7/17/18
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.
As Dan
Rather tweeted yesterday during the Trump/Putin press conference, “The
President of the United States trusts the word of a former KGB agent over the
consensus of the American intelligence community backed by a ton of facts. That
is a shocking reality. Everyone who excuses Trump’s behavior must answer that
now, and when history inevitably judges.”
https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1018883595463622662 It is
time for the GOP to choose between our country and Trump: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/07/moment-of-decision/565289/ We all
need to contact all 51 GOP senators and all 236 GOP representatives to ask
whether they stand for our democracy or for Trump/Putin.
2.
Prior to
his “summit” with Russian President Putin, Trump attacked the United States via
Twitter as being responsible for poor relations with Russia: http://fortune.com/2018/07/16/trump-twitter-us-russia-relations-putin-meeting/ Trump
has crossed a line in so clearly violating his oath. Time to ask him to step
down: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington DC 20500 or on Twitter @realdonaldtrump
or White House comment line 202-456-1111
3.
Yesterday
the president claimed that the Russians didn’t meddle in our elections, simply
because Russian leader Vladimir Putin denied it. He also blamed the U.S.
government, rather than Russia’s past aggressive actions in the Crimea and
Syria as the reason for rocky U.S./Russia relations. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/397124-trump-putin-begin-summit-amid-global-tensions. While it’s easy to see why he would want to
divert attention from the illegitimacy of his election, putting forth the word
of a foreign government over the work of federal intelligence agencies and the
findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee, both of which have clearly
proven that there was Russian hacking, amounts to treason. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/opinion/trump-russia-investigation-putin.html We all need to tell all Dem MoCs now that
the time has come to stop accepting the legitimacy of this administration and
that they need to present a unified front in calling for their Republican
colleagues to speak out publicly against these gross abuses of power and pass
bipartisan legislation that will protect the Mueller investigation and assure
that all who are guilty in the Russia investigation come to justice.
4.
“A
former top aide to U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman on Monday told the
U.S. envoy to "resign if you have any honor." John Weaver,
who was Huntsman's chief strategist during his 2012 bid for president, tweeted
the message at his former boss on Monday following
President Trump's joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir
Putin.” http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/397238-ex-top-aide-to-trumps-russia-ambassador-resign-if-you-have-any-honor Let’s join John Weaver and ask Huntsman to
RESIGN, if he has any honor. @JonHuntsman
5.
Special
Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s recent indictments and evolving proof of Russian
meddling in the election should be a strong reason to delay any Supreme Court
appointment, especially someone who has gone on record to say that a president
should be immune from investigation while in office. https://www.npr.org/2018/07/10/627504728/brett-kavanaugh-supported-broad-leeway-for-presidents-under-investigation. It can be further argued that Russian
hacking altered the results of the 2016 election, which makes the President’s
power illegitimate and not reflective of the will of the people. For these
reasons, we should urge our MoCs to delay the confirmation hearings for Brett
Kavanaugh until the Mueller investigation has been resolved and the American
people have had one more chance to weigh in with their 2018 vote.
6.
For some
good news, FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, rejected the proposed merger of Sinclair and
Tribune and is referring the matter for an administrative hearing, a long
process that will usually kill a deal. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-16/fcc-rejects-sinclair-plan-for-tv-station-sales-in-tribune-deal-jjof6bcs. If the deal had gone through, Sinclair, an
ultra-conservative media outlet that already has 38% of the market share has
come under criticism for forcing its anchors on all its stations to to
air a company-written “news segment” would have expanded to 72% of U.S.
households. Let’s thank Chairman Pai and the FCC for recognizing that
Sinclair’s plan would violate current law and encourage the FCC to adhere to
their mandate of assuring equal media access. We can reach the FCC Comment Line
at 202-418-1000, email Ajit.Pai@fcc.gov, or tweet @AjitPaiFCC. We should also let
our MoCs know that we do not support this merger.
7.
Trump is
pushing a "gag rule." This rule is designed to block people from
getting accurate information about their health care and would prevent doctors
from giving patients the vital reproductive health care they need. This would
prevent patients from getting birth control and preventive care at Planned
Parenthood health centers. At the same time, it would also allow doctors and
nurses across the country to withhold information from their patients (http://www.newsweek.com/trump-abortion-gag-rule-ferocious-attack-womens-basic-rights-experts-warn-977416). Let's join Planned Parenthood and submit
an official comment to the Department of Health and Human Services telling them
we oppose this attempt to allow doctors to withhold information from their
patients at this link.
8.
Yesterday,
years of medical guidelines accumulated and curated by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, under DHHS were eliminated. The National Guideline Clearinghouse and the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse, which received about 200,000 visits a month
is no more. https://www.thedailybeast.com/hhs-plans-to-delete-20-years-of-critical-medical-guidelines-next-week Let’s
ask our MoCs to make sure that this valuable resource can be funded again in
next year’s budget.
9.
From Calvin's List, a bi-monthly action list containing the
info we need to contact the people in charge on issues of climate, animal
welfare, public land use, and more: On Wednesday, July 18, the House is
scheduled to vote on the Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals (DELTA) Act, HR4819, which aims to help both the people and the
endangered animals of the Okavango River Basin, including protection of an
elephant migration route. Let's contact our House reps today and ask them to
SUPPORT HR4819. A similar bill, S3196, was just introduced in the Senate; let's
ask our senators to co-sponsor and promote S3196. We can subscribe to Calvin's
List here.
10. In many states in the U.S., the so-called
"gay/trans panic defense" is a strategy used in courtrooms to justify
assault, and murder, of gay and trans individuals (https://bit.ly/2LfUatV). While a few states have passed legislation
to curtail the use of these defenses, there is no such law at the federal
level. However, Representative Joe Kennedy and Senator Ed Markey have
introduced the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act (H.R. 6358/S. 3188), which would prohibit using a victim's
sexual orientation or gender identity as justification for an attack (https://bit.ly/2JtCcPJ). Let's contact our MoC and ask them to
cosponsor and support this bill.
11.
As we
have seen from the beginning, Trump is infatuated with authoritarian
leaders: Putin of Russia, Kim of North
Korea, Duterte of the Philippines, Erdogan of Turkey, Xi of China. “Most authoritarianism experts will tell you
that warnings of the autocrat-in-waiting’s plans were out in the open, but
people failed to take them seriously or believed the country’s institutions
served as a bulwark or cast those posting warnings as hysterical.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/20/donald-trump-authoritarian-leaders-north-korea-russia-turkey-column/712221002/ Perhaps
Trump does not realize that those leaders came to power under ways that are
very un-American. Let’s keep posting
warnings to our government leaders and fellow citizens.
12. “In a shocking policy change, the Department
of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) recently dealt a significant
blow to legal services for survivors of human trafficking . . . Specifically,
the agency’s belated announcements for $77 million of fiscal 2018 human
trafficking funding included language for the first time ever prohibiting the
use of grants to help survivors clear their criminal records that resulted from
their victimization.” http://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/392584-funding-restrictions-for-human-trafficking-grants-can-prevent We
need to tell our MoCs that this funding needs to be restored so that these
victims can get their records expunged for criminal activities while under
coercion. Without doing so, they are
unable to find jobs and housing and a way to a better life.
Election 2018 –
General
An election guide
from Postcards
for America: In this Google doc (updated
regularly), 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:
1.
We’re
going to have to think outside the box to win back some seats in usually
Republican areas, and we have a chance to try something new in the Alabama
Third Congressional District. There Democrats have nominated Mallory Hagan, a
small business owner and former Miss America, to take on conservative
Congressman Mike Rogers (https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/former-miss-america-fat-shamed-pageant-scandal-wins-democratic-primary-103018050.html ). It’s going to be a tough race, and
she could use our help. We can sign up to make phone calls for her from
anywhere here.
2.
“Poll
workers ensure the conduct of fair and accurate elections. They set up and
prepare the polling location, greet voters, verify registrants, and issue
ballots. Poll workers demonstrate how voting equipment works and explain voting
procedures. At the end of the day, they close the precinct and prepare
materials for delivery to the elections office.” (https://www.nonprofitvote.org/documents/2010/09/become-a-poll-worker-en.pdf) States
each have their own requirements, but let’s check here and see if this
something we can do: https://www.eac.gov/voters/become-a-poll-worker/
3.
Half of
the California
LGBT Caucus took money from ICE prison contractors. Some have already made
off-setting contributions to immigrants' rights' organizations. Let's read more
at IntoMore. Let's hold our allies, all of them, to a
higher standard, and let them know we expect them to reject prison contractor
donations in the future.
Election 2018 –
By State
1.
Upcoming
voting dates and deadlines:
|
July 17
|
Kansas
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 17
|
Alabama
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 17
|
North Carolina (FED ONLY)
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 20
|
Louisiana
|
Filing Deadline
|
|
|
July 22
|
Alaska
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 23
|
Georgia
|
Early voting ends
|
runoffs
|
|
July 24
|
Minnesota
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 24
|
Georgia
|
Election date
|
Runoffs
|
|
July 28
|
Tennessee
|
Early Voting ends
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Arizona
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Florida
|
Voter Registration Deadline
|
Primary
|
|
July 30
|
Arkansas
|
Early Voting begins
|
State Senate Dist 8
|
|
July 30
|
Hawaii
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
|
July 31
|
Kansas
|
Early Voting begins
|
Primary
|
(source: by date:
https://goo.gl/gjFv2u by
state: https://goo.gl/7gTzvE)
Other Actions
1. Correction: This weekend marked five years since
the Black Lives Matter movement
began, following the acquittal of George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon
Martin. Let's read more , from
one of the founders, about what Black Lives Matter has accomplished, then
commit to working to end systemic racism and police violence. We can begin by
reading this post at
the ACLU, then calling our MoCs and asking them to cosponsor and support the
House's End Racial Profiling Act and Senate's End Racial and Religious
Profiling Act (H.R. 1498/S. 411).
2. From
Act 100: Day 8: A week after the deadline to reunify
children under five with their families over half are still without their
parents. Today's action focuses on ways you can help locally. Find the nearest
organization working with immigrant families and volunteer or donate what you
can. #Act100 #FamiliesBelongTogether (Source: the same folks that initiated the massive FB
fundraiser for RAICES - https://www.facebook.com/donate/490507544717085/518595598574946/ Here’s the list: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQampyQdiYaE9J26uyEzXstLFeKR5b1A6YXr6B6Zi2m0EzonRdHMR7CVtGkM45iHiZPBgyJ6qrHRRG5/pub
3. Following
a Massachusetts court decision which allows the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) to
continue using electric shock devices on disabled children and adults” (https://bit.ly/2KnNOcA), ADAPT,
a disability rights organization, is calling on the governor of Massachusetts
to appeal the court ruling before the 30-day window is up on July 19th (http://adapt.org/press-release-request-governor-baker-to-appeal-bristol-county-decision-to-allow-use-of-ged-at-jrc/).
Let's help amplify this call to end abuse by contacting Governor Baker and
telling him that we want an appeal to be filed ASAP. We can cite the UN Report of
the Special Rapporteur on Torture, which found "that the rights of
students at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center have been violated under the
United Nations Convention against Torture." We can also point out that
this is a concern for residents both within and outside of Massachusetts, since
the JRC has patients that come from other states. Address: Office of the
Governor Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St., Office of
the Governor, Room 280, Boston, MA 02133 Phone: (617) 725-4005 Twitter:
@MassGovernor
4. “Immigrant
Families Together is a network of Americans committed to
rapid response unification of families separated by the 'zero tolerance'
policy. We have mobilized to help parents currently detained…” Let’s check out their website and then see
how we can help one mom at a time: https://immigrantfamiliestogether.com/moms-you-can-help
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
Please join in a RUSSIA IS NOT OUR FRIEND Tweet Storm this evening,
July 17, at 8pm. Here is the link to the tweet sheet you can tweet from: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17p-WfWx0roEUn7L-Tlw87e1LRAVs0BSlUYkrgHJc2Sg/edit#gid=0 . We are the New Union Army only our weapons
are the Vote, Peaceful Protests, #GOTV activities and yes, TWITTER.
2.
Twitter Airlift helps people in Blue Districts
donate to strategically vetted, proven successful grassroots groups in 22
congressional districts. These groups have mobilized students, people of color
and other voters that are often overlooked. There is no overhead, so 100% of
the money raised goes to these groups. They have raised $100,000 so far, and we
can help them get the word out by joining Action Together Network’s
twitterstorm today, Tuesday, July 17, from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Time. When we click on this link, we will find prewritten tweets to send out
with just a few clicks. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KzZ78WwsVbgiGBxc1IX1mEWJlv4heHi39dJyUuHljRY/htmlview We can also find out more about this project,
donate if we want to, and share this information with our friends when we click
this link. https://airlift.fund/
3.
Trump is continuing to fight to discredit the
Mueller investigation - and it may be working (http://time.com/5304206/donald-trump-discredit-mueller-investigation/). In
response, all across the country on July 18th allies will
Confront Corruption and Demand Democracy with a candlelight vigil at sundown.
These vigils are being spearheaded by the Trump Is Not Above the Law network of
more than 375,000 people who are RSVPed to attend more than 900 events
nationwide should Trump fire Mueller or Rosenstein, or pardon key members of
his campaign or administration. We can learn more, find vigils near us or
launch our own here.
4.
July
21,
the youth of America are converging on Washington, D.C. for this year’s Youth
Climate March. We can find more information,
including sister marches, here: http://thisiszerohour.org/the-march/
5.
July
22 at
3pm EDT, Issue Voters of Northern Nevada will be
presenting a webinar on “Voter Mobilization: Strategies and Best
Practices”. Here is the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/191292124873267/ We can
register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vEbS2tQKQKyrs-yoroJ2qA
6.
The immigrant-led activist group Cosecha is calling
for us to take the next step, with a national day of action to end cooperation
with ICE on July 31st, demanding cities, counties, companies and
all institutions stop working with them. Let's get involved. We can check out
the #WeWillNotBeComplicit Action Guide at this link.
States
1.
NY: Public Accountability Initiative (PAI)
researchers have documented extensive financial ties from Governor Andrew
Cuomo's donors and members of his inner circle to ICE and Customs and
Border Protection. Cuomo has not joined other NY Democrats in calling for the
abolition of ICE and it appears to be because his donors don’t want him to.
Let's read more at The Intercept. If we are New
York voters, let's contact Gov. Cuomo and Cuomo's
campaign (address and phone at bottom of website page) to
let him know that we want ICE to be abolished and we want him on-board with
that.
2.
WV: Senator Joe
Manchin (D-WV) is inviting constituents to send him comments on US Supreme
Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. If we’re in WV, let’s do so: http://wvmetronews.com/2018/07/16/manchin-invites-constituents-to-send-comments-on-kavanaugh/
Reading/Watching
1.
Fascism doesn’t arise suddenly in an existing
democracy. Irish Times writer Fintan O'Toole discusses the test marketing
for fascism going on in our country today in his article "Trial runs for fascism are in full flow." Let's
be aware of the ways we are being manipulated.
2.
“Are you unintentionally helping Trump?” - https://politicalcharge.org/2018/07/16/are-you-unintentionally-helping-trump/
3.
“Putin
kindly offers to help investigate Russian meddling in the US election” - https://www.vox.com/2018/7/16/17576788/putin-trump-meeting-election-idea-hacking
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.