Giving thanks

It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dark before you get home – winter has arrived in the Bay Area, and with it, the Thanksgiving holiday. Regardless of the day’s hurtful origins, there’s no reason not to take time during these long nights to nurture gratitude for the good in our lives. We’ve compiled this list of people and things that had America’s back in 2017, to give you and yours an easy way to spread a little of your infinite light this winter. This list isn’t exhaustive – it’s not even close – but it’s a starting point.

Members of Congress

Quick note: Not all of these people are perfect or have perfect legislative records. There are even a few we disagree with the vast majority of the time. We don’t think that disagreeing with someone sometimes means you can’t thank them for the times when you found yourselves aligned.

Representative Mark DeSaulnier

Mark DeSaulnier has represented CA-11 with progressive values this past year. He’s held town halls and been willing to meet with his constituents – including Indivisible members – face-to-face.

• Phone: (510) 620-1000
• Email: https://desaulnier.house.gov/contact/email
• Snail mail: 440 Civic Center Plaza, 2nd Floor, Richmond, CA 94804

Representative Barbara Lee

From her work on racial, economic, and environmental justice to her leadership over the last 16 years on repealing the 2001 Authorization of Military Force (AUMF), Barbara Lee has been a powerful voice for Alameda County in Washington, D.C.

• Phone: (510) 763-0370
• Email: This form (you can also sign up for her excellent newsletter, Lee Mail, on this site)
• Snail mail: 1301 Clay Street, Ste. 1000-N, Oakland, CA 94612

Representative Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell has been a strong advocate for CA-15 and a tireless voice in the fight to uncover the connections between President Trump’s campaign and Russia.

• Phone: (510) 370-3322
• Email: This form
• Snail mail: 3615 Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley, CA 94546

Senator Dianne Feinstein

We’re grateful to our senior senator for her work to protect an independent judiciary and the rule of law, and for her passion for very particular causes such as gun control and protecting the Mojave Desert and the undocumented, including an undocumented Oakland nurse and her family. She’d want us to say we’re thankful for her “ability to get things done,” and she has come closer than most Democrats—her sexual abuse bill passed the Senate and there is a (narrow) path forward for her bump stocks ban. We are thankful for her continued belief, backed by a lifetime of public service, in that ability to find a way forward against all odds.

• Phone: (415) 393-0707
• Email: This form
• Snail mail: One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104

Senator Kamala Harris

From her work on the Senate Intelligence Committee to her bold stances and direct and forceful questioning style in confirmation hearings, our junior senator has made an outsized impact during her first year in Washington. We are thankful for her eagerness to get out ahead of other politicians to endorse Medicare for all, for her promise to force the Republicans to protect DACA youth or shut down the government, and for her attention to women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ folks. And we are thankful for her efforts to look past politics to draw strength from our common humanity and use that strength to fight terrible policies.

• Phone:  (415) 355-9041
• Email: This form
• Snail mail: 50 United Nations Plaza, Suite 5584, San Francisco, CA 94102

Senator Susan Collins

Hark! A Republican from Maine who voted consistently to save our healthcare from the worst excesses of her own party. No matter where she falls on the tax heist, she put her career on the line and took fire from some of the nastiest people in politics not just for the sake of the people she represents in Maine, but for the whole country. Visit her website or her Twitter.

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Like her colleague Senator Collins, Murkowski stood fast against her own party to protect the healthcare of millions of Americans. She has some seriously questionable opinions about a lot of things, but without her and Collins (and some late glory-theft by John McCain), the ACA wouldn’t be with us this holiday. Let’s hope that her vote on the tax plan doesn’t dismantle it. Visit her website or her Twitter.

Senator Chris Murphy

The junior Senator from Connecticut has been a steadfast progressive on the national stage, representing us and our values with clarity and consistency. His particular attention to gun safety law is worthy of note. Visit his website or his Twitter.

Senator Elizabeth Warren

It’s everyone’s most favorite nerd! Warren has spent the past year doing what she does best: persisting at being a detailed-obsessed, unerringly intelligent thorn in the side of the GOP. She’s been on their tail with numbers, facts, and unimpeachable arguments across all issues, but especially her mainstays in economic policy and consumer protection law. Visit her website or her Twitter.

Representative Frederica Wilson

Wilson shot to the national stage this year with her relentless and dignified defense of a Gold Star family living in her Florida district. The Trump administration and all of its apparatus came for her and that family with a racially-motivated fervor, and she resisted all of it flawlessly, setting a wonderful example for the rest of us in not taking shit from people just because they’re in power. Plus: cowboy hats! Visit her website or her Twitter.

Representative Maxine Waters

She reclaimed her time, showing the world how it’s done, and she continues to be a brave and powerful leader for residents of Southern California – and the entire country – in resisting the administration. Visit her website or her Twitter.

Journalists and Journals

Journalism is facing a critical moment in its history. Whether or not it survives this period of time, and in what form, will depend almost entirely on the people running it. Below are a list of newsrooms that have spent this past year working to protect journalism, hold the Trump administration to account, and sincerely tell truth to power.

Reveal News from the Center for Investigative Reporting

Based out of Berkeley, the Center for Investigative Reporting has been providing high quality investigative journalism to the Bay and the nation for years. Its writers have sharpened their focus this past year to shed light on abuse in the justice system, the Trump cabinet and its slumlords, and federal women’s health care spending. Reach out with thanks on their site or via Twitter.

ProPublica

ProPublica is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to in-depth investigative journalism. Like the Center for Investigative Reporting, ProPublica has this year turned its focus squarely on the Trump administration and its corporate sponsors. It is part of the only projects in the country that are actively tracking hate crimes and, separately, the causes behind America’s astonishingly high maternal death rate. Reach out on their site or on Twitter.

The Washington Post

After the election, the Washington Post adopted a new masthead motto: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” First-rate reporting on issues international, national, and local, together with a first-rate mobile website and app. Yes, WaPo has a paywall, but journalists need to eat – so if your support of the First Amendment allows, please consider paying the entry fee.

The New York Times

The “failing” New York Times has been a constant thorn in the side of the Trump administration. The Dear Leader seems to reserve a special brand of distaste just for it and its journalists, which makes its strong growth and consistently illuminating journalism all the sweeter. Reach out via their site.

NPR / KQED / KALW / KPFA

National Public Radio (NPR) and its subsidiary stations, and Berkeley-based community radio station KPFA, give us free access to high quality local and international reporting and analysis without the need for an internet connection or a paper subscription. Despite repeated threats against its funding by the current administration, NPR has maintained its excellent programming while rising to become the nation’s dominant podcast network. You can thank them by reaching out through their site, or by, yes, giving in and sending them some money the next time a funding drive gets in the way of Fresh Air.

Progressive Voices Radio

Thirsting for more in-depth and radical analysis? The free internet radio programs on Progressive Voices include shows from leading progressive talk hosts like Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartmann, and more.

Free Speech TV

The anti-Fox News, Free Speech TV is a 24-hour TV network and multi-platform news source committed to advancing progressive social change. FSTV is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded entirely by individual donations and foundation grants.

Media Matters

Media Matters is a web-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Teen Vogue

Oh yes, you read that right. Alongside articles about Kylie Jenner’s birthday dress and thong jeans, TV has an amazing News and Politics beat where you can read about disability rights, reproductive rights, America’s gun problem, and much more. Their slogan: “Don’t Just Sit There: Now is the Time to RESIST Donald Trump’s America.” You go, girls!

Our Favorite Research & Resistance Resources

Wikipedia, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office, Snopes  … where would we be without research at our fingertips, arming us with facts to fight fake news and crazy claims?

A few of our top go-to’s on the why and how to #resist:

Info & actions: Indivisible Guide, Resistance Manual, Jen Hofmann’s Americans of Conscience Action Checklist

Tools & apps: 5calls, Resistbot, and two by local (Oakland) heroes: Rapid Resist, Purple Patriot

Awesome Local Businesses

Though much of IEB’s work is done online, we welcome the opportunity to join together IRL at meetings, actions, and events …  Since we’re not getting Koch $$ or Putin rubles, and our George Soros checks all bounced, we often rely on the kindness of local businesses and institutions. Big thank-yous to:

• Panorama Framing and owner Patrick Cheatham, for letting the IEB Governance Committee meet gratis at your wonderful picture framing shop and art gallery! Check out the great political (and other) artwork at Panorama!
• Drake’s Dealership, Oakland, for hosting our Rapid Resist texting meetups and All Member Meetings!
• Sports Basement, Berkeley, for providing free meeting space at the coolest sports emporium in the Bay Area!
• The Oakland Public Library, bringing you free books, videos, computers, music, events, and so much more – and gracious host for IEB’s All Member Meetings. (P.S. Any California resident can get full borrowing privileges and one of their beautiful library cards!)

Please patronize these terrific businesses, and tell them THANKS for helping IEB #resist!

Awesome Famous People

Colin Kaepernick

Football player, philanthropist, activist, educator, GQ citizen of the year … He took a stand and a knee and lost his football career for it, with no guarantee that anything would come his way to replace it. This is a person we’ll be talking about for decades. Say thanks on Twitter or on his site.

Rev. Robert Lee IV, General Lee’s grandson

When all around him embraced hate, Rev. Lee rejected them, bringing down insults, threats, and instability on himself and his home. He stood up against centuries of racism – against the legend and legacy of his own ancestors – to move his congregation and his community forward. Say thanks on Twitter.

Amy Siskind

Somehow, Amy Siskind has it within her to track everything the Trump administration does and then record it. Her weekly list of its activities was terrifying in the moment, but has taken on an even greater sense of horror as the months have passed by. Her work is in the Library of Congress now; it’s a true document of our times, and she deserves everything in the world for gritting her teeth and writing every excruciating detail of it down. Say thanks on Twitter or on Facebook.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

I don’t mean to brag, but dang I amaze and astonish … It’s one thing to write the greatest musical of all time, but quite another to use the platform that your success grants you to pick fights with the government and further the causes of your own people. In Miranda’s case, that has meant being a tireless advocate for Puerto Rico, both before and after the (ongoing) horror of Hurricane Maria. Miranda has also been a tireless advocate for Planned Parenthood, the National Resources Defense Council, and United We Dream. Say thanks on Twitter, or buy a fridge magnet with his face on it here.

Jimmy Kimmel and his writers

The next in a long line of brave residents putting their careers on the line to say something, Jimmy Kimmel has taken his enormous platform and used it to give emotional, rousing speeches on health care and gun safety. He didn’t have to do this. It would have been easier, so much easier, for his show to have remained impartial, but they chose to do the difficult thing, and their decision spread the message on health care further than we could have ever hoped. Say thanks on Twitter.

Chef José Andrés

Celebrity chef José Andrés took the initiative to build a food network of his own in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and has so far served over a million and a half meals to families in need. That’s more than any other organization, including the Red Cross. Say thanks on Twitter, or support his World Central Kitchen.

The Woman Who Flipped Off Trump’s Motorcade from Her Bicycle

Not all heroes wear capes. Say thanks to Juli Briskman on Twitter. #her2020

Ivanka Trumps’s Festive Trash Clam

Sensing that the nation was feeling weary, Ivanka Trump took a break from her busy career in nepotism to brighten our collective season with her contribution to festive centerpiece design. It’s as if Franz Kafka directed the opening shots of The Little Mermaid. Stolen ideas, elementary school Nativity play production values, racism so deeply ingrained that it turned the pumpkins white: it’s the Trump way.

You!!

If you’ve made it this far into this post – or even if you skipped down here, we don’t judge – you’re likely someone who is owed gratitude. We are thankful for every phone call, every postcard, every difficult conversation with a loved one, every protest, every sign, every idea, every atom of energy you gave to our resistance this year. Despite how difficult it’s been, despite the psychic and social horror of it all, we have won far more often than we have lost. Our successes and our continued defense of the United States is down to you, your families, and your communities. Sincerely and with the deepest hope for our next year: thank you.

 

Image lovingly borrowed from the NPR media library.