Chop Wood, Carry Water 5/29
Progress on a few fronts!
Hi, all, and happy Thursday!
And it is happy, or at least a little more so than usual. Yesterday, after all, brought quite a few bits of good news.
The biggest piece, of course, is that a U.S. trade court has, for now, at least, blocked Trump's tariffs, ruling that he overstepped his authority by invoking an emergency law. The court's decision halts most of the tariffs and requires the administration to appeal or find alternative legal means to impose them. They will do both, of course, but their chances of success are unclear. I suppose Trump could try to force Congress to codify his tariffs in the “Big, Brutal Bill,” but such a move would bring legislative chaos and significantly erode the bill’s chances of timely passage. Relief from SCOTUS seems unlikely—the tariffs were, after all, completely unconstitutional. We’ll see what Trump does next, but either way this is a giant setback for a man whose entire presidential campaign came down to “tariffs, tariffs, tariffs.” (And racism. And misogyny. And transphobia. But you get my point.)
More good news: Last night, Elon Musk announced his official departure from the Trump administration. Good riddance!
Did Musk ultimately find his dalliance in the world of politics to be worth it? Doesn’t sound like it.
From the Times:
Mr. Musk, who once called himself the president’s “first buddy,” is now operating with some distance from Mr. Trump as he says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies…he has also made it clear that he is disillusioned with Washington and frustrated with the obstacles he encountered as he upended the federal bureaucracy, raising questions about the strength of the alliance between the president and the world’s richest man.
As far as the impact on his businesses?
“I think I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics.”
Finally, we—and Trump—learned yesterday that Wall St. has a nickname for Trump’s approach to tariffs; it’s “TACO trade.” This, apparently, stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. Trump is furious about it, but the internet has been having a ball:
We can only surmise that the ketchup is flying in the White House this week.
Are things still awful? Yup. But should we take every opportunity to celebrate Trumpworld’s losses and humiliations? ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. Anything to keep morale up.
Because our mandate is to not just block and stymie MAGA, but to completely eradicate them from the political landscape and then build something beautiful and vital on the charred earth they’ll leave behind. That’ll take time, hard work, and perseverance, so let’s take our breaks where we find them.
Plus, who knew that schadenfreude could feel this good?
Proud of all you’re doing, folks. Let’s get back to it.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m calling with alarm about the provision in Republicans’ Budget Bill that will greatly hinder federal judges’ ability to issue injunctions or enforce contempt orders. This provision would be a catastrophe for our democracy. It absolutely must be stripped from the final bill.
Not only that—the entire Trump bill must be opposed. The cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Medicare, too, are sadistic and will kill Americans—including some of your constituents. The cuts to clean energy tax credits will be catastrophic for the climate crisis and for American jobs. Oh and also? It’s going to add 4 TRILLION dollars to our deficit. Are you kidding me? It’s a disaster and any Senator that supports it will be voted out. That’s a promise.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I'm calling to ask the representative to prevent the defunding of the Department of Labor's Job Corps program and push the department to continue processing current applications. Job Corps provides essential job training to help vulnerable young people thrive. [H/T]
Also, I just read that the Department of Health and Human Services is canceling a nearly $600 million contract with Moderna to develop vaccines for flu subtypes that could trigger future pandemics, including the bird flu. Why the hell would we do this? It’s bad enough that the HHS is attacking the COVID vaccine, but now it’s going after ALL flu vaccines? Including bird flu? It’s stupid and destructive to undermine public health in this way. I want HHS to stop attacking Covid vaccines and reinstate the funding for Moderna’s flu vaccines. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
Impeach + Remove Digital Town Hall featuring Rep. Al Green
Cohosted by Free Speech For People and Women’s March
Tuesday, June 3rd | 7:30 - 8:30 PM EST
In the time since his second inauguration, Trump has carried out an assault on the rule of law, on the checks and balances of power between our co-equal branches of government, and on the United States Constitution. He has committed multiple abuses of power in violation of clear constitutional commands and at the expense of our democratic institutions, constitutional precedent, and the health and safety of all of our people, especially the most vulnerable. Congress must take action. Congressman Green has introduced an article of impeachment, and soon our representatives in the US House will have the chance to hold Trump accountable. Free Speech For People and Women’s March invite you to join us for this digital town hall to learn about the case for impeachment from Congressman Green and constitutional law experts and learn how we can all take action to end this tyranny.
Go to a Town Hall!
There are two “People’s Town Halls” coming up:
Join the People’s Town Hall in Michigan’s 7th CD with Senator Elissa Slotkin and Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet on Friday, June 6th to tell your stories about how you have been impacted by Trump and Republicans’ dangerous agenda. michigandems.com/CD7TownHall
Montana Democratic Party on Bluesky: Join us in Billings on Friday 5/30 for a town hall! Even though they will be in recess, Daines, Downing, and Sheehy are still refusing to show up. Let’s be loud enough to grab their attention. Speakers to be announced soon!
Win Races—make calls! 🗳
The June 24 New York City mayoral primary is one of this year's most important elections, and the Environmental Voter Project needs your help mobilizing over 119,000 low propensity climate voters to get to the polls.
This is your chance to make a big impact in a crucial election:
Join any of 10 phonebanks they're hosting in June to mobilize NYC voters!
Win Races—postcard!
Northwest Florida may not grab national headlines often, but this summer, it's home to a contest that could send ripples across the state and beyond. On June 10, voters in House District 3 will decide who will fill a vacated seat in the Florida legislature. With the far-right already dominating Tallahassee, every Democratic voice in the Capitol matters. That's why this special election is an opportunity we can’t afford to ignore.
Democrat Dondre Wise is stepping up to offer voters a different path, focused on accountability, grassroots leadership and a renewed commitment to public service. As the only Democrat in this race, Dondre faces an uphill battle in a deeply conservative district. But don't count him out.
Help Dondre Wise amplify his message and reach voters who might otherwise sit this one out. Together, let's remind Florida that every district matters. Every seat matters. And every vote matters. Every postcard can make a difference.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
This June, our friends at Elders Climate Action invite people of all ages to join a powerful, three-part virtual series celebrating intergenerational climate leadership. This month-long event will uplift diverse voices and build momentum for meaningful change, from storytelling and imaginative visioning to real-world climate solutions.
Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, June 3rd, 17th, and 24th, at 7 PM ET—all virtual and open to the public. We especially hope to see you on the final call, which will feature a 15-minute Action Party hosted by the CAN team!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PSTFPY 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.)
This week JD Vance and two of Trump’s sons spoke at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, following Trump’s own crypto dinner last week when he wined and dined foreign nationals who lined his pockets by buying his grift meme coin.
This comes as Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, struck a deal to buy $2.5 billion in Bitcoin, increasing Trump’s hold on his cryptocurrency empire. Trump also announced a crypto token that allows people to “transfer money directly to the president’s family,” raising widespread concern among legal ethics experts.
This is all absolutely repugnant.
Trump and his acolytes are using the power of the presidency to enrich themselves, all while hardworking families drown in bills and struggle to put food on the table. Trump, in fact, may have doubled his estimated net worth in the last year alone.
This is corruption. It’s self dealing. It’s crooked. It’s wrong.
Congress has the power to stop this. Why are you not? Americans are disgusted by what we’re seeing and we expect you to take action to address it.
Otherwise we will take action to vote you all out. Thank you.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
At Harvard’s Commencement ceremony today, President Alan Garber received a long standing ovation for his refusal to submit to Trump’s demands. I hope others will follow suit.
Musk paid the quid, $300 million to get Trump in. He got the quo, unsupervised access to government records on all things and people that affect his personal and business needs from the American government and from us, the taxpayers. He's leaving because he got his money's worth and more downloaded into his super computers. This is more than a high crime by Trump it is treason, no less.