Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/6
Hi, all. Happy Wednesday.
Welp. We’ve made it halfway through the week. My goodness, it feels like a long one! Hats off to every one of you who are still here, fighting for this country, after the pummeling slog the last few weeks have been.
You are the true American heroes. Know this. Also know:
You’re not alone.
You’re not crazy—this is hard.
We can get through this.
We will prevail.
Our actions—no matter how small—are changing the future. Consider each one the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. Individually we make a small stir…
Together we are a gale force.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, our country is experiencing a gun violence epidemic. We are scared and we are angry. One thing the Senate can do is make sure we have strong leadership at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Yet we haven’t had a Director there for seven years. Because of this, rogue gun dealers and gun manufacturers have evaded regulations and oversight and gun violence is out of control. It’s unacceptable. We have an excellent nominee to lead the ATF in Steve Dettelbach. No more delays or partisan nonsense. The Senate needs to confirm him as the next ATF Director immediately.
Also, I want the Senator to immediately cosponsor and support S.1141, the Judiciary Act of 2021. Our Supreme Court has lost all credibility. It must be expanded. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I want the Congressmember to vote yes on HR 3967, the Honoring Our Pact Act, when it comes to the floor. Expanding medical care for our veterans should be a no-brainer.
Also? I want the Congressmember to immediately cosponsor and support HR 2584, the Judiciary Act of 2021. Our Supreme Court has lost all credibility. It must be expanded. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
Please use Indivisble’s call tool to call President Biden (must call before 3PM ET today or call tomorrow between 11 and 3 ET) and say:
Hello, I’m a constituent from [part of state] and I’m very concerned about the possibility of President Biden nominating Chad Meredith to the Eastern District Court of Kentucky. A federal judgeship is an important role that can’t be given away to individuals with a track record of restricting abortion access.
As Solicitor General of Kentucky, Chad Meredith fought to shutdown abortion clinics and restrict access. President Biden made a mistake in agreeing to nominate Meredith.
I want President Biden to reverse course and reject Chad Meredith’s nomination to a federal judgeship. Thanks.
(Please be nice. The person answering the phone is a volunteer!)
Get Smart! 📚
The wonderful org Fix Democracy First has a weekly “Democracy Happy Hour” on Zoom, and it falls on Wednesdays! Today’s, at 5PM PT / 8PM ET, will be about the Supreme Court and how to fix it. Details below:
Democracy Happy Hour TODAY @ 5 pm PT!
Grab a drink and come hear about the latest democracy news, ongoing efforts to fix democracy, and actions you can take at our weekly Democracy Happy Hour, Wednesdays @ 5 pm PT.
Today's topic for July 6, 2022: U.S. Supreme Court Debrief
Give 💰!
Force Multiplier, one of my favorite volunteer-run political fundraising groups, has created a fund just to hold the House in November. As they say:
The Democratic Majority in the House has shrunk to 9 seats. Losing a net of just 5 seats in the 2022 mid-term elections would mean losing the Democratic majority. Every Democratic House seat is critical for 2022!
For our Summer 2022 slate we chose 23 candidates in critical toss-up races based on the latest ratings and information on redistricting and fundraising.
You can donate to it here: Force Multiplier’s House Slate fund. This money will go to helping 11 of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House and 12 Democrats working to flip red seats blue. FM takes NONE of the money–it all goes to candidates. For this reason (and others) I prefer giving here over giving to the DCCC.
Also check out Force Multiplier. They’re amazing!
Win Races! 🗳
More text banking opportunities! This time into AZ AND PA!
Join Mission for Arizona July 9th-12th for an out-of-state volunteer text bank. You'll be texting voters upon the release of ballots for the primary election in early August. It is very important that all voters return their ballots in the primary, as it will be essential to keeping those voters on the Early Voting List beyond 2022. Shifts will run for 90 minutes and include a mandatory text training for all new text volunteers at the start. They have three shift opportunities on July 9th and 10th and two on July 12th and 13th. Sign up here!
Help get John Fetterman elected this November! Shifts tomorrow, Friday, and next Tuesday. Training provided! Sign up here.
Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)
[to President Biden] [H/T] [quick send: text SIGN PXILBB to 50409]
Thank you for committing to listen to scientists and restore our government’s scientific capacity. I’m encouraged by some of the progress your administration has made to ensure that federal policies meant to protect public health, safety, and the environment are based on science that is free from political interference. But there’s much more that needs to be done to protect Americans like me.
I urge you to take the following critical steps, recommended by the Union of Concerned Scientists, to defend science for the public good:
—Direct the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure agencies improve and enforce scientific integrity policies and practices.
—Instruct the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to provide clear guidelines about conflicts of interest on federal advisory committees and agency peer reviews.
—Direct agencies to enhance digital accessibility in the rulemaking process to expand public participation and increase transparency and equity.
—Support congressional efforts to expand the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.
—Strengthen Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.
These actions will make a huge difference and help ensure that science can never again be overridden by politics. Thanks.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Thank you Jessica for your hard work and dedication to preserving our democracy. You are amazing and give so much of yourself. Take care and thank you for giving so many the tools to contribute to democracy.