Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/10
Hi, all, and happy Monday.
I’m back in Los Angeles after a long travel day yesterday—I actually sent “Extra! Extra!” from the LAX baggage terminal.
Mj and I had a wonderful trip back east—we’re blessed in having a fantastic and extraordinarily close family, so every moment spent with them was a real boon. It was almost even possible to forget the chaos swirling through our country, at least for short moments. And of course, to do so is important. Being in constant crisis mode isn’t healthy or productive for anyone.
So I return to you replenished and doubly primed for the fight.
One more thing. I had the great honor, a couple of months ago, of being asked by David Pepper to preview the first 6 chapters of his new book, which is still being completed. I’m ashamed to admit that it took me until last night on the plane to finally make time to read them, but I did, and I can tell you that, when this book is out, you’ll want to pick up a copy right away. It’s superb, and exactly the thing we need for this moment in history. I won’t say more—far be it from me to “spoil” anything about it—but you’re in for a treat, and a democracy-saving one, at that, when you get your hands on it.
Finally, I have two clarifications from last night’s “Extra! Extra!” newsletter.
First, I incorrectly wrote that the two ejected Tennessee lawmakers, once reinstated, cannot be expelled again. I’d taken that fact directly from the news article that I linked to in the entry, but did learn subsequently that there is more nuance to it than that: the two Joneses will not be able to be expelled for the same infraction again, but will be able to be expelled. Since I compile EE over the week and “polish” it on Sunday night, and since last night I was six hours into a work stretch on a Jet Blue flight when I did said polish, I forgot to update that entry with the new information I’d gathered. It was careless of me. Thanks to the reader who pointed it out.
Second, several of you complimented me on my Easter pancakes. They were, in fact, made by Mj, who crafted three identical sets of them for their two 7-year-old cousins and themselves. So all credit goes to them!
I may not be much of a chef, but I have cooked up some great actions for you to take today.
So let’s go do them!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’d like to know if the Senator is yet a co-sponsor of S. 817, the Secure Viable Banking Act proposed by Senator Warren. [If yes, thank. If no add:] That’s unacceptable. We need to restore the safeguards that Donald Trump removed to prevent another bank bailout!
One more thing: Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached. His repeated conflicts of interest are a stain on the Supreme Court and the entire judicial branch. By taking millions of dollars worth of travel gifts from a rich Republican operative, furthermore, he has likely broken the law. Will the Senator call for his impeachment right away? Or at the very least for the Judiciary Committee to investigate him? Because otherwise the credibility of the highest court of the land is essentially gone. I’ll take my answer in writing. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling to say that Clarence Thomas must be impeached immediately. His repeated conflicts of interest undermine the supposed impartiality of the Supreme Court. Now, by taking millions of dollars worth of travel gifts from a far-right Republican operative, he has likely broken the law. Will the Congressmember call for his impeachment right away? Or at the very least an investigation by the Senate Judiciary committee? Because otherwise the credibility of the highest court of the land is essentially gone. I’ll take my answer in writing. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s take a few actions to make sure Justin Pearson gets reappointed to his Memphis-area seat in the Tennessee legislature. Vote is on Wednesday!
Tailor, sign, and send this email to the Shelby County Commissioners. If the quick-send link doesn’t work (it won’t if you have a VPN, for example) all of the addresses and the suggested verbiage are here to copy and paste—but either way please personalize!
Email the Memphis Mayor by clicking here then personalizing and sending. Same deal as above: if quick-send doesn’t work go to the google doc and copy and paste directly from there.
Call the Memphis Mayor at 901-636-6000 (They have an answering machine! Leave a message!)
Sample Script:
I am calling after seeing some disturbing reporting that Mayor Strickland is lobbying behind the scenes against Representative Justin Pearson’s reappointment to his rightful seat in the Tennessee State House. If that’s true it would make Mayor Strickland complicit in an unprecedented attack on our democracy. For the record, I want Mayor Strickland to do everything in his power to send Justin Pearson back to the legislature to continue the job that Memphis voters elected him to do. His failure to do so will make him complicit with fascists and we will not forget. Thanks.
[H/T Sarah Emling for the google doc]
Get Smart! 📚
On Tuesday, ProPublica’s Editor-in-Chief Steve Engelberg and reporter Joshua Kaplan will share the inside story of how their Clarence Thomas investigation came together and discuss what the revelations mean for our justice system. Should be fascinating.
Clarence Thomas’ Secret Life of Luxury
Tuesday, April 11
3-3:45 p.m. Eastern time
Register Young People!
Reminder: this Tuesday April 11th at 2:00 pm ET on Zoom the Civics Center will be holding its next Cap, Gown & Ballot Initiative Training.
Join them to learn how you can encourage and empower students and educators to organize voter registration drives for their schools before graduation day.
Spread the Word! 📣
Here are some Biden/Harris admin resources for you to share:
Whitehouse.gov/therecord for the accomplishments achieved by the Biden-Harris administration.
Whitehouse.gov/ARP to learn more about how the American Rescue Plan is helping the American people.
State-by-State Fact Sheet to view the progress in all 50 states, DC, and territories.
Whitehouse.gov/BIL to learn more about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Make Friends AND Win Races! 🗳
For those of you who prefer doing activism in groups I want to recommend the stellar and effective NY-based group Markers For Democracy and their weekly postcarding Zooms.
From them:
We write postcards together on Zoom on the days listed below. We have guest speakers most days, but there is plenty of time to talk about politics, movies, books, recipes, pets, or whatever else comes up that day. Many people write postcards throughout the morning, but all are welcome to join whether writing postcards or not.
Mondays: 10:00 am to noon EST, with guests typically at 10:30 am (Monday Zoom link)
Tuesdays and Fridays: 9:30 am to noon EST, with guests typically at 10:00 am or 11:00 am (Tuesday/Friday Zoom Link)
Wednesday Evenings: 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm EST. Wednesday Zoom Link
Saturdays: 10:00 am to Noon EST (Saturday Zoom Link)
Click here to see our full Calendar of events.
They nearly always have speakers—and incredible ones—at these get-togethers; this week they have Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) coming on Monday and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (VA-7) coming on Friday. An awesome group—join them and become part of something great!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To your HOUSE rep] [H/T Ulysses Lateiner] [Quick send: text SIGN PLMCGM to 50409]
I’m really concerned about the corrosive impact of dark money and runaway campaign spending on our elections, and I'm angry that flawed court decisions like Citizens United have extended constitutional rights to corporations and PACs that let them ignore legislation and regulations intended to protect the public. I want Congress to pass H.J. Res. 48, which would amend the Constitution to require the regulation and public disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures, and would reserve constitutional rights to natural persons only, not corporations and PACs. Is the Congressmember a signatory on this Resolution? I’d like an answer in writing. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I read this it is also possible for Tenn. legislature to NOT seat the 2 Justins if they are again to serve. On personal note; this is such a breach of our democracy. I have been steamed about it for days. And our country needs them, fine orators, thoughtful, committed to their communities, state and to democracy. Could you comment on where we could send notes of approval to the 2 Justins, [to the local Dem headquarters or some such?] Thanks for all you do.
Many thanks for the shout out to Markers For Democracy! We feel the same way about you! Funny story: David Pepper sent me the first six chapters of his new book to read and I also finally finished reading them yesterday! I agree that it will be a must-read for all activists and those who want to help save democracy. Hoping to lure David to NYC and/or a Markers zoom for a book talk when it is published. In the meantime, we have so much work to do. Another mass shooting. Reproductive freedom under assault from Republican judges and legislators. And we learned from Dan Goldman this morning that Jim Jordan is planning to bring his circus to NYC to hold hearings about our democratically elected DA Alvin Bragg. Thanks for your daily inspiration! I need it more than ever.