Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/17
“If your Nerve deny you — go above your Nerve.”
- Emily Dickinson
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.
First of all, I re-read yesterday’s newsletter and was slightly mortified to find multiple typos in it. Unlike our friend Robert Hubbell I have no “Managing Editor” to copyedit my newsletter; yesterday it really showed! 😂
Forgive the lapses, if you will. Sleep has not been at a premium recently. Nor has downtime. True for most of us, I know.
Speaking of “us,” I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who reach out via email with suggestions, questions, reflections, gratitude, responses from your lawmakers, and more! It’s a delight to hear from so many of you. If anyone doubts that there are a vast number of people doing this work alongside you I will attest to it. We are legion, indeed!
As I say so often, thank you for inspiring me. Together we will get through this most difficult of times. Where there is despair we will—as St. Francis put it in his Peace Prayer—bring hope. Together.
Because hope is always more plentiful when one realizes they aren’t alone.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
With Roe v Wade about to be overturned, I’m very worried about reproductive privacy. I know that pregnant peoples’ search data has already been used to prosecute miscarriages in some states, and that period tracking apps routinely sell their users’ data. It’s unacceptable. I want the Senator to cosponsor and fight to pass both S.3520 – the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022, and S.1265 – The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act to protect both our privacy and the integrity of our constitutional rights. Any bill passed should include restrictions on precision geo-fencing. Thanks. [H/T and more info]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
With Roe v Wade about to be overturned, I’m very worried about reproductive privacy. I know that pregnant peoples’ search data has already been used to prosecute miscarriages in some states, and that period tracking apps routinely sell their users’ data. It’s unacceptable. I want the Congressmember to cosponsor and pass both H.R.6416 – the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022, and H.R.2738 – The Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act to protect both our privacy and the integrity of our constitutional rights. Any bill passed should include restrictions on precision geo-fencing. Thanks. [H/T and more info]
Extra Credit ✅
Nancy Pelosi is still insisting on endorsing Henry Cuellar in the TX-28 race. He is the last Democratic forced-birther in the House, and his opponent is a stellar progressive! Please call Pelosi at (415) 556-4862 or (202) 225-4965.
Say:
Hi my name is _____ and I’m calling from _____. I’m calling Congresswoman Pelosi in her capacity as Speaker to respectfully ask her to rescind her endorsement for Henry Cuellar in Texas’s 28th district. He is a forced birther – those have no place in the Democratic party. The Democratic establishment’s insistence on endorsing him is costing them dearly with young voters—and me. Please rescind your endorsement and support Jessica Cisneros instead! Thanks!
Get Smart! 📚
Care about protecting Medicare from privatization?
On Monday, May 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET, join Physicians For a National Health Program, Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Katie Porter to launch a summer of national action against Medicare Direct Contracting and REACH.
Right now, seniors in Traditional Medicare are being enrolled into entities controlled by third-party middlemen, without their knowledge or consent. Even worse, these middlemen are allowed to keep as PROFIT what they don’t spend on seniors’ care! We’ll learn how this program works and what we can do to stop it.
You can register at ProtectMedicre.net/May23. Hope to see you there!
Chop Wood, Give 💰!
We need the rural vote to win in November, right? Well, there’s a fundraiser this evening from 7-8:00 PM ET to help us do just that, and it sounds fantastic. It’s called Finding Common Ground: Connecting with Voters in Rural + Small Town America, and it’s hosted by Force Multiplier and the Rural Democracy Initiative.
Speakers include:
Sarah Jaynes, Executive Director of the Rural Democracy Initiative
Dreama Caldwell, Co-Director of Down Home North Carolina
Jackie Payne, Executive Director of GALvanize Action
The Rural Democracy Initiative helps rural leaders engage voters, build progressive multi-racial coalitions, and advocate for action on important rural issues like health care, good jobs, broadband, and climate.
Your donation will support the work of 7 groups in key states: the Wisconsin Farmers Union, Down Home North Carolina, Rural Arizona Action, GALvanize (engaging white women in WI, PA, GA), Courier Newsroom (a network of local news organizations in PA, NC, AZ, WI), VoteVets ( engaging progressive veterans and military families in AZ,NC,GA,PA, WI, NH and other target states), and Amplify NH ( a progressive research and communications hub).
This is an ULTRA worthy cause and should be an excellent event. Register or just donate here. (You can buy a ticket for any amount—I donated $5.)
Win Races! 🗳
In the next two weeks we could elect 4 NEW incredible progressives into office: Jessica Cisneros, Summer Lee, Nida Allam, and Erica Smith! Right wing PACS are spending millions of dollars to defeat them. Why? Because they know they will fight unapologetically for a Green New Deal, abortion rights, and so much more in Congress. But while they have money, WE’VE GOT PEOPLE POWER!
That’s why I’m asking you to sign up for ONE SHIFT of phone calls to help get these 4 amazing leaders over the finish line. Yes YOU! These races will be decided by hundreds of votes, so literally every conversation on the phone will make a difference. Sunrise is calling almost every day between now and May 24th–can you sign up for a phone bank?
Click each candidate’s name below to watch their campaign videos and sign up for a phonebank!
Jessica Cisneros (TX-28) - Campaign Video / Sign up to Phonebank! (I’ve done these phonebanks they are 🔥!)
Summer Lee (PA-12) - Campaign Video / Sign up to Phonebank! (I’ve also done these phonebanks! And they are also 🔥!)
Nida Allam (NC-04) - Campaign Video / Sign up to Phonebank! (Also done. Also 🔥)
Erica Smith (NC-01) - Campaign Video / Sign up to Phonebank! (Haven’t yet but I will if you will.)
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send text SIGN PFOXWZ to 50409]
In 2021, at least 108,000 people died from preventable overdoses - the worst year in recorded history. Impacts from COVID-19, such as physical distancing and wide-ranging unemployment, have led to isolation, stress, and despair among many people, including people who use drugs. All of these factors are increasing overdose risk.
No matter what we look like or where we come from, the overdose crisis reminds us that at our core we are all human. Our ability to get and stay well depends on everyone having what we need to prevent, treat, and recover from illness. Taking care of each other is how we care for ourselves, so I am calling on you to ensure that every person in the U.S. has access to prevent, treat, and the ability to thrive.
We need your leadership to pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act of 2021 (H.R.1384). The MAT Act would eliminate the DATA 2000 WAIVER ("X Waiver") requirement that discourages practitioners from integrating treatment in their practices and perpetuates stigma in the medical community against patients who would benefit from buprenorphine treatment.
I am writing to ask you to join as a co-sponsor for the MAT Act and to vote yes when it comes up for a vote in the House. The MAT Act has bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
Now is the time to invest in proven solutions - like accessible healthcare, lifesaving treatment, and harm reduction measures - to stop preventable overdose deaths. To effectively respond to the urgency of the overdose epidemic, we need to eliminate barriers that prevent healthcare practitioners from providing evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders.
We need our government to end the overdose crisis. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Dear Jessica. You are one of my heroines! I dont' care how many typos you miss. Every day I am inspired and I do what you say! It helps me with my despair and worry! Going above my NERVE. Indeed!