Hi all, and happy Wednesday!
Michele at Small Deeds Done put a great Chinese proverb in her newsletter this week: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
I never wake up and wish I'd done less to improve my country yesterday. I never think, "Geez, I regret that work for justice, or equity, or clean air and water, or better legislation that I did last month."
But I do sometimes regret not doing more in the past.
What can I do about yesterday's negligence? Nothing. What can I do about today? EVERYTHING. Starting with making these simple calls. Consider them seeds planted towards a forest of democracy we'll see tomorrow.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling for a couple of reasons today:
First, I want the Senator to confirm David Chipman for ATF Director. We just had another mass shooting. We need this seat filled now.
Second, Americans are tired of a stalled Congress. We want to see gun legislation like HR 8 passed. We want to see the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Expansion Act passed. We want to see civil rights protections for LGBTQ folks expanded with HR5. We want to see the formation of a Commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection. We want Joe Biden's infrastructure package to pass. I could go on. The Senate needs to quit stalling and get to work now.
[If GOP add:] Please ask the Senator to put country over party. Obstruction is NOT governing. Thanks.
[If Dem add:] For the good of our democracy abolish the filibuster now. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling for a couple of quick reasons:
First, I want to ask the Congressmember to support the Green New Deal for Cities Act of 2021, or HR 2644. This bill would provide funding to city, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to proactively address the climate crisis, while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and improving the health and safety of our families. [H/T]
Second, I want the Congressmember to co-sponsor the Women's Health Protection Act when it's reintroduced this session. I'm really worried the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v Wade next year, and this legislation would help protect a woman's right to choose. Thanks.
Extra Credit
Today let's write an email to Citi by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/3vvycaxb (a letter will auto-populate in your email program). We're asking them to DROP the voter suppressing US Chamber of Commerce! All you need to do is personalize the top and bottom of the text.
THIS TAKES TEN SECONDS!
Oh, and if it doesn't work on your laptop try your phone!
Let’s Win Races!
Believe it or not, 2022 is right around the corner. Control of the House and the Senate will be up for grabs. It’s going to be tough, but we HAVE TO WIN. Like, have to.
We don’t yet know which of the races are going to be the true “nail biters” – but we know the Democrats in those races are going to need our financial help EARLY. That’s why I like the It Starts Today Congressional project fund. It helps regular folks start contributing to those races now.
I signed up to give $10 a month. Relatively painless, but if lots of us do it it'll add up! This is a no-brainer, folks. But the power is in starting early.
So get started here and spread the word! [H/T Small Deeds Done]
Resistbot Text (New to Resistbot? Go here)
[to your DEMOCRATIC Senators] [H/T]
Hi, I'm writing as a constituent to ask you to not weaken the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (GFJPA) by compromising on ending Qualified Immunity. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s killing, in which former officer Chauvin’s brazen behavior demonstrated to us all the importance of ending qualified immunity. The barbaric murder of Ronald Greene, covered up for 2 years, is another stark example of how brutal police can be when they are protected from personal financial liability.
The GFJPA received zero Republican votes in the House, and McConnell has promised zero Republican votes in the Senate for anything President Biden wants. Don’t remove this vital component just to get 2 or 3 Republican maybes. We understand Whip Clyburn’s point that a GFJPA without ending qualified immunity would still save lives, by banning chokeholds, ending no-knock warrants for drug arrests, collecting data on police use of force, and other measures, and a good bill is always better than no bill at all. However, what reason is there to believe that a greatly weakened GFJPA would deliver enough Republican votes to make a difference? They are cooperating on NOTHING.
We have said that Black Lives Matter, police departments have held hours of training on racial bias, and cities have spent more than $3 billion over the past 10 years on police misconduct settlements, and yet unarmed Black people continue to be murdered with impunity. Ending qualified immunity so that officers are subjected to personal liability for their brutality would make a dramatic difference in their impulsive use of fatal force. Thanks.
OK, all. You’re done for today.
Thanks for planting some trees with me. Your children—and mine—will thank you.
Jess