Dear John,
We’re thinking and sharing a lot about climate this week – political, economic, and ecological. With our collective voting power, we’re especially ready to influence the political climate by casting our ballots on or before November 8.
View your sample ballot, find your polling place, and solidify your voting plan via our Busy Voter’s Guide. Then, join us to talk with voters this Saturday through Election Day about getting out to the polls and making sure their voices are heard. Every conversation matters, and we need you with us.
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In this moment, we’re also reflecting on these words from Mike Davis, a radical scholar who passed away this week. We hope you can also find comfort and hope in Davis’ words, and that his wisdom can fuel you for the work ahead. Read more from Davis in the Digest below.
“What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. You have to defend each other. You have to fight.”
Here’s what we’re reading, watching and listening to this week.
1. Climate futures
“The window of possible climate futures is narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to come: a new world, full of disruption but also billions of people, well past climate normal and yet mercifully short of true climate apocalypse,” David Wallace-Wells writes in this powerful New York Times feature on our climate future.
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2. We Choose Us
Read about this statewide coalition of 24 progressive organizations, unions, and advocacy groups rising up to counteract the “small but loud” groups of right-wing activists spreading misinformation about election administration.
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3. The People’s Lawyer
AG Keith Ellison filed suit against the owner of a construction subcontractor for obstructing a large wage theft investigation by state regulators. “[This lawsuit] is about reassuring all Minnesota workers, no matter who you are or where you’re from, that you, too, have rights, and our office will protect your rights,” Ellison said during a news conference. Read more about the lawsuit.
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4. Ye’s antisemitism
“Ye's comments in particular echo a very long history of antisemitic tropes — tropes that have left a trail of blood in their wake,” writes Tal Lavin in Business Insider. Read about how Ye’s antisemitism is just one dangerous example of a bigger pattern of hate.
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5. Rural climate futures
America’s rural communities and economies are expected to be the hardest hit by climate change. In this podcast interview, Josh Ewing, Director of the Rural Climate Partnership, shares his vision for rural climate futures, given that “gasoline super-users, the climate-sensitive agricultural economy, and the future of clean energy infrastructure reside in rural America.”
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6. Inflation is about housing
“Right now, President Biden’s approval is weighing down heaviest among young people — but then, so is their rent. Perhaps doing something about it might help,” Dr. Abdul El-Sayed writes in The New Republic. Read more about why Democrats need to prioritize housing.
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7. Climate despair is a luxury
One none of us can afford, writes Rebecca Solnit in The New Statesman. [link removed]
8. Mike Davis
Radical, incisive, visionary scholar, activist, and author Mike Davis passed away this week. Read his obituary in The Nation, and this interview with him in The Guardian. And pick up one of his worldview-shaping books.
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9. Abbott Elementary abolishes police
There are no school cops or resource officers in the hallways of Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary television show. “Abbott invites us into a world that's possibility-laden and imaginative. It asks us both: What does it actually feel like to be a Black student? And: What should it feel like?” Read about this school without police.
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10. Vote… if you dare
Olmsted County is back with its 3rd annual creepy doll contest. Flex your voting muscles and select your favorite creepy doll from Olmsted County’s vintage collection online or at the History Center this weekend. (And then vote in this year’s midterm elections, of course!)
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And that’s a wrap!
Send us what you’re reading, watching and listening to.
Until next time,
Katie Blanchard (she/her)
Basebuilding Director
Jessica Zimmerman (she/her)
Development Director
Paid for by TakeAction Minnesota
TakeAction Minnesota
705 Raymond Ave Ste 100
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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