They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before. ~Donald J. Trump
Did you know that some seeds have to withstand fire before they’ll germinate?
It’s true.
Some trees keep their potential all stored up in pinecones that are sealed tight with resin. The seeds of those trees won’t emerge until that resin is melted away. And the only thing that can do that is fire.
No amount of sunny days or heatwaves will do the trick.
You have to burn it away.
But after the fire melts the resin, the seeds fall to earth and sprout new life – literally, in the ashes.
The fire of this past year raged on, and on, and on. Every day we were hit with a new firebomb of some kind or another.
It truly was a fire and a fury the likes of which we had never seen before.
But it’s out of that fire that we all have emerged. Singed, certainly. But also free of the barriers that were keeping us from being the engaged citizens that we are now.
That fire burned off the obstacles that were holding us back.
And having survived the fire, we’ve emerge with new life. Newly discovered potential.
And new power.
This past weekend we saw just how many women are still energized and engaged. Hundreds of thousands of women marched – once again – to show the world:
We’re not going anywhere.
In fact, we’re growing everywhere.
We’re in every state. Every city. Every town. Every district.
We’re the women that didn’t recognize our potential until this administration burned it out of us. We’re ready to fight, and to learn side by side – growing stronger, and taller, and larger in numbers.
A forest has been created by this administration’s “fire and fury.”
So friends, let’s keep growing.
And let’s get to work.
Actions:
Tuesday: Oppose the Tip Stealing Rule
The Department of Labor has proposed rescinding portions of the rules that relate to tipped workers, making it possible for restaurants to “pool” the tips that are earned by their waiters and waitresses so long as their wait staff is paid the minimum wage. Theoretically, under this rule the owners can pool the tips together and then split them equitably… but they could also simply pocket them. And guess which one of those options is more likely?
Exactly.
What’s the impact? In sum, $5.8 Billion would be shifted from workers to owners, and women specifically would stand to lose $4.6 Billion. Head over here for a really great discussion/white paper describing the impact of this rule change.
This is just a proposed rule change, which means we can comment! So please do that! It’s really simple. Just go to the comment page here, and write out a few sentences that describe your opposition. Feel free to cut and paste what I have below, but please make it your own so that it’s counted as an individual comment and not computer-generated.
“I strongly oppose “tip-sharing” or “tip-pooling,” which would be windfall for employers and restaurant owners. Estimates show that this rule change would result in $5.8 billion lost by workers in the restaurant industry. While supporters believe restaurant owners would pool and share the tips, nothing within this rule requires them to do so – and there’s no reason to believe that will happen. Instead, this rule would simply shift wages from the workers to the restaurant owners, who would be able to pocket the tips their workers earn. There is simply no reason to change this rule, and I urge you against doing so.”
Wednesday: Fight for Net Neutrality
Oohhh… We are getting SO close! We now have 50 Senators that will be fighting for net neutrality. That means we need just one more. So call your GOP Senator(s) and let them know that you’re serious about net neutrality and you’re unsure as to why they don’t care about their constituents enough to make this a priority.
Script: Hi, my name is ___ and I’m a constituent at ____. I’m calling because I want the Senator to join Susan Collins and the Democratic caucus, and vote to reverse the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. Having a free and fair internet is a bipartisan issue, and I’m incredibly disappointed to see the GOP’s unwillingness to listen to the American people – who clearly want net neutrality. I’m watching to see what the Senator does on this issue.
Thursday: Postcards for Conor!
I positively love Postcards to Voters – where you write postcards to potential Dem voters to remind them to vote and to provide the campaign talking points. It’s fun, it’s friendly, and it’s a tangible activity. At the end, you have something physical to show for your efforts. And I love imagining what a postcard recipient thinks when they get a postcard that I’ve written.
So you should join in the fun! Head over to Postcardstovoters.org to get started. Right now there’s a great campaign for Conor Lamb, a millennial Marine veteran and former Assistant U.S. attorney running for Congress in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania. The district he’s running in went for Trump by +20. Let’s do what we can to swing that district by double digits, shall we?
Again, the website is: www.postcardstovoters.org!
Friday: I’m All Ears!
So here we are, post-second-women’s march and in the second year of 45’s tenure. We are also into the second year (!!) of Small Deeds Done. And I’ve been wondering how to engage, and how to inspire, and how to work together as a community.
I’ve truly been scratching my head about this, and then I realized.
I should just ask the experts.
I should just ask YOU!
So friends, I know you have thoughts about what you want to see, what you like, what you don’t like – and I’m all ears! Send me an e-mail at hello@smalldeedsdone.com, or post a comment, and let me know what you think.
I’ll just be here waiting…
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. I read and respond to every e-mail. (Really! I really do!) We’re in this together.
If you want one more quick action, make someone’s day and send this pep talk to a friend or two.
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here. Welcome, friend!
Lastly, if you’d like to support this work (thanks to those who have done so!), you can become a supporter here.
Small Deeds Done 
Not everyone, especially people who were once able to give, will ask for help when they are in need. They don’t have expectations that someone will think of them and call, bring a meal, run a vacuum, walk the dog, or make sure they have their medicine or even a glass of water. But, they do have hope that maybe, just maybe, someone will. A newly disabled dad with MS, a senior worried “it really IS Alzheimer’s,” new moms and dads who are overwhelmed and may not even realize it, a middle aged widow(er) who just lost a spouse, a student who just can’t quite get that math formula or play that song, that cookie baking grandma that now has to use a walker…just do it. Don’t wait. At least ask if you can help.
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Oh! And anyone who needs help VOTING!
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I couldn’t have said it better, Rebecca. Imagine the world we’d all live in if we each did something wonderful for another person just once a week…
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