From subscriber Felicity B. This is over I-25 outside of Santa Fe, NM
Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!
A couple of bits and bobs before we get to our actions:
First, from reader Betsy R.:
I’m hoping you can help: In Bucks County, PA, we started seeing signs yesterday that read “No Kings No Retention” — which is obviously the exact opposite of what the No Kings movement would support. They use the No Kings logo to make it particularly effective disinformation (and probably an actionable copyright violation?). We tracked it down to Scott Presler and Pennsylvania Republicans. Can you warn your readers about this?
Consider yourself warned! That’s some repugnant behavior from Presler and his team, but with articles like this one (major trigger warning—contains every slur you can imagine) dropping today we shouldn’t be surprised at anything Republicans do. It seems the entire party—and I mean what remains of it now— is sick, broken and corrupt.
Speaking of the Pennsylvania retention election, which is hugely important but flying a bit under the radar, I made a simple explainer video about it. If you know people in PA please consider sending it to them! It’s here on YouTube, here on instagram and here on Facebook. We must get the word out to keep these three justices in their positions!
Finally, and speaking of elections, I have a personal ask: I have a postcard station in front of my house with a bunch of packets of postcards for NJ, PA and VA. They all need to be written very soon. Some of them, in fact, are supposed to go out tomorrow—eek! If anyone is in the Northeast LA area and can help will you email me at hijesscraven101@gmail.com? Or send this to trusted friends and ask them to reach out! I need more writers ASAP!
OK, all. Let’s internalize the message Felicity and her teammates put on the overpass sign pictured above. Democracy needs us—it really does! It’s under siege, and only we can save it.
And I mean it—we can save it.
So let’s do that.
P.S. — I recognize that our calls right now are fairly repetitive. No matter how many times you’ve called on the budget/government shutdown, however, please keep calling. Our lawmakers need to keep hearing from us—they need to know our energy isn’t letting up! Today I used 5 Calls’ script instead of mine to give you some variety. (:
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
[IF REPUBLICAN]: I’m calling to ask that the Senator immediately move to end this government shutdown by extending the ACA tax credits and blocking Trump’s illegal budget cuts and mass layoffs of federal workers. Congress must do its job and stop this administration’s ongoing lawlessness and authoritarian takeover.
[IF DEMOCRAT]: I’m calling to ask that the Senator oppose any federal budget deal that does not extend the ACA tax credits and block Trump’s illegal budget cuts and mass layoffs of federal workers. Congress must hold firm during this shut down and refuse to give yet another blank check to an authoritarian.
[H/T 5 calls]
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
[IF REPUBLICAN]: I’m calling to ask that the representative immediately move to end this government shutdown by extending the ACA tax credits and blocking Trump’s illegal budget cuts and mass layoffs of federal workers. Congress must do its job and stop this administration’s ongoing lawlessness and authoritarian takeover.
[IF DEMOCRAT]: I’m calling to ask that the representative oppose any federal budget deal that does not extend the ACA tax credits and block Trump’s illegal budget cuts and mass layoffs of federal workers. Congress must hold firm during this shut down and refuse to give yet another blank check to an authoritarian.
[H/T 5 calls]
Extra Credit ✅
[H/T Carrie L.]
I’m putting this action in the newsletter one more time so we can ALL be sure to comment. Because it’s really important.
The EAC is considering adopting a requirement that voters show a passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. This proposed requirement was initiated by the America First Legal foundation (AFL), founded by Stephen Miller back in 2021.
Action: Public comments are now open and this is our chance to fight back. Submit public comment here. Deadline is Oct 20, 2025 at 11:59pm EST. Anti-voter advocates have flooded the website with one-sided and misleading comments.
Sample Script:
I vehemently OPPOSE this initiative which voters may have to register in person by requiring proof of citizenship. This could block tens of millions eligible US citizens from voting. Voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering using their driver’s license and/or social security number. It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The initiative’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary, seeks to divide us and creates another barrier to voting. It is a terrible idea.
Do the right thing and OPPOSE America First Legal Foundation’s petition.
Make sure to personalize a bit, though, or they will likely discard it.
Extra Extra Credit! ✅✅
ICE arrested Jackie Merlos and her mother on false pretenses of people smuggling, then detained Jackie’s husband, Carlos. Since June, ICE has separated the entire family, with Jackie, Jackie’s mother, and Carlos in different facilities, while the couples’ four U.S. citizen children–who were initially detained with their mother–have now spent months away from their parents in the care of a family friend. Not only is ICE violating the time limits for their release, agents have also interrogated the Merlos’ seven- and nine-year-old children without their parents present. Our tax dollars are funding this physically and psychologically harmful and morally corrupt abuse.
Please sign the petition by the National Immigration Law Center demanding ICE release and reunite this family.
Get Smart! 📚
Join Markers For Democracy, Downtown Nasty Women Social Group, and Team Min on Wednesday, October 15 at 8 pm ET for an important conversation about a timely topic: The Evangelicals You Don’t Know: Religion and Politics in the Aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
They have invited three knowledgeable speakers to help us make sense of these topics and to spotlight the evangelicals who may serve as a pathway out of MAGA’s seeming monopoly on Christianity:
Napp Nazworth, Executive Director, American Values Coalition, a community of Americans empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy.
Caleb Campbell Pastor Campbell is the founder and director of Disarming Leviathan Ministries. His book, Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor “offers practical insights for lovingly disarming the false gospel of Christian nationalism.”
Anne Nelson, Moderator, an American journalist, author, playwright, and professor. Her acclaimed 2019 book, Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right revealed how money has flowed into government, political campaigns, and organizations to support a Christian fundamentalist agenda. Anne was featured in 2024’s award-winning documentary, Bad Faith, which “reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have “succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within.”
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
Protect Our Care has put out a great Toolkit with data from people who have started window shopping for health care on the ACA marketplace, showing how high the premiums will be in various states. They’ll keep adding data as they get it, but in the meantime this info makes for great social media posts, and they’ve made it easy by providing suggested text and downloadable images.
But wait, there’s more! The House Committee on Budget Dems has created a tool showing health care cuts, number of people expected to face premium spikes and coverage losses by state and district. It’s awesome! Use it to warn people where you live of what’s about to happen!
Give 💰!
The Sister District Organizing Fellows are hosting a virtual Family Feud-style game night to celebrate Catelin Drey’s historic special election victory in Iowa’s State Senate District 1 earlier this year. Now, as Sen. Drey runs for a full term in 2026, these Fellows are leading the charge to ensure she has the support and resources to win again.
Sen. Drey will be joining for a special Q&A where she’ll share how she is getting to work for Iowa families.
🎯Sign up now to join virtually on Monday, October 20, from 7–8:30 p.m. ET.
Win Races! 🗳
From Postcards For VA:
We’ll keep this short. It’s crunch time. Our absolute final mail date is this Friday, Oct. 17.
Here’s our ask: Can you write 5 more postcards?
We need your help finishing the list of addresses we have for our amazing candidates for School Board, Supervisor and Delegate. Click here to download addresses.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN PWVQOR to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]
(Note that for the most effective RESISTBOT it’s best to personalize this text. More about how to do this here. But if you’re short on time just send it as is using the above code.)
I’m writing to urge you to support immediate reforms to the Insurrection Act.
President Trump’s threats to deploy the U.S. military in American cities under this outdated law are a grave danger to democracy and civil rights.
Congress must act to require legislative approval for any domestic troop deployment over 14 days, ensure judicial oversight, and make clear that peaceful protest is never grounds for military action. And public transparency must be required.
Please take a stand to protect our freedoms and the Constitutional balance of power, before it’s too late.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
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