I actually did get questions and pushback from a staffer for my congressman (Mike Simpson, R-ID and I do mean R) when I called to urge support for reforming and expanding the Supreme Court. He actually told me he doesn't think we should blame someone for what their spouse does (as in, Alito's wife's vicious flag-flying and Ginnie Thomas's enthusiasm for a Christo-Fascist coup as evidenced by her involvement with Jan. 6). It caught me off guard — but it'll never happen again, because if he or someone like him tries the same thing I will use my starchiest tone to remind him that his job is to express my viewpoint to MY congressman, and I didn't call to debate the issue with the guy who answers the phone.
I am a gay parent, now a senior, living in the San Fernando Valley. Our twins were conceived via IVF; we labored for almost 5 years before my partner got pregnant. When she did, we were both in our 40s. We had the most beautiful girl boy twins, and as middle-aged lesbians having children do, we loved them ferociously every day of our lives. In 2018 after they had turned 19 by less than four months, Nora had a catastrophic auto accident. Her head injury left her in a coma. After four days, when there was no brain activity at all, we turned off the machines. That was November 29, 2018.
If my daughter, born of IVF, was alive today, she would be working for Kamala - and I would be ferociously working alongside to protect her rights. Now I work in her name and in her honor to make sure other young women are protected and allowed to choose what happens to their bodies and their lives.
Oh my God, Margot. I am so, so sorry. Your story leaves me gutted. Please know that I, too, will fight for Nora as if she were my own family. Thank you for sharing this. Sending hugs.
Dear Margot Rose, we share a name that I don't hear very often (my middle name is Rose). My heart aches for your loss, and I am so touched by your story. I bet the spirit of your daughter is working for Kamala. With love, Terry
Thank you Terry. Yes I feel her all around sometimes so strongly. She was amazing - beautiful, funny, smart, talented as all get out, universally loved. Spirit spilled from her like light. She would love what’s happening now. I bet she just can’t stay away.
I am so sorry to hear about Nora. There are no words for the grief of a parent for the unimaginable loss of a child, and your Nora is within the age range of my daughters. I am so sorry that she was taken away so soon from you. Thank you for working on her behalf, as I do for my children.
Call and leave a comment! One of our sons worked for a house representative and a US senator as an intern many years ago. Those interns are there only to take the call and tally the votes. So, even if you’re calling a pure red-state senator or a representative, that person needs to know that not all his or her constituents feel the same. In my state of Florida, neither senator has a live person answering the phone during working hours. Amazing! Our tax dollars (not) at work.
Barbara, I’m in Florida and can second I’ve never gotten a live person when calling Rubio and Scott. My Freedom Caucus Rep always has a live person answering….although they’re not very lively.😜Such a difference calling Maxwell Frost’s office !
Nope, unfortunately every one of my elected legislators is GOP/MAGA.. I called Maxwell Frost’s office(as I recall it was a discharge petition issue he was a holdout on) calling as a constituent in an adjacent county and had a delightful convo with staffer.
Interesting. My very red house rep Aaron Bean also has a live person answering the phone. I guess when you’re a senator, you don’t have to deal with us little people!
I have 2 GOP Senators and a Democratic Rep. Most of the time I get through to a live person. With my Democratic Rep, if I don't get through to a person - even if it's because I called after hours, someone from his staff calls to tell me that that they will (or that they already have) passed my message along to the Congressman.
To the man who was anxious to call his rep, Jess's advice is sound to call after hours, but also consider this, I simply cut the script that Jess provides for the call, and paste it into the rep or senator's email form. Change the wording from "calling" to "writing", add my Zip Code and name, hit submit and it's done! I generally do this during my lunch hour and I HATE that my phone feels like it's 1000 lbs some days and I'm too anxious, for what ever reason, emailing the rep is the way to go. I will say, I have signed up for my 1st phone bank this cycle for tomorrow with Simon Rosenberg's Hopieum community every Thursday evening until election day. Also going to explore text banking by doing a self-paced text bank training with Movement Labs to expand my ways to help. Not gonna feel great in November if I haven't pushed myself, even out of my comfort zone a little bit for VP Harris.
Sure Trina - Enter www.movementlabs.com. Then select the tab Programs, hover and then select Movement Text Training. (Movement Labs recommend you make a donation to their organization, but I don't think it's required). I am about to start the training myself.
Once I've completed the training, I will be texting for the Harris campaign organized by Gavin Newsom. Link here, https://act.gavinnewsom.com/signup/volunteer-2024/ that my text mentor sent me. If that does not appeal, there are lots of other organizations looking for texters. Or just reach out to the Harris campaign directly and they will hook you up! Good luck to all of us venturing out of comfort zones for Kamala!
Enjoy your well earned time off with family and friends in Nova Scotia. We can hold the fort with the other wonderful resources you have introduced us to. Rest, relax, laugh and recharge!
Enjoy your well earned time off with family and friends in Nova Scotia.
⬆️
It certainly is well earned!!
I did a walking tour through Nova Scotia a decade or so ago - lovely scenery, great food - esp. seafood, and friendly people. And they were very considerate of pedestrians and visitors in general.
Every time I pulled out my map, someone would stop to ask if I needed help and if I got ANYWHERE close to a pedestrian crossing (like within 5 feet) and was facing the road, the traffic would stop in all directionsto allow me to cross.
I must admit that it crossed my mind more than once that Nova Scotian visitors to the US (especially the Big Apple) were in for a rude awakening if they expected the same treatment in the States!!
I got pushback once, back in 2017 I think, when I reached the chief of staff for my MAGA congresswoman Vicky Hartzler instead of a staffer. He was quite rude, so I asked if these calls were recorded. He said they were. I wrote to her and complained and asked her to listen to the conversation. I'm sure she didn't, but he must have gotten the memo, because after that, I got him a couple more times, and he must have had my number marked or something--his voice just dripped with honey.
Most of the time I got staffers, often with foreign accents. I once asked one about that--he was from Australia, I think. He said he was doing it on some kind of program and when I pushed, he said they did not have any choice about which congressperson they worked for.
Donated for NC! I appreciate you giving a shout out to important work that needs funding. Jeff Jackson is another excellent candidate on the ballot. I’m in Oregon but we have learned what happens in other states affects us all. We have to stay united and support each other!
Enjoy your break. It's so well deserved. You need to take care of yourself to have the energy down the stretch!
As a person who just two weeks ago made their first phone call to my reps / senators and waited for after hours based on your encouragement, I so relate to the story in your newsletter! Hopefully he took your advice. It's totally worth it. :)
Yes! I just called my Republican rep and someone who sounded very young and inexperienced took my message about 1353 and 1354. It’s very very easy . I do it all the time and it’s never ever been unpleasant even though I’m often pretty angry.
Greetings from Nova Scotia! I live on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and read, appreciate and enjoy your newsletter every day. You give the best pep talks ever, and up until recently we really needed them! Thank you so much and enjoy your holiday.
You deserve a vacation! Enjoy Nova Scotia - i spent 6 weeks there in 2019 filming a movie in Windsor, just N of Halifax, and spent off days driving the island. The only place I didn't go was the Highlands, which i'm reserving for a separate all-in trip. I loved the land and the people, hope you do too. Look forward to your newsletter post-vac! Meanwhile, we all will carry on......
We need a generic bumper sticker and placard. It would read "If you want to restore reproductive rights, vote for a Democrat. Any Democrat." Granted, there may be a few Democrats running for office who are not pro-choice but the message is valid, especially for down ballot offices.
I tried posting it on Facebook again just now. The Jessica Valenti abortion and project 2025 article
link was pulled off my FB page again.. It was removed again! Facebook said it looks like “I tried to get like follow shares or video views in a misleading way that goes against community standards.” I requested a review, but once again I would have to post a screenshot of her article and then tell people how to find her on Substack to share her Substack article on Abortion and project 2025.
Did you try copying and pasting the link directly from the webbrowser and not sharing by hitting "share" on the newsletter? Someonesaid that worked better.
I actually did get questions and pushback from a staffer for my congressman (Mike Simpson, R-ID and I do mean R) when I called to urge support for reforming and expanding the Supreme Court. He actually told me he doesn't think we should blame someone for what their spouse does (as in, Alito's wife's vicious flag-flying and Ginnie Thomas's enthusiasm for a Christo-Fascist coup as evidenced by her involvement with Jan. 6). It caught me off guard — but it'll never happen again, because if he or someone like him tries the same thing I will use my starchiest tone to remind him that his job is to express my viewpoint to MY congressman, and I didn't call to debate the issue with the guy who answers the phone.
Good for you!
If that ever happens to me, i'll do the same. Thanks for providing a roadmap!
Such a lame ass argument— the flags were at residences occupied by Alito and Uncle Tom is clearly complicit with his wife’s antics. Both complicit.
But you didn’t call your congressman to argue with a MAGAt either!
Hi Jess,
I am a gay parent, now a senior, living in the San Fernando Valley. Our twins were conceived via IVF; we labored for almost 5 years before my partner got pregnant. When she did, we were both in our 40s. We had the most beautiful girl boy twins, and as middle-aged lesbians having children do, we loved them ferociously every day of our lives. In 2018 after they had turned 19 by less than four months, Nora had a catastrophic auto accident. Her head injury left her in a coma. After four days, when there was no brain activity at all, we turned off the machines. That was November 29, 2018.
If my daughter, born of IVF, was alive today, she would be working for Kamala - and I would be ferociously working alongside to protect her rights. Now I work in her name and in her honor to make sure other young women are protected and allowed to choose what happens to their bodies and their lives.
Thanks for all you do.
XoMargot Rose
Oh my God, Margot. I am so, so sorry. Your story leaves me gutted. Please know that I, too, will fight for Nora as if she were my own family. Thank you for sharing this. Sending hugs.
Thanks so much. Your work is heroic and monumental. I am touched beyond words.
Thank you for sharing,Margot .I’m so very sorry and thank you for working in your daughter’s honor…and in her spirit.
💙
Dear Margot Rose, we share a name that I don't hear very often (my middle name is Rose). My heart aches for your loss, and I am so touched by your story. I bet the spirit of your daughter is working for Kamala. With love, Terry
Thank you Terry. Yes I feel her all around sometimes so strongly. She was amazing - beautiful, funny, smart, talented as all get out, universally loved. Spirit spilled from her like light. She would love what’s happening now. I bet she just can’t stay away.
I am so sorry to hear about Nora. There are no words for the grief of a parent for the unimaginable loss of a child, and your Nora is within the age range of my daughters. I am so sorry that she was taken away so soon from you. Thank you for working on her behalf, as I do for my children.
I am tempted to call my senator's office and say that I'm extremely worried about his penchant for couches and his hatred of cat owners ;)
HA are you in Ohio?
Yep
Call and leave a comment! One of our sons worked for a house representative and a US senator as an intern many years ago. Those interns are there only to take the call and tally the votes. So, even if you’re calling a pure red-state senator or a representative, that person needs to know that not all his or her constituents feel the same. In my state of Florida, neither senator has a live person answering the phone during working hours. Amazing! Our tax dollars (not) at work.
Barbara, I’m in Florida and can second I’ve never gotten a live person when calling Rubio and Scott. My Freedom Caucus Rep always has a live person answering….although they’re not very lively.😜Such a difference calling Maxwell Frost’s office !
Ooh he's your rep? Lucky you!
Nope, unfortunately every one of my elected legislators is GOP/MAGA.. I called Maxwell Frost’s office(as I recall it was a discharge petition issue he was a holdout on) calling as a constituent in an adjacent county and had a delightful convo with staffer.
Interesting. My very red house rep Aaron Bean also has a live person answering the phone. I guess when you’re a senator, you don’t have to deal with us little people!
I have 2 GOP Senators and a Democratic Rep. Most of the time I get through to a live person. With my Democratic Rep, if I don't get through to a person - even if it's because I called after hours, someone from his staff calls to tell me that that they will (or that they already have) passed my message along to the Congressman.
To the man who was anxious to call his rep, Jess's advice is sound to call after hours, but also consider this, I simply cut the script that Jess provides for the call, and paste it into the rep or senator's email form. Change the wording from "calling" to "writing", add my Zip Code and name, hit submit and it's done! I generally do this during my lunch hour and I HATE that my phone feels like it's 1000 lbs some days and I'm too anxious, for what ever reason, emailing the rep is the way to go. I will say, I have signed up for my 1st phone bank this cycle for tomorrow with Simon Rosenberg's Hopieum community every Thursday evening until election day. Also going to explore text banking by doing a self-paced text bank training with Movement Labs to expand my ways to help. Not gonna feel great in November if I haven't pushed myself, even out of my comfort zone a little bit for VP Harris.
LFG!!!!!
I am so proud of you, Kellidee! THANK YOU! And you're right about the email thing 100%!
I do that, too - one of my Senators never has staffers answer the phones. Could you post a link to the text bank training, please?
Sure Trina - Enter www.movementlabs.com. Then select the tab Programs, hover and then select Movement Text Training. (Movement Labs recommend you make a donation to their organization, but I don't think it's required). I am about to start the training myself.
Once I've completed the training, I will be texting for the Harris campaign organized by Gavin Newsom. Link here, https://act.gavinnewsom.com/signup/volunteer-2024/ that my text mentor sent me. If that does not appeal, there are lots of other organizations looking for texters. Or just reach out to the Harris campaign directly and they will hook you up! Good luck to all of us venturing out of comfort zones for Kamala!
LFG!!!!
Thank you!
Enjoy your well earned time off with family and friends in Nova Scotia. We can hold the fort with the other wonderful resources you have introduced us to. Rest, relax, laugh and recharge!
Thank you, Sarah!
Enjoy your well earned time off with family and friends in Nova Scotia.
⬆️
It certainly is well earned!!
I did a walking tour through Nova Scotia a decade or so ago - lovely scenery, great food - esp. seafood, and friendly people. And they were very considerate of pedestrians and visitors in general.
Every time I pulled out my map, someone would stop to ask if I needed help and if I got ANYWHERE close to a pedestrian crossing (like within 5 feet) and was facing the road, the traffic would stop in all directionsto allow me to cross.
I must admit that it crossed my mind more than once that Nova Scotian visitors to the US (especially the Big Apple) were in for a rude awakening if they expected the same treatment in the States!!
I got pushback once, back in 2017 I think, when I reached the chief of staff for my MAGA congresswoman Vicky Hartzler instead of a staffer. He was quite rude, so I asked if these calls were recorded. He said they were. I wrote to her and complained and asked her to listen to the conversation. I'm sure she didn't, but he must have gotten the memo, because after that, I got him a couple more times, and he must have had my number marked or something--his voice just dripped with honey.
Most of the time I got staffers, often with foreign accents. I once asked one about that--he was from Australia, I think. He said he was doing it on some kind of program and when I pushed, he said they did not have any choice about which congressperson they worked for.
Wow Ellen i LOVE that! Good for you!
Donated for NC! I appreciate you giving a shout out to important work that needs funding. Jeff Jackson is another excellent candidate on the ballot. I’m in Oregon but we have learned what happens in other states affects us all. We have to stay united and support each other!
Thank you from Durham, NC! We appreciate the love!!!
Enjoy your break. It's so well deserved. You need to take care of yourself to have the energy down the stretch!
As a person who just two weeks ago made their first phone call to my reps / senators and waited for after hours based on your encouragement, I so relate to the story in your newsletter! Hopefully he took your advice. It's totally worth it. :)
Bravo!
Have a nice break Jess, and turn off the electronics if you truly want to come back refreshed… which is what I think we all would like for you! ⭐️
I'm trying! So hard to do completely!
Yes! I just called my Republican rep and someone who sounded very young and inexperienced took my message about 1353 and 1354. It’s very very easy . I do it all the time and it’s never ever been unpleasant even though I’m often pretty angry.
So glad you’re on vacation and definitely take the time off! So important to recharge. 🩵
Greetings from Nova Scotia! I live on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and read, appreciate and enjoy your newsletter every day. You give the best pep talks ever, and up until recently we really needed them! Thank you so much and enjoy your holiday.
You deserve a vacation! Enjoy Nova Scotia - i spent 6 weeks there in 2019 filming a movie in Windsor, just N of Halifax, and spent off days driving the island. The only place I didn't go was the Highlands, which i'm reserving for a separate all-in trip. I loved the land and the people, hope you do too. Look forward to your newsletter post-vac! Meanwhile, we all will carry on......
We need a generic bumper sticker and placard. It would read "If you want to restore reproductive rights, vote for a Democrat. Any Democrat." Granted, there may be a few Democrats running for office who are not pro-choice but the message is valid, especially for down ballot offices.
I tried posting it on Facebook again just now. The Jessica Valenti abortion and project 2025 article
link was pulled off my FB page again.. It was removed again! Facebook said it looks like “I tried to get like follow shares or video views in a misleading way that goes against community standards.” I requested a review, but once again I would have to post a screenshot of her article and then tell people how to find her on Substack to share her Substack article on Abortion and project 2025.
Did you try copying and pasting the link directly from the webbrowser and not sharing by hitting "share" on the newsletter? Someonesaid that worked better.
That worked. Thank you! We need to share this info with a wide audience.