Shout-out to everyone who participated in today’s #StopTheBans national day of action! People rallied at statehouses, town squares, and courthouses across the nation to say …
… to state politicians who are co-ordinating an attack on Roe v. Wade by passing draconian abortion laws that they know will be challenged in court.
The rally in New York City’s Foley Square.
If you couldn’t make it to a rally, I’ve got actions you can still take!
You’ve probably already donated to Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and/or the ACLU before. Don’t stop donating to those organizations! But if you want to switch things up a bit, here are some fresh ideas:
- The National Network of Abortion Funds assists grassroots abortion funds all over the country. Abortion funds are groups that pay for abortions for those who can’t afford them. Some even assist with travel, lodging, child care, doula, and translation services.
- Access Reproductive Care – Southeast is a fund that covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Caroline, and Tennessee.
- The Yellowhammer Fund is an Alabama abortion fund. There are three abortion clinics in the state.
- Emerge Alabama recruits, trains, and provides a powerful network for Democratic women who want to run for office across the state. Help kick those women-hating white men out of office!
- Georgia’s Win List is devoted to recruiting, supporting, electing, and re-electing Democratic women for statewide and legislative office in Georgia.
Judd Legum writes Popular Information, a political newsletter. On Monday, he identified six companies who donated significant amounts to state politicians who have enacted abortion bans this year. None of them have responded to his inquiries yet, but when one breaks, they all will. Tweeting and emailing are excellent, but phone calls are even better.
- AT&T has donated $196,600 to anti-abortion politicians across six states, including over $100,000 to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (the only woman out of the list of 20 officials). Corporate communications contacts are:
- Walmart has donated $57,700 to anti-abortion politicians across six states, including $6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
- Customer service number (it covers corporate issues as well as local stores): 1-800-925-6278.
- Pfizer has donated at least $53,650 to anti-abortion politicians across six states, including $2,600 to Missouri Governor Mike Parson.
- Call the corporate office at 212-733-2323.
- Eli Lilly has donated at least $66,250 across five states, including $5,000 to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
- Kelley Murphy, senior director of corporate communications, 317-277-4607.
- Karen Otolski, diversity and inclusion, 317-409-7507.
- Scott MacGregor, policy and corporate communications, 317-440-4699.
- More names here.
- Coca-Cola has donated at least $40,800 across five states, including $6,600 to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
- 1-800-GET-COKE for general questions.
- Aetna has donated at least $26,600 across four states, including $5,250 to Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof.
- Corporate contact center: 1-800-872-3862.
- T.J. Crawford, media relations, 212-457-0583
- Ethan Slavin, media relations, 860-273-6095
Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you some tips for retail therapy that will help the cause and your wardrobe.
Separately, did you see Rep. Katie Porter question Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson today? If you didn’t, you can click here to watch the 67-year-old former brain surgeon reveal that he doesn’t know the meaning of “REO,” a basic real-estate term that’s, you know, part of his current job.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know terms like that either. It was 1989, I was 21, and I had a new job at a business-news wire service owned by Dow Jones. This was nine years before Google was founded and we didn’t use email in the office yet. Reporters would phone New York editors like me with news about company earnings, or else the companies would send them directly to us by fax.
One day, I took in a quarterly earnings story from a reporter in Boston, and sent it to the senior editor. In a footnote, the story said the earnings reflected OREO. There was a lot of yelling in this environment and suddenly I heard the senior editor bellow, “WHAT IS THIS? A COOKIE?” I said, “Um, I don’t know what it is,” and he said, “You better find out.” Feeling completely mortified, I called the reporter back and was told OREO meant “Other Real Estate Owned.” I resubmitted the story with the acronym spelled out on first reference, as is the style. And the whole time, I knew the senior editor was totally fucking with me because, he obviously knew what it meant. He just wanted me to do it right. I brought him a box of Oreos after my lunch break, and to his credit, he laughed loudly. We got along famously after that and I have extremely fond memories of Bob Rettig, the editor in question. I’ve also never forgotten what OREO means.