I’ve updated my “help us win in GA” doc with SO MANY new opportunities to help! Letter writing, postcarding, phonebanking, texting, social media posts, SMART donations...I’ve got it all and I’ll keep adding more. Please use and share! https://tinyurl.com/georgiarunoffhelp
For anyone who does not yet know the awesome Jessica Craven and her Chop Wood, Carry Water blog of resources and grassroots activist inspiration, check it out!
I am ambivalent about the appointment of Jack Smith. However, given Garland’s snail pace in moving towards an indictment of Trump, could Smith’s taking over be any slower. I think NOT. He is not starting from scratch. He has listened and seen what we have seen and heard at a minimum. I am the eternal optimist ......
When lawyers Ranging from Jill wine banks to Neil Katyal call BS on Garland, we know he is a coward and maybe even worse. Trump actually tricked him with his announcement. Garland has no ability to read the room Or he too wants to own the Libs and demoralize us And ensure that justice is obviously never equally applied. For me this is the final straw in his incompetence. Starting with Mueller we have been told over and over again that there will be accountability and no one has the guts to do it. My rage is sky high and I know I’m not the only one.
Have you watched ULTRA. You might understand where Garland is coming from. There will be no delay in the proceedings. The similarities that prosecutor Maloney faced in 1941 made me a believer in reincarnation. (Kidding aside.)
I would withhold judgment on Garland. If he has assembled an unassailable case, he will end up looking like a hero. We don’t know the reason for the delay in subpoenas. Nor do we know what was going on under the radar in the months before the subpoenas. I have difficulty believing DOJ was not interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence when so much evidence was public. If witnesses cooperated, DOJ didn’t need subpoenas. Garland is methodical and by the book. So my gut says lots of activity and no leaks. Very professional. Public announcements would have been a double standard. Silence is not.
Agreed. Ongoing investigations cannot publicize their process because that would be tipping off their targets and self-sabotaging the case they're building against those targets.
Stan, On this matter, I am in complete agreement with Hubbell, who understood that by April 2021 a blueprint for all of the criminal offenses that might have been committed by Trump and by others at the top had already been laid out by a number of scholars and former prosecutors. The key point was that no one needed to decide right then whether all the downsides of an indictment should or should not prevent DOJ from indicting. That would be for a later day. What was needed, in my view, was to start holding everyone at the top up to and including Trump accountable, at least to the point of being subject to full-blown criminal investigation. As we know, it’s not as easy to stonewall a grand jury as it is to stonewall a Congressional committee.
As a final point, I would note, contrary to investigating foot soldiers, that when the command structure is being investigated for criminal activity and maybe informed that they’re a possible target, that tends to focus the mind. And the mind of this country needed to be focused on this, because however important other things are, certainly then, and to some degree now, we could be running out the clock on democracy itself.
Suzanne, I just noticed your last name - the first Nicoletti that I have seen in all my time with HCR and Robert. And you spell it correctly! The immigration officer changed my grandfather's name to Nicholetti - and when my dad and mom married, the Italian priest refused to put "ch" on the marriage certificate. "There is no "cho" in Italian," he claimed. My mom used to joke that that meant she was not really married and could leave any time she wanted - they were married for 54 years before my dad passed.
Just a bit of levity among all the serious thoughts!
Jessica, Though I only recently started receiving your listings of action opportunities, they have become integral to how I translate goals into constructive engagement. As for my posting this morning, because I am concerned about Georgia Governor Kemp’s very recent and likely influential embrace of Walker, I wondered whether you or anyone on this thread had some thoughts regarding how one could amplify the glaring contrast between this recent embrace vs. Kemp’s true view of Walker as a liability as demonstrated by the calculated distance Kemp had maintained throughout his gubernatorial run.
My thanks to all for your thoughts, and particularly to you Jessica for your invaluable contribution to all who read/hear you.
I appreciate this and welcome! I'm not sure there's much more to do than what we're already doing--talking to voters, amplifying social media posts about the differences between candidates, talking to friends and family in Georgia, donating to grassroots groups who can and will have conversations like these at the doors...the rest is up to GA voters. But as popular as Kemp is, I'm not sure his support will get voters out to the polls to vote for someone who isn't Kemp himself. We'll see, I guess. Let's all just keep doing everything we can to highlight these differences to voters when we talk to them on phonebanks and textbanks.
Thanks to both Robert and Jess for their amazing work to keep us informed and energized!
In Georgia, UNITE HERE workers were the unheralded heroes of the 2021 run-off election - the only union walking door-to-door for during the pandemic. They’re knocking on doors again, one of the most effective ways to reach and motivate voters. I hope you’ll all consider donating to Making Waves for Democracy’s fundraising effort to support UNITE HERE reach voters in GA and get out the vote for Senator Warnock. Let’s get those boots on the ground!
Lauri, I so appreciated this link. While I imagine we’re all financially tapped out, because I believe relational, face-to-face contact can be extraordinarily powerful, I could not stop myself from supporting this seemingly committed organization.
I am coordinating the writing of postcards into Georgia among a group of 20+ people, some coming to postcard writing “events” at my Santa Monica home, others writing from their own homes, using supplies (postcards and stamps) of their own or picking up supplies from my home. Some of the writers live outside of LA and/or CA and use their own supplies. This group wrote approximately 2,000 postcards for the general election.
At my home I supply postcard, stamps, highlighters, scripts/instructions and names and addresses, as well as 6-8 different types of M&Ms! Right now I have names/addresses from Grassroots Dems HQ/Activate America, The Civic Center and Postcards to Voters. And we’ve written 500+ postcards to GA already! I welcome others to write with us. The last 2 writing events will be 11/22 and 11/29.
Please let me know if you are interested in joining us — or know of others who are — whether at my home or in the comfort yours/theirs.
Thanks,
Nancy
BTW: My husband and I have known Rob and Jill for years, so they can vouch for us!
REGARDING ELECTING RAPHAEL WARNOCK: I’ve heard Vote Forward has finished their letter writing quota. Meanwhile, Working America has an easier letter writing program. It’s a form letter that you add your own personal statement to, then print. No handwriting messages—easier on aging fingers. And their target audience is non-cable-news-reading working class people, the voters we need most. The subject matter is universal quality healthcare and why it’s important in your life.
BUT letters must be POSTMARKED on or before November 26. So hurry up. First, sign up with Working America to write letters: WORKAM.ORG/LettersWA
They’ll then send you the letter template plus 50 names with addresses and detailed instructions.
Vote Forward Political letter campaign for GA runoff, reopened, continues a second round, the Social letter campaign was reopened and all voters are “adopted” a second time.
Vote Forward creates new campaigns as each one finishes and there are plenty of addresses right now. But I agree that Working America’s letters are also a great letter writing program! Thanks for the reminder. Early voting starts in GA on Nov 28 so time is of essence!
Working America Letters are indeed more gentle on the hands, and so extremely important.
Even so, alas, our household is committed and persists with Vote Forward merrily -- with heat and cold packs. Nearly 1,000,000 voters have already been “adopted” for the Georgia runoff election.
From Black Voters Matter these texting and cool hands-on in-person opportunities were posted (sorry, couldn't activate links in the comments section):
Text Banks/Texting
Black Voters Matter is sending over 2.5 million text to encourage Black folks across Georgia to go out and vote for the runoffs. Join us on Monday, December 5th at 5pm ET for a text bank. We will provide training, on the ground information, and power building vides. Register here- https://mobilize.us/s/x6Go96.
Our first set of text campaigns launched today, so you can start texting here: https://movementlabs.com/BVM *scroll down to the campaign box*
The Collard Green Caucus
If you live in Georgia or are willing to travel to Georgia next week, join us! We are giving away food for Thanksgiving and encouraging Georgia residents to vote in the upcoming runoffs. Volunteers are needed to help with loading, passing out the food to the cars, and making sure people get election information. Join us at 1 or more stops. Register to volunteer here, and invite a friend to join you! https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/147209237331460115/false#/invitation
My wife and I are part of a Northampton, MA based group, "Fridayaction.org". If anyone is looking for ways to support Mr. R. Wornock, log onto the listed website for several options to get involved.
LOTS of Phone banking opportunities for run-off in GA!!! Fair Fight has an excellent list after all their amazing grassroots organizing! I just called Thursday night and it was such a high!!! https://www.mobilize.us/fairfight/
For JDC phone banks, M, W, F and Sunday dates and times, contact:
Scott Weikart <sweikart@gmail.com>. Here is more info and good reasons why this is sooo important:
We need to re-elect Sen. Warnock, because a 51:49 Senate is much more productive than a 50:50 Senate:
A 51:49 Senate ensures majority Democratic representation on committees, so it takes less time and effort to move Biden’s nominations through committees when there’s no GOP support.
A 51:49 Senate makes it impossible for a single Democrat to hold up a nomination (which has happened in the last two years).
A 51:49 Senate ensures Democratic control if we lose a Democratic Senator for some reason.
We are offering a single campaign (with training), using an easy and fast autodialer
Visit www.fridayaction.org/projects/#current for four effective actions you can take NOW to help return Sen. Raphael Warnock to the Senate in January. And if you want to help safeguard democracy going forward, via small actions with a large impact, consider joining us. Our work continues! www.fridayaction.org/contact/
Postcards to Georgia’s Democratic Voters in support of Rev. WARNOCK’s re-election on Dec. 6.
If you are in northeastern Pennsylvania (close to Honesdale, PA 18431) and are available to meet to pickup postcards and address labels — you provide postcard postage stamps; 100 postcard stamps on a roll = $44 or 20 postcards on a sheet = $8.80), please text JB Lanham (703-517-0094). No calls or voice mails. Please include your full name, your cell number and the number of postcards (10, 25, 50, 75, 100) you have time to write and mail at your local post office on Sat morning, Nov 26, 2022.
Please consider phone baking for the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). It really is easy and they make it fun. Currently focusing 100% on Georgia. Here is the link https://www.environmentalvoter.org/get-involved.
I will miss Jennifer Rubin in the WP when I cancel my subscription to that and the NYT. Enough of the shoddy, facile observations of the editorial staff that allows for such poor headlines and stories! I’m sticking with you and Heather, and working for Georgia. I can’t bear to hear any more about Twump, Twitter, and the Tweedle’s and Dum’s in the Republican House! I know our country is in great capable hands and look forward to the results of the last two years of fierce negotiating , thanks to Speaker Pelosi, her hand-picked successors, and the “boring” wonderful President Biden! I heard today the Affordable Care Act got even better and more affordable for young families. Expecting record enrollment! This is truly a time for gratitude. Thanks -giving is on our plates. Let’s do it.
Diane--now that the Republicans have a razor thin majority in the House, the sh*t show will commence. It will be clown car reality tv. Nothing serious will be done in 2023-2024. They have no interest in or intention to govern. How awful for the US that such serious business as governance is in the hands of the least serious people.
I hope the special counsel pursues tRump to the fullest extent of the law.
My hope is that people will see how incapable the MAGA extremists are capable of governing and will get tired of the clown show. That seems to be why they did so poorly this midterm, and if inflation does come down substantially and Biden is able to tout his successes, along with restoring balance to the judiciary, 2024 *could* turn out quite well for the Dems (and democracy!).
Question? Will our MSM follow the clown car, or give serious governing a little exposure. Even better question? Will Rupert keep telling a little truth about repubs or will Sean and Tucker continue the “Goebbels” slander that they love so much. Follow the money, again…
After 15 years of this clown show, and especially the last 6 years, I think we’ve gotten better cutting through the fog and bs of a lot of media reporting. It’s an ongoing battle, but it’s been a terrific lesson for our generation to be more critical in our thinking of media reporting after all the chicanery we’ve seen over the last several years.
“Nothing serious will be done in 2023-2024.” In the House, yes. In the Senate, no. The appointment of Judges will go on, and hopefully if Warnock is re-elected, the speed of Judgeships will escalate.
I thoroughly agree about Judd Legum. He’s a modern muckraker, if anyone on this site is old enough to remember those guys! He’s prescient; his research is top-notch, and he almost always precedes the slow-footed mainstream media with stories they then have to cover. Moreover, he’s facing a shortfall of new readers because he’s depended on Twitter for new subscribers.
Thanks so much for these sources. I am looking for others that actually report positive news, (and not necessarily political), that encourage us all to keep believing in ourselves as rational, creative , cooperative human beings. I want to hook into that mindset for a bit, while the tantrums of the Right play out in all their self-indulgent forms. Ie, Twitter just signed on Twump.I DON’T CARE! Do I have to wear earplugs ?
I understand your position on the WaPo and others but I think you are being short sided. Based on after the election introspection several media organizations have reviewed their opinion and editorial oversight and positions and I think are discussing how to moderate their messaging. I think it’s important to hear and see all sides to better understand the information the other side is using to base their arguments.
Sir your comment gets my vote as ‘The eternal optimist’!
Consider Mick (Malarkey) Mulvany, 45’s third chief of staff, yawned at the 37% increase in the national debt during trumps disastrous term occupying the White House!
“ Republican candidate Donald Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign that he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.
Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.1
But the national debt reached that figure much sooner.
The national debt stood at $19.9 trillion when President Trump took office in January 2017, and it reached a high of $27 trillion in October 2020.”
As leader of the so called freedom caucus, a mere 10% of the total in the House, Mulcahy held the federal budget hostage, raging at increasing the debt ceiling during the Obama Administration.
My point is that the other sides arguments are laden with hypocrisy! If they are talking they are lying!
Brava Diane! Welcome to the group of us who shed the ‘sky is falling opinionators’ who populate the pages of NYT and WaPo!
Twitter has always been a breeding ground for all that is ugly in this world, especially the ability to post comments anonymously! Freedom of speech MUST demand show your face to back up your words!
I like Smith's response back in 2011 when he took over public corruption at the DOJ and was asked by a reporter if he had any worries about the political pressures that could be brought against his investigations by powrful politicians.
"If I were someone who could be cowed, I would have sought a different line of work."
So let the fat old retiree who can't walk 10 feet at a golf course without sniffling and wheezing threaten to huff and puff and blow the house down, because the truth is, he couldn't huffand puff and blow out a match on a windy night.
If I were an engineer at Twitter I'd be taking Elon Musk up on his severance package and resign. I use to joke that I only worked half days at the Fortune 100 computer company where I was employed. Yes, just 12 hours a day! Yes, we worked very hard, not because some egocentric billionaire demanded it but because what we were doing was exciting and we knew we were changing the world -- and we did. Our CEO, Ken Olsen, was on the cover of Fortune magazine as the World's Most Successful Entrepreneur at the time. The company never unionized because during a nasty blizzard where people couldn't get to work for a week, Ken paid the hourly workers because it was "the right thing to do" (the company's motto and philosophy) while unionized GE didn't because it wasn't in the contract with the union. This was more because Digital Equipment Corporation was an extraordinary company rather than a criticism of unions which do a lot of good for the employees of so many companies. (I have an unusual background of having been both a corporate executive and a member of the AFL-CIO - Musicians' Union albeit before right to work laws.) One of my management sayings was "one manages projects; one motivates people" Ken managed by walking around where practically everyone in company had a personal story about Ken. I had a one-on-one meeting with him one time where I came out thinking you didn't have to pay me to work for this company. Here's a video about Ken's legacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6We6VDtyHY Mr. Musk could learn so much from Ken, who was not only had a technical vision but also an organization vision that made it so wonderful to work there. My guess is Mr. Musk will never do so. Here is my letter about how I remembered Ken which was printed in Forbes Magazine: https://www.forbes.com/sites/prospernow/2011/03/20/he-was-different-in-a-good-way-where-is-ken-olsen-when-we-need-him/?sh=b0003eb2b809 Enjoy!
After reading both Robert’s & others’ previous observations that appointing a special counsel, it is hard to embrace “the deed is done.” Sure, I don’t have any other choice BUT if there is not action, I.e., an indictment by the early months of 2023 I fear that this most disgusting former officeholder will be handed more opportunities to rally his “base” to more violence and evade justice for the American electorate and constitutional law that applies to everyone.
Ok! Now I’ve posted, recognized my personal grievance and anxiety. Justice MUST be done and done soon. Heavens! Even if indicted the case will be bouncing through the slow moving justice system for time eternal. Do I and the country have that time? For goodness sake, we all watched on live TV the events of January 6 unfold before our very eyes and heard TFG beckon people to such action since 2016 and in the months just prior to January 6!! Mark me as outraged.
We just completed 100 postcards to a key group of Georgia residents. On behalf of the NAACP.
My good wife initiated the process. A great number of our neighbors in our town have done the same. We expect it will make a difference very much in our favor
I have a different take on Merrick Garland and his investigation of the 1/6 insurrection . While most of us wish for prosecution and jail for Trump instantly, that isn’t going to happen, thankfully, with Garland in charge. He has been careful, thoughtful, strategic and most important, thorough. His work is historic and must be comprehensive. And he works knowing of a biased Supreme Court likely to seize upon any prosecutorial error as grounds for reversal of a conviction, assuming one is obtained. The enormity of the Trump offense doesn’t justify a “rush” to indictment.
Your views are shared by many readers. But to be clear, no one is asking for a rush to judgment. However, Garland did nothing for 15 months regarding the ring leaders of the insurrection. That is unforgivable.
@OutofhellTx, With all due respect, I believe the key point for Robert is by April 2021 a blue print for all of the criminal offenses that might have been committed by Trump and by others at the top had already been laid out by a number of scholars and former prosecutors. The point was not to decide right then whether all the downsides of an indictment should or should not prevent DOJ from indicting. That would be for a later day. What was needed was to start holding everybody at the top up to and including Trump accountable, at least to the point of being subject to full-blown criminal investigation. As we know, it’s not as easy to stonewall a grand jury as it is to stonewall a Congressional committee.
Barbara Jo Krieger, thanks for trying to enlighten. Today, Nov. 19, The MeidasTouch Podcast presents an interview with Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who is the former #2 prosecutor at the Manhattan DA’s office and worked directly with Jack Smith for years. Humbly suggest everyone might feel better hearing it. Be well.
@OutofhellTx, I would suggest we consider that even if Smith, by early next year, were to call for indictments, trial dates likely would not be set before Labor Day, so close to the start of primary season that the trials probably would be postponed until after the 2024 election. I make this point, because Robert, for some time, rightfully in my view, has asserted that the delay has foreclosed upon our window of opportunity.
If I may, additionally, I would note, at best, Robert and I agree only about 50% of the time.
Yes, it may all turn out for the best but the delay in prosecuting Trump is maddening. He did so much to destroy our democracy and yet he still lives a highly privileged life and is allowed to run for, and could conceivably win, the most important office in the country. It is outrageous! Garland has been way too cautious.
I did read that perhaps this will help insulate the investigation from interference by Republican-led Congressional committees which, if true, is somewhat of a positive.
I’ve updated my “help us win in GA” doc with SO MANY new opportunities to help! Letter writing, postcarding, phonebanking, texting, social media posts, SMART donations...I’ve got it all and I’ll keep adding more. Please use and share! https://tinyurl.com/georgiarunoffhelp
For anyone who does not yet know the awesome Jessica Craven and her Chop Wood, Carry Water blog of resources and grassroots activist inspiration, check it out!
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
I am ambivalent about the appointment of Jack Smith. However, given Garland’s snail pace in moving towards an indictment of Trump, could Smith’s taking over be any slower. I think NOT. He is not starting from scratch. He has listened and seen what we have seen and heard at a minimum. I am the eternal optimist ......
Merrick Garland is a huge disappointment!
When lawyers Ranging from Jill wine banks to Neil Katyal call BS on Garland, we know he is a coward and maybe even worse. Trump actually tricked him with his announcement. Garland has no ability to read the room Or he too wants to own the Libs and demoralize us And ensure that justice is obviously never equally applied. For me this is the final straw in his incompetence. Starting with Mueller we have been told over and over again that there will be accountability and no one has the guts to do it. My rage is sky high and I know I’m not the only one.
You are definitely NOT the “only one” !!!
Have you watched ULTRA. You might understand where Garland is coming from. There will be no delay in the proceedings. The similarities that prosecutor Maloney faced in 1941 made me a believer in reincarnation. (Kidding aside.)
i
I would withhold judgment on Garland. If he has assembled an unassailable case, he will end up looking like a hero. We don’t know the reason for the delay in subpoenas. Nor do we know what was going on under the radar in the months before the subpoenas. I have difficulty believing DOJ was not interviewing witnesses and collecting evidence when so much evidence was public. If witnesses cooperated, DOJ didn’t need subpoenas. Garland is methodical and by the book. So my gut says lots of activity and no leaks. Very professional. Public announcements would have been a double standard. Silence is not.
Agreed. Ongoing investigations cannot publicize their process because that would be tipping off their targets and self-sabotaging the case they're building against those targets.
Stan, On this matter, I am in complete agreement with Hubbell, who understood that by April 2021 a blueprint for all of the criminal offenses that might have been committed by Trump and by others at the top had already been laid out by a number of scholars and former prosecutors. The key point was that no one needed to decide right then whether all the downsides of an indictment should or should not prevent DOJ from indicting. That would be for a later day. What was needed, in my view, was to start holding everyone at the top up to and including Trump accountable, at least to the point of being subject to full-blown criminal investigation. As we know, it’s not as easy to stonewall a grand jury as it is to stonewall a Congressional committee.
As a final point, I would note, contrary to investigating foot soldiers, that when the command structure is being investigated for criminal activity and maybe informed that they’re a possible target, that tends to focus the mind. And the mind of this country needed to be focused on this, because however important other things are, certainly then, and to some degree now, we could be running out the clock on democracy itself.
Yes, Garland knows a conflict of interest could shut down the case against Trump, hense Jack Smith. And note he waited until after the midterms.
Yes, tend to agree, but I think he slow walked the investigation. I would have like to have seen Jack Smith appointed a year ago.
Suzanne, I just noticed your last name - the first Nicoletti that I have seen in all my time with HCR and Robert. And you spell it correctly! The immigration officer changed my grandfather's name to Nicholetti - and when my dad and mom married, the Italian priest refused to put "ch" on the marriage certificate. "There is no "cho" in Italian," he claimed. My mom used to joke that that meant she was not really married and could leave any time she wanted - they were married for 54 years before my dad passed.
Just a bit of levity among all the serious thoughts!
Rome is burning.
Garland is Nero.
All I hear is violin music.
Thank you Ellie!
Pinning to the top!
Thanks!
Jessica, Though I only recently started receiving your listings of action opportunities, they have become integral to how I translate goals into constructive engagement. As for my posting this morning, because I am concerned about Georgia Governor Kemp’s very recent and likely influential embrace of Walker, I wondered whether you or anyone on this thread had some thoughts regarding how one could amplify the glaring contrast between this recent embrace vs. Kemp’s true view of Walker as a liability as demonstrated by the calculated distance Kemp had maintained throughout his gubernatorial run.
My thanks to all for your thoughts, and particularly to you Jessica for your invaluable contribution to all who read/hear you.
I appreciate this and welcome! I'm not sure there's much more to do than what we're already doing--talking to voters, amplifying social media posts about the differences between candidates, talking to friends and family in Georgia, donating to grassroots groups who can and will have conversations like these at the doors...the rest is up to GA voters. But as popular as Kemp is, I'm not sure his support will get voters out to the polls to vote for someone who isn't Kemp himself. We'll see, I guess. Let's all just keep doing everything we can to highlight these differences to voters when we talk to them on phonebanks and textbanks.
Thanks to both Robert and Jess for their amazing work to keep us informed and energized!
In Georgia, UNITE HERE workers were the unheralded heroes of the 2021 run-off election - the only union walking door-to-door for during the pandemic. They’re knocking on doors again, one of the most effective ways to reach and motivate voters. I hope you’ll all consider donating to Making Waves for Democracy’s fundraising effort to support UNITE HERE reach voters in GA and get out the vote for Senator Warnock. Let’s get those boots on the ground!
Please donate here https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mw4dgeorgia2022
Lauri, I so appreciated this link. While I imagine we’re all financially tapped out, because I believe relational, face-to-face contact can be extraordinarily powerful, I could not stop myself from supporting this seemingly committed organization.
This is one of the links in the GA document! Yay!
Thank you Jessia, your newsletter really helped me to engage, & continues to motivate and focus my efforts!
Delighted to hear it, Traci! Thank YOU!
I am coordinating the writing of postcards into Georgia among a group of 20+ people, some coming to postcard writing “events” at my Santa Monica home, others writing from their own homes, using supplies (postcards and stamps) of their own or picking up supplies from my home. Some of the writers live outside of LA and/or CA and use their own supplies. This group wrote approximately 2,000 postcards for the general election.
At my home I supply postcard, stamps, highlighters, scripts/instructions and names and addresses, as well as 6-8 different types of M&Ms! Right now I have names/addresses from Grassroots Dems HQ/Activate America, The Civic Center and Postcards to Voters. And we’ve written 500+ postcards to GA already! I welcome others to write with us. The last 2 writing events will be 11/22 and 11/29.
Please let me know if you are interested in joining us — or know of others who are — whether at my home or in the comfort yours/theirs.
Thanks,
Nancy
BTW: My husband and I have known Rob and Jill for years, so they can vouch for us!
Thanks,
Nancy
Nancy and Bob are true warriors of the resistance and outstanding people! We will join for some of the sessions!
REGARDING ELECTING RAPHAEL WARNOCK: I’ve heard Vote Forward has finished their letter writing quota. Meanwhile, Working America has an easier letter writing program. It’s a form letter that you add your own personal statement to, then print. No handwriting messages—easier on aging fingers. And their target audience is non-cable-news-reading working class people, the voters we need most. The subject matter is universal quality healthcare and why it’s important in your life.
BUT letters must be POSTMARKED on or before November 26. So hurry up. First, sign up with Working America to write letters: WORKAM.ORG/LettersWA
They’ll then send you the letter template plus 50 names with addresses and detailed instructions.
FYI, today (11/19) I downloaded more letters to GA from Vote Forward. Their campaign continues.
Vote Forward Political letter campaign for GA runoff, reopened, continues a second round, the Social letter campaign was reopened and all voters are “adopted” a second time.
I love hearing about the energy for writing Vote Forward letters. This is good news!
Vote Forward creates new campaigns as each one finishes and there are plenty of addresses right now. But I agree that Working America’s letters are also a great letter writing program! Thanks for the reminder. Early voting starts in GA on Nov 28 so time is of essence!
Working America Letters are indeed more gentle on the hands, and so extremely important.
Even so, alas, our household is committed and persists with Vote Forward merrily -- with heat and cold packs. Nearly 1,000,000 voters have already been “adopted” for the Georgia runoff election.
Yes, Vote Forward is continuing their letter writing and has no quota. And I continue to send many. However, thanks, I will look into Working America.
Hi all--
From Black Voters Matter these texting and cool hands-on in-person opportunities were posted (sorry, couldn't activate links in the comments section):
Text Banks/Texting
Black Voters Matter is sending over 2.5 million text to encourage Black folks across Georgia to go out and vote for the runoffs. Join us on Monday, December 5th at 5pm ET for a text bank. We will provide training, on the ground information, and power building vides. Register here- https://mobilize.us/s/x6Go96.
Our first set of text campaigns launched today, so you can start texting here: https://movementlabs.com/BVM *scroll down to the campaign box*
The Collard Green Caucus
If you live in Georgia or are willing to travel to Georgia next week, join us! We are giving away food for Thanksgiving and encouraging Georgia residents to vote in the upcoming runoffs. Volunteers are needed to help with loading, passing out the food to the cars, and making sure people get election information. Join us at 1 or more stops. Register to volunteer here, and invite a friend to join you! https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/147209237331460115/false#/invitation
Go Warnock!
Pinning to the top!
My wife and I are part of a Northampton, MA based group, "Fridayaction.org". If anyone is looking for ways to support Mr. R. Wornock, log onto the listed website for several options to get involved.
LOTS of Phone banking opportunities for run-off in GA!!! Fair Fight has an excellent list after all their amazing grassroots organizing! I just called Thursday night and it was such a high!!! https://www.mobilize.us/fairfight/
For JDC phone banks, M, W, F and Sunday dates and times, contact:
Scott Weikart <sweikart@gmail.com>. Here is more info and good reasons why this is sooo important:
We need to re-elect Sen. Warnock, because a 51:49 Senate is much more productive than a 50:50 Senate:
A 51:49 Senate ensures majority Democratic representation on committees, so it takes less time and effort to move Biden’s nominations through committees when there’s no GOP support.
A 51:49 Senate makes it impossible for a single Democrat to hold up a nomination (which has happened in the last two years).
A 51:49 Senate ensures Democratic control if we lose a Democratic Senator for some reason.
We are offering a single campaign (with training), using an easy and fast autodialer
Pinning to the top!
Visit www.fridayaction.org/projects/#current for four effective actions you can take NOW to help return Sen. Raphael Warnock to the Senate in January. And if you want to help safeguard democracy going forward, via small actions with a large impact, consider joining us. Our work continues! www.fridayaction.org/contact/
Postcards to Georgia’s Democratic Voters in support of Rev. WARNOCK’s re-election on Dec. 6.
If you are in northeastern Pennsylvania (close to Honesdale, PA 18431) and are available to meet to pickup postcards and address labels — you provide postcard postage stamps; 100 postcard stamps on a roll = $44 or 20 postcards on a sheet = $8.80), please text JB Lanham (703-517-0094). No calls or voice mails. Please include your full name, your cell number and the number of postcards (10, 25, 50, 75, 100) you have time to write and mail at your local post office on Sat morning, Nov 26, 2022.
Please consider phone baking for the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). It really is easy and they make it fun. Currently focusing 100% on Georgia. Here is the link https://www.environmentalvoter.org/get-involved.
Thank you! Thank you, A Georgia Voter
I will miss Jennifer Rubin in the WP when I cancel my subscription to that and the NYT. Enough of the shoddy, facile observations of the editorial staff that allows for such poor headlines and stories! I’m sticking with you and Heather, and working for Georgia. I can’t bear to hear any more about Twump, Twitter, and the Tweedle’s and Dum’s in the Republican House! I know our country is in great capable hands and look forward to the results of the last two years of fierce negotiating , thanks to Speaker Pelosi, her hand-picked successors, and the “boring” wonderful President Biden! I heard today the Affordable Care Act got even better and more affordable for young families. Expecting record enrollment! This is truly a time for gratitude. Thanks -giving is on our plates. Let’s do it.
Diane--now that the Republicans have a razor thin majority in the House, the sh*t show will commence. It will be clown car reality tv. Nothing serious will be done in 2023-2024. They have no interest in or intention to govern. How awful for the US that such serious business as governance is in the hands of the least serious people.
I hope the special counsel pursues tRump to the fullest extent of the law.
My hope is that people will see how incapable the MAGA extremists are capable of governing and will get tired of the clown show. That seems to be why they did so poorly this midterm, and if inflation does come down substantially and Biden is able to tout his successes, along with restoring balance to the judiciary, 2024 *could* turn out quite well for the Dems (and democracy!).
Question? Will our MSM follow the clown car, or give serious governing a little exposure. Even better question? Will Rupert keep telling a little truth about repubs or will Sean and Tucker continue the “Goebbels” slander that they love so much. Follow the money, again…
After 15 years of this clown show, and especially the last 6 years, I think we’ve gotten better cutting through the fog and bs of a lot of media reporting. It’s an ongoing battle, but it’s been a terrific lesson for our generation to be more critical in our thinking of media reporting after all the chicanery we’ve seen over the last several years.
There we go for, critical thinking! Isn’t that what the R’s don’t want us to do? MSM should be revamping their talking points, big time.
“Nothing serious will be done in 2023-2024.” In the House, yes. In the Senate, no. The appointment of Judges will go on, and hopefully if Warnock is re-elected, the speed of Judgeships will escalate.
Hello Diane, I'm with you but haven't yet canceled those subscriptions. I would add the substack writer Judd Legume of Popular Information (https://popular.info/?r=4a6z9&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web) as essential news reading and Dan Pfieffer's Message Box. https://open.substack.com/pub/messagebox/p/post-election-q-and-a-thread?r=4a6z9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web. to your list of what-to-read. :)
I read those as well. Judd is excellent
I thoroughly agree about Judd Legum. He’s a modern muckraker, if anyone on this site is old enough to remember those guys! He’s prescient; his research is top-notch, and he almost always precedes the slow-footed mainstream media with stories they then have to cover. Moreover, he’s facing a shortfall of new readers because he’s depended on Twitter for new subscribers.
Signed up
Thanks so much for these sources. I am looking for others that actually report positive news, (and not necessarily political), that encourage us all to keep believing in ourselves as rational, creative , cooperative human beings. I want to hook into that mindset for a bit, while the tantrums of the Right play out in all their self-indulgent forms. Ie, Twitter just signed on Twump.I DON’T CARE! Do I have to wear earplugs ?
I understand your position on the WaPo and others but I think you are being short sided. Based on after the election introspection several media organizations have reviewed their opinion and editorial oversight and positions and I think are discussing how to moderate their messaging. I think it’s important to hear and see all sides to better understand the information the other side is using to base their arguments.
“….information the other side is using…”!
Sir your comment gets my vote as ‘The eternal optimist’!
Consider Mick (Malarkey) Mulvany, 45’s third chief of staff, yawned at the 37% increase in the national debt during trumps disastrous term occupying the White House!
From an independent source….. https://www.thebalancemoney.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401
“ Republican candidate Donald Trump promised during the 2016 presidential campaign that he would eliminate the nation’s debt in eight years.
Instead, his budget estimates showed that he would actually add at least $8.3 trillion, increasing the U.S. debt to $28.5 trillion by 2025.1
But the national debt reached that figure much sooner.
The national debt stood at $19.9 trillion when President Trump took office in January 2017, and it reached a high of $27 trillion in October 2020.”
As leader of the so called freedom caucus, a mere 10% of the total in the House, Mulcahy held the federal budget hostage, raging at increasing the debt ceiling during the Obama Administration.
My point is that the other sides arguments are laden with hypocrisy! If they are talking they are lying!
Brava Diane! Welcome to the group of us who shed the ‘sky is falling opinionators’ who populate the pages of NYT and WaPo!
Twitter has always been a breeding ground for all that is ugly in this world, especially the ability to post comments anonymously! Freedom of speech MUST demand show your face to back up your words!
I like Smith's response back in 2011 when he took over public corruption at the DOJ and was asked by a reporter if he had any worries about the political pressures that could be brought against his investigations by powrful politicians.
"If I were someone who could be cowed, I would have sought a different line of work."
So let the fat old retiree who can't walk 10 feet at a golf course without sniffling and wheezing threaten to huff and puff and blow the house down, because the truth is, he couldn't huffand puff and blow out a match on a windy night.
If I were an engineer at Twitter I'd be taking Elon Musk up on his severance package and resign. I use to joke that I only worked half days at the Fortune 100 computer company where I was employed. Yes, just 12 hours a day! Yes, we worked very hard, not because some egocentric billionaire demanded it but because what we were doing was exciting and we knew we were changing the world -- and we did. Our CEO, Ken Olsen, was on the cover of Fortune magazine as the World's Most Successful Entrepreneur at the time. The company never unionized because during a nasty blizzard where people couldn't get to work for a week, Ken paid the hourly workers because it was "the right thing to do" (the company's motto and philosophy) while unionized GE didn't because it wasn't in the contract with the union. This was more because Digital Equipment Corporation was an extraordinary company rather than a criticism of unions which do a lot of good for the employees of so many companies. (I have an unusual background of having been both a corporate executive and a member of the AFL-CIO - Musicians' Union albeit before right to work laws.) One of my management sayings was "one manages projects; one motivates people" Ken managed by walking around where practically everyone in company had a personal story about Ken. I had a one-on-one meeting with him one time where I came out thinking you didn't have to pay me to work for this company. Here's a video about Ken's legacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6We6VDtyHY Mr. Musk could learn so much from Ken, who was not only had a technical vision but also an organization vision that made it so wonderful to work there. My guess is Mr. Musk will never do so. Here is my letter about how I remembered Ken which was printed in Forbes Magazine: https://www.forbes.com/sites/prospernow/2011/03/20/he-was-different-in-a-good-way-where-is-ken-olsen-when-we-need-him/?sh=b0003eb2b809 Enjoy!
Musk will never, Greg Olear called him Genghis Con, which seems to fit these days. Fits chump as well.
After reading both Robert’s & others’ previous observations that appointing a special counsel, it is hard to embrace “the deed is done.” Sure, I don’t have any other choice BUT if there is not action, I.e., an indictment by the early months of 2023 I fear that this most disgusting former officeholder will be handed more opportunities to rally his “base” to more violence and evade justice for the American electorate and constitutional law that applies to everyone.
Ok! Now I’ve posted, recognized my personal grievance and anxiety. Justice MUST be done and done soon. Heavens! Even if indicted the case will be bouncing through the slow moving justice system for time eternal. Do I and the country have that time? For goodness sake, we all watched on live TV the events of January 6 unfold before our very eyes and heard TFG beckon people to such action since 2016 and in the months just prior to January 6!! Mark me as outraged.
Now, pass the postcards.
We just completed 100 postcards to a key group of Georgia residents. On behalf of the NAACP.
My good wife initiated the process. A great number of our neighbors in our town have done the same. We expect it will make a difference very much in our favor
I have a different take on Merrick Garland and his investigation of the 1/6 insurrection . While most of us wish for prosecution and jail for Trump instantly, that isn’t going to happen, thankfully, with Garland in charge. He has been careful, thoughtful, strategic and most important, thorough. His work is historic and must be comprehensive. And he works knowing of a biased Supreme Court likely to seize upon any prosecutorial error as grounds for reversal of a conviction, assuming one is obtained. The enormity of the Trump offense doesn’t justify a “rush” to indictment.
Your views are shared by many readers. But to be clear, no one is asking for a rush to judgment. However, Garland did nothing for 15 months regarding the ring leaders of the insurrection. That is unforgivable.
Really, no one is asking for a rush to judgment? But your damning words do just that when it comes to Merrick Garland.
@OutofhellTx, With all due respect, I believe the key point for Robert is by April 2021 a blue print for all of the criminal offenses that might have been committed by Trump and by others at the top had already been laid out by a number of scholars and former prosecutors. The point was not to decide right then whether all the downsides of an indictment should or should not prevent DOJ from indicting. That would be for a later day. What was needed was to start holding everybody at the top up to and including Trump accountable, at least to the point of being subject to full-blown criminal investigation. As we know, it’s not as easy to stonewall a grand jury as it is to stonewall a Congressional committee.
Barbara Jo Krieger, thanks for trying to enlighten. Today, Nov. 19, The MeidasTouch Podcast presents an interview with Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who is the former #2 prosecutor at the Manhattan DA’s office and worked directly with Jack Smith for years. Humbly suggest everyone might feel better hearing it. Be well.
@OutofhellTx, I would suggest we consider that even if Smith, by early next year, were to call for indictments, trial dates likely would not be set before Labor Day, so close to the start of primary season that the trials probably would be postponed until after the 2024 election. I make this point, because Robert, for some time, rightfully in my view, has asserted that the delay has foreclosed upon our window of opportunity.
If I may, additionally, I would note, at best, Robert and I agree only about 50% of the time.
Yes, it may all turn out for the best but the delay in prosecuting Trump is maddening. He did so much to destroy our democracy and yet he still lives a highly privileged life and is allowed to run for, and could conceivably win, the most important office in the country. It is outrageous! Garland has been way too cautious.
I did read that perhaps this will help insulate the investigation from interference by Republican-led Congressional committees which, if true, is somewhat of a positive.