Another Rough Week

How we'll continue to be in this fight

The day is young! It’s only 2:00 pm on Friday, Feb 7, as I write this. So, that gives our Co-Presidents (you can name them) plenty of time to create more chaos, fray our nerves, and darken our day. But they must be feeling good. P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” and Oscar Wilde put it this way: “There’s only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” Today’s New York Times must have had Trump jumping for joy or at least put a smile on his face. He was all over the front page, with headlines that included:

· Trump Directly Calls for USAID to Be Shut Down

· Trump’s New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum

· Trump’s Power Grab Defies G.O.P. on Local Control

· Trump Signs Order to Fight ‘Ani-Christian Bias’

· Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan May Sound Death Knell for the 2-State Solution

As you can imagine, I’m pretty upset that our Co-Presidents (or as Paul Krugman called them today “the “Musk-Trumpocracy”) are doing all they can to shut down government operations. Even usurping the power of the purse from Congress. Now they have Russell Vought at the Office of Management and Budget to help add to the misery. And I fully expect the majority of Republicans in Congress to just roll over and play dead.

But hey… that’s not we are going to do. We are NOT going to roll over and play dead. That’s what they want us to do. That’s why they are doing all they can to discourage and exhaust us. And it’s easy to feel that way given the barrage of attacks on science, public health, and our democracy. We may take a needed breather now and then, but we’re not going away.

Some Helpful Reminders and Guidance for Action

Today’s post by Dr. Kristen Panthagani in Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) offers some helpful information. Even the title of her post, Hope and camaraderie are stronger than fear, gave me a boost. She lists and encourages us not to lose sight of the wins and successes we’ve had even over the past two weeks. And she reports on the importance of camaraderie and recognizing we are not alone. That spoke volumes to me, as my daily texts, emails, and conversations with friends and colleagues gives me energy, hope, ideas, and even laughs to keep going. Several have sent me links with tips and even scripts for calling our elected representatives to express our concern and outrage about Musk and DOGE efforts to take over the government. I found them really helpful, so take a look here and here.

Bottom Line – Cribbing from Some of the Guidance

§ Now is the time to take action.

§ Make 6 calls a day - Letters and emails get ignored: Congresspeople pay attention to phone calls.

· Each day the Senator and Senior Staff get a report of the 3 most called about topics for the day at each of their offices (DC and Local)

· Republican callers outnumber Democrats by anywhere from 4-(up to 11) -to- 1 depending on the issue!

§ Focus on one topics—e.g., Elon Musk/Doge

§ Be clear about what you want. Don’t leave any ambiguity.

§ Give them your zip code (they might not ask for it, give it to them anyway)

§ Make it personal – if you voted for them – SAY IT!

And finally, stay hopeful; take a walk; call a friend; get enough sleep; eat well; and be grateful that we have each other.

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