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5/17/18


Contact Federal Government Officials

Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu

Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC

Fax legislators for free:  Reps:  https://faxzero.com/fax_congress.php

 
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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.     When a former Trump administration team member, Rex Tillerson warns of "a growing crisis in ethics and integrity" in American democracy, saying that a failure to confront that dilemma will usher the U.S. into its "twilight years,” we all best sit up and listen.  http://thehill.com/homenews/news/387971-tillerson-warns-of-growing-crisis-in-ethics-and-integrity-in-commencement  It is time once again to tell our MoCs to step up, put political parties aside, and stand up for what is right and get our country back on track.

2.    Yesterday afternoon, in a 52-47 vote, using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the Senate voted to restore the FCC’s rule on net neutrality.  “Despite the Senate's passing of the resolution, the measure is unlikely to be enacted. It has drawn far less support in the House of Representatives, and Trump is unlikely to sign a resolution that would effectively rebuke his FCC chairman.”  http://www.businessinsider.com/net-neutrality-senate-vote-cra-fcc-2018-5  Nonetheless, let’s urge Paul Ryan to bring it to the House floor and have a vote so we can see, in time for the mid-terms, just who does, and does not, support net neutrality.  Let’s also thank the three Republican senators who voted for this:  Susan Collins (Maine), John Kennedy (Louisiana), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

3.    Amid the swirl of North Korea and Gaza, it can be easy to forget that somehow we are still paying the salary of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in spite of mind numbing corruption and malfeasance: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/387863-epa-watchdog-announces-new-probe-into-pruitts-emails  and  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/14/scott-pruit-24-7-security-epa-watchdog-1214909   and   https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/14/emails-white-house-interfered-with-science-study-536950   Let’s let our MoC that we are tired of paying for Pruitt to harm our nation and planet and we can let Pruitt know again that we still await his resignation: : https://www.epa.gov/home/forms/contact-epaor on Twitter at @EPAScottPruitt

4.    We need to continue fighting against gun violence on multiple fronts. Here's a quick way to contribute: "Help us ban bump stocks by submitting a comment to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)...ATF counts every comment submitted and takes them into account when making their decision, so every comment counts. The comment period ends on June 27th at 11:59 pm EST." A sample comment is included: https://giffords.org/banbumpstocks/

5.    Now that the Senate Intelligence Committee has approved (10-5) the nomination of Gina Haspel to run the CIA, it now moves to the full Senate for a vote.   https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/16/611574553/senate-panel-approves-gina-haspel-as-cia-chief-confirmation-appears-likely  Let’s let our Senators know that we want someone to run the CIA who will stand up for principles before the fact, not after. 

6.    Corruption in Washington has always been a danger, and right now it is so bad that operators like Scott Pruitt, Steve Mnuchin, and Elaine Chow aren't even trying to hide it anymore (http://www.newsweek.com/2017/11/10/trump-administration-most-corrupt-history-698935.html). But it was Mick Mulvaney who topped everyone this month by proudly declaring that pay-to-play was standard procedure for lobbyists to get access to him. We can start wading out of the swamp with this small baby-step: let's sign this petition to demand legislation limiting lobbyists' fundraising shenanigans:

7.    Rather than concentrate on the health and well-being of citizens, particularly considering the Flint, MI water crisis, it appears that the White House and the EPA chose to cover up a study, in fear of a “public relations nightmare”, that shed light on nation-wide water contamination issue rather than share the information, so work could commence.  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/14/emails-white-house-interfered-with-science-study-536950  Let’s tell the White House, the EPA, our own MoCs that knowing and dealing with these problems is how crises are handled.  Oh, and let’s tell them to fix Flint, too.

8.   Today is the 64th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Also, today the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on whether or not to advance the judicial nominations of Wendy Vitter and Andrew Oldham, who in their hearings refused to say they supported Brown.   (http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/was_brown_v._board_of_education_correctly_decided_these_judicial_nominees_w). Let's make sure our senators vote no: #NoBrownNoVote. We can use these scripts from 5 Calls here and here.

Election 2018 – General

An election guide from Postcards for America:  In this Google doc (in process), each State shows ALL Democratic Candidates running for Congress, Governor, Lt Gov, Attorney General, Secretary of State (if applicable) with links to their websites and Twitter. Each has a link to a Twitter Thread, a Shareable Facebook Post and a Document. For most States, there are also Info & Links for Voter Registrations, Absentee Ballots, Early Voting & Voter ID, Age Requirements and being a Poll Worker.  Let’s check this out and use and share it:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NCYjsm3xKb79z19Gx7PWt5Zs9lkLiTqglHBHYs9mlX8/edit

1.     Postcards To Voters: Election 2018 update. Another exciting Tuesday! Here are the results from the five (5) campaigns for which Postcards to Voters volunteers sent cards. 1)PA-Campaign 72: Helen Tai for State House. We "gave 'em Helen" whose win flipped this seat from red to blue by just 96 votes.. She will serve out the remainder of this seat's term and run for a full 2 year term in November. Read more at The Intelligencer. 2) OR- Campaign 78: Joe Berney for Lane County Commissioner. Joe won this race with 51.9% of the vote. (Source: KVAL/Eugene) 3) PA-Campaign 79: Clark Mitchell for State House. Clark lost this race and we saw the seat flip from blue to red. More at Observer-Reporter. Clark will run for this seat again in November. 4) AL-Campaign 80: Juanita Healy for State House. Juanita lost this race but will be running again in November. Source: DecaturDaily. 5) NE- Campaign 83: Machaela Cavanaugh for State Legislature. Machaela won the Democratic Primary in this race and will be the Democratic candidate on the ballot for November. Congratulations to the winners and thank yous to all the candidates for running and postcarders for writing. To write cards for current open campaigns, we can sign up here

2.    A public defender might be the next district attorney in San Diego County - but only with our help. Progressive pick Genevieve Jones-Wright is getting a lot of buzz in her campaign for the seat, which will be decided on June 5th  
(http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sd-me-da-race-20180510-story.html). We can help her win and help continue our progress against mass incarceration even if Trump and the Republicans block change in Washington. Sign up to write Postcards to Voters for her here and join the Real Justice PAC call team to support her here.

Election 2018 – By State

1.     Voting dates and deadlines this week:

May 18
Texas
Early voting ends
Runoffs
May 18
Washington
Filing Deadline
May 19
Washington D.C.
Voter Registration Deadline
Primary (postmark)

2.    AR, GA, KY, TX:  If we are ProChoice voters looking for primary candidates who support our views in this upcoming May 22 election, we can use VOTEPROCHOICE’s Voter Guide to help us find them. When we enter our address, we’ll see all the candidates, with the ones endorsed by ProChoice, Progressive groups clearly marked. We can then take the guide to the polls for easy reference. We can click on this link to get started and then share with our friends:  https://voteprochoice.us/#voter-guide-section

Other Actions

1.     Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship is “looking to collect around 20 cases from multiple states to be considered by producers for a major investigative report. Further details will be made available when appropriate. Producers will have final say about which cases they select for use. The criteria include but are not limited to:  A) Case must be in a one party state https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/LAWS-ON-RECORDING-CONVERSATIONS-CHART.pdf  No cases from FL, CA, CT, DE, IL, MD, NH, PA or WA,  B) Ward must be living and whereabouts known.  Interviewee must be understandable and well spoken, C) Must be willing to go on the record about their case and experience.  If your case meets these criteria, please email me at drsam@aaapg.net by no later than this Friday  May 18, 2018  at 9AM Eastern to be considered. In your email include:  A) Name of Ward, B) Your name, C Your relationship to the Ward, D) Your full contact information, and E) a brief (no more than 50 words) synopsis of the abuses.  If your case is chosen you will be contacted by the producers.”

2.    Michigan State University has reportedly come to a $500 billion settlement with the 300+ victims of Larry Nassar.  However, "State lawmakers and victims of Larry Nassar will have to end some of their efforts to strengthen Michigan’s laws on sexual abuse complaints as part of a $500 million settlement with Michigan State University, according to a source close to the university."  https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/05/16/michigan-state-larry-nassar-victims-settlement/34980415/  Since when does a settlement affect legislation that is in the common good?  As one state legislator said, “The Nassar survivors have said all along this isn’t about Nassar. “This bill is more than that. …The whole package is about putting together the right policies.”  Let’s all, regardless of where we live, let’s contact the Michigan State legislators.  The victims are from all over the country and we do not want any state agreeing to be part of such maliciousness. 

3.    According to the NY Times, Trump’s plan to expand access to skimpy health insurance policies—those lacking prescription drug benefits or maternity costs or preventive care or coverage for “prior conditions” or all of the above—as an alternative to the Affordable Care Act was supposed to cost $96 to $168 million/year, but Medicare’s chief actuary puts the actual cost at $1.2 billion next year and $38.7 billion over ten years:   https://khn.org/morning-breakout/first-edition-may-16-2018/ Patty Murray claims insurers are asking for 2019 increases like 64% (VA) or 91% (MD): 
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/15/democrats-republicans-fix-health-care-together-column/607896002/   Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), defends Trump’s proposal by saying “Because costs have gone up so much, there are a lot of individuals who can’t afford any coverage,” as if Trump’s plan had no effect.  We need to tell Verma that cheap, junk insurance will not solve the problem of skyrocketing health insurance costs, much less protect those who can’t afford coverage: CMS, 7500 Security Blvd., Baltimore MD 21244 or @seemaCDS or 877-267-2323 (Local: 410-786-3000)

4.    Dubbed Project Maven, Google is designing an AI system meant to “speed up analysis” of military drone footage by “automatically classifying images of objects and people,” according to the tech news website Gizmodo.  About a dozen of the project’s staff have walked out over concerns about the ethics of the program; 4000 employees have signed a petition asking Google to drop the project and promise not to develop “technology for war”; 400 “technology academics and researchers from around the world” have signed an open letter to Google to the same effect (https://www.icrac.net/open-letter-in-support-of-google-employees-and-tech-workers/) : http://www.theweek.co.uk/93606/project-maven-google-employees-resign-over-controversial-us-military-ai-programme   Let’s join all of these people in demanding that Google terminate its contract with the DoD, commit not to develop military technologies, and pledge to neither participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade or use of autonomous weapons:  Sundar Pichai or Larry Page, Google Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy. Mountain View, CA 94043 or 1-650-253-0000 or FAX 1-650-253-0001.

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.     May 17 is the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Mueller investigation.  “Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani says Trump and his legal team plan to use the one-year anniversary of the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday to push for the end of the federal Russia probe.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/387880-giuliani-trump-to-use-anniversary-of-mueller-appointment-to-press-for  If we’ve not already signed up to be part of this rapid-response team, we can do so here:  https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/

States

1.     ALL:  We know that guardianship abuse is running rampant in this country.   https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2016/05/23/guardianship-in-the-u-s-protection-or-exploitation/#716055253b49 Fortunately, a federal judge in Texas has just allowed that state to be sued in these cases:  http://aaapg.net/texas-federal-judge-allows-allows-state-judge-to-be-sued-guardianship-negligence-case/  Let’s remember that our officials are accountable to serve and protect.  Let’s do what we can help hold them accountable in each of our states. 

2.    FL:  Publix Supermarkets are very popular with Floridians. Right now, this privately-held, employee-owned company is supporting Republican Adam Putnam's run for governor with large contributions. Let's read more at Tampa Bay Times. Let's contact Publix to let them know we are not okay with them using the profits that they make from us to support a Republican candidate who does not represent our interests. To make a greater impact, let's all ask for the store manager at our local Publix and have a face-to-face conversation about this. Did the employees vote to support Putnam? Let's make some noise and consider taking our business elsewhere.

3.    TN: The House and Senate have passed HB 2315, an anti-sanctuary bill which would also allow warrantless detention of immigrants, and would require law enforcement officers to check an individual's immigration or citizenship status https://bit.ly/2rNXAbF The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition has issued a press release noting that experts in various fields have sent letters to Governor Bill Haslam, urging him to veto the bill (http://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/267/pm.asp?ID=66756&Publication). Let's join them in asking Governor Haslam to veto HB 2315: 1st Floor, State Capitol Nashville, TN 37243 Phone: (615) 741-2001 Twitter: @BillHaslam

Reading/Watching

1.    “Missing Files Motivated the Leak of Michael Cohen’s Financial Records” by Ronan Farrow - https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/missing-files-motivated-the-leak-of-michael-cohens-financial-records

2.    “Teenagers Are Helping Flip Seats in 2018 Elections With Postcards to Voters” - https://www.teenvogue.com/story/teenagers-are-helping-flip-seats-in-2018-elections-with-postcards-to-voters

3.    “Rebecca Solnit:  The Coup Has Already Happened” - https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-the-coup-has-already-happened/






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