Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/1
This, too, shall pass.
Hi, all, and happy Wednesday!
The “firehose of firehoses” news cycle continues. College and university campuses continue to roil with protests. Trump has laid out his plans for a second term in a TIME Magazine interview that is, simply put, terrifying. Florida’s near-total abortion ban has gone into effect as of today and, as a result, accessing healthcare just got infinitely more difficult for hundreds of thousands of women in the South.
But wait! There’s more! Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she will make a motion to vacate Mike Johnson’s speakership next week. Democratic leadership has indicated they’ll save him. There is talk of a (desperately needed) ceasefire deal. There is talk that it won’t work. Trump’s trial continues. The polls are all over the place.
And it’s only Wednesday.
How to handle the relentlessness of it all? I can only tell you what I do:
First, I remind myself repeatedly that this, too, shall pass. We are in turmoil, but we won’t always be. It’s a breathtakingly hard moment. Such moments don’t last. Crisis feels permanent. It isn’t.
Just reminding myself of these basic facts helps a lot.
Next, I reach for an immediate action to take to help me build towards eventual goals. These actions sometimes have to do with the news of the day, but often don’t.
Today, for example, I’ve signed up for a phonebank for a climate champion running for re-election in the House. This race has nothing to do with anything I’ve written about above, but I’m worried about the climate crisis, and if we don’t get to work electing people who prioritize it we’re going to be in trouble. I’m powerless over so much that’s happening; I’m not powerless over this one race.
Also, I know that the low-level anxiety I feel after reading the news—anxiety that lingers all day if I don’t do something about it—will be greatly allayed by taking a positive action. Not by spending more time on Threads. Not by trying to solve the Middle East crisis myself. Not by demonizing the people “doing [fill in the blank] wrong.” No, none of that will move the needle on my mood, the planet’s wellbeing, or on the health of my democracy.
Taking positive action will.
If you feel like it might work for you—and I suspect you do—I’ve given you lots of ways to get started below. Let’s get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
With all of the great labor progress we’re making across the country I find it frustrating that the Senate hasn’t yet confirmed Julie Su as Labor Secretary. She’s been doing an incredible job as Acting Secretary—it’s time for her to officially be confirmed. Please ask the Senator to push Leader Schumer to bring it up for a vote.
I’m also still waiting for the Senate to pass the PRO Act (S.567) to provide protections for workers trying to organize. Thanks! [H/TRogan's List]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I want the House to pass the PRO Act (H.R.20) to provide protections for workers trying to organize. This is really important to me.
Second, I am asking again that the House do whatever is necessary to quickly pass funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program. Millions of Americans will suffer without access to broadband—it’s an essential utility at this point. Please make reinstating this funding a top priority. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
ABORTION ACCESS FRONT and their partners are calling on Congress to repeal the Comstock Act, a 19th century bill still on the the books which would enable the Trump administration to essentially ban all abortion on day one.
You can sign their petition here: REPEAL THE COMSTOCK ACT!
Get Smart! 📚
On Friday, May 3, 2024 at 12pm ET, Change Research will host a webinar on their latest deep-dive on women voters, two years after the Dobbs leak. The webinar will unpack women’s issues in politics, abortion, the pay gap, and pop culture including internet trends like “Tradwives,” Cowboy Carter, and Women in Sports. Change Research will dive into questions like:
How are women thinking about the 2024 election, including Biden and Trump's respective positions on abortion?
How are women reacting to the erosion of their rights since Dobbs, and where do they think this is leading?
How do women view broader cultural trends, and how do those trends influence their political and worldview?
The briefing will provide actionable advice on communicating with and motivating women, with a focus on the next frontier—where Democrats can credibly claim Republicans are trying to take human rights (backwards) next.
Spread the Word! 📣
I’ll be doing all I can to amplify the contents of Trump’s horrifying TIME Magazine interview, and I hope you will as well. You can start by posting this new Judd Legum piece about Trump’s support for state surveillance of pregnant women on all of your social media. It’s absolutely horrifying.
Give 💰!
World Central Kitchen has resumed delivering food in Gaza. I’m trying to raise $1000 for them. Can you give any amount? (If we go over that’s great, obviously)
Win Races! 🗳
WHOOOOO! Postcards to Swing States has begun sign-ups for their postcard program for November! They’ll mail you FREE postcards along with voter lists and instructions with proven message options. You’ll need to provide the stamps and mail the postcards to voters in October.
Their goal is 25.8 million postcards to boost Democratic turnout across 11 states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Montana, Florida and Texas. They’ll add sign-ups for competitive House races in other states in July.
Sign up here. They also have a helpful promotion kit with links to their card designs, their research, and easy ways to help spread the word about their effort to friends and family.
Postcards to Swing States has organized volunteers to write more than 43 million postcards since 2020, which is more handwritten messages than any other organization. Their scripts are also data-backed to boost turnout the most. They’re a great, great organization doing important work!
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Here’s a way to up-cycle your used pill bottles.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T and more info More Perfect Union] [Text SIGN PQDAKY to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I'm your constituent, and I’m writing to express my strong support for the Department of Transportation's new rule protecting consumers from airlines. The automatic refund provision and ban on junk fee practices are crucial steps towards ensuring fair treatment of passengers.
But I’ve seen reports that the upcoming FAA reauthorization could undermine these protections by forcing people to request refunds, rather than making it automatic. This policy places the burden on passengers who have been wronged by the airlines, not on the ones who screwed up in the first place.
I urge you to protect these new rules, including automatic refunds for canceled or delayed flights and lost bags, and reject any language that would roll back these critical consumer protections.
Please work with committee chairs to change this language ASAP to ensure auto rebates now. Thank you for your time and consideration.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Good reminder to balance self-care with saving our world. It won’t help if we fall apart.
Thank you so much for this, Jessica. You've echoed my feelings and thoughts about the mess we're in exactly.