Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/1

Proud to be in this work with you.

Hi all, and happy Tuesday! Also happy first day of Pride month! 🏳️‍🌈

Hope you had a great 3-day weekend.

My week got off to a busy start, with a protest this morning at my own CA Assemblymember's office. As much as I would rather have done about 1000 things than drive across town to demand that my DEMOCRATIC rep withdraw a bill she co-authored that will kill the rooftop solar industry in our state, we don't always get to pick our battles. (If you're in CA, by the way, please, please help us out by using this link to make a quick call to your Assemblymember telling them to vote NO on AB1139. Vote could be today.)

On the other hand? I never, ever regret going to a protest. I may complain about the inconvenience, wish it weren't happening, and try to come up with excuses to not go, but once I'm there I'm always glad I went. Always proud. Always empowered. And always certain that going made a difference.

Plus there's that pesky future generation expecting us to fight for them...

So let's do that one more time.

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling to say two things:

First, I want the Senator to strongly support H.R. 1620 – The “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act.” [If GOP add:] I understand that 172 GOP representatives voted “NO” on this important bill in the House, and I want the Senator to know that their reasoning wasn’t acceptable to me. [H/T]

Second:

[If Dem] I want the Senator to publicly support abolishing the Senate filibuster. Friday’s vote was telling. There will be no progress in the current Senate. We must abolish the filibuster to break the gridlock that keeps us from enacting the important legislation needed to secure our democracy. Thank you!

[If GOP]: I want the Senator to know that because Republicans filibustered the January 6 non-partisan commission, I’ll be fully supporting filibuster reform and doing whatever I can to see it implemented. I’m shocked that a once-great party has been reduced to covering for insurrectionists. It was important for me to see that so clearly, and I’ll be taking action now. Thank you. [H/T]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent. My name is_____. My zip code is ______.

I’m calling to say that I want the Congressmember to encourage Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to create a House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6th insurrection. We HAVE to know what happened and who made it happen. There can be no reconciliation until we get to the truth. Please make sure we do that. Thanks. [H/T]

Extra Credit

[H/T Small Deeds Done]

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that a small Nashville hat store thought it would be cool to create yellow stars of David with “not vaccinated” on them to sell for $5 each.

Luckily, the reaction has been swift and harsh, with a number of hat brands, including Stetson, severing ties with the store.

While they’ve already lost a significant number of brands, the brands that are still willing to do business with this company should hear from consumers. This is not cancel culture. This is consequences. Let's reach out to these companies and pressure them to sever ties with HatWrks.

NOTE: This list of the last 7 companies doing business with HatWrks is accurate as of June 1 at 11am CST; if you find out these brands have pulled contracts please let me know!

American Hat:  info@americanhat.net (800) 392-4197; 

Capas Hats:  info@capasheadwear.com, 718-894-3732

Dobbs: https://www.facebook.com/Dobbs1908/ https://dobbs1908.com

Henschel Hats: support@henschelhats.com (636)724-4000

Magill Hats:  info@magillhats.com; (514) 381-8561; 

Resistol:  info@hat-co.com, https://www.facebook.com/Resistolhat/

Sunbody: info@sunbody.com; 1-800-310-7093 

Let’s Protect Our Vote!

Time is running out to get S1 passed. Chuck Schumer has set a vote for the end of June, so we have only 10-14 days to contact West Virginia voters in time for them to call Sen. Manchin before he votes.

All In For West Virginia has spearheaded an effort that has, so far, gotten volunteers--including many of you--to write 36,000 letters and postcards to Manchin's constituents asking them to call him. BUT CAN WE DO MORE? If you can do more EASY letters in batches of 20--you're only writing one sentence per letter--please write Mary B. at once and tell her so. She's at mary.boergers@yahoo.com, and will send you all you need to get going.

Want to do even more?

I’ve signed up to make calls to West Virginians today at 5:30pm EDT (2:30pm PDT). Will you join me? They will train you! Sign up here.

Resistbot Text!

To Attorney General Garland–use this email address. In the “Please choose general topic” box – select “Message to the Attorney General.” [H/T]

I just learned that the Senate GOP used the filibuster to block an independent commission on the Jan. 6th insurrection, an event as worthy of investigation as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Their party’s continued actions to whitewash, gaslight, coverup or lie about facts is creating a dangerous division within our country. Trump’s Big Lie of a stolen election, besides inspiring bizarre partisan vote recounts around the country, is fueling increasing radicalization of their party. According to the recent survey by the American Enterprise Institute, nearly 3 in 10 Americans, including 39% of Republicans, agreed that “if elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves, even if it requires violent actions.”

Our democracy’s record of peaceful transition of power, unbroken since 1860, was a source of pride for us. Now that’s trampled into the broken glass and fecal matter on the floor of the People’s House. Legislators who may have been possible accomplices have succeeded in thwarting a thorough Congressional investigation, ignoring the voices of constituents and the capitol police who’ve been charged with protecting them.

It is no accident that memes regarding Hitler’s first failed coup are showing up now as a warning. We are afraid that the violence done that day was just a preview of our next national election, if we do not find a way to investigate the truth of that day in a thorough, non-partisan and transparent manner. America needs facts that it can trust from people who had no hand in the insurrection NOW!

Please appoint a special counsel with broad subpoena powers to specifically expand investigations beyond the citizen arrestees to include a report on whether various legislators, along with our disgraced former president, should be held criminally culpable for the ensuing violence of that day.

We can't have reconciliation in this country without truth. Please help us get there. Thanks.

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OK, all. You did democracy one more time. Thanks for that.

Have a fantastic day! Talk tomorrow!

Much love.

Jess