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11/12/18 

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1.       This week in Congress:  The House is not scheduled for any votes on Monday. On Tuesday, the House will meet at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. Sixteen (15) bills and resolutions are on the House schedule, including various environmental bills. We can review them on the Majority Leader's Schedule. The Senate will convene on Tuesday 3:00 p.m. to resume consideration of the House message to accompany S.140, the legislative vehicle for the Coast Guard reauthorization. (Source: Senate Calendar) Let's prepare for the week ahead.

2.      The new acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, has gone on record saying that judges should have a “Biblical view” and that we would be against confirming Jewish, Muslim or atheist judges. https://www.newsweek.com/matthew-whitaker-jews-muslim-judges-attorney-general-1210003. This is an unacceptable breach of separation of Church and State, as well as blatant religious discrimination, both of which are clear violations of the Constitution. Let’s lean on our Senators to challenge Whitaker’s appointment and authority to serve in this position, and support Senate Minority Leader, Charles Schumer (D-NY) in insisting that any acting AG must be confirmed by the Senate. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/09/chuck-schumer-questions-trumps-authority-to-appoint-acting-ag-whitaker.html

3.      In response to Trump's appointment to Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General, Senator Jeff Flake has made three points: that any non-Senate confirmed official should not have oversight of the Mueller investigation, that legislation to protection the investigation must be passed, and that this legislation could be included in the must-pass government funding bill at the end of the year. However, Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, is still claiming this isn’t necessary.  https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/416036-flake-whitaker-shouldnt-oversee-mueller-probe and
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/08/flake-coons-mueller-protection-bill-978362. Our MoCs need to hear from us loud and clear that this legislation,  HR 3771/S 1741, the Special Counsel Integrity Act, and S 1735/HR 3654, the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, needs to be passed, and Senator McConnell (R-KY) (202-224-2541) should be told to stop protecting the president by blocking democratic process.

4.      While Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) may that that the GOP needs to “address the suburban women problem”, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/06/lindsey-graham-republican-women-voters-2018-elections-midterms-967741 they, and other women could benefit much more if he and other legislators in both houses would pass the Violence Against Women Act which is set to expire on Dec. 7 after having been included in the defense/health spending bill. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/10/vawa-at-risk-of-lapsing/  Let’s ask all our MoCs to do the right thing and reauthorize this important bill. 

5.      "The president’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is Ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines. The president’s assertion that California’s forest management policies are to blame for catastrophic wildfire is dangerously wrong. . . Moreover, nearly 60 percent of California forests are under federal management, and another one-third under private control. It is the federal government that has chosen to divert resources away from forest management, not California.” http://www.cpf.org/go/cpf/news-and-events/news/cpf-president-brian-rice-responds-to-president-attack-on-ca-fire-response  Threatening the people of CA by withholding funds in a time of tragedy is an attack on all citizens of this country. Please tweet, write or email the WH and let Trump know CA needs help and support, not attacks. Ask that he restore forest resources to all states. 

6.      On this Veteran’s Day weekend, Trump cancelled his visit to a World War I cemetery in France because it was raining. https://www.apnews.com/52462add34fd45ecb16319b564045d61. Let’s join the many who have expressed their displeasure and disgust by tweeting him pictures of Obama in the rain and writing to him as well.

7.      Seeing the enthusiasm at the polls was encouraging, but long lines should not be a given on election day. These lines can be caused by understaffed polling locations, as well as malfunctioning equipment, and the lines themselves can be a deterrent to voting for those who do not have the time to wait for hours to exercise their right to vote. We can read more about the issues voters faced on election day from ProPublica here. Then, let's use what we learn there to inform our calls to our MoC as we ask them to support the bipartisan Secure Elections Act (S. 2261/H.R. 6663), which would provide funding to states to update voting equipment and encourage the use of paper ballots.

8.     From one of our own:  Here is a list of all the issues including asylum, immigration, NRLB rollback DHS-HHS-ICE detention policy, that are accepting public comments: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1anfz4FlWXnTfJsgWYCaRYrcWSfWiru8K/view

Election/Voting

1.       Swing Left is reaching out via text today, November 12, to Georgia voters who may have experienced voting issues at the polls.  Here is how we can help:

2.      As Shaun King tweeted yesterday, "Did you know that Mike Espy, a Black man running for the United States Senate, actually made it to a runoff in MISSISSIPPI???  And he’s getting no media attention. This man can win!"  Runoff for a Senate seat in Mississippi is on November 27, and we *actually* have a shot at winning this one, folks! Let’s lend Espy some of our activist energies.  Here is the Runoff List of Actions (h/t FLIP Mississippi):  A) Donate - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/espy-runoff , B) Letters - Send letters to MS voters with votefwd.org, C) Join PostcardToVoters - New folks can text JOIN to (484) 275-2229   https://www.facebook.com/TonyTheDemocrat.org/photos/a.1681292362171843/1942538342713909/ (Please mail no later than Nov 22 to arrive before the election, unless living in or near MS), D) Text for Espy – https://events.mobilizeamerica.io/msdems/event/86325/, and E) Phonebank - Out of state folks can volunteer directly through ESPY’s website -

3.      Black Voters Matter Fund is hosting a phonebank to reach out to voters who received absentee ballots but don’t have a status listed for what happened with their ballots. Based on the data, counties with larger percentages of Black voters also have higher rates of these unprocessed ballots, and Black voters appear to have been at least twice as likely to have unprocessed ballots (or rejected ballots) compared to white voters.  BVM has a phonebank available where we can volunteer at https://www.openvpb.com/vpb_bycode/3A1FE2I-894016 If we need a brief tutorial on using the phone bank and/or creating an ActionID we can visit https://www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/phonebank We can also access the phonebank at that page.  We will be  phonebanking to get voters to call their county board of elections to try to get their ballot processed, prior to the Tuesday certification deadline for counties, and also to collect information that may help with demands for the Tuesday deadline to be extended.

4.      The Nelson for Senate campaign needs lawyers in Florida to help out statewide with the recount.  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/11/florida-senate-scott-nelson-fraud-982952   If we are an attorney or know one, and we can be in Florida on the needed dates, we can sign up or share this: http://bit.ly/2DyeD9T

5.      If we are Postcards To Voters' volunteers who request addresses via text we can help the organization save money by requesting addresses from "Facebook Abby" instead of via Text Abby. Each text costs money while the Facebook version uses Facebook Messenger at no cost to Postcards To Voters.  If we can, let's make the switch. We can get started with Facebook Abby here and even follow Facebook Abby on Facebook.   Let's request 5 cards for the current campaign from Facebook Abby.

Other Actions

1.       The NRA recently told doctors to “stay in their lane” and stop speaking about gun violence as a public health issue, but doctors and all health professionals are fighting back, insisting on bringing this issue to its deserved public light. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/nra-opens-social-media-war-doctors-over-firearms-n934056. Health professionals are circulating this open letter to the NRA urging them to collaborate on finding “workable, effective strategies to diminish the death toll from suicide, homicide, domestic violence, and unintentional shootings for the thousands of Americans who will one day find themselves on the wrong side of a barrel of a gun.” We can sign this letter here, and/or circulate it to our friends and family in the health care field.  

2.      From one of our own:  Just this year kids in Syria received CardsOfHope made by our kids here. This year we are trying to send some basic necessities for babies and children in need with Save the Syrian Children  Please use Amazon link to help with our drive . You can even find items under $10: http://a.co/gBw0x3S  Here are other ways you can help:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1605081342925112/

3.      Network NOVA is preparing for its third annual Women’s Summit.  Let’s help them fundraise by purchasing some cool shirts:  https://www.customink.com/fundraising/vaismydistrict2018

4.      Last week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell and was hospitalized for a short time.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46145777  She is now back at work and we can send get-well cards to her here:  Supreme Court, 1 First St NE, Washington, DC 20543

5.      After Trump claimed he is a “rude, terrible person”, the White House has suspended CNN’s Jim Acosta’s press pass.  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/trump-unloads-cnn-journalist-jim-acosta-you-are-rude-terrible-n933571  Let’s share our thoughts with the White House Correspondents’ Association: https://www.whca.press/contact/  and to White House Press secretary, Sarah Sanders (in care of the White House). 

6.      The Democrats won the House and 333 statehouse seats; Floridians restored the right to vote to 1.4 ex-felons; Louisiana joined the country and now requires unanimous jury verdicts.   But despite large majorities when asked, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and most significantly, in Washington state, where a carbon tax measure was on the ballot, rejected climate change policies: 
http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/state-energy-policy-in-the-2018-midterms/#_ftnref28  These measures were opposed by industries that poured huge sums into their defeat.  Ballotpedia lets us see where, measure by measure, this money came from.  In Washington, two groups--the Western States Petroleum Association and the Association of Washington Business—opposed Initiative 1631, the Carbon Emissions Fee Measure; their largest donor, contributing $15 billion of the almost $30 billion spent to defeat this initiative (twice what the supporters spent), was BP America:  https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Initiative_1631,_Carbon_Emissions_Fee_Measure_(2018) Let’s tell Susan Dio, president of BP America, to get fossil fuel money out of our climate policy: 630-821-2222 or FAX 630-821-3213 or 4101 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555.  And let’s boycott BP gas stations!

State Actions

1.       MI: The Kent County Board of Commissioners is refusing to enact a resolution which would commit to ending the county's contract with ICE (https://www.woodtv.com/news/kent-county/can-kent-county-just-drop-contract-with-ice-/1581741888). This is similar to the situation in Calhoun County, where we have also asked the commission to voice their opposition to the Calhoun County jail's contract with ICE (you can find that action item here). Let's join the ACLU of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and ask the members of the Kent County Commission to oppose using county funds for the detention of immigrants. Mailing address: Board of Commissioners County Administration Building 300 Monroe Avenue NW Grand Rapids MI 49503 Phone: (616) 632-7580 Fax: (616) 632-7560

Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to attend/organize

1.       While lauding new pro-science representatives elected and initiatives passed on Tuesday, the Union of Concerned Scientists is already planning its next move, a telephone briefing on Thursday, November 15 from 7:00–8:00 p.m. ET / 4:00–5:00 p.m. PT to propose ways we can defend science and advance science-based safeguards that protect our health, safety, and environment.  To register, go to:

2.      January 19, 2019 is the date of the third Women’s March with the main event to be held in Washington, D.C. with sister marches all over the country.  Let’s find more information here:  https://www.womensmarch.com/2019

Reading/Watching

1.       To Exhausted Activists and Young Voters: Don’t You Dare Stop Now - https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/11/07/to-young-activists-and-voters-dont-you-dare-stop-now/

2.      One woman’s Facebook post leads to Michigan vote against gerrymandering - https://www.bridgemi.com/public-sector/one-womans-facebook-post-leads-michigan-vote-against-gerrymandering

3.      Our last edition of Small Victories until 2019:  https://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-all-we-accomplished?e=86890239c4




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