Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/16
We did it! And we're doing it still.
Hi, all, and happy Monday.
I don’t know about you, but I’m still on a high from this weekend’s protests. That elation is tempered, of course, by the heartbreaking tragedies in Salt Lake City and Minnesota, but it’s still there. What we did this weekend was extraordinary. Whether the No Kings turnout number is 5 million (low estimate), 12 million, (high), or somewhere in between, the fact is that we got millions and millions of Americans—many of whom had never protested before—out into the streets. We did so peacefully, we did so with joy, and we did so with great courage. Best of all, the news actually covered us this time—with at least some accuracy.
If you’re anything like me you spent the weekend looking at footage of marches across the country, from those in small towns to the huge protests in major cities in every state. I couldn’t get enough of it. After all, every single person in those pictures and videos is an American patriot—someone who set everything else aside in order to stand up and be counted on this critically important day. Nearly every person took time to make a sign or bring an American flag, to put on sunscreen or grab an umbrella, to pack snacks and water, and to travel to where their march was. Nearly every attendee felt some small amount of fear that something could go wrong. Nearly every person there was tired—after all, it’s been a long few months—and could have been doing something more restful.
And yet there we all were. What a spectacular showing of love—of community, of country, of the rule of law.
I find it to be deeply moving. We should feel proud. We should feel hopeful. We should feel a surge of pride. I truly hope all of you do.
Now, is this fight over? Is one massive protest—possibly the largest in American history—the capstone of our project? Of course not! This day simply contributed another building block to the wall of resistance we’re constructing. But it’s a large one, and architecturally significant, if you’ll bear the stretching of the metaphor.
The No Kings protest was badly needed for morale. It was needed to show the world that we’re not OK with what’s happening. It was needed to show Republicans what they’re up against. And, most of all, it was needed to show each other how many of us are in this fight.
On all of those fronts it succeeded brilliantly.
To find out more about what we accomplished and what comes next please consider joining the organizers of the No Kings protests tonight at 5:00PM PT / 8PM ET for a debrief call. I know I’ll be there. Sign up here.
I’m also excited to announce that my Substack Live right before that, at 4PM PT / 7PM ET, will feature the amazing human rights lawyer
Qasim has published numerous books and academic law review articles. His work has been published across the media spectrum from TIME, The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and USA Today. He authors a popular Substack with more than 130,000 subscribers titled "Let's Address This with Qasim Rashid." I love talking to him and really look forward to introducing many of you to him. Hope to see you there!OK, my friends. While we wait to figure out what our next big protest will be, let’s turn our attention to stopping the Big BS Bill and making sure our lawmakers know that we will not tolerate the continued abuses we’re witnessing. There’s lots to do, but there are lots of us, too. So let’s get to work with our heads held high. We made history this weekend.
And we’re only just getting started.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I want the Senator to introduce companion legislation to Rep. Larson’s Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act (HR 1877), a bill that protects Americans’ private data. I believe the unfettered access to Social Security data is one of the most dangerous issues we face. It needs to be addressed—and your constituents need to be protected— now.
Second, Senator Mike Lee should be censured for posting misinformation about the Minnesota shooter and joking about the murders. Politicizing and minimizing political violence is abhorrent and must be condemned. Will the Senator call for him to be censured?
Finally, I expect the Senator to vote no on both the reconciliation bill and the rescissions bill. Will s/he?
[If yes thank. If no or not sure add:] Did the Senator see the millions of people who marched this weekend? They are people who will also organize to vote out any lawmaker who supports these vicious, destructive bills. Vote no, please. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I want the Congressmember to co-sponsor and work to pass Rep. Larson’s Protecting Americans’ Social Security Data Act (HR 1877), a bill that protects Americans’ private data. I believe the unfettered access to Social Security data is one of the most dangerous issues we face. It needs to be addressed—and your constituents need to be protected— now.
Second, I expect the Congressmember to vote no on the reconciliation bill when it comes back from the Senate. Will s/he?
[If yes thank. If no or not sure add:] Did the Congressmember see the millions of people who marched this weekend? They are people who will also organize to vote out any lawmaker who supports this vicious, destructive bill. Vote no, please. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Please use the FRAC Action Network to send a message directly to your Senators urging them to vote “NO” on the draconian SNAP provisions in the Senate budget reconciliation bill.
FRAC also has state-by-state fact sheets on SNAP participation. Please share them!
Get Smart! 📚
Want to help fix our broken media?
Join the Media and Democracy Project in their fight for a better-informed America. Be a media activist!
Sign up for their Substack here. Or attend their monthly meeting to find out how you can help!
From them:
Join our growing community of pro-democracy, pro-media activists on Monday, June 16 at 7 pm ET for our Monthly Zoom MAD Monday Meeting where we will provide updates, suggest actions, and hear from you.
Sign up here.
Win Races! 🗳
Tomorrow is primary day in Virginia! Regardless of what happens in other races, we know that Abigail Spanberger will be the Democratic nominee for governor.
Are you ready to make calls and talk to voters to ensure we elect her?
Join Grassroots Dems on Mondays (including today) and Wednesdays at 3PM PT/6PM ET and Sundays at 1PM PT/4PM ET to call voters across the state!
No worries if you've never phone banked before. They will provide a full training!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your Senators] [H/T] [Text SIGN PAPGMZ 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.)
I urge you to vote against the rescissions package now under Senate review, which would claw back $1.1 billion in previously approved federal funding for public media – and to support full public media funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills. A significant majority of this funding goes directly to local stations.
Rescinding these funds would derail both current and future efforts to strengthen public safety, expand educational opportunity, support economic development, and improve overall community well-being.
Public media represents one of the nation’s most efficient public-private partnerships: for every federal dollar, stations raise about seven more. Rescinding this support would do real and lasting damage – and in communities where public media is the only local media source, it could eliminate that lifeline altogether. Stations serving rural, remote, and tribal areas often rely on this support for more than half of their operating budgets. Without it, they could be forced off air, cutting off entire communities from essential services. It just can’t happen.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
And as I keep reminding people, for every one person protesting in person or honking in support, probably five to ten people were behind them in spirit. Personally, I can name ten people who supported the protest, who definitely do not want a monarchy in America, but they could not come out for very good reasons: recovering from chemo, expecting company the next day, being at work, having to keep appointments, not realizing until too late what was going on, etc., etc., etc.
I know we cannot "count" such people as part of attendance numbers, but I was very aware of them as I attended a protest in Clintonville, a part of Columbus, OH. They may not "count" for attendance, but boy, do they count!!!
My favorite No Kings stat is a town of 800 that had a rally with 400 people!