Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/13
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
I’ve got family in town again, so I’m going to make this brief.
Today is arraignment day; let’s hope that things go quietly and smoothly in Miami. Either way, this case is going to take a long time to play itself out, so let’s try to stay calm through the certain moments of drama to come.
In the meantime the Freedom Caucus blockade is over—for now—and House Republicans are back at work marking up their disastrous tax cut legislation. Let’s make a bit of noise to let our reps know that we’re not OK with Reaganomics 2.0 — it didn’t work last time and it won’t this time, either.
And let’s be sure to make the counter argument that Joe Biden’s economic policies are working—because they are. Here in the “fact-based world” Democrats have done an astonishing job building our economy—make sure your family and friends know it!
OK, all. Speaking of family, I’m off to be with mine. Have a terrific day and thank you for all that you do. It really, really matters.
As do you.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I understand that the House Ways and Means Committee is debating the GOP tax plan today. I’m calling to say I oppose it strongly. This bill would subsidize foreign investors to the tune of $23.8 billion in corporate tax cuts next year alone, and give the richest 1% $28.4 billion in tax breaks. If Republicans make the bill permanent, moreover, it would cost us more than $1.1 trillion over the next decade. And Republicans’ plan to “pay for” their tax bill in part by revoking green energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act is disastrous. We’re in a climate emergency. We need those credits to speed up our transition to renewable energy sources. This bill is a non-starter. Please oppose it. Thanks. [H/T]
Extra Credit ✅
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees almost 40% of all the public lands in the United States, a total of 248 million acres. For the past 40 years, it has prioritized oil and gas leases, mining, and grazing interests over conservation.
Now, however, it has issued a proposed rule that would allow for conservation leases, putting conservation on equal footing with other interests. This provides us with a historic opportunity to push the BLM to make this rule as strong as possible and to preserve our public lands for future generations.
BLM is accepting comments to its proposed rule up to June 20th.
The easiest way to make a comment is to go to Act Now for Public Lands and click on the “Take Action” button. This will take you to a pre-written comment that you can edit. EDITING IS VERY IMPORTANT! If comments are identical they will be ignored.
For more information about the proposed rule and additional talking points, go here. But I just edited the letter they provided.
Get Smart! 📚
United for Democracy is a brand new campaign launching to shine a spotlight on the impact of this Supreme Court on our families, our communities, our freedoms, and our democracy.
They’re uniting Americans to demand that Congress rein in this extreme Supreme Court, so it can serve as a bulwark of our democracy, protecting the freedoms of all Americans.
Their virtual launch event with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is happening at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 14th! It will be available at this link:
Hope some of you can attend!
Spread the Word! 📣
Today, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the May 2023 CPI report, reporting that annual inflation is at its lowest since March 2021, and has been cut in half from the June 2022 peak. At the same time, the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 16 months, the longest stretch in 50 years. Please amplify this information and attach one of the below articles.
USA Today: Inflation cools again as CPI data shows grocery prices fell, food cost eased; live updates
New York Times: Inflation Continues to Cool, Offering Relief to Consumers
Wall Street Journal: CPI Report Shows Inflation Has Been Cut in Half From Last Year’s Peak
Trump Indictment Miscellany
Some of you may find this Judd Legum piece helpful—it debunks various GOP talking points about why the Trump indictment is a “witch hunt.”
Win Races! 🗳
Climate Hawks Vote has phonebanks this week for two Democratic candidates running in competitive primaries in Virginia. Election Day is a week from today! Can anyone help?
Phonebank with Lashrecse Aird today, Tuesday, June 13 at 5pm ET
Phonebank with Nadarius Clark this Thursday, June 15, at 6pm ET
If you care about climate these primary races are critical. Why? One of America's early climate successes is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, binding Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to cut greenhouse gases. Last week, Virginia's governor Glenn Youngkin pulled the state out of RGGI. What he did was possibly illegal, and electing more climate hawks to the VA statehouse will go a long way towards fixing it.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[to all 3 reps] [H/T Feeding America] [Quick send: text SIGN PFUWHA to 50409 or share here.]
Pandemic-era nutrition benefits have expired, and families are facing a sudden "hunger cliff" as their grocery budgets are slashed. People are turning to food banks, but food prices remain high and donations to food banks are down. Food banks need your help to provide nutritious food to our neighbors facing hunger by:
-Reauthorizing and increasing to $500 million per year mandatory funding for TEFAP food purchases. This would double the annual funding for TEFAP entitlement commodities and help ensure a steady flow of TEFAP foods to food banks and other distribution organizations.
-Reauthorizing and increasing to $200 million per year discretionary funding for TEFAP storage and distribution to help food banks offset the cost of storing and transporting food, especially in rural communities.
Please help food banks meet increased demand by strengthening TEFAP through the 2023 Farm Bill. Thanks!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Enjoy the time with your family, Jess. It's so important!
We're happy to share you with your family, Jess. Enjoy!
This may be a bit off the mark, but your meme reminded me of a piece I wrote a couple of years ago entitled, oddly enough, "Together." It's posted on my site: https://bobmorgan.substack.com/p/together
There's probably a lot more that could be added to the piece at this point, but I wrote it in response to a question a friend asked: Given the extreme polarization and silos that separate folks, what can we do to bridge the differences?