Happy Wednesday, Gnusies. As expected, it is turning into an eventful week! More arrests of insurrectionists, more detail about Republicans in disarray (and being criminally investigated!) and interesting hints that there may be a lot going on below the surface (good news stuff) on several fronts. Let’s get right to the news!
The White House will unveil an executive order in the next few days aimed at promoting competition in parts of the economy — such as airlines and agriculture — where a handful of large companies exert a lot of market power, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
The order will direct government agencies to issue rules that are intended, according to the Biden administration, to create a more equitable market for consumers.
The executive order is a broad measure that intends to deal with competition across multiple industries. The White House's thinking is that antitrust measures, such as this executive order, will help drive more durable economic growth in the long run.
Biden the transformational President
Next here’s a story that is somewhat of a deep dive into the promise — and peril — of Joe Biden’s presidency. But the emphasis is on the promise! It’s a fairly long article so I am going to take the liberty of quoting 4 paragraphs here:
It is often said that Trump was saying the quiet part loud — about his party’s animating hatreds and eagerness to break democratic systems and about its willingness to run up enormous deficits on behalf of giant tax cuts for corporate America. Among other things, his bravado helped to put the Democrats’ comparative timidity into stark relief. “Now we’re saying the quiet part loud,” said Wong. “For example, that more anti-trust regulation is good for America. Politicians couldn’t imagine even five years ago saying that out loud. The Trump presidency gave people the opportunity to just be frontal about what needs to happen: We need to be paying people more, need to be raising rich people’s taxes, need to be contemplating breaking up Facebook and regulating industries.”
In some ways, the Biden administration is edging toward something Democrats have been scared to do since the rise of Ronald Reagan: showcasing government as a salubrious force in regular people’s lives. Reagan built his regime on racist, sexist tropes about “welfare queens” sucking federal dollars from a white middle class and told Americans that “the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” For decades, Democrats ceded to those characterizations.
Biden, in contrast, regularly frames the federal government as the force that stemmed mass death and permitted economic survival through the pandemic: shots in arms, checks in bank accounts. He publicly centers equity — that government investment in housing, jobs, climate initiatives, and care work is good because it addresses racial and gender injustice — and gives speeches about employers needing to compete for workers by raising wages. Despite an unwilling Senate, he speaks with conviction about raising taxes on the wealthy, rather than bailing out banks. For the first time since 1993, Biden’s 2022 budget proposal did not include the discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal insurance money to pay for abortions. ✂️
One thing that is real, though, and on its way this month, is the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, which won’t be buried in the tax code or in block grants but delivered as monthly $250-to-$300-per-child checks. They will arrive directly from the federal government, and states cannot cut them off, as they have with expanded jobless benefits. Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who first introduced the amendment to improve the CTC in 2003 and watched it stall until now, is fighting to make it permanent. “We haven’t seen anything like it since the New Deal,” she said. Dorian Warren, co-president of the nonprofit Community Change, agreed: “That it’s happening is astounding. And there’s swagger. Like, ‘We’re going to cut child poverty in half.’ It’s very un–Democratic Party!”
News from Congress
We are not dependent only on Joe Manchin or Krystyn Cinema to support needed Dem infrastructure and voting rights legislation. All of our Democratic representatives in House and Senate have leverage in such a closely divided House and Senate. Unity is essential, so now there is ongoing the expected work of legislating — hammering out details and everyone putting down what their own particular districts need. This is essential work of governing, and in the end all Democrats are highly motivated to work out a final bill that everyone can support. It makes sense for the country AND it makes sense for them all, politically. Whatever Democrats eventually agree upon, however, it will be good for Americans. The only question is how good:
With Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., winning the spotlight this year for pulling his party rightward by issuing demands on crucial issues, plenty of centrists and liberals are now using that same playbook. In a procession of meetings with White House officials and congressional budget writers, progressives have insisted that the emerging measures be big and aggressive, while moderates want them to be far more modest.
“We’re all Joe Manchin right now,” said House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth of Kentucky. ✂️
The progressive caucus has said it wants five priorities included in the legislation: health care, housing, child care and other family benefits, climate change and helping millions of immigrants become citizens.
Moderates have voiced general support for health care, family benefits and other progressive priorities. But some have suggested, often without detail, downsizing liberals’ costly proposals like expanding Medicare coverage to people as young as age 60. They cite concerns about higher prices that some say federal spending could ignite. ✂️
“Everybody needs to advocate as clear as possible for their priorities,” said Yarmuth, the House budget chairman. “But everybody ultimately has to vote for whatever comes up, or we get nothing.”
It’s a big challenge to find and arrest people who have never had a criminal record, so are not on LE radar. But with a determined DOJ and FBI, as well as various public “sedition hunter” groups working to ID and track down insurrectionists, all of those responsible for the violence and treachery on January 6 will eventually be brought to justice. They can run but they can’t hide forever:
The first waves of arrests in the deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol focused on the easy targets. Dozens in the pro-Trump mob openly bragged about their actions on Jan. 6 on social media and were captured in shocking footage broadcast live by national news outlets.
But six months after the insurrection, the Justice Department is still hunting for scores of rioters, even as the first of more than 500 people already arrested have pleaded guilty. The struggle reflects the massive scale of the investigation and the grueling work still ahead for authorities in the face of an increasing effort by some Republican lawmakers to rewrite what happened that day.✂️
And authorities have no record of many of the attackers because this was their first run-in with the law. ✂️
Justice Department officials say arresting everyone involved in the insurrection remains a top priority. Authorities recently arrested the 100th person accused of assaulting law enforcement as well as the first person accused of assaulting a member of the press — a man prosecutors say tackled a cameraman.
“They will find them,” said Robert Anderson Jr., former executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “I don’t care how long it takes. If they are looking for them, they will find them.”
Meanwhile, there have been some necessary and positive changes at the Capitol Police:
Included in the list of "improvements" the Capitol Police have implemented in the wake of the attack are enhancing member protection, boosting staffing in the Dignitary Protection Division and opening regional field offices in California and Florida to investigate threats to lawmakers.
New changes also include additional riot training for the force, including joint training with the National Guard, and the procurement of more equipment such as helmets and shields, along with "state-of-the-art campus surveillance technology," made possible via a loan from the Department of Defense.
Pittman also cited expanded wellness services for the Capitol Police, including trauma informed counselors and spiritual support services for its members. As NPR's Claudia Grisales reported, a groundbreaking initiative is under way to provide officers and staff with mental health support.
According to CNN's Jim Sciutto, Greenberg has asked for a delay in his prison sentence "so he can continue to speak to investigators in a sprawling sex trafficking probe."
This past May, Greenberg pleaded guilty to sex trafficking, wire fraud, identity theft, and other offenses as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Greenberg over the last year had been hit with 33 different criminal charges, so pleading guilty to only six will almost certainly reduce the time he'll have to spend in prison.
New: Rep. Matt Gaetz’s Floridian confidante Joel Greenberg has asked to delay his August sentencing, so he can continue to speak to investigators in a sprawling sex trafficking probe, according to a new court filing. @kpolantz reports
We’ve all been concerned about the danger of cyberattacks, especially after recent attacks shut down the east coast gas pipeline and another one shut down JBS meat supplier. Our new POTUS and administration is working on this and Pres.Biden warned Putin last month that if he doesn’t put a stop to it in Russia, then he will do something from our end.
Not sure if this is the beginning of our counter-offensive, but the timing is interesting! And it definitely isn’t going as the hackers expected, to their surprise.
The hackers, known as the REVil ransomware gang, went after Kaseya, a firm which sells software to other companies. By infiltrating Kaseya’s customers—many of which are IT providers—the hackers have also been able to hit those companies’ clients with malicious software that locks them out of their machines unless they pay a ransom. The victims number in the hundreds, if not thousands, according to John Hammond, a senior security researcher at Huntress Labs, which is working with Kaseya to investigate the incident.
But the sprawl of the hack seems to be tripping up the hackers themselves. The initial ransom demands the hackers made of approximately $50,000 per victim didn’t appear to be working. By Sunday, the hackers announced they would accept a lump sum of $70 million from all the victims in order to get the businesses back up and running—the largest extortion demand that’s ever been made publicly. Hours later, though, when cybersecurity consultant Jack Cable reached out to the gang, the hackers changed their tune again, suggesting that a $50 million payment would suffice—and Cable hadn’t even asked for a price drop, he told The Daily Beast.
“It could just be that…they’re in over their head there,” said Cable, a consultant at cybersecurity consulting firm Krebs Stamos Group. “It seems like this didn’t go exactly as planned.”
“They’re frustrated right now. They probably, from their perspective, thought, ‘holy shit, this is such an amazing, well-executed operation, we hit some number—hundreds, maybe a thousand-plus organizations—we should be making a serious payday.’ And I don’t think they’re seeing the payday,” said Carmakal, senior vice president and chief technology officer at FireEye’s Mandiant. “I think they’re super frustrated and I think they’re making mistakes in the process.”
“It appears to have caused minimal damage to U.S. businesses but we’re still gathering information,” Biden said. “And I’m going to have more to say about this in the next several days.” An official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, speaking on condition they not be further identified, said no federal agencies or critical infrastructure appear to have been impacted.
On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will lead an interagency meeting to discuss the administration’s efforts to counter ransomware.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki held out the prospect of retaliatory action. What Biden told President Vladimir Putin in Geneva last month still holds, she said: “If the Russian government cannot or will not take action against criminal actors residing in Russia, we will take action or reserve the right to take action on our own.”
What sort of action that would be is unclear.
Biden has said repeatedly that the Kremlin bears responsibility for giving ransomware criminals safe harbor, even if it is not directly involved. There is no indication that Putin has moved against the gangs. Psaki said Russian and U.S. representatives were meeting next week and would discuss the matter.
President Biden outlined several strategies Tuesday to persuade more Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, including “door-to-door outreach” in targeted communities and stepped-up efforts to get vaccines to primary-care doctors and pediatricians who can encourage adolescents to get shots as they head back to school or get ready for fall sports.
“It’s a year of hard-fought … progress. We can’t get complacent. Now, the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family and the people you care about the most is get vaccinated,” Biden said in remarks at the White House complex on the federal government’s coronavirus response after falling shy of his self-imposed July 4 deadline for 70 percent of U.S. adults to have received at least one vaccination shot.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday that by the end of the week, nearly 160 million people in the United States will be fully vaccinated.
Good job, San JosÉ!
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As of last night, 85% of San Joséans eligible for a #COVID vaccine have received at least one dose. San José is first among the ten largest cities in the country to reach this threshold. (1/3)
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported no new COVID-19 fatalities Monday, which hadn’t happened previously since March 16, 2020 — a few days before Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered residents to stay inside their homes as much as possible to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
It’s still possible one or more fatalities could eventually be added to the rare zero-total. Officials often adjust daily figures based on delayed reports from hospitals, especially after a holiday. ✂️
But for now, the end of a miserable 476-day stretch with viral deaths is the latest sign of optimism for a state slowly emerging from the pandemic.
“We all are very, very pleased that our infection rate in the state of Illinois is way down. The number of cases, the number of hospitalizations, the number of deaths — way, way down,” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference. “The vaccines have done the work. Thank god for the vaccines.”
It appears that yet another reactionary right wing panic has possibly backfired. Good.
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Somewhat ironically, parts of the right makings such a big deal about Critical Race Theory, and elevating some spokespeople who are openly acting in bad faith on the issue, may have made it more attractive to the left, and increased, rather than decreased, its influence in school https://t.co/j3gFL0oQeb
This next story illustrates one thin silver lining to the climate crisis: greater cooperation with — and respect for — Native Peoples. We’ve had several stories over the past few months about government turning to local tribes for their expertise in managing natural resources all over North and South America, and today’s story is another example. The terrible drought in western USA is awful, but the way that it has forced state and local governments to work with Native Americans at times is, I think, good news:
The Colorado River Indian Tribes and another tribe in Arizona played an outsized role in the drought contingency plans that had the state voluntarily give up water. As Arizona faces mandatory cuts next year in its Colorado River supply, the tribes see themselves as major players in the future of water.
“We were always told more or less what to do, and so now it’s taking shape where tribes have been involved and invited to the table to do negotiations, to have input into the issues about the river,” first-term Colorado River Indian Tribes Chairwoman Amelia Flores said.
Part of canal system near Parker, AZ
Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border has fallen to its lowest point since it was filled in the 1930s. Water experts say the situation would be worse had the tribe not agreed to store 150,000 acre-feet in the lake over three years. A single acre-foot is enough to serve one to two households per year. The Gila River Indian Community also contributed water.
The Colorado River Indian Tribes received $38 million in return, including $30 million from the state. Environmentalists, foundations and corporations fulfilled a pledge last month to chip in the rest. ✂️
Tribal officials say the $38 million is more than what they would have made leasing the land. The Colorado River Indian Tribes stopped farming more than 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) to make water available, tribal attorney Margaret Vick said.
“There’s an economic tradeoff as well as a conservation tradeoff,” she said.
While some fields are dry on the reservation, the tribe plans to use the money to invest in its water infrastructure. It has the oldest irrigation system built by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, dating to 1867, serving nearly 125 square miles (323 square kilometers) of tribal land.
I’m pretty impressed by the way this guy does not flinch or fall off even after one of his dogs climbs up on him! And good job DOGS for staying on, too!
Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Dignified Decision
arhpdx mentioned this story in yesterday’s GNR comments (and there is also a DK diary on it). My first reaction when I saw this news — apart from GOOD FOR HER!! — was sadness that her much-needed voice was not going to be heard where it is most needed: on campuses like UNC. But then I saw a quote from her interview with I think CBS yesterday morning, and it struck me as so true and so strong.
“The burden of working for racial justice is laid on the very people bearing the brunt of the injustice, and not the powerful people who maintain it,” Hannah-Jones wrote. “I say to you: I refuse.”
Too often, black people are expected to defer to white sensibilities and to “help” white people come to terms with history. This sorry episode began as yet another example of egregious racism, but I think the way Nikole Hannah-Jones has handled it may serve as a map forward:
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I also love that Hannah-Jones said: “It’s not my job to heal the University of North Carolina." YES! Say that!
It is NOT our job as Black scholars to heal these raggedy and obstinate PWIs that can't or won't step up to treat us with the respect we have earned and deserve. https://t.co/5EQbjU7iVS
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A Black investigative journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for her ground-breaking work on the bitter legacy of slavery in the U.S. announced Tuesday that she will not join the faculty at the University of North Carolina following an extended tenure fight, and instead will accept a chaired professorship at Howard University.✂️
“To be denied it (tenure) to only have that vote occur on the last possible day, at the last possible moment, after threat of legal action, after weeks of protest, after it became a national scandal, it’s just not something that I want anymore,” Hannah-Jones said on “CBS This Morning,” which first broke the news of her decision. ✂️
In explaining her decision, Hannah-Jones said: “I cannot imagine working at and advancing a school named for a man who lobbied against me, who used his wealth to influence the hires and ideology of the journalism school, who ignored my 20 years of journalism experience, all of my credentials, all of my work, because he believed that a project that centered Black Americans equaled the denigration of white Americans.”
“Nor can I work at an institution whose leadership permitted this conduct and has done nothing to disavow it,” she said.
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If you read nothing else on this platform today, take a moment and read the entire statement from @nhannahjones on her decision not to take the Knight Chair at UNC, and to teach instead as a tenured professor at @HowardU. https://t.co/MZ3YsKLiKk
The Alabama Republican was given Trump's endorsement for the U.S. Senate after making the speech, which a lawsuit alleges helped incite the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, but Brooks' attorneys responded by insisting he only took part because the former president wanted him there.
"Brooks only gave the Ellipse Speech because the White House asked him to, in his capacity as a United States Congressman," the new court filing says. "But for the White House request, Brooks would not have appeared at the Ellipse Rally."
The response also claims Brooks coordinated the contents of his speech with White House officials, who asked him to take part the day before the rally, and he justified his actions by baselessly arguing that Trump lost the election through fraud.
Both Ivanka and Weisselberg benefited from a similar perk, if that indictment by Manhattan prosecutors and reporting from TheNew York Times are to be believed. Both were officers of the Trump Organization and simultaneously were consultants for the company, too. It’s an arrangement that appears designed to shield all parties involved from paying taxes—and could open Ivanka up to tax fraud charges, just like her dad’s CFO.
“She’s much less likely to stay loyal than Allen Weisselberg,” says Mary Trump, the member of the family who has famously turned on the clan.
A well-deserved Ass-Whooping
It is appalling that we have to deal with these violent haters at all, but since we can’t avoid them at the moment… here’s a reminder (if anyone still needs one!) that these privileged, entitled RWNJs are utterly unprepared for (and incapable of facing) real pushback.
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It’s going to be tough for Patriot Front’s leader Thomas Rousseau to recover from this. You can’t put a red and blue filter on an ass-whooping and try to make it look cool. https://t.co/yv1msepq6A
— Kristofer Goldsmith (@KrisGoldsmith85) July 5, 2021
If they were smarter, they’d be dangerous
Not just a story about an insurrectionist, but also about how the FBI and local law enforcement had infiltrated these violent posers — which suggests that perhaps Wray and the FBI and other entities have been a few steps ahead all along!
According to court records filed over last week and recently unsealed, Fi Duong spilled some allegedly incriminating evidence to an undercover FBI employee — a source he was introduced to by an undercover Metropolitan Police Department employee he’d met at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
In addition to the Capitol attack itself, Duong allegedly spoke at length to the undercover FBI employee about making Molotov cocktails, and even mused about breaking Jan. 6 defendants out of custody. ✂️
The revelation that prosecutors are employing information from undercover law enforcement sources — first flagged by researcher Seamus Hughes Tuesday — marks a new chapter in the ongoing investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection, six months after a pro-Trump mob attacked Congress.
(Go to the link to read more!)
✶✶✶✶ Good News from Chicago ✶✶✶✶
Chicago’s “Peoples’ Palace” is undergoing a huge and very careful renovation and we couldn’t be more pleased. Originally built to house the city’s Central Library on land donated by a Civil War veterans group, it housed the main branch of Chicago Public Library as well as a Memorial Hall and grand rotunda. It is now a cultural center with a busy yearly calendar of local arts. I love this kind of community investment!
The dome and interiors of the spaces were designed by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., a predecessor of the better-known Tiffany Studios, all of which were owned and directed by famed artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. The actual work was carried out under the supervision of Tiffany specialists by other firms, including Chicago-based Healy & Millet, which fabricated the dome.
World’s largest Tiffany glass dome. Chicago Cultural Center, G.A.R. Memorial Hall.
as inevitably happens over time, the building suffered normal degradation, and elements were modified. A protective glass skylight over the rotunda dome was covered during a 1930s renovation, blocking natural light, and the meticulously layered colors of the walls were painted over in the 1970s. ✂️
Instead of re-creating the original wall colors, as is typically done, workers with EverGreene Architectural Arts of Oak Park have been able to carefully scrape away the 1970s over-painting and preserve the 1890s surfaces with only minimal touch-up. Dorothy Krotzer of Philadelphia provided the historic materials analysis.
“It’s going to be spectacular,” said DCASE commissioner Mark Kelly. “This is every door, every piece of marble, the 62,000 pieces of glass. These rooms that had lost all of their color and luster are just going to be ablaze as a Tiffany masterpiece.”
Piping Plovers Persisting!
There’s been quite a bit of excitement in Chicago (and now in other Great Lakes places) about the tentative recovery of a population of Piping Plovers which had gone nearly extinct in the Great Lakes region. In 1986, with a population that had once counted 500-800 breeding pairs diminished to fewer than 20, (all in Michigan), the species was declared officially endangered and protected. A few years ago, the first sighting in more than 50 years (!) was made at Montrose Beach on Chicago’s lakefront and that bird was soon joined by a mate. They were dubbed “Monty and Rose” (appropriately enough since they decided to nest on Montrose Beach 😊).
Tamima Itani has written a children’s book about Monty and Rose and is donating 100% of net proceeds to a University of Minnesota study trying to boost the survival rates of piping plover chicks reared in captivity. Click on the link if you’d like to order a copy!
They have returned every year since! Their efforts to raise chicks have been dogged by trials and tribulations — in the first year, their initial clutch of 4 eggs was destroyed by predators, but Rose went on to lay 2 more eggs that year and both hatchlings survived. This year, another clutch of four eggs was eaten by a skunk, and yet Monty and Rose persisted! They soon were scratching out another nest and Rose proceeded to lay 4 more eggs over a period of some days. We are all anxiously awaiting the hatchlings and keeping fingers crossed that they will all survive.
Although they’ve lost eggs and at least one hatchling over the years, Monty and Rose have raised 6 fledglings who have been banded and sighted from time to time. Now, one of their offspring (Nish), who himself has found a mate (Nellie) selected a nice spot in northern Ohio to spend the summers. He is the proud father of a clutch of hatchlings — and Monty and Rose, our Chicago celebrities, are grandparents!
As they await the arrival of their own chicks, Chicago’s beloved piping plovers, Monty and Rose, have just become grandparents — four times over.
The couple’s 2020 chick, Nish, and his mate, Nellie, successfully hatched their own brood of four on Thursday, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory announced via Twitter.
Nish and Nellie are the first Great Lakes piping plovers to nest in Ohio in more than 80 years, their arrival meeting with an outpouring of excitement and goodwill.
I’m so thankful for all the hard work conservationists have done to protect and assist these beautiful birds. I’ve ordered some copies of Tamima Itani’s book for children I know!
Yimby!
Residents of an upscale north side neighborhood in Chicago were delighted that a vacant building in the area was being renovated, but they urged the city to make sure that any housing there would be affordable. What a lovely change from what we too often had been seeing (gentrification and NIMBY). I truly believe there’s been a real shift in the social zeitgeist. More and more people realize that the way things have been is unsustainable and they want life to be better for everyone. They want it enough to say YES in my backyard!
Block said the project is designed to serve seniors whose needs change as they age. The independent living units are being occupied by seniors on the CHA’s waiting list. “For them, there really aren’t good options as they become frailer,” he said. “Here, they can get more services without having to move.’’
Illinois used to bar facilities licensed under its Supporting Living Program, an alternative to nursing homes, from being under the same roof with something else. That ended with legislation enacted in 2018, backed by then-state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz and state Rep. Greg Harris, Chicago Democrats. Feigenholtz now is a state senator. ✂️
“Ravenswood Senior Living is one of the first developments of its kind in the country,” Feigenholtz said in a statement. “It was essential to be able to both offer affordable, continuum-of-care housing for our community seniors and preserve the historic Ravenswood Hospital building for future generations.”
Built in 1974, the hospital closed in 2002. Several developers were interested in the site but couldn’t get a deal together. Many residents argued that any new housing there should be affordable.
Here’s a little something for fans of the Grateful Dead (I hear we’ve got one or two fans here in Gnuville 😘):
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TIL that after the breakup of the USSR, the Lithuanian basketball team couldn't afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, so the @GratefulDead funded the team's expenses and sent a box of tie-dyed outfits in Lithuania's national colours. They went on to win bronze. pic.twitter.com/UD93Sraf5l
💗 How Can You Help Build Our Democracy Back Better? 💗
Put your beautiful bleeding liberal heart into it!
Democratic litigation hero, Marc Elias was the legal eagle behind the 60 Big Lie losses after the election. Here’s his website, Democracy Docket. You can find information about current cases he is fighting to defend voting rights around the country, as well as actions you can take to help fight voter suppression at the link!
Write to voters around the country with Postcards to Voters. Progressive Muse usually posts an update on current campaigns in the comments and you can also check out the website. It’s easy, fun and it really works to GOTV!
🎩 Also, Goody posted a great list of links and I am going to borrow it because it’s great! 🎩
The only way they can win is by keeping people from voting. They are working like heck to make that happen and we need to do all we can to keep 2022 from being a year when they grab the Senate and House back from us.
The League of Women Voterswork year-round to combat voter suppression through advocacy, grassroots organizing, legal action and public education. You can get involved with them at this link
Volunteer with Black Votes Matterat this link. They have on the ground work in 10 states and people from other states can write postcards, phone bank, fundraise, and text.
CALL YOUR SENATORS and let them know that voting rights are at the top of your agenda!
Most important: DON'T LOSE HOPE. This is a giant and important fight for us but, win or lose, we keep fighting and voting and organizing and spreading truth and light. We never give up.
HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT CONGRESS:
U.S. House of Representatives:* Telephone: 202-225-3121
* Website: http://www.house.gov/
Whether you’re in a red, blue or purple state, your Senators need to hear from you. The #ForThePeopleAct/#S1 protects our freedom to vote. Call your Senators to demand they pass this crucial legislation: 888-453-3211.
For daily reminders, text DEMOCRACY to 33339. #HotCallSummer
And remember, all politics is local and personal! Let’s work to flip state and local elected positions Democratic!
Sister District Project— organization that is working to help Dems win state legislature races.
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
That’s it from me for another Wednesday!
The work of keeping our Republic won’t slow down, but each of us can slow down now and then to rest and restore ourselves. There are so many of us that there will be someone to pick up our slack when we rest, and we will pick up the slack so others can rest.
Mama, it’s time to go to sleep now!
As we keep reminding each other, this is a marathon not a sprint. In fact, it is the work of lifetimes — our work now, and then the work of each new generation. As Teri Kanefield said, once we accept the truth of this, we can figure out how to proceed and how to make progress, deal with setbacks, and continue onward with hope and determination.
Building a more perfect union — a better, more equal, more just world — seems to me to be about the most valuable, meaningful way to use the days we have on this earth.
And on that note: Miss Curlygirl is giving me meaningful looks right now, and I am pretty sure the meaning is, “It is late, I want to go to bed and you need to take me out for my last potty break!”
So, time to go! Take good care of yourselves, dear Gnusies!
I’ll leave you with some new world music, in honor of the new and better world we are working to build. Happy Wednesday!
