Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
********************************
Many
newspapers, including New York Times and Washington
Post require subscriptions, but without one we can see a few articles
each month. We can also check with our
local libraries to find out how to get online access through them.
1.
We still
need Congress to pass a clean Dream Act http://bit.ly/2DdJZmJ If
Congress neither passes a clean Dream Act before the spending bill vote, nor
includes a clean Dream Act in the spending bill itself, then we need to make
sure that they vote "no" on the budget. We Are Here to Stay has a
list of the Democratic Senators and Representatives who voted in favor of the
stop-gap funding bills http://weareheretostay.org/deportationcaucus/ Let's
see if our MoC are on the list, and if they are, ask them to oppose any
spending bill that does not have a clean Dream Act.
2.
California
Congressman Ted Lieu has given us a helpful phrase that we can use with our MoC
– that he supports an immigration system like the one Trump’s grandfather used: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/368979-ted-lieu-i-support-an-immigration-system-like-the-one-trumps-grandfather-used Let’s
consider this phrasing in our communications with our MoC about immigration.
3.
Methinks
the gentleman doth protest too much – Trump has stated, “I am not a racist.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/15/i-am-not-a-racist-trump-says-after-backlash-over-shithole-nations-remark If
we are getting in touch with Trump (The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,
Washington, DC, 20500), we can consider quoting Nixon in our communications:
“I’m not a crook.”
4.
Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke's proposed rule to expand offshore drilling has an open
comment period until March 9th http://wapo.st/2B2L8aH http://bit.ly/2FF6Gxq We
can leave a comment voicing our opposition to offshore drilling expansions
here: http://bit.ly/2CWJi0F We
can also read about the proposed rule which would ease safety standards for
offshore drilling http://bit.ly/2B2eF44 Then
leave a comment here: http://bit.ly/2B36BQD
5.
The EPA
has extended the public comment period for the the proposed repeal of the Clean
Power Plan, until April 29th. If we have not already done so, let's leave
a comment opposing the repeal http://bit.ly/2Av2lyh They
have also announced that there will be three listening sessions on the proposed
repeal, to be held in Kansas City, MO, San Francisco, CA, and Gillette, WY. For
those of us who are able, let's make sure we show up to these sessions and
voice our opposition to the repeal of the Clean Power Plan http://bit.ly/2DjpLak For
motivation, we can head over to the NRDC website to read about the
"People's Hearings" that have already taken place
6.
Lost in
the furor surrounding Trump’s words on Friday was the subject of the
meeting where he spoke them. “A tentative deal worked out Thursday by
a small bipartisan group of senators crumbled in an Oval Office meeting in
which, according to multiple people involved, an angry Trump asked why the
United States should accept immigrants from ‘shithole countries’ such as Haiti,
El Salvador and African nations over those from European countries such as
Norway.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/14/hopes-for-immigration-deal-fade-as-lawmakers-trade-barbs-and-trump-declares-dreamer-program-probably-dead-4/.
Here is a good discussion of the contents of that compromise deal, which
includes DACA, but which not all progressives will be happy with:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/11/report-senate-reaches-bipartisan-immigration-deal/amp/?__twitter_impression=true.
The hope for this not-so-ideal deal is that if it passes, we can avoid a
government shutdown in 4 days and get at least some of the things we
want. We’ll have to make up our minds in the next couple of days whether we
think that’s worth compromising with people who consistently act on bad faith.
7.
The
Senate is currently considering a House-approved bill that would provide $81
billion to aid recovery efforts related to our recent hurricanes and wildfires,
but in typical GOP fashion, there are a couple of provisions that have little
to do with disaster relief and a lot to do with gutting safeguards. One provision
diverts scarce FEMA funding to the Army Corps of Engineers for questionable
purposes, while another would make the National Flood Insurance Program, which
enables development in areas prone to flooding (e.g. sensitive wetlands),
exempt from the Endangered Species Act. The impacts of these two provisions are
bad enough for the NRDC to call them "poison pills" https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rob-moore/hurricane-aid-package-includes-poison-pills Let's tell our senators that we want those
provisions stripped out of the bill.
8.
In what
sounds more like the 1960s Civil Rights-era realities, “If an LGBTQ couple
drove from Maine to California today, their legal rights and civil rights
protections could change more than 20 times at state borders and city lines,”
HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement.
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/129-anti-lgbtq-state-bills-were-introduced-2017-new-report-n837076 Let’s tell our federal legislators that civil
rights protections need to be made country wide for everyone and not left to
local discrimination.
9.
He was
brought here as a child. He grew up,
married, had children, worked at a job, paid taxes. He never even had a parking
ticket. He routinely checked in with
officials and he had been given stays of removal, until this administration. Yesterday, on MLK Day he was deported to
Mexico where he has not lived in 30 years.
He was too old for DACA and hoped that a new DACA bill could save
him. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2018/01/15/jorge-garcia-daca-deported-mexico-immigration/1033296001/ Let’s keep telling our MoCs that we need a
DACA program to protect everyone who came here as a child and who is living
according to our laws.
10. Many of us have young children in our lives
who are asking us questions about the difficult things they hear in the news.
The New York Times Book Review recently recommended four picture books that
“show the road to kindness, compassion, and peace in a turbulent world.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/books/review/kindess-compassion-love-nikki-giovanni-i-am-loved.html
Let’s take a look and see if we wish to
purchase or borrow these books from the library and share them with the
children we know.
11.
Sen. Mazie
Hirono (D-Hawaii) pledged last week to ask
judicial court nominees under oath if they have any history of committing
sexual assault or harassment. "Starting today, I'm asking
nominees to our courts, under oath, whether or not they have a history of
sexual assault or harassment. Like in other industries, our judges are in
positions of power," Let's read more at The Hill.
Let's thank Sen.
Hirono for taking immediate and specific
action. Let's also let our own Senators know that we expect them to
commit to asking these questions as well.
12. The new euphemism for hunger is “food
insecurity,” and it afflicts, by some counts, up to half of all college
students: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/03/15/520192774/national-survey-shows-high-rates-of-hungry-and-homeless-community-college-studen
Many of these attend public colleges effectively abandoned by their
states:
https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/a-lost-decade-in-higher-education-funding
Food stamps, now administered through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP), cannot be used by needy students because federal work
requirements for SNAP eligibility are too onerous to make college
possible: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/14/opinion/hunger-college-food-insecurity.html
Students are scarcely the only hungry people in Trump’s America; nonetheless,
we should tell Brandon Lipps, the administrator of the Food and Nutrition
Service, that these levels of campus hunger are unacceptable: 703-305-2062 or
Food and Nutrition Service, Dept. of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive,
Alexandria VA 22302.
Election 2018 -
General
1.
Vote
Smart, formerly Project Vote Smart, provides free, unbiased, in-depth
information about current officials, candidates, issues, legislation, and
voting. Non-partisan and nonprofit since 1988.
Let’s check it out and see how it can help our decision-making this
year: https://votesmart.org/
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
MA—An Automatic
Voter Registration bill pending in the Massachusetts legislature would create
an opt-out, rather than opt-in, method of registering voters in the
Commonwealth, improving the voter registration system and adding up to 700,000
new voters to the voter rolls. Let’s click here to see how we can help, www.commoncause.org/states/massachusetts/issues/voting-and-elections/avr/ ,
and let’s sign up to lobby our representatives on Beacon Hill on Automatic
Voter Registration Lobby Day, January 31, 2018, www.commoncause.org/states/massachusetts/events/AVR-lobby-day-2018.html
Other Actions
1.
Wednesday
at 5 pm EST, Trump is said to be distributing fake news awards. This in itself could be violating ethics
rules: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/15/trump-fake-news-awards-ethics-339183 Do not watch or take part. Let’s use these
commonsense instructions how to redirect our energy and reframe the
conversation realizing that it will be good practice for the 2018
elections: http://www.eclectablog.com/2018/01/trumps-attack-on-the-free-press-is-perfect-practice-for-the-2018-midterms.html
2.
In a
sick move, the website MartinLutherKing.org is
actually a dis-information site owned by the White Supremacist organization, The
Daily Stormer. The site is hosted by Limestone Networks Inc. The page's content refers to King as a
“communist,” “woman beater” and “sexual deviant,” and that it is “time for
White Americans to repeal the King holiday.” “We have known about this
organization and site for years and there is nothing legally that we are aware
of we can do," says a spokesperson for the King Center. Let’s help by reporting this site for abuse
here: https://www.limestonenetworks.com/about/report-abuse.html Limestone reserves the right to terminate
accounts for any reason. Let’s hope neo-Nazi lies is a good enough reason for
them. Use whatever reasons you wish on the
report abuse form, just make sure your comment is clear about the issue. We can
also send them postcards telling them to stop: Limestone Network 400 Akard St,
suite 200 Dallas Rd 75044 h/t Sleeping
Giants
3.
Herd on the Hill was
started in February 2017 by DC area volunteers to give us a voice in Congress.
Herd on the Hill volunteers use their proximity to congressional offices in DC
to work around these barriers to get our views directly in front of our elected
officials by delivering our faxes, letters and comments in person. Let's check
out their website and also their
Facebook page where we can follow Herd on the Hill's
latest activity. Let's keep this team in mind as a resource to reach our
representatives.
4.
Thanks
to Postcards
for America, we can apologize to countries whom Trump
insulted. Details here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MEH52c53BoksNRYOpVriAWp1G4fYe1LVhVQi0wFNA_o/edit
5.
On
Monday Postcards to Voters launched Campaign
48 for Gayle Jordan, Democrat for Tennessee State Senate District
14. This grassroots, get-out-the-vote team now has over 10,000
volunteers. Local elections are more important than ever. Let's
continue to tell our frustrated friends and family ("What can I do? How
can I make a difference?") about Postcards to Voters as
a way they can take a positive action by writing 5 get-out-the-vote postcards
to other Democratic voters across the nation. If we haven't joined
ourselves, let's consider trying it now. Every postcard counts. When we vote,
and help others vote, we all win.
6.
America Magazine
wants to know what you think are Trump's best and worst policies. Your answers may be featured in America, including the additional
information you provide. Answers may be edited for length. Survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CY3H9YJ
7.
ERA
Action is “dedicated to ratifying the ERA in the
timeliest manner possible—to finish what Dr. Alice Paul started nearly a
century ago. ERA Action is a grassroots
movement dedicated to ratifying the ERA via the 3 State Strategy”. Let’s look around their website and see how
we can help: https://www.eraaction.org/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
From Living Room Conversations: Join us for our first round of monthly video
Living Room Conversations events! We are excited to be adding these monthly
conversations as a staple of our mission to help Americans connect across
divides. Sharing perspectives from across the political spectrum is a big part
of what makes these experiences great. Just like with an in-person living room
conversation, we encourage you to invite any of your friends or family who
might have different political views.
Our first topic for these online discussions will be Talking
Politics. We’d love to have you at one of the
following sessions. Sign up at the links: A) Session
1 - Thursday, January 18th at noon PST,
B) Session
2 - Thursday, January 18th at 6pm PST, or
C) Session
3 - Sunday, January 21st at 1pm PST
States
1. CA: Huge budget cuts crippled outreach that lets
people know when, how and where to sign up for the ACA, so Indivisible
ACA Signup Project is spreading the word through social media. They have
only 9 days to get 32 more supporters. We can help them reach their goal
to set off a Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast. We can
click, add our social media support on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN
cut, paste and share: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/65571-california-enrollment-alert Find
out more about how Thunderclap helps grassroots organizing here: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2013/10/02/thunderclap-can-help-grassroots-organizing/amp/
2. DC: Huge budget cuts crippled outreach that lets
people know when, how and where to sign up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA
Signup Project is spreading the word through social media. They have
only 9days to get 38 more supporters. We can help them reach their goal
to set off a Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast. We can
click, add our social media support on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN
cut, paste and share: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/65572-dc-aca-open-enrollment-alert Find
out more about how Thunderclap helps grassroots organizing here: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2013/10/02/thunderclap-can-help-grassroots-organizing/amp/
Reading/Watching
1.
Although
written over a year ago, Naomi Shulman’s “No Time To Be Nice: Now Is Not The
Moment To Remain Silent” is more relevant than ever: http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/11/17/the-post-election-case-for-speaking-out-naomi-shulman
2. “Hundreds of
thousands of immigrants in the U.S. may face violence and murder in their home
countries. What happens when they are forced to return?” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/when-deportation-is-a-death-sentence
3. The story behind
the unfortunate, and seemingly conscious mix-up in women’s march organizations
and activities: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/15/us/womens-march-anniversary.html
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