Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/17
Court reform now.
Hi, all, and happy Friday,
I know. The news about Samuel Alito and his flying a Stop the Steal flag in late January of 2021 is frightening, enraging, and incomprehensibly frustrating. Every time I think we’ve seen the depth of the Supreme Court’s corruption and brokenness we get new, more disturbing information. It’s staggering, really, that neither Justice Roberts nor Congress has acted to address it.
Which simply means we must make them.
I know it feels overwhelming, and like the court is damaged irreparably. But to shrug our shoulders, throw up our hands and say “it’s too far gone to bother” is the easy way out. The court can be fixed, and it must. It will require time, effort, imagination, bravado, and a huge electoral reckoning, but it can be done. And everything—our climate, our democracy, our safety, and our futures, depends upon doing it.
So it’s not for us to say “It’s too hard.”
We should, instead, say “It’s hard, but it needs to happen. So it will.”
And then we must take the small, incremental, doable steps necessary to get there. Remember, rebuilding a demolished house while simultaneously living in it is a Herculean feat. But unless one wants to live forever exposed to the elements one must buckle down and get to work, little by slowly, until it’s accomplished.
So that’s what we’ll do. We’re coming to the deepest rot. Good. Now we can flush it out, haul it away, and reconstruct. Finally!
Get out your hammers and your nails, folks. Grab your toolbelt. Pack a lunch.
Let’s get to building one more time.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m appalled to learn that Samuel Alito had a Stop the Steal flag hanging at his house in the wake of the January 6 attacks. His excuse that the flag was his wife’s is pathetic—all other arguments aside, this is a man who believes women are subservient to their husbands and must only do their bidding. The simple truth is we were attacked; his household expressed support for that attack, and now he’s about to rule on a case about that attack. It’s deeply improper and wouldn’t be accepted in any other court in the country. He needs to recuse himself from this case immediately, as does Clarence Thomas. Will the Senator call for that?
Also, I understand that several House members have announced the creation of a “Court Reform Now” Task Force. Good. I want the Senator to start a Senate version. The Judiciary Committee isn’t doing enough. We need term limits, court expansion, and a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. They’ve lost all credibility. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m appalled to learn that Samuel Alito had a Stop the Steal flag hanging at his house in the wake of the January 6 attacks. His excuse that the flag was his wife’s is pathetic—all other arguments aside, this is a man who believes women are subservient to their husbands and must only do their bidding. The simple truth is we were attacked; his household expressed support for that attack, and now he’s about to rule on a case about that attack. It’s deeply improper and wouldn’t be accepted in any other court in the country. He needs to recuse himself from this case immediately, as does Clarence Thomas. Will the Congressmember call for that?
Also, I understand that Reps Schiff, Johnson, Raskin, and others have announced the creation of a “Court Reform Now” Task Force. Good. I want the Congressmember to join it. We need term limits, court expansion, and a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. They’ve lost all credibility. Congress must act. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
United Farm Workers is asking us to advocate for federal heat safety standards for farm workers.
We can contact OSHA at 1-800-321-6742 or by mail at
Attn: Douglas L. Parker
Assistant Secretary of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to express concern about dangerous working conditions for farm workers, who are 35 times more likely to die from heat than those in any other civilian occupation. Most farmwork employers fail to provide safe working conditions, and multiple states have even enacted policies to ban worker protection mandates against extreme heat. I want OSHA to take immediate action to enact and enforce emergency federal heat safety regulations.
Alternate: Sign the MoveOn petition. (Note: You will be subscribed to the MoveOn email list.)
[H/T Americans of Conscience]
Get Smart! 📚
The documentary First We Bombed New Mexico tells the story of the woman leading the fight for justice for communities in NM affected by radiation from the Trinity atomic test. It has won awards and standing ovations wherever it has screened, astonishing and moving audiences. (Here is a link to the trailer.)
First We Bombed New Mexico is being used as part of an urgent impact campaign to educate and engage the public and members of the House, to urge Speaker Mike Johnson to agree to present the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to the House floor for a vote before it sunsets on June 7, 2024. This bill offers an apology and compensation to New Mexicans, uranium miners and other American citizens who were radiated by Trinity and later nuclear testing programs. We’ve been calling about the bill this week!
A free screening of the film will be available to stream TODAY through Sunday, May 19th at 11pm PST. The organizers assembled an impressive group of panelists who participated in a 30 minute pre-recorded conversation that follows the film. They are:
Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO)
Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)
Tina Cordova, Film Protagonist
Lois Lipman, Filmmaker
Lesley M. M. Blume, New York Times, Best Selling Author (Fallout), Historian and Journalist, will moderate
Spread the Word! 📣
Dan Pfeiffer (of
) is holding a messaging training on Monday! I just signed up and hope to attend. It’s called Messaging + Relational Organizing w/ Dan Pfeiffer, Navigator Research, and Trent Seubert (DCCC).It should be great, and as we all gear up to talk to voters—whether it be our neighbors or folks at the doors—we need to be ready to have the best conversations possible.
Monday, May 20, 8 – 9pm EDT
Give 💰!
I’m posting about the below org again because it is REALLY critical to our winning in November. Please give if you can. Mind the Gap feels this is one of the best places you can put your money, and I believe them.
Project 218 takes a highly data-driven approach to winning back the House in 2024. The independent expenditure PAC (527) complements the work of candidate campaigns and other PACs by amplifying efforts at the margins, strategically providing resources where they are most likely to secure a critical House seat. Project 218 utilizes quantitative models to deploy best-in-class tactics where they are most likely to generate the votes needed to win in the most competitive House races. Tactics include highly targeted voter registration, rigorously tested TV persuasion, and mail campaigns. The program is designed to increase the number of Democratic votes in target races while simultaneously ensuring that the overall investment maximizes the probability of winning control of the House. Click here to make a non-tax-deductible contribution of any amount.
Win Races! 🗳
The Montana and Nevada primary elections are just around the corner, and Activate America volunteers are writing postcards into both states to get out the vote!
They’re focusing on boosting turnout for Democratic Senators Jacky Rosen and Jon Tester. Both are in “toss up” Senate elections that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
Montana postcards must be mailed by May 25th, and Nevada postcards must be mailed by June 1st. The preferred timing for both is ASAP, as mail ballots are going out and early voting will start soon.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all three reps, plus POTUS for good measure] [Text SIGN PZKQEK to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I’m writing because I’m outraged and dismayed at the corruption on our Supreme Court, especially in light of new reporting that Samuel Alito had a “Stop the Steal” flag in his yard in the days after January 6. This is incomprehensible and utterly beyond the pale. He needs to recuse himself from the Trump immunity case; better yet, he should resign.
Americans—and I—have had it with our broken, corrupt, and anti-democratic Supreme Court. I want you to vocally support the passage of S 1616 / HR 3422 the Judiciary Act of 2023 to rebalance the court. I also want you to vocally support the passage of S 359 / HR 926 the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act.
We also need term limits for Supreme Court Justices. Badly. Please support HR 4423 / S 3096 the Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act of 2023.
Finally, I want aggressive investigations into justices who have taken money and perks from people or groups with business before the court.
Americans have utterly lost faith in this institution. It needs to be addressed. Now! Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Jess you are amazing! Your spirit stays high when all else is low. Thanks for the daily pep talk and energy. I’ve called and sent resist bot letters. I’m in it with you. 💕💕
Plus, my local squad will have a few thousand postcards going out Sunday for Jackie Rosen. Onward!