Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/18

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Hi, all, and happy Tuesday.

Man. There is a lot going on. Trump is officially a target of the January 6th probe, Justice Cannon is holding her first pre-trial hearing, the heat index in Tehran is off the charts, and Republicans are trying to cut all of our infrastructure funding. That, of course, is just a smattering of the headlines in our deeply roiled and conflicted present.

How to handle the stress of the times? Well, I was helped, this morning, by reading this post from Ruth Ben-Ghiat of Lucid. It’s entitled “Stressed About the State of Democracy?” The answer, quite obviously, is yes, so it was good to be reminded not just of the importance of self-care when fighting fascism, but of the global nature of this fight. Authoritarianism is seeking a foothold everywhere, and while that fact is disturbing, there’s also something comforting in remembering that we are in this fight with brothers and sisters of remarkable courage and heroism in countless places across the world.

We are not, in other words, alone. Quite the opposite. Together our numbers make a formidable force for good.

Finally, while things feel deeply daunting and overwhelming right now, we must try to remember that they have many times before. We’re not the first humans to go through political challenge and turmoil—far from it—and we won’t be the last. This is a long fight, but, like every one before it, this particular chapter in history does have a beginning, middle, and end. We don’t know where are are in that timeline yet, but we can rest assured that this epoch will, eventually, pass.

What it passes into is up to us.

So let’s make sure that the outcome of this story is one we’ll feel good about. And it will be, as long as we don’t quit, stay together, and act braver than we feel. Remember, hope is an action. And our actions today will make for a more hopeful tomorrow.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I understand that House Republicans are using the budget process to try to cut billions of dollars that have already been allocated to repair our nation’s aging infrastructure. This is insanity. Everywhere we are seeing the results of decades of neglect—train derailments, bridge collapses, roads washed away—and climate change will put new and unprecedented stress on all of it. We need to keep that funding in place and pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy—not cutting them, as Republicans want to do. This is so simple: if we don’t get this right now we will pay for it heavily in the decades to come. No cuts to infrastructure funding, please.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

I understand that House Republicans are using the budget process to try to cut billions of dollars that have already been allocated to repair our nation’s aging infrastructure. This is insanity. Everywhere we are seeing the results of decades of neglect—train derailments, bridge collapses, roads washed away—and climate change will put new and unprecedented stress on all of it. We need to keep that funding in place and pay for it by raising taxes on the wealthy—not cutting them, as Republicans want to do. This is so simple: if we don’t get this right now we will pay for it heavily in the decades to come. No cuts to infrastructure funding, please.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s call or write President Biden about the climate crisis—yes, again. The White House phone number is 202-456-1111; the switchboard is open Tues - Thurs, 11-3 EDT. At all other times, write to the President here or use Resistbot (text PRESIDENT to 50409) and say:

Heat domes, floods, cooking oceans, wildfires: President Biden must declare a climate emergency NOW and use all of the powers available to him to end our use of fossil fuels and transition us to clean, renewable energy. [Insert a personalized line about how the climate crisis is affecting you.]

[H/T Indivisible Sonoma County]

Get Smart! 📚

On Thursday please join Simon Rosenberg for his signature presentation, "With Democrats Things Get Better."

Many of you have attended one of these already, but in case you haven’t it’s a real can’t-miss. It's a 30 minute long data-filled look at the performance of the two American political parties since the end of the Cold War. What we learn is that Democrats have repeatedly made things better when in power; the GOP, not so much. This presentation is for all the info warriors out there who want to help Joe Biden and the Democrats get louder and win the big economic debate with MAGA this year.

Thursday, Jul 20, 2023 10:00 AM PT / 1PM ET.

RSVP here.

Spread the Word! 📣

This post by Laura Brill, founder of the Civics Center, is so important. Please read it and then share! (Also, you can come hear from her directly on Thursday, July 20th at 6pm when she will have a public conversation with Simon Rosenberg.  Click here to register.)

The secret weapon we can all use to strengthen our democracy (and why it remains unappreciated)

Win Races! 🗳

Just want to put in a plug for sending some Working America letters to Ohio voters, y’all. There is only a week left in which to do so, and they’re SO EASY! You need only print up 25 of them, write a single sentence up top, hand-address the envelope, stamp and mail by the 25th. This is a low-awareness election and these letters make everything extremely clear. Please sign up for a batch here.

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[to your Senators] [H/T Casey Revkin] [Quick send: text SIGN PQHANU to 50409]

I urge you to reject the divisive amendments in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These amendments, including the elimination of the Pentagon's offices of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the denial of health care coverage for transgender-related medical treatments for service members, are not reflective of an inclusive society. They undermine the rights and well-being of our service members. It is crucial that we prioritize the needs of our military personnel over partisan politics. I implore you to uphold the values of equity and inclusion in our military and reject these harmful amendments.

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OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess