Chop Wood, Carry Water 6/2
Hi, all, and happy Friday!
Between having family in town, attending my nephew’s graduation on Wednesday, spending much time socializing, and riding the riptides of the debt ceiling drama I’m exhausted. I imagine you are, too—if not for the exact same reasons then for your own combination of factors.
Living is tiring, and living in the MAGA era is even more so. This particular chapter has somehow been especially grueling. While the outcome was satisfying, moreover, those of us in the environmental community are gutted by the Mountain Valley Pipeline approval. A lot of hard work, in short, feels like it’s gone into achieving, at best, a Pyrrhic victory.
But such is the life of a citizen and an activist. You win some, you lose some; some you call, essentially, a draw. The conclusion of the debt ceiling drama manages to fall into all three categories at once. No wonder we’re tired.
So it’s a good time to remind ourselves of this line from William Barclay:
“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”
A thousand times, yes. Even on the most exhausted of days we must remember it. And while today I’m feeling the first part of the quote more keenly, my actions can continue to push towards the latter.
I hope you’ll join me.
Then let’s all get some rest.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
Now that our Republican-manufactured debt ceiling crisis is behind us I’m calling to ask the Senator whether they will sign on as a co-sponsor to S. 1655 to establish an improved Medicare for All national health insurance program. Our healthcare system is broken and everyone knows it. We need one that’s dedicated to covering and caring for all Americans and cutting costs, not enriching private insurance companies and Big Pharma. Will the Senator co-sponsor S. 1655 at once?
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
Now that our Republican-manufactured debt ceiling crisis is behind us I’m calling to ask the Congressmember whether they will sign on as a co-sponsor to HR 3421 to establish an improved Medicare for All national health insurance program. Our healthcare system is broken and everyone knows it. We need one that’s dedicated to covering and caring for all Americans, not enriching private insurance companies and big Pharma. Will the Congressmember co-sponsor HR 3421?
Extra Credit ✅
Let’s contact President Biden via the White House contact form. Please personalize the below so it doesn’t get rejected as spam:
I’m contacting you to urge you to designate Temporary Protected Status for people from African countries. Black aspiring Americans are more likely to be targeted for detention and deportation, and TPS designation can help mitigate this unfair treatment and keep families together. I am counting on you to protect people seeking asylum from Mali, Mauritania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Sudan, South Sudan, and Nigeria by designating and renewing TPS for those nations. Thank you.
[H/T]
Get Smart! 📚
Focus for Democracy, an organization that advises left-leaning donors on where best to give money, is doing a Zoom briefing next week. It’s not a fundraiser—rather this is a great way to learn about how this network, which I LOVE, approaches political investment in a data-driven way. On Thursday, June 8 they’re doing a recap on the effectiveness of 2022 Midterm programs their network funded and sharing their thoughts on the road ahead.
Click this link to register. I think you’ll be really compelled by them. Hope you’ll join me!
Spread the Word! 📣
Substack is finally enabling us to insert videos into regular posts! Very exciting!
Please share the below VoteVets video everywhere you can. It highlights how severe the MAGA attacks on veterans were in the default battle. Important to hit them hard on this, and VV has asked for our help in amplifying.
You can share the video via this newsletter or find it on VoteVets’ Twitter here, Facebook here, Instagram here, TikTok here, and LinkedIn here.
P.S. Watch closely—you might spot someone you know making a “Where’s Waldo”-type appearance. (:
Give 💰!
Y’all, if you have any money to spare will you give some to a Civil Rights and environmental activist who’s about to lose his home? SoCal 350 is trying to raise a fairly modest amount for him, and if we don’t support activists who will?
From them:
Help Our Friend and Amazing Mentor Kwazi Nkrumah: Kwazi and his late wife Sabina Virgo hosted SoCal 350 monthly meetings at their home for years. Now Kwazi requires our collective financial support. After fighting for racial, environmental and labor justice for 61 years, Baba Kwazi is at risk of losing his home. Please support and spread the word. With this fundraising effort, we intend for the community to come together and pour into Kwazi as Kwazi has poured into us for decades.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To all 3 reps] [H/T] [Quick send: text SIGN PEPKMR to 50409 or share here.]
I am writing today as your constituent to ask for your support of the Equality Act when it is reintroduced this Congress.
Despite a Supreme Court ruling affirming civil rights protections for LGBTQ people in the workplace, LGBTQI+ people still face widespread discrimination in all areas of life. This is why Congress must pass the Equality Act. By explicitly extending civil rights protections to LGBTQI+ people, this bill would provide clear and consistent protections and help ensure that all people are treated fairly under the law, no matter their zip code.
The Equality Act would prohibit discrimination in not just employment but also education, housing, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service. These are all areas where LGBTQI+ Americans routinely face discrimination and abuse.
A growing majority of Americans—70 percent—support the Equality Act, as well as more than 500 major companies and 120 religious organizations representing diverse faith traditions from across the country. Last session, the House passed the bill with bipartisan support, but the Senate did not take up the bill. I am asking that you stand with the American people and constituents such as me and support this critical piece of legislation.
Every person should be judged on their merits, not their sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status. I urge you to co-sponsor the Equality Act and ensure that all Americans can live, work, and go to school free from harassment or discrimination. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
"To matter, to change the world, you also need devotion and will and you need to act. Hope is only where it begins, though I’ve also seen people toil on without regard to hope, to what they believe is possible. They live on principle and they gamble, and sometimes they even win, or sometimes the goal they were aiming for is reached long after their deaths. Still, it’s action that gets you there."
Once again, Jess, your opening comments to coach/cheerlead/empower us remind me of Rebecca Solnit's writing. Hers is the quote above, from the 2013 essay you excerpted from on May 11th. Back atcha, in support of action AND rest!
Thanks for putting in HR 3421, Jessica. It is so important.