lowering the quality of our care. I want it stopped now, before more of these firms have an entrenched interest.
President Biden, please keep your word. The Direct Contracting Entities program must end, and Medicare must be a truly public program that can serve as a basis for a single-payer national health program. Thanks.
[H/T]
Extra Extra Credit
Please sign this petition to Chase asking them to get their money out of Russia.
Get Smart! 📚
The Center For Common Ground, a nonpartisan org that helps Black voters overcome voter suppression, has an interesting-sounding webinar happening tonight. It’s with Alyse Galvin, who recently announced a bid for the Alaska Legislature, and it’s about the work Alaskans are doing to get out the vote (about 35% of Alaskan voters are voters of color.)
If this sounds interesting to you, please sign up to join them this evening at 5pm PT / 8pm ET!
Save the 🌎!
Stop the Money Pipeline has an awesome street art project coming up and they need your help! They are printing 30,000 giant street art posters ― each one 5 1/2 feet tall x 3 1/2 feet wide. There are six different designs, each created by movement artists. They want to get these works of art into the hands of thousands of activists across the country who will get them up in their communities.
This is where you come in.
Will you sign up to get a couple of sets of the street art designs and commit to getting your climate action group, friends, family, or neighbors together to get this powerful climate movement art up in your community?
Once you sign up, they will provide you with a resource guide and manual that has everything you need to know to make sure you’re using the art in the most powerful way possible. There’s also an optional zoom training on March 29th if you have more questions.
Win Races! 🗳
Y’ALL JESSICA CISNEROS FORCED HENRY CUELLAR INTO A RUNOFF!! Please, if you have any money to spare, she can win this!! Had there not been a third person siphoning votes away from her she would have won flat out. Now that third person is gone, and her voters are way more motivated than his.
If you can donate, please do.
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[TO YOUR HOUSE REP] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PNVEYZ to 50409]
I am writing to urge you to support the decrease of funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention operations in the final FY 2022 Department of Homeland Security funding bill by signing the letter to Congressional appropriations leadership led by Representative Espaillat (text below).
As Congress continues to negotiate a final spending package, we are extremely concerned by the proposed continued over-investment in immigration detention that deprives immigrants of their liberty and separates them from their loved ones. I ask that you stand by the values of your constituents and join this effort to reduce detention levels to reflect an average daily population of no more than 15,000—the size of the detention population when the Biden administration took office—to put us on track to meaningfully shrink the detention system.
Detention is unnecessary and has demonstrated to be a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars. Instead, we ask you to prioritize investing in real community needs, including affordable housing, community healthcare, and environmental protections.
To co-sign this letter, please complete this form: https://rb.gy/avwfd3
The deadline to co-sign is COB Friday, March 4. If you have any questions, please contact Monica.Garay1@mail.house.gov. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess