Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/14
Newsy Monday.
Hi, all, and happy Monday.
Hope you got some rest this weekend! God knows we all need it.
Here are a few news items worth keeping an eye on as we head into the week:
First, Trump is, at least for now, doing an about-face on Ukraine.
Per Punchbowl:
The United States will sell new military weapons to NATO, which will then send those weapons to Ukraine for use in the ongoing war with Russia, President Donald Trump announced today.
The United States will also impose secondary sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t cease attacks on Ukraine within 50 days, Trump added. He specifically mentioned imposing a 100% tariff on nations that do business with Moscow.
This is a dramatic reversal on Ukraine for Trump, who bragged repeatedly during the 2024 campaign that he could end the war “in one day” if he were back in the White House.
While I never celebrate anything that Trump does I’m glad that here, at least, he’s come to his senses. Maybe he’s tired of being called a Russian shill. Maybe he just wants a win. Who knows, and we’ll see how long it lasts. But anything that helps Ukraine—even temporarily—is worth a mention.
Second, I was on a Zoom meeting with Rep. Maxwell Frost on Saturday, right after he left the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida. Hearing his description of the place was, to put it mildly, upsetting and enraging. He himself was quite obviously distraught by what he’d seen. I took assiduous notes while he spoke and included as much as I could of what he said in this video. Please watch, and share it if you feel so moved. We are going to have to make a lot of noise about this place. It’s deeply inhumane, vile, and a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Speaking of catastrophes, we’re learning that Kristi Noem’s “austerity” policies delayed deployment of search and rescue teams to Texas by days. The specific policy in question is her new rule that any FEMA contract over $100,000 needs her personal approval. Since the floods occurred over a weekend she couldn’t be reached until Monday. As a result, most teams didn’t arrive until Tuesday—days after the flood. Absolutely shameful.
FEMA officials also couldn't get aerial imagery to help with search and rescue because—you guessed it—they needed Noem's approval for that contract too. Even disaster call centers had longer wait times because they couldn't hire staff without her sign-off. The CNN report on all of it is here.
These disastrous delays are a direct result of Trump's plan to eventually phase out FEMA and make states handle disasters themselves—a plan that’s wildly unpopular with Americans, by the way. Meanwhile, let’s not forget that Trump just signed the OBBBA, giving the top 10% of earners huge tax cuts. This means we’re prioritizing helping the wealthy over saving lives in emergencies. It’s awful and deserves our amplification.
Finally, the Epstein story is not going away. Good!
A quick recap: Trump promised to release the Epstein files as soon as he became president. It was a huge part of his campaign. After he won, his AG, Pam Bondi, claimed to have these files on her desk. Then, for reasons unknown, the administration did an about-face, releasing a statement saying, basically, that there were no files and that Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide. Chaos has ensued in MAGAworld.
Why do we care about this? Well, setting aside the fact that Epstein was a monster and his co-conspirators should suffer consequences, anything that fractures our opposition is good. This is fracturing them massively.
Will the outrage and division in Trump’s base last? Maybe. Maybe not. But let’s keep the conversation trending if we can. It’s hurting Trump more than anything we’ve yet seen, and while we can’t ultimately control how long it inflames MAGA’s mind we can certainly toss more kindling on the fire if we have the chance.
Meanwhile, remember to take care of yourselves. Be with community. Look at art. Eat. Rest. Drink water. This is a marathon and we’re still in the first few miles. But we’re strong, we’re united, and we’ve been training for this for years.
In other words, we’ll outlast them, outwork them, and eventually prevail.
Let’s get to work!
Call Your Senators (find yours here and/or use this list to find legislative staffer contact info) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I’m calling because I am disgusted by the attacks on immigrants in our country right now. ICE is out of control— violent, unaccountable, and indiscriminate in who they’re picking up. Immigrants being held in ICE detention centers are complaining of hunger and terrible conditions. And the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” internment camp in the Florida Everglades is horrifying. Forcing largely nonviolent people into unsanitary and unsafe conditions simply because they want a better life is wrong. It needs to stop. Every person in this country is entitled to due process and humane treatment. The fact that ICE is providing neither is shameful. Congress needs to rein them in. And shut down Alligator Alcatraz before someone dies.
Also, please vote no on the rescissions package. Public broadcasting is the backbone of the Emergency Alert System. In the midst of grieving the horrendous deadly flooding in Texas, voting on a bill to rescind funding for those very stations is flat out wrong. Don’t do it. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here and/or use this list to find legislative staffer contact info) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I’m calling because I am disgusted by the attacks on immigrants in our country right now. ICE is out of control— violent, unaccountable, and indiscriminate in who they’re picking up. Immigrants being held in ICE detention centers are complaining of hunger and terrible conditions. And the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” internment camp in the Florida Everglades is horrifying. Forcing largely nonviolent people into unsanitary and unsafe conditions simply because they want a better life is wrong. It needs to stop. Every person in this country is entitled to due process and humane treatment. The fact that ICE is providing neither is shameful. Congress needs to rein them in. And shut down Alligator Alcatraz before someone dies.
Also, please ask the Congressmember to vote NO on the Genius and Clarity crypto bills. Both bills are deeply flawed, functionally deregulatory measures that will legitimize predatory activity in the industry, expose many more investors to risk, and could cause future financial crises. Also, neither bill has any real language addressing the Trump administration's use of crypto to enrich the President and enable corrupt deals that threaten our democracy. Vote no. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
One of my subscribers, Ann Lehman, sent me this article she and her co-authors just published in Nonprofit Quarterly about what a left-leaning “Project 2029” might look like. It’s FANTASTIC!
Your job? Read it, share it, and drop your thoughts in the comments! It’s so very important that we have a positive vision for the future and this is the first time I’ve seen one spelled out so ably.
Get Smart! 📚
A Conversation with Adam Kinzinger and Reed Galen: The Strength of Collective Action.
On Wednesday, July 16 at 7:00PM ET, BigTentUSA will host former Congressman Adam Kinzinger—a leading voice in the fight to protect democracy— and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, Reed Galen.
As Trump and his allies push forward with Project 2025—threatening to dismantle democratic norms, purge civil servants, and consolidate power—the urgency for collective action has never been greater. On the eve of a nationwide protest against the authoritarian threats facing our country, join us for this timely conversation. The conversation will explore the vision behind collective action and how it’s helping build long-term civic muscle across the country. More importantly it will address how everyday Americans can take meaningful action to strengthen democracy in their communities. This isn’t just a conversation. It’s a call to action.
July 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
Come to a Town Hall with…Me!
I’ll be the speaker at Commit to Democracy’s Town Hall tomorrow. I’d love you to join us!
Here’s their blurb (I didn’t write this!):
CTD is proud to announce Jessica Craven, author of Chop Wood, Carry Water is returning to CTD for a Virtual Town Hall on July 15th at 4 PM PST. Jessica is one of the most inspiring activists of our time. Most of us wake up each day to her calls to action. She provides endless energy to her work to save our Democracy and unite us all in daily action. Join us for time together where Jessica will share her most current thoughts and calls to action as well as allow our community to ask her questions in a moderated Q&A session. Sign up today!
All are welcome! Sign up here.
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
Want to receive emails in your inbox from the DNC War Room? I find these incredibly helpful for making videos or otherwise informing checked-out voters, as they come with multiple source links and contain lots of information I might have missed.
Here’s an example of one of their fact sheets—about corruption in the Trump administration. If you like it you can sign up to receive more of the same in the field at the bottom of the page.
Win Races! 🗳
Georgia is about to purge its voter rolls of 455,000 voters who are marked as inactive (!!!)
Sign up here to make calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July from 5:30 to 7:30 pm EDT to let these voters know how to update their registration. Training will be provided. Please share the registration link with friends and family.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Get a Dose of Climate Hope with the folks at Climate Action Now on Thursday, July 24th at 11 AM ET!
You’ll hear directly from food tech investment analyst and author Eshan Samaranayake as Your Dose of Climate Hope Editor-In-Chief Sam Matey interviews him. Together, they’ll dive into what’s happening at the intersection of climate, biotech, and food innovation—and why there are more reasons for hope than you might think!
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PGPFIL 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’m writing as someone who cares deeply about public education.
The Department of Education has illegally frozen more than $6 billion in federal K-12 education funds. Without this essential and congressionally approved funding, districts cannot hire educators and support staff, special education and mental health services are disrupted, and rural and low-income schools are left without basic resources. Congress needs to assert their constitutional authority and demand the immediate release of all frozen federal education funds.
Underfunding public education hurts all of us. It’s cruel, shortsighted, and irresponsible. If we want a successful economy, a thriving populace, and to be competitive on the world stage we must support our schools.
Please get this money released right away. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Words matter. Specificity matters. “Alligator Alcatraz” is a minsnomer and invites cruel and cynical mockery. This place is The Everglades Concentration Camp. My gratitude to a commenter on another Substack this morning, who called it what it is.
Well, the Senate will be on its way to breaking yet another American institution because of Trump. They will vote to defund the corporation for public broadcasting and public TV and radio. As Rand Paul said “how can we show that we’re serious about the deficit if we don’t cut the $9 billion that goes to public TV and radio?” How you can show you are serious is quit spending so damn much money on ICE and use it on something that will benefit the population as a whole like public TV and radio. I can’t believe these people. I hope some of the senators who might still have a brain and a conscience will at least save this institution. But I’m not holding my breath and it’s very depressing.