6/20/19
NATIONAL
ISSUES
DEMAND AN END TO CONCENTRATION CAMP
PRACTICES IN THE US: Now that
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called attention to the shocking
conditions in Concentration Camps on the Southwest Border, attempts are being
made to deflect the argument from the appalling state of these detention
centers to her use of the term “Concentration Camps.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/us/politics/ocasio-cortez-cheney-detention-centers.html However, the term is disturbingly
apt. "Things can be concentration camps without being Dachau or
Aushwitz...We have what I would call a concentration camp system,” Andrea
Pitzer, an expert in concentration camps says, “and the definition of that
...is mass detention of civilians without trial.” (quoted from Act 4
Progress). Other scholars agree
that the term is appropriate: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1141056585843838983.html and https://www.newsweek.com/concentration-camps-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-trump-border-1444843 Let’s call our
MoCs and demand an end to these inhumane practices.
IMPEACHMENT: On June 17th new Congresswoman Katie Porter put out a clear and powerful video
about why she is coming out in favor of impeachment and shared it with her
purple district in California:
https://twitter.com/RepnKatiePorter/status/1140771105189191680 Because this evidence questions the president's fitness to lead, there is no
more important issue facing our federal government now, yet only a few of our
MoCs have publicly stated their positions on this most pressing matter. If our Congressional reps have not yet done the same,
let’s share this with them as an example of the type of leadership we are
seeking from them.
BOOSTING VOTER TURNOUT: “Nonprofits helped boost voter turnout by 11 percentage points during
the 2018 elections, according to a study of voting patterns in seven states by
Nonprofit Vote, which works with other charities to encourage voter
participation.” https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Nonprofits-Produce-Big-Gains/246445 If we’re involved with nonprofit organizations, let’s learn
more at Nonprofit Vote’s website, https://www.nonprofitvote.org/ ,
and let’s see if our nonprofit can help.
SAUDI ARABIA: Trump has
a very questionable relationship with Saudi Arabia. Despite evidence to the contrary, Saudi Arabia did not end up on
a US compiled list of countries that use child soldiers. If Saudi Arabia were on the list, the US would
be forbidden to provide training and weapons unless the President issues a
waiver. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-childsoldiers-exclusive/exclusive-overruling-his-experts-pompeo-keeps-saudis-off-us-child-soldiers-list-idUSKCN1TJ25H
Given Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses and it’s part in the murder of journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/06/19/jamal-khashoggi-death-un-expert-calls-probe-saudi-prince/1497067001/
and Trump’s apparent cover up of that death, as well as his shaky personal
financial dealings with the country, not
to mention the dubious sharing of sensitive nuclear information, we are now too
mixed up with a deadly regime. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-saudi/u-s-shared-nuclear-power-info-with-saudi-arabia-after-khashoggi-killed-idUSKCN1T52ER Let’s contact our MoCs and tell them
that this is not a relationship we should have. Let’s ask what is being done to extricate us.
HARRIET TUBMAN ON THE
20-DOLLAR BILL: We were all expecting to see the switch to Harriet
Tubman on the 20-dollarl bill until we learned that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin
said it would not be ready for another almost ten years and all mention of it
was removed from the Treasury website.
Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) has asked for an investigation to
this puzzling situation. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/19/schumer-investigate-harriet-tubman-20-bill-delay/1504713001/ Rep. Pressley (D-MA) said that "Secretary Mnuchin has allowed Trump's
racism and misogyny to prevent him from carrying out the will of the
people." https://www.newsweek.com/racism-misogyny-rep-ayanna-pressley-blasts-steve-mnuchin-postponing-tubmans-placement-20-1444176 Even though Trump says he prefers that
Andrew Jackson stay on the bill, Congress and the American people feel
otherwise. The Harriet Tubman Tribute Act (H.R. 1083
/ S.872)
has bipartisan support. Let’s tell
our MoCs that we want them to co-sponsor and support this bill and get Harriet
Tubman on the 20-dollar bill in the time frame it was supposed to happen.
IMMIGRATION, ICE/CPB
ABUSES: There’s a concerted effort
across the country to demand that Speaker Pelosi start Congressional hearings
on Trump’s deportation machine. This effort includes delivering a letter (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TibDkDlyGMZdrJaQyyurq4yn5Sg_dryMX5xbto7KMf0/edit)
to the highest ranking staffer at our local Democratic Congressional Office,
and videoing the conversation with the staffer to post on social media. Talking
points are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PPtzzojX7HFwPoHuouErx1tyNRrWMF5GT2uph1331eE/edit Let’s
help this effort by taking the actions described above, or by contacting our
Democratic representatives in the House and demanding Congressional hearings
and oversight over ICE and CPB.
STATE SPECIFIC ISSUES
ALL: ELECTIONS: Running an
election is labor-intensive. We can expect massive turnout all over the country
in 2020. Let’s help make our democracy work. Let’s contact our state’s
Secretary of State’s office and ask how we can become poll-workers: http://www.e-secretaryofstate.com/
CA: NATIONAL NETWORK ASSEMBLY
RECEPTION/FUNDRAISER: The planners of this summer’s National Network Assembly
will be hosting a reception on Saturday June
29th in San Francisco where we can learn more. Here’s
the link to RSVP. Please feel free
to share with others who want to make an impact. And if you can’t make it
but still want to help, please make a contribution here.
RALLIES/GATHERINGS/TRAININGS
PROTEST ABUSIVE
TREATMENT OF IMMIGRANTS IN DETENTION CAMPS:
As outrage builds over the
cruel and inhumane conditions in the camps where many aspiring immigrants to
this country are held, plans are being made for a nationwide protest on July
12. We can click this link to find out more about Protest Vigils at
Detention Centers near us, or to start our own: https://www.lightsforliberty.org/ We can also
click here to see Lights4Liberty’s Facebook page and find out more about their
plans and events: https://www.facebook.com/lights4liberty/
MARCH FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE: It has been one year since we gathered for Families Belong Together
rallies across the country. The horrors continue. Thousands more children were
separated before zero tolerance was announced that were never reunited. Over
13,000 children remain in detention for months on end in for profit facilities
with no child welfare oversight or access to legal aid. We welcome children and
families escaping traumatic violence into this country by keeping them in caged
in, overcrowded ice boxes for prolonged periods or sometimes exposed to the
elements left to sleep on the dirt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pcc8ygK0z4&app=desktop
This is NOT who we are. Join Immigrant Justice Now as we
take to the streets again in cities everywhere June 29. We can find events here or how to host one
as well: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/march-for-immigrant-justice
NATIONAL NETWORK
ASSEMBLY: The first National Network Assembly, made up
of hundreds of local grassroots leaders organizers from around the country is
happening in Des Moines, IA, August 22 to 25. There will be workshops, sessions, and meetings in which
participants will strategize, plan, and learn skills to take home to their
groups. The 2019 National Network Assembly will strengthen the connective tissue between
grassroots groups by bridging multiple networks and organizations that
represent over 1,000 leaders across all 50 states. We can find more information, register to attend, and donate to
the scholarship fund here: https://www.nationalnetworkassembly.org/
We can use this document to invite others to attend: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oKWdGLESqQYFVIa3JXQrtsXO9zrZv7ihCdGfnmSZ0-M/edit
TO READ
Who in the House is Calling for
Impeachment? - https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/733536620/who-in-the-house-is-calling-for-impeachment
Finally, Presidential Candidates Are Talking About Poverty - https://www.thenation.com/article/poor-peoples-campaign-poverty-forum-democratic-candidates/
What I Saw at the Dilley, Texas, Immigrant Detention Center - https://www.thenation.com/article/dilley-texas-immigration-detention/
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We can stay up-to-date on
Congress by checking out their schedules. a) The House publishes a
weekly schedule at The Weekly Leader (published and dated Friday)
as well as daily schedules at The Daily Leader. b) The Senate updates
their schedule daily at the Senate Floor Schedule
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