Chop Wood, Carry Water 7/8
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”
Chuang Tzu
Hi, all, and happy Monday,
I’m still not entirely well, but I wanted to get out at least a partial newsletter, because there are a lot of great events coming up this week and I wanted to make sure you found out about them.
We remain, in a sense, in a strange, in-between sort of place. In another sense, however, we are exactly where we’ve been a million times before: in a moment in which democracy needs us, badly. The sense of emergency folks are feeling right now is, I think, ultimately helpful to our cause. Yes, things feel scary and unstable—that’s because they are. Perhaps all of this turmoil was necessary to get Americans to finally really understand it.
And I think they are! At least, anecdotally, I am hearing a LOT about people stepping up in new ways. About postcard orders going through the roof, canvassing shifts filled, phonebanks with loads of new attendees. Many of you are telling me you’re hearing the same.
We may not know with certainty who our candidate will be—although I remain pretty certain it will be Joe Biden—but we know for sure who our opponent is and what the stakes are. This is enough to add rocket fuel to our work. The rest, I trust, will come in time.
Look at the saying at the top of this email. Ancient wisdom that should ease our fears now. We feel like everything is ending; I suspect we’re transforming, and it’s just too soon to tell.
Finally, watch the above video. It shows a crowd of voters in France watching the election results coming in and realizing, as Simon Rosenberg put it, “that they’ve just saved their country.” Make sure you turn the sound up.
Then know: that’s going to be us in November. If we work for it. And we already are.
P.S. — No audio version today, sorry. Mike is at the beach with Mj and I don’t think my lungs are up to the task yet.
Extra Credit ✅
From the folks at the Media and Democracy Project:
Here’s an action people can take to help hold the Murdochs and Fox accountable for their 2020 election lies.
Please sign this letter in support of a hearing by the FCC to deny the Murdochs/Fox a local TV station license for a station they own. Importantly this is not a stale virtual petition to harvest emails - we will be delivering the signatures to the FCC in support of our effort as a "Citizen's Petition.” People can easily opt out of any future contact. The petition webpage has all the background details.
Get Smart! 📚
Are you exhausted by cheering up your family, friends and fellow activists after the debate and SCOTUS decisions? Field Team Six is here for you. Come get info, inspiration, and insight that will help!
Please join Field Team 6 and special guest leading constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Berkeley Law School, for "Democracy's First Responders Briefing: A Conversation about SCOTUS, that Debate, and our Path to Victory!"
This event will take place TODAY at 5pm PT/8pm ET
Spread the Word! 📣
Please post the below on your social media (and also sign up!)
Have you started to hear a lot about Project 2025 but want to know more? There are two different webinars this week to explain what it is and what it’ll mean for us if it’s ever implemented—which it can never be.
The first is tomorrow, Tuesday July 9 at 1PM ET with the Center For American Progress—you can sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/mvrvfk4b
The second is with the DNC, and it’s on Thursday, July 11 from 5 – 6:30pm PDT / 8 — 9:30pm ET. Sign up here: https://events.democrats.org/event/636728/?.
Please come, and invite LOTS of friends!
Give 💰!
In 2024, there are six battleground House races in New York and eight in California — Democrats need to net only four seats nationally to regain the House in November.
To meet this moment, two new coalitions, Battleground New York and Battleground California, have formed in their respective states with a clear mission: to mobilize voters in these key congressional districts and reclaim the House after two years of Republican control.
The stakes couldn't be higher: New York and California are the firewall against a right-wing takeover.
Please join the Battleground California PAC and Battleground New York on Wednesday, July 10 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET for a coast-to-coast Zoom briefing to learn more about these crucial efforts and how you can support them.
RSVP here! And/or donate today: Battleground California and Battleground New York
Win Races! 🗳
Join the Center For Common Ground on Thursday, July 11 at 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET for a webinar that will debrief recent Supreme Court Decisions and talk about where we go from here. This much-needed pick-me-up webinar will leave you feeling hopeful about this election and equipped with the tools to take action!
Don’t want to wait? Help them get-out-the-vote to Black voters now:
Call Black voters in North Carolina and Arizona. Join them for a National Guided phonebank or make calls on your own!
Write to Black voters in Georgia and Black women in Florida for the General Election. Get started by reaching out to your regional organizer and checking out their postcarding page.
Donate to support their organizers on the ground, working every day, year-round, to mobilize their communities. Give today.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Climate Hawks Vote is asking us to sign a petition to the DNC Platform Committee demanding that they include strong, consensus climate actions in the platform.
I’ve been on a committee like this and I can tell you that pressure from voters will make a difference in getting them to push a strong climate agenda.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: your Senators] [H/T Newtown Alliance] [Text SIGN PCKUAL to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
As Congress begin consideration of the Fiscal Year 2025 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, I urge you to not include the Kennedy Amendment (Section 413) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.
Section 413 is an enormous threat to the safety and well-being of veterans and their beneficiaries who are at a heightened risk of harm to themselves or others; it undermines the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) ability to prevent these individuals from accessing firearms; and it weakens the background check system, one of the most important tools we have to prevent gun violence.
American veterans are disproportionately impacted by the suicide crisis, with more than 6,500 veterans dying by suicide each year, and more than 70% of veterans' suicides involving firearms, compared with 48% of all suicides nationwide. In general, easy access to firearms greatly increases the risk of death by suicide, since the presence of a firearm significantly increases the risk that a suicide attempt will be fatal. Data suggests that the elevated level of suicide amongst the veteran population is associated with veterans’ greater access to and use of firearms in suicide attempts.
Limiting access to guns for veterans and other VA beneficiaries who may be in crisis by reporting them to the background check system is a critical step to help keep them safe. Please get rid of the Kennedy Amendment!
Thank you for your consideration.
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Take it easy. This is not a quick fix. I love the video of the crowds in France. That is beyond heartening.
I signed on with Postcards to Swing States, at https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/, today. Thanks for all your information and encouragement. You really do make a difference. All the best to everyone.