Contact Federal Government Officials
********************************
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.
The
federal budget only goes through February 8.
We must let our MoCs know that we do not want them to approve any budget
that does not include the extension of funding for the community health centers
that cover about 27 million low-income people in 9,800 rural and urban
communities across the U.S.: http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/370314-community-health-centers-await-funding-that-expired-four-months-ago AND
a clean Dream act (meaning no wall) which is still sitting in committee in both
houses of Congress: http://www.newsweek.com/what-dems-must-do-protect-dreamers-793923 Let’s take care of these people who count on
us.
2.
The
director of the CDC resigned yesterday after mounting questions about her
financial conflicts of interest (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/31/cdc-director-resigns-over-financial-conflicts-380206).
She's been held accountable, and now we need Congress to make sure other Trump
officials are, too. Mick Mulvaney received more than $50,000 in campaign
contributions from the payday lending industry over the course of his career,
As head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) he’s in a position
to regulate his benefactors, and since he's taken over the CFPB has quietly closed an nearly four-year-old
investigation into a payday lender thathad financially backed Mulvaney. We
need to know whether the CFPB is protecting consumers or donors. Let’s contact
our members of Congress and ask them to demand a hearing on why this
investigation was closed and whether or not Mulvaney’s conflict of interest
interfered with justice. (Especially important for those of us represented by
members of the Senate Banking Committee and
the House Financial Services Committee.)
3.
On
Tuesday night, Representative Joe Kennedy III threaded a difficult needle
in offering the often-fraught response to the State of the Union and he did so
exquisitely:
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/rep-joe-kennedy-iii-gives-democratic-response-to-state-of-the-union/ Let’s
take a moment to thank Rep. Kennedy for being a bright spot on a dark
night: https://kennedy.house.gov/contact
4.
Right
now there is a bipartisan bill in the Senate, which would work towards
deregulating banks and dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act http://lat.ms/2iVl2nc Advocacy
groups are asking that we contact the Democratic senators who have cosponsored
the bill (S.2155 -
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act), asking that they
withdraw their support. Let's read more about the bill, then find out who the
members of the #BailoutCaucus are in Common Dreams' press release http://bit.ly/2FzawY3
5.
Confused
by the calls to "release the memo?" Wondering what exactly is
going on here? This report, authored by the good (and knowledgeable) folks at
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and others, goes
into detail on how Rep. Devin Nunes' (R-CA) release of his so-called
"memo" seeks to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his
investigation into the current administration. The executive summary is only
two pages long and debunks 7 myths that are being purposely spread by Nunes,
others in the GOP, and right-wing media outlets. https://acslaw.org/sites/default/files/The%20Smear%20Campaign%20Against%20Mueller%201.31.18.pdf Yesterday,
the FBI weighed in saying that it has “grave concerns” about the accuracy of
the Nunes memo: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/31/582148612/fbi-warns-of-grave-concerns-about-accuracy-of-gop-snooping-memo Then,
last night, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) claimed that Nunes shared with Trump a
secretly altered version of the memo that the House Judiciary Committee had not
approved: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/371756-schiff-accuses-nunes-of-sending-trump-edited-memo Let's
arm ourselves with this knowledge and continue pressuring our MoCs to protect
Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from Trump and his
cronies.
6.
Saudi
Arabia’s campaign in Yemen has killed thousands of civilians, and Human Rights
Watch has found that they’ve committed war crimes that have worsened the
massive humanitarian crisis (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/saudi-led-air-strikes-in-yemen-are-war-crimes-says-human-rights-watch.html).
Trump has not only continued to back Saudi Arabia, he’s expanded American support for their war,
despite the fact that Congress has never authorized our involvement in the
conflict in the first place. A bipartisan group of senators is planning to use
a procedure under the War Powers Resolution to force a vote on the Senate floor
to stop Trump’s war in Yemen. Let’s contact our senators and let them know we
want them to support this effort.
7.
On January
19, paramedics were called to the home of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
to treat her for symptoms of low blood sugar (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/19/sonia-sotomayor-health-scare-349971).
She is fine and was back to work quickly, but severe low blood sugar events can
be very frightening and physically exhausting. In this frightening time,
Justice Sotomayor has been a powerful voice for the marginalized. Let’s tell
her we’re glad she’s doing better again and that we deeply appreciate her work
on the court. We can write her at Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme
Court, 1 First St. NE, Washington DC 20543. (Via Postcards for America)
8.
Whatever
we think about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s Tuesday request
that Congress increase the federal debt limit, the only thing that really
matters is how our dollars are spent: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/5/16730978/deficits-tax-bill-democrats-reagan
For all their past talk about “fiscal responsibility,” Republicans now want to
raise the statutory borrowing limit by the largest amount since 2010 to pay for
huge military increases, Trump’s “wall,” and the seed money that will jumpstart
his plan to privatize our infrastructure; Democrats want an equally large
amount for domestic spending; theoretically, everyone wants more disaster
aid:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/30/us/politics/federal-deficit-1-trillion.html
But we must have our say about budget priorities; before they vote on the debt
limit, let’s tell our MoCs and Mnuchin that we don’t want our money spent on
war, privatization, or the “wall” but rather on healthcare, education, and
economic equity: Treasury Department, 202-622-2000 or
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington DC 20220
9.
“President
Donald Trump again has sued the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser over the
valuation of his Trump National Golf Club. The suit marks the fifth year in a
row that Trump has disputed the property tax bill for the 131-acre course
along Donald Ross Road. Even as he fights the county’s $19.7 million estimate,
Trump’s financial disclosures in 2016 and 2017 list the value of Trump National
Golf Club in Jupiter as “over $50 million.” Based on the property appraiser’s
valuation, the Palm Beach County Tax Collector sent Trump a bill for $398,315.
Trump responded with a lawsuit — and a wire transfer for $296,595.01, which his
Tampa-based attorney described as “a good faith estimate” of the sum Trump
really owes.
Let’s tell Trump to stop wasting time in our
courts with frivolous lawsuits. The $100,000 difference he refuses to pay is
less than half the price of a ticket to one of his political party fundraisers
at Mar-a-Largo.
10. The Republican regime has included riders to
the 2018 budget that would gut the Endangered Species Act (ESA). One of
the riders would strip critical protections from thousands of gray wolves in
Wyoming and the Great Lakes region. We can find out more at the Center for Biological Diversity and
use the tool at the link for contacting our MoC's or we can contact our MoC's
using our usual methods to tell them we do not want riders that undermine the
ESA in the budget. With everything else happening, they are probably hoping we
won't notice this devastating inclusion.
11.
Rep.
Paul Gosar (R, AZ) “asked Capitol Police to check identification of those
invited to attend the State of the Union and arrest any undocumented immigrants
that may be in attendance.” https://www.abc15.com/news/national/arizona-congressman-asks-capitol-police-to-arrest-illegal-immigrants-invited-to-state-of-the-union Let’s
share our disgust with this request with Rep. Gosar. Phone: (202)
225-2315; Rep. Paul Gosar, 2057 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515.
Election 2018 -
General
1.
According
to Ballotpedia, there are 15 districts that as yet have no Democratic
candidates for the 2018 U.S. House elections: https://ballotpedia.org/U.S._House_elections_without_a_Democratic_or_Republican_candidate,_2018 The
question is: why not? If we live in these districts, let's consider running or
encourage someone to run! Then contact a grassroots campaign support group like
Run for Something https://www.runforsomething.net or Emily's List https://www.emilyslist.org to get started!
2.
Elizabeth
Cronise McLaughlin has announced that Gaia
Project is creating
an open source document of all Resistance candidates who are running in 2018,
which will be shared with the public, so we will know who to support, who
to donate to, who to postcard for, who to phone bank for, and who to paper your
neighborhood with to get us all to victory. We can send our favored
candidates to them with their website address, their district and the
candidate they're up against, right here:
info+candidates@gaialeadershipproject.com All
candidates will be vetted to make sure they align with the Resistance on most
issues
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
NY:
“It’s time for New York to join the 37 states and DC that offer Early
Voting.” Let’s sign this petition by Let NY Vote to
Governor Cuomo: https://letnyvote.org/petition/
2.
TX: The Texas primaries coming up. The last date to register to vote in these
elections is February 5. Let’s check
other important dates to make sure our vote counts: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/2018-important-election-dates.shtml
Other Actions
1.
Link
correction: The Ann Arbor Jammers have
released a resistance song, "Hear Our Voice," on iTunes and a
companion video on YouTube. The song captures the anger of many Americans as
they watch women's rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, and many basic human
rights eroded under the Trump administration. The YouTube video was timed for a
release on January 15, 2018, Martin Luther King Day. The video can be seen
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGFqEBoPhPY&t= The
song was released as a single in early January, and proceeds will benefit progressive
non-profit groups the National Women’s Law Center, the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund, and the American Civil Liberties Union. For more information,
contact ResistanceMusic2018@gmail.com For
more information on the music collective, go tohttps://www.meetup.com/Ann-Arbor-Acoustic-Jam/ Let’s
support this creative resistance effort.
2.
Many
undocumented children are being separated from their families. A YouCaring fundraising account has been set
up to reunite Refugee Families Separated by ICE and Customs and Border
Protection. “All money raised will go toward paying bond for parents who have
been separated from their children, plus any reunification-related expenses.
Any money leftover will be used to help other immigrants be released from
detention.” Let’s help however we can: https://www.youcaring.com/parentsseparatedfromchildreninimmigrationdetention-1073612
3.
The
Guardian's environmental project "This Land is Your Land"
investigates the threats facing America's public lands. Let's take a look at
some of the current issues here. Let's bookmark this
page for future reference. We can also sign up to
receive their monthly newsletter. Let's stay aware of issues and threats
involving our precious public lands. Let's be sure to tell our environmental
activist friends about this important resource.
4.
From one
of our own: Here’s the latest round of
issues/addresses that I’ve prepared for my postcarding group. Please use and
share these however you wish. Things just keep happening. (Please note
that on some entries the addresses are for CA Senators and Representative.
Depending on where you are, you may want to sub information on your own
Senators/Representative): http://www.whatifknits.com/2018/01/more-issues-addresses/
5.
“Are you
frustrated that your Members of Congress are refusing to hold town halls, not
answering their phones, and letting voice mailboxes fill up? Do you want to
make sure your Member of Congress considers your views? Herd on the Hill
volunteers visit the DC offices of your elected officials, taking you with us
through your messages and calls.” Let’s
check into this and see how we can use this valuable service: http://herdonthehill.org/
6.
Montpelier
High School in Vermont is flying a Black Lives Matter flag for Black History
Month and is already receiving criticism.http://www.mynbc5.com/article/montpelier-hs-to-fly-black-lives-matter-flag-in-february/15874399 Let’s
send our support: Racial Justice Alliance, Montpelier Public Schools, 5
High School Dr., Montpelier, VT 05602; Principal Mike McRaith, Montpelier
Public Schools, 5 High School Dr., Montpelier, VT 05602.
7.
In
response to someone asking for some creative ideas for Postcards to Voters,
this fun Twitter thread resulted: https://twitter.com/OriginalJLP/status/957297299335544832 Let’s check it for some ideas!
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
In the wake of Tuesday night's State of The Union
address, during which Trump was caught on a hot microphone saying that he
supported the release of the Nunes memo "100%," it is crucial to our
democracy to throw our support behind Robert Mueller's Russia Investigation.
There is preparation for massive public action if Trump tries to fire Mueller or
Rosenstein. We can register here to participate in an event near us, should the
unthinkable happen: https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org
States
1.
DC: Mayor Browser has extended the deadline for
enrolling in quality and affordable health insurance to Monday, February
5, at 11:59 PM. If we need to enroll, we can do so in enrollment centers
through the city. We can call (855-5465) to find out more and also click this
link to get started: https://dchealthlink.com/
Reading/Watching
1.
“FactChecking
Trump’s State of the Union: The
president exaggerates his accomplishments in his address to Congress” - https://www.factcheck.org/2018/01/factchecking-trumps-state-union
2.
This was
a cogent piece of analysis of the State of the Union:
3.
A new peer-reviewed research adds to the growing
evidence that the shift from coal to gas isn't necessarily good news for
the climate. A team led by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory confirmed that the oil and gas industry is responsible for the
largest share of the world's rising methane emissions, a major factor in
climate change. Let's read more at EcoWatch or we can read the scientific paper itself
at Nature. Let's stay informed about climate change and the
ways human exacerbate it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.