Chop Wood, Carry Water 8/25

Download this GIF here.

Hi, all, and happy Friday!

Yesterday was a big day. Trump arraigned in Georgia, finally! I didn’t post his mugshot here, as you’ve surely seen it a hundred times by now, but what a satisfying sight! It was a glorious visual reminder that no one—no one!—is above the law. We can’t celebrate that enough.

Still, I posted the above graphic to remind all of us that, while Trump is certainly the criminal mastermind and the uncontested cult leader of the GOP, every politician still claiming the MAGA label is a dangerous disaster. Let’s make sure we don’t forget it; we need to defeat them all!

On a related note, I phonebanked into Rhode Island yesterday for a special Primary election happening there on September 5th. There’s a crowded Democratic field running to replace David Cicilline in RI-01, and Climate Hawks Vote, Bernie Sanders, Jamie Raskin and others have all endorsed Aaron Regunberg, a young climate lawyer. Early voting turnout is low, so we’re working to change that and asking voters to choose Aaron. If you or anyone you know lives in Providence or the surrounding area (here’s a district map) please spread the word by sharing Aaron’s website and/or this short video I made about the race.

And if you want to join me in making calls for Regunberg you can sign up here.

Remember, as thrilling and diverting as it is to see Trump and his cronies start to face justice, that is not our main way out of this mess. The way out lies in winning elections everywhere, all the time, up and down the ballot. The same is true for the climate crisis—the way out is to relentlessly focus on electing politicians who will take it seriously and legislate accordingly.

As I often say, hope is an action, y’all. If I want to feel hopeful about our democracy I must ACT to save it. If I want to be lifted out of eco-anxiety I must ACT to save our planet.

And if I want to feel hopeful about our prospects of winning? Well, for that all I need is to remember all of you.

Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m calling to check in about S.1606 - Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. Is the Senator a co-sponsor? Is s/he pushing Leader Schumer to bring this bill to a vote? Black women in the US have a maternal mortality rate 2.5 times that of White women, and Black infants die at twice the level of White infants. This is totally unacceptable, and it’s totally fixable! Let’s do that! Please save lives and enact the Black Momnibus bill now. Thanks! [H/T]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I’m concerned about a bill introduced by Kevin McCarthy —HR 2989 the "Save Our Sequoias" Act. The name sounds great, but this bill is actually stuffed with anti-environmental provisions that would expedite logging projects and undermine the environmental laws that keep our wild places safe. The bill is strongly opposed by over eighty environmental groups and I want to make sure the Congressmember doesn’t fall for the misleading name. We do need to save our Sequoias but waiving NEPA and giving logging companies carte blanche to clearcut trees is not the way to do it. Please oppose. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Many Republican senators who voted against the Infrastructure Bill are now going around saying how wonderful it is, implying they were in part responsible for it. Fortunately, Toll of War has created 26 memes highlighting those senators still in office, how much their state is getting for improving broadband, and stating clearly that they voted AGAINST it.  Let’s download and share these. 

[H/T

Rogan's List

]

Get Smart! 📚

If you’ve ever felt interested in the relationship between various U.S. Presidents and their Attorneys General, Leonard Lubinsky, author of the amazing Len’s Political Notes, has taken a deep and thoroughly-researched dive on it here; it’s fascinating and extremely educational. Highly recommend!

Chop Wood, Save the Planet! 🔥

Climate tip! Compost! 🌾

We waste 40% of our food by sending it to landfills where it becomes methane. Methane is a huge climate polluter; it makes up 8% of our GHG emissions — three times that of aviation! Reducing food waste is Project Drawdown’s #3 solution and composting is #78. The UN Pathway to Zero Emissions outlines that we must reduce our food waste by 50% by 2030.  

While it’s most important to reduce our food waste at the source by not overbuying, eating everything we buy, always finishing leftovers, and getting creative with food scraps, diverting organic waste from the landfill is a crucial climate solution, benefiting both our atmosphere and our soils! So please try to compost! There are some good tips to get started here, but there are a million sources online. [H/T Carbon Crew]

Give 💰!

Y’all, on Sunday I am co-hosting a fundraiser for Virginia Delegate (and candidate for State Senate) Danica Roem. I’m sure most of you know who she is—Danica’s a magnificent lawmaker, a progressive champion, and the first trans statehouse rep IN THE COUNTRY! I really want to see her win, and she needs to. We’re also raising money for the Grassroots Dems HQ, the organization that hosts all of the phonebanks I run—they do a remarkable amount of good, pro-bono work to help get Dems elected, and they’ll be throwing down hard for Virginia.

If by any chance you’re in Los Angeles please consider coming to the fundraiser! I’ll be there with MJ. And even if you’re not please consider giving any amount if you can. Your money will be very, very well spent. We need to win in VA, and win big.

Win Races! 🗳

Y’all, Virginia isn’t the only state with crucial elections this fall. We have a HUGELY important Governor’s race in Kentucky, too!

Join SURJ to keep Democrat Governor Andy Beshear in office. Keeping this office out of the hands of people of people like Robby Mills, GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, who has authored anti-trans legislation and been publicly vitriolic towards trans kids, is one right next step for Kentucky and for all of us. 

SURJ runs two kinds of phone banks: calling Kentucky voters directly and calling SURJ members to recruit them into our phone banks. Here’s how you can get involved this month:

• Fight for Kentucky: Phone Bank to Contact Voters
  Saturday, August 26, 1 – 4 ET

• Fight for Kentucky: Phone Bank to Recruit Volunteers
  Monday, August 28, 6 - 9  ET

• Fight for Kentucky: Phone Bank to Contact Voters
  Thursday, August 31, 6 - 9 ET

I can’t tell you how important it is that Beshear wins, y’all. He’s the only thing standing between the Kentucky GOP legislature and real harm to lots of people. He needs to prevail and you can help!

No Resistbot Letter today. Sorry!

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

Talk Monday!

Jess