Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/12 🇺🇦

Hi, all, and happy Monday.

Hope you had a great weekend.

As you likely know, the Ukrainian military has had a phenomenal series of victories in the last few days. You can read more about them here (I highly recommend the Status Kuo newsletter, by the way. It’s excellent). These recent gains are the stuff of great novels, honestly. Of epic poems. Of classic battle films. The determination, perseverance and courage shown by the Ukrainian forces and their leaders are just…jaw dropping.

Like so many others, I can’t help but see parallels between Ukraine’s fight and ours. The reasons are obvious. So I was intrigued to read that, “according to military experts, the [recent] counteroffensive succeeded because of three primary reasons: surprise, equipment, and morale.”

Do we possess, you may ask, these three elements in our fight? Let’s consider:

1) Surprise: We have an enemy—and a punditry class, and a media universe— that underestimates us wildly. This is especially true for these elections. We’ve been dubbed the loser months in advance. Good. Let them keep predicting our defeat. Our work to win is what will determine the outcome; the more they assume we can’t prevail the less prepared they’ll be.

2) Equipment: In this metaphor, I consider our “equipment” to be us. It’s money, too, but we’re outraising Republicans by 8 to 1, so I think we’re OK there. Our candidates, too, are far superior. But the real “equipment” that matters? The secret weapon that will determine the outcome of this battle? US. Our success, then, will largely hinge on how much we do.

3) Morale: We have it. In spades. Fuelled by pure rage and fear, perhaps. But it’s there.

So we’ve got the element of surprise. We have the fire in our belly. The only question is whether we will outwork the other side. Whether we will be the superior “equipment” needed to make massive gains.

I believe we will. I have faith in me, and in you.

Finally, I want to quote the end of Zelensky’s speech from yesterday. The self sacrifice, determination, and courage in it are just extraordinary:

Do you still think that we are ‘one people?’ Do you still think you can scare us, break us, force us to make concessions? Did you really not understand anything? Don’t you understand who we are? What we stand for? What we are talking about?

Read my lips. If forced to choose between a comfortable life and freedom, Ukrainians would always choose the latter. Without gas or without you? Without you. Without light or without you? Without you. Without water or without you? Without you. Without food or without you? Without you. Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as frightening and deadly for us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood.’ But history will put everything in its place. And we will have gas, light, water and food .. and WITHOUT you!

Folks, let’s channel this energy into our own fight. We needn’t give up what the Ukrainian people have in order to win. But sacrifice we must. We may not be asked to endure “cold, hunger, darkness and thirst,” but we will be asked to get out of our comfort zones. To sign up to call voters. To knock on some doors. To give more money than we like. To give up a bit of “me time” and work for the “us.”

If we do this our victory in November is assured. And it will be every bit as surprising, thrilling, and inspiring as Ukraine’s recent gains. 🇺🇦🇺🇸

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

[Yes, we’ve made this call before. Please do it again! This is our biggest fight right now.]

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

I’m very concerned about Senator Manchin’s efforts to fast track fossil fuel projects and cut the public voice from the permitting process. As your constituent I am calling on you to do all that you can to block this “permitting reform” side deal. I know Congressional leadership is trying to sneak it into a must-pass spending bill. Don’t let them! We need to be addressing our climate emergency, not locking ourselves into more decades of pollution and environmental injustice. I urge the Senator to publicly oppose this blatant fossil fuel industry handout. Thanks. [H/T/ 350 Bay Area]

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

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

I’m very concerned about Senator Manchin’s efforts to fast track fossil fuel projects and cut the public voice from the permitting process. As your constituent I am calling on you to do all that you can to block this “permitting reform” side deal. I know Congressional leadership is trying to sneak it into a must-pass spending bill. Don’t let them! We need to be addressing our climate emergency, not locking ourselves into more decades of pollution and environmental injustice. I want the Congressmember to publicly oppose this blatant fossil fuel industry handout. Thanks. [H/T/ 350 Bay Area]

Extra Credit ✅

Y’all, to quote from All In Her Head by Jessica Valenti (another excellent newsletter if feminism and abortion rights are important to you):

Some really awful stuff is happening in Alabama: A jail in Etowah County has been holding multiple pregnant women, some for months, in what they say is a move to ‘protect’ their fetuses. National Advocates for Pregnant Women say that 12 women, who have been accused of using drugs, are being held with unconstitutional bail requirements: $10,000 cash bond and in-patient drug treatment, even if they don’t need it or if beds aren’t available. Some of the women have just had newborns, who have been separated from them; all don’t have access to adequate medical or mental health care.

One woman, Ashley Banks was forced to sleep on the jail floor for months while pregnant. Banks—accused of using marijuana—had to be taken to the ER twice for severe vaginal bleeding. Yet she was still forced to remain jailed because the court-ordered rehab program rejected her because Banks wasn’t addicted to drugs. 

If you are able, please donate to NAPW’s legal fund for these women here, and call the district attorney to demand their release:

Get Smart! 📚

Are you interested in phonebanking or canvassing but daunted at having to persuade people to vote? Have you tried calling voters and found it unsatisfying? This training will help! I have heard phenomenal things about it, and these are the last two being offered before the midterms. I really hope some of you can attend.

You & the 34%: How to Have Meaningful Conversations with High-Potential Voters

In 2020, 34% of eligible voters didn’t vote. In this training, you will learn

• how to make “I don’t vote” the beginning of the conversation, not the end.

• how to draw out “high-potential voters,” elicit their desires for change, and turn them into voters.

Dr. Jacqueline Tulsky and Elizabeth Chur share stories of success, and give you the tools you need to be a more successful phone banker. Whether you’re shy, new to phone-banking/canvassing or have been doing it for years, this interactive training is designed for you.

Tues, Sept 13th from 4-6pm Pacific (7-9pm Eastern) on Zoom. Register here.

or Sunday, Sept 18 from 3-5pm Pacific (6-8pm Eastern) on Zoom. Register here.

Message Message Message! 📣

Y’all know the amazing DemCast social media toolkit I promote all the time? The one with constantly updated posts you can share about races, Dem wins, and Republican malfeasance? Well, LOTS of people are using it, which is the great news.

The less great news? The Demcast folks are stretched pretty thin. They need some volunteers to help in a very specific, very research-y way. To be specific, they're looking for a few dozen people who are willing to "adopt" one or more of their target races at the State-level, in the US Senate, and/or the US House.

For each individual target race, they're asking volunteers to spend 15 minutes here and there to track local and/or national news stories, monitor social media posts about the race & candidates, and keep an eye on polling, race dynamics, key issues, etc.

As you're tracking, when something compelling pops up, they just ask that you send them a link to the article/social post/video/etc. They’ll do the rest!

They will train you! You'll have all the support you'll need to get up to speed on how to do this "race tracking" function effectively and efficiently.

If you want to help email curation@demcastusa.com and tell them I sent you.

Win Races! 🗳

I signed up to phonebank later today with Activate America for Adam Gray, who’s running for Congress in the newly drawn CA-13. This is one of the most competitive races without an incumbent—we can FLIP IT. Gray is running against MAGA-endorsed John Duarte, who will just further propel dangerous conservative policies in Washington.

Can you join me? AA’s training and dialer are both excellent! Sign up here. (They have lots of other days this week to choose from, so if you can’t do Monday try another day!)

P.S. When you sign up it won’t say the phonebank is for Gray, but it is.

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

[to all 3 reps] [H/t] [quick send: text SIGN PZMYUI to 50409]

I’m writing to ask you to co-sponsor and fight to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2022 (S 984/HR 2238).

At least 15 million metric tons of plastic is entering our oceans every year and experts predict that there will be one pound of plastic for every three pounds of fish in the oceans by 2025.

But as bad as things are for our oceans, plastic pollution is not just an oceans problem - it's also a major contributor to climate change. Plastics are made from a combination of chemicals (many of them toxic) and either fossil fuels or ethane - a byproduct of hydrofracking which pollutes groundwater and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. From extraction to manufacturing to transportation to usage to "disposal", plastics contribute to our climate change crisis. In fact, if plastics were a country, it would be the world's fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Plastic pollution is also a threat to public health. Studies have found that each of us is ingesting five grams - the equivalent of a credit card's worth - of plastic each week and a team of researchers in Italy recently discovered plastic particles in all three sides of the human placenta.

Plastic is a known endocrine disruptor and its presence in all areas of our lives, environment, and bodies has not been proven safe. With diseases like cancer and diabetes and problems like male infertility on the rise, I suspect it is NOT safe.

Please demonstrate true leadership by passing the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act to address climate change, and protect our oceans, lakes, rivers, drinking water, air, soil, wildlife, and bodies from the harmful effects of plastic pollution.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments.

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

Talk tomorrow.

Jess