Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/20

Deep breaths.

You can download this image in the toolkit below.

Hi all, and happy Tuesday.

Sheesh—there’s a lot going on. I’m reminding myself—so I’ll remind you, too—to take deep breaths and pace myself. This is exhausting and we can only do so much in a day.

Having said that, there’s some pretty major stuff happening at the moment, and our calls are very much needed. Let’s try to make them if we can. I’m going to focus on three things in the newsletter today, but of course there’s way more than that going on. We live in the Firehose Era, so overwhelm is just the new normal.

Nevertheless, the three things I’m prioritizing today are:

1. The DOJ’s announcing charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver. It’s important that we push back hard and fast against this, so I’ve given you a script I hope you’ll not just use, but share.

2. The Republican’s “death bill” gets another vote tonight. I’m not sure THEY even know exactly what they’ll be voting on yet, but Trump was with House Republicans this morning twisting arms and making threats. We know enough of the provisions in the bill to know that it’s awful, so we have to be VERY loud in opposition today.

3. We have more Democratic disappointments to deal with! Sixteen Dems voted to allow the Genius Act to proceed (Indivisible has a great explainer about why that’s unacceptable here). Their names are listed below. But it gets worse. Senator Booker voted badly not just on that bill, but also for Charles Kushner, a convicted felon and major Trump donor, to be US Ambassador to France. Insert your exploding head emoji here, folks. I’ve provided a script for the crypto-Dems below. I’m assuming New Jersey residents can come up with your own added verbiage for Booker as far as the Kushner vote goes.

Joe Biden has also, as you know, been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, so if anyone has thoughts on how best to get him cards please let me know. I’d love to absolutely deluge him with well wishes right now. As for all of the other Biden-related news—[ahem, Jake Tapper]—it’s a distraction and I refuse to give it any oxygen. Self-dealing fascists are enriching themselves, dismantling our government, and attacking our freedoms. That’s the scandal. Period. Everything else is noise.

OK, folks. I know it’s tough out there. Please remember to take breaks as needed. These actions, all taken together, should take about ten minutes of your time to complete. After that consider doing something simple and life-affirming to balance your mood a bit: hug your loved one, walk your dog, eat some pasta (that’s my favorite), meditate, listen to a favorite record, or look at a piece of gorgeous art. Remember, as Marcus Aurelius said, that “The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” So be sure to color yours with more than fear and stress.

That’s how we’ll prevail long enough to win. Which we will eventually. I promise.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

[If your Senator is one of these Democrats: Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Booker, Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gallego, Gillibrand, Hassan, Heinrich, Lujan, Ossoff, Padilla, Rosen, Schiff, Slotkin, Warner, start with this. If not, proceed to the next part:]

First, I’m furious that the Senator is one of 16 Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans to advance the GENIUS Act, a crypto-friendly bill that will enable Trump’s continued corruption. Unless it is rewritten to actually stop Trump from taking crypto-bribes, I expect the Senator to oppose it when it next comes up for a vote. Thanks.

[To all Senators]

I am deeply alarmed by the DOJ’s filing charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver. Trying to throw opposition politicians in jail on ginned up charges is what kings and dictators do, not the leaders of free countries. Rep. McIver was inspecting an ICE detention center in her district. Video evidence suggests SHE was assaulted, not the other way around. The Senator needs to immediately and loudly condemn this authoritarian act by the Trump Administration and demand they drop the charges. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

First, I am deeply alarmed by the DOJ’s filing charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver. Trying to throw opposition politicians in jail on ginned up charges is what kings and dictators do, not the leaders of free countries. Rep. McIver was inspecting an ICE detention center in her district. Video evidence suggests SHE was assaulted, not the other way around. The Congressmember needs to immediately and loudly condemn this authoritarian act by the Trump Administration and demand they drop the charges.

[If GOP add:] Also I am furious about the mega-bill Republicans are trying to rush through. It contains the biggest cuts to Medicaid in the history of the program and will take nutritional assistance away from kids, senior citizens, and veterans. It’s got provisions that’ll be disastrous for the climate crisis, others that’ll rob federal judges of their power, others that’ll sell off our public lands, and so much more. It’s evil garbage and if Republicans pass it we will vote them out next year. Thanks.

According to the very smart folks at Defending America these Republicans should be particularly susceptible to pressure on the indicated topics.

Extra Credit ✅

Here’s another great action from a subscriber—this time Joan S.

She said:

I just sent a postcard to the US Government Accounting Office filing a complaint about the proposed military parade on June 14 as waste. The GAO defines waste as that which "squanders money or resources."

I thought other readers might want to do the same. Complaints can be submitted anonymously.

There are four ways to submit a complaint about fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of federal funds:

Phone (800) 424-5454

Fax: (202) 512-2841

Email via their “contact us” form here.

Postal mail: GAO, 441 G St. N.W., Mail Stop 4T21, Washington, D.C. 20548

Suggested script (it’s always best to personalize):

Thank you for this opportunity to report governmental waste and abuse. The planned military parade in Washington, DC, on June 14 is predicted to costs tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money, with no significant benefit to the American people. This huge expense would be incurred while programs that do benefit people are being cut to the bone. This parade will “squander money and resources.” Therefore, the parade must be cancelled. Thank you.

Get Smart! 📚

House Republicans aim to get their megabill through the full House of Representatives and over to the Senate this week, before members return to their districts for Memorial Day. Before that vote, though, the bill could change to garner more GOP votes. In this short post, Cat Rowland from Progressive Caucus Center runs through some of the biggest changes being discussed and the expected timeline for this package moving forward. SUCH good reading and so informative!

Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣

DemCast has thrown together a toolkit with messaging about the charges against Rep. McIver. (It contains, among other things, the graphic at the top of this newsletter). We need to rally around her in a big way, so please share some of the content if you can—the toolkit offers options for pretty much every social media platform.

Take to the Streets! 🪧

With over 650 events on the map (and more being added daily) we’re on track to make June 14 one of the biggest days of mass protest of our lifetimes! But that can only happen if those of us who can show up do show up -- and recruit others to join us, too.

Click here to see all the No Kings protests on the map, and sign up to join a gathering near you on June 14.

Then, if you don’t see an event registered near you, please use Indivisible’s No Kings Host Toolkit to plan a protest in your community. They’re adding more events in more places every day! I’d love to see us get up to 1000!

Win Races! 🗳

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS CALENDAR: 2025 is an election year and there just might be a local school board election near you. I know there’s one in Rockland County, NY today, for example. In fact, there are lots of important local elections today!

Check out this quick cal from Ballot Ready for the need-to-know on School Board races near you (you have to enter some basic information to download it). Then see how you can help the Democrat/pro-public school candidate win!

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T

Rogan's List

] [Text SIGN PDFUPJ to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]

(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)

Trump’s former personal lawyer filing charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver should outrage every patriotic American. Trying to throw opposition politicians in jail on flimsy excuses is tyrannical, the stuff of insecure kings and tinpot dictators and not the leaders of free countries. You need to immediately and loudly condemn this authoritarian act by the Trump Administration, demand the charges be dropped, and push for Alina Habba to answer questions under oath about who approved them and who directed her to file them. Furthermore, you need to recognize Donald Trump’s continued abuse of authority to punish those who displease him is an infection eating away at our democracy, and act accordingly.

Rep. McIver and her colleagues were attempting to do their job, performing an oversight visit at an immigration detention facility. The law is very clear that they were permitted to do so and did not need to provide any prior notice. The confrontation was needlessly created by members of an out-of-control agency, and Rep. McIver’s actions were clearly not what the Justice Department is now pretending. It is laughable to think Rep. McIver would have been politely given a tour of Delaney Hall by agents she had assaulted moments before.

This administration has made it very clear they will use state power to criminalize dissent and retaliate against those they deem political enemies, especially those who push back against mass deportation and mass detention. We have seen this used against multiple institutions and individuals, from congressional leaders and top-tier law firms to students and farmworker labor organizers. It is a total rejection of our most cherished values, and it is only going to get worse from here. Protect this country and do what is in your power to draw the line.

---

OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess