Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/22
The only way out is through
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.
Also, happy Earth Day!
As always, there’s a lot going on. The stock market is on track for its worst month since the Great Depression, Pete Hegseth still hasn’t stepped down, Trump has announced he’ll garnish student borrowers’ paychecks starting May 1 if they are behind on payments, the FDA will no longer be conducting milk safety inspections—what could go wrong?—and, in much better news, Harvard University has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration.
We are definitely, as the saying goes, living in “interesting times.” I, for one, would welcome a bit of boredom, but such doesn’t seem to be our lot.
It seems to me that the wheels are coming off of the Trump train. That’s not to say that we don’t have a lot of suffering ahead—we surely do, unfortunately. But it does feel like his administration is creating a mess that they themselves have no idea how to fix. Their actions feel more out of touch and blatantly destructive by the day. No one, regardless of party, is going to celebrate unsafe milk. No one is jubilant at a plunging stock market. No one—except for maybe his wife—thinks Pete Hegseth is fit for his job.
No one, in short—except for the most rabid of his base—would say that Trump is “winning” right now. He’s not. Neither, sadly, are we.
But I find hope in Harvard’s lawsuit. And in the first Republican to call for Hegseth to step down. And in the rumors that Musk wants to leave government because of the “nasty attacks from the political left.” And in the fact that a growing number of conservative voices are condemning the Trump administration’s handling of the Abrego Garcia case. And in so many other small cracks we see forming in MAGA’s heretofore unbreakable veneer. Courage begets courage. Defiance begets defiance. Patriotism begets patriotism. We are starting to see it. It’s slow, and coming later than it should, but it’s coming.
Our job? To simply keep doing what we’re doing. We’re still in the thick of it, after all, and even our “victories” sometimes come with new problems.
It was pointed out to me, for example, that although twelve Republicans have signed a letter saying they won’t support Medicaid cuts for the “most vulnerable,” they’re very much leaving on the table massive cuts to the ACA Medicaid expansion program. This could throw 21 million impoverished people off of their health insurance. Not good. And they’re hoping their letter will throw us off the scent.
It won’t. So we must continue to push Republicans to foreswear any cuts to Medicaid at all. It’s not enough to halve them. They cannot happen at all—especially not to pay for tax cuts for companies like Boeing and Exxon and people like Elon Musk.
House Committees are set to begin their markups next week, where members will publicly debate and vote on their committee's portion of the GOP reconciliation bill. This is where we’ll finally get to see exactly what they want to cut and where—they’ll no longer be able to evade or obfuscate. Then, believe me, we will get very loud!
Because that’s what we do here.
So let’s get to work, because the only way out is through, and the only way through is—you guessed it—together!
P.S. — Hope to see some of you later at the Decarbonize Our Homes event! Should be great!
P.P.S. — Peters is officially a NO on the SAVE Act. As far as I can tell Mark Kelly is the only Dem who hasn’t yet announced he’ll vote no. Stay on him, AZ readers!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲 and Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, has the Senator/Congressmember yet called for Pete Hegseth to step down? [If yes thank. If no add:] How can s/he possibly not have? Hegseth is a national security risk. His own former spokesman has said he’s creating “total chaos” at the Pentagon. He’s unstable, he’s incompetent, he’s putting our servicemembers at risk, and he never should have been confirmed in the first place. The Senator/Congressmember needs to call for him to step down today. He should also be investigated and charged—sharing national defense information with unauthorized personnel is a violation of the Espionage Act.
Also, Rümeysa Öztürk, Mahmoud Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi and other student activists need to be freed at once. They are literally being jailed for their words. It’s repugnant. Freedom of speech is foundational to our democracy.
Finally, we need to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia home. Even Joe Rogan is horrified by his kidnapping to El Salvador. Due process is for everyone—it says so in the constitution. Tell the president to bring him home now.
Extra Credit
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Trump appointed U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, described autism as a “preventable disease” and called autistic children burdens to their families — implying they are broken, unworthy, and tragic. These statements are not only false — they are dangerous.
RFK Jr.’s rhetoric echoed the harmful eugenics narratives we’ve seen throughout history. Painting neurodivergent kids as “damaged” or “preventable” has led in the past to their institutionalization, exclusion, and erasure. We cannot allow that to happen again under the banner of public health.
A mom named Christina has written two short letters on this subject, customized for House members and Senators. I think they’re great, so I included them here:
• Text SIGN PJNUJO to 50409 to send a letter to your U.S. Senators https://resist.bot/petitions/PJNUJO
• Text SIGN PPJYNK to 50409 to send a letter to your House Representative https://resist.bot/petitions/PPJYNK
Get Smart! 📚
Over the last two months, the Tesla Takedown campaign has generated huge momentum. Since the start of the year our protests have grown and Tesla’s value is down by 37%, wiping more than $100 billion off of Elon Musk’s personal net worth. (Later today we’ll find out even more about how badly we’ve been able to hurt their bottom line. Fingers crossed!)
Now, the folks at Tesla Takedown are rolling out another strategy we can use take on Musk.
Cities & states opposed to Elon Musk’s illegal takeover of the federal government have billions of dollars invested in his companies, through city pension systems, contracts and subsidies.
They shouldn’t. Cities and states that care about democracy have no business investing public money in a failing, democracy-destroying company like Tesla or supporting Musk’s other businesses.
So, on Thursday April 24th TT is launching a new phase of the Tesla Takedown campaign: the Divest Public Dollars from Elon Musk Campaign.
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
You’re invited to a Protect Medicaid Messaging Webinar, featuring Data for Progress and Caring Across Generations
On Wednesday, April 23th, from 3-4 PM ET, come to a webinar to learn persuasive and effective messaging strategies that make Medicaid’s value understandable and undeniable. Speakers will share insights from recent polling and tested approaches to effectively counter false claims about waste, fraud, and abuse.
Speakers:
Matthew Cortland, Senior Resident Fellow at Data for Progress
Nicole Jorwic, Chief Program Officer at Caring Across Generations.
Laura Ordoñez, Director of Communications at Caring Across Generations
Wednesday, April 23 at 12pm PT/3pm ET via Zoom - Register here!
Get in the Streets! 🪧
This week, MoveOn members across the country are holding events—at in-district congressional offices or at public places—to demand justice for Kilmar Abrego Garcia and an end to Trump's extrajudicial abductions.
These nonviolent protests are an important chance to demand accountability and action.
Find an event here
Host an event here— MoveOn.org/JusticeForKilmar
Action Guide for hosts— MoveOn.org/ActionGuide
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
My friends at the Americans of Conscience Checklist have put together a special issue on ways we can work for climate justice – with dozens of actions from donating to planting trees to volunteering with community gardens.
Check it out here!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T
] [Text SIGN PEGPKQ to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]The clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are being targeted in the current budget negotiations to cover the costs of the Trump-Musk tax scam. Your office needs to do what they can to protect them. What’s being proposed is a tax hike that would raise family energy bills. NERA Consulting has estimated that abandoning these tax cuts will force electricity prices almost 10% higher over the next four years. Energy Innovation predicts getting rid of them will kill 800,000 jobs. That’s a price I am not willing to pay for more giveaways to billionaires. Getting rid of the IRA tax credits is good for fossil fuel industry donors and takes money from the pockets of regular people. I am expecting you to oppose it.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
I love these honest and energetic calls to action. It occurred to me this morning that the Trump regime is running America like a business. My husband spent years in high-end retail and saw many mergers and acquisitions. He also saw that bigger companies would acquire profitable companies they had no experience with and run them into the ground. That is precisely what this regime is doing to America. They don't want to govern; they want to milk it for all it's worth and put it in their portfolio. They are clueless about how to govern and have no desire to do so. Hands Off! Let's defeat them.
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network is made up of people on the spectrum, advocating for rights and supports for full inclusion. While it’s great when parents speak out on behalf ofi autistic kids, it’s even more important to uplift the voices of autistic people.