2 parts hope + 2 quick calls + 1 recipe for winter squash soup with pear & sage
Feeding your spirit, the resistance & your body - all in one post!
Howdy, I won’t pretend that I’m not freaking out because I kind of am. We’re in the midst of a full-on Constitutional crisis and the asshats who currently control both houses of Congress appear to feel that that’s just fine and dandy.
But I know there’s absolutely nothing to be gained from panicking or descending into demoralization and despair. It’s exactly what they want, in fact.
So I want to share two things that give me hope and help me breathe.
This quote from Anne Frank’s remarkable diary. If you have not read it yet, you really must.
And this post by Rebecca Solnit’s brand new Meditations in an Emergency newsletter two days ago, “We Are Not Who They Think We Are: How Human Nature Matters In This Emergency.”
Hopefully, these two things will help you buck up like they helped me buck up this morning.
That brings me to the next part of this equation.
Please call your two U.S. Senators right now to ask them to stand up against Trump’s illegal actions and the fact that he’s wiping his ass with our Constitution (or watching as Elon Musk wipes his ass with our Constitution - gross…) Please note that the scripts vary based on your Senators’ party affiliation.
If your Senators are Democrats, they could probably use a little bucking up and backbone stiffening right now, too.
Dial your first Democratic Senator (if they’re not in your phone, look them up here now.)
When someone picks up, use this simple script or feel free to use your own words: “Hi, my name is _your name_ and I’m a constituent from _your state_. I’m calling today to urge the Senator to speak out and stand up against Trump’s attempts to dismantle our democracy. He’s committing illegal and unconstitutional acts every day and you must protect the rule of law. The Senator must resist this and refuse to go along with it by:
Voting “NO” on every Trump nominee,
Calling for a quorom check at every opportunity and walk out if the Republicans don’t have 51 votes on the floor, and
Eating up as much floor time as possible by objecting to unanimous consent requests and force each procedural step to take as much time as possible.
Please thank the Senator for standing up for the rights of all Americans and everyone in our state.”
Then hang up and dial your other Democratic Senator. Use the talking points above.
If your Senators are Republicans, I’m truly sorry :( But you still need to call them and let them know you’ll be holding them accountable for their complicity. Use the steps above but follow the script below when you get through:
“Hi, my name is _your name_ and I’m a constituent from _your State_. I’m calling today to urge the Senator to stop supporting President Trump attempts to gut my rights and dismantle our democracy. He’s committing illegal and unconstitutional acts every day and you must protect the rule of law. I was deeply disappointed that the Senator voted for Vought and I hope the Senator will finally do the right thing and vote NO on Gabbard, Patel, and RFK Jr. Thank you.”
Then hang up and call your other Republican Senator.
And last but not least, the recipe suggestion!
Try this winter squash and pear soup with sage. Serve it with crusty bread and a garden salad. Make enough to have leftovers for lunch this weekend. I hope you like it.
By the way, folks, I wrote a food blog called The Garden of Eating fairly religiously from 2007-2016 (any guesses at what might’ve destroyed my 9-year posting streak?!) so I’ve got a lot of good stuff at my fingertips.
IMPORTANT: Please share this post with at least five people.
Also important, if you haven’t yet put your members of Congress into your phone, do that now following my instructions.