Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
And it is HAPPY! Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed!! It’s really an astonishing, historical moment. Never, ever, ever say elections don’t matter.
They do. So, so, much.
I could go on, but you already know how I feel. I know you feel the same. Enjoy it. It’s a well-deserved and precious feeling.
Now I want to tell you a story about how one individual can make a difference.
I have a friend that I’ve known since the third grade. She and I talk every day. She’s not a political person, but she’s a tenured geology professor who sits on her city’s Environmental Commission, so she’s got knowledge, communication skills, and lots of ideas.
She would not, however, identify as an activist.
This morning, though, she told me a story:
“I was watching a newscaster with a national platform last night—he did a segment comparing the cost of purchasing an EV to that of buying a gas vehicle. He factored in purchase price, maintenance costs, and fuel costs, and determined that, even with the higher initial expenditures, EVs are now the more cost-efficient purchase. Which was great.”
She continued: “But never once in all of the segment did he mention the cost to the environment of driving gas vehicles. Because that cost can be figured out—it’s what environmental economists do. And I just couldn’t believe he never mentioned it. So I did something I’ve never done before.”
Now this was starting to get good.
“I went on twitter”—understand, she never goes on twitter—”and I found his account. And I messaged him! I just did it. I very politely asked him why he didn’t mention the cost to the environment of driving gas vehicles—even if for just a couple of sentences. AND HE WROTE ME BACK!!”
I’d never seen her look so proud.
The newscaster told my friend that he had done pieces on the environmental costs of gas cars before, but he’d wanted to do one that was “purely price tag based.” He sounded slightly defensive, but she forged ahead anyway and wrote him back.
“I said I was grateful he had done those other segments, but I really felt it was important that he include that very real information—that is price-tag based— every time.” She then added: “I’m so proud of myself!”
And she should be.
It really doesn’t take much to make a difference, and it only takes one action like that to be able to call yourself an “activist.” After all, the dictionary defines one as “a person who campaigns to bring about political or social change.”
There are so many ways to do it. To plant a seed, to change a conversation, to channel your specific knowledge into influencing one influencer.
How much power do you have to change the world?
About as much as you decide to have. Just ask my friend.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’d like the Senator to co-sponsor S 3022, the Stop Wall Street Looting Act. It’s a bill that would rein in Private Equity firms who are currently wreaking havoc on our economy. [optional add:] It would make private equity executives legally liable for the damage they cause, close the carried interest loophole, revise bankruptcy laws so that workers get paid severance and pension contributions even if a company folds, and a lot more. Americans are so tired of being screwed over by billion dollar corporations. It has to stop. [H/T and more info]
Also,
[If your Senator supported KBJ’s confirmation] I want to thank the Senator so much for voting yes on Ketanji Brown Jackson. I am thrilled that she’s been confirmed! This is a really big deal and I am proud of my Senator’s vote. Thanks.
[If your Senator opposed] I also want to tell the Senator I am really disappointed in their NO vote on Ketanji Brown Jackson. She is a breathtakingly qualified judge with widespread approval who performed spectacularly during her confirmation hearings—hearings in which many Republican Senators behaved appallingly. The Senator made the wrong call and I won’t forget it. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’d like the Congressmember to co-sponsor HR 5648, the Stop Wall Street Looting Act. It’s a bill that would rein in Private Equity firms who are currently wreaking havoc on our economy. [optional add:] It would make private equity executives legally liable for the damage they cause, closes the carried interest loophole, revises bankruptcy laws so that workers get paid severance and pension contributions they were promised, and a lot more. Americans are all so tired of being screwed over by billion dollar corporations. It has to stop. Thanks. [H/T]
Extra Credit ✅
Please use Stop the Money Pipeline’s easy tool to call your State Treasurer and ask them to support climate resolutions at shareholder meetings this Spring. There are such resolutions before the shareholders of the six largest American banks and several of the largest insurers demanding they stop financing fossil fuel expansion. As major investors, State Treasurers have a big voice in whether or not these resolutions pass.
The script is very straightforward, and it just takes a moment. This is an easy way to let people with a ton of influence over huge investment funds know that we want them to prioritize climate. Go here to get started.
🌞 P.S. In CA? When you call Fiona Ma’s office you’ll talk to a very nice woman who will ask you to send your comments to her via email so she can log them. I went ahead and made it easy for you. Click to send her an email here (but please personalize and sign it with your name and address) or just write your comments based on the call script and send them to Anne.Pomer@treasurer.ca.gov.
Get Smart! 📚
Did you know that Fox News makes 66% of their revenue from carriage fees (the $2 a month every single cable/satellite TV subscriber pays for them whether they watch or not)?
Or that only 14% of all subscribers are estimated to ever watch Fox? So 86% are non-viewers?
That means that 58% of their total revenue comes from non-viewers. THAT’S CRAZY!
And that’s why I hope to see y’all at the “Get Fox News Off of Your Spectrum Package” webinar later! You can chip away at their profits by signing up for Spectrum’s TV Choice!
It’s from 6-7 PM PDT. I’ll be saying a few words, so come say hi! Sign up here.
Win Races (Read all the way through please)! 🗳
As always, I’ll be running my phonebank into Arizona today from 3-5 PDT and would love volunteers. This phonebank is super easy—we’re calling inconsistent Dem voters in the state, reminding them about November’s election, and asking if they’ll support Mark Kelly and Democrats up and down the ballot. Want to understand just how important this is? Read this!
Then join me! Sign up here.
(Phonebanking not your thing? Make a donation to the Grassroots Dems, who host this and a gazillion other phonebanks week in and week out, with no party funding, relying simply on volunteers like me. They’re having a big fundraiser in Los Angeles on May 1st and I am co-hosting! Adam Schiff will be there! Please buy tickets and come if you can or make a donation of any size here.)
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PKQXZH to 50409.]
I’m a constituent and I am asking you to cosponsor the Energy Security and Independence Act, just introduced by Reps. Cori Bush and Jason Crow in the House, and Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Senate. This bill would spur domestic production of clean energy via the Defense Production Act, and in so doing would create good-paying American jobs and help mitigate the climate crisis.
As oil and gas prices remain volatile since Russia invaded Ukraine, the dangers of relying on fossil fuels are clearer than ever. Fossil fuel executives and authoritarian leaders have for too long played an outsized role in American foreign and domestic policies. All the while, working families are being squeezed for larger profit margins on their utility bills and transportation costs. Dependence on fossil fuels is dependence on tyranny and corporate greed.
The Energy Security and Independence Act would invigorate the supply chain of domestically produced parts for clean energy technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels, and more. And the jobs it creates would be union jobs. In short, it’s what America needs, both globally and at home. Please add your name as a cosponsor.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Hello Jessica, I attended your Activism 101 Workshop on January 23rd of this year, hosted by Kathy Voldstad's "Saving Democracy" initiative. I have assembled a cohort of friends in Orange, CT. who'd like to join in this [all important] social campaign. Would you be available to present your workshop to our group? Early Sunday afternoon would be convenient for us, but please let me know your prefered days and times. Respectfully, Patty Compagnone-Post at pcpost2107@gmail.com