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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 themI.
1.
This week in Congress: The House returns from recess this week. At
least 15 bills are on the House
Leader's weekly schedule. On the Senate calendar, the Senate will convene
at 3pm on Monday to resume consideration of the House message to
accompany H.R.2266, the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for
Disaster Relief Requirements Act. Let's check out the schedules and let our
MoC's know about any bills about which we have concerns.
2.
Trump took to Twitter to downplay Russian interference
in our election while disparaging our free press: “Keep hearing about
"tiny" amount of money spent on Facebook ads. What about the billions
of dollars of Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC & CBS?” https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/921829947093733376 So,
after we soak that in: Russian interference in election = no problem but free
press = bad, let’s let Trump know that he is not upholding his oath to defend
the Constitution: Contact: The White
House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500 or on Twitter
@realDonaldTrump and let’s also let our MoC know that the POTUS seems to have
allegiance to another nation and investigations must continue.
3.
The debased Gold Star family debacle of last week took
an even darker authoritarian turn. White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee
Sanders, said, after Chief of Staff General John Kelly was caught in a lie
about Congresswoman Wilson, that it is “highly inappropriate” to question a
four-star general. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/20/trump-feud-florida-congresswoman-john-kelly Let’s
remind Huckabee Sanders that this is not a banana republic and that we retain
our rights to question government officials: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20500 or on Twitter @PressSec
4.
In a textbook case of “regulatory capture,” Ajit Pai
and the FCC are poised to end Title II protections for an open internet,
commonly known as net neutrality. Pai and his allies in the FCC, shilling for
ISPs wanting to charge extra for various forms of digital content and choke off
access to creators who can’t/won’t swallow their profiteering schemes, will
vote to end net neutrality rules soon (perhaps as early as Nov. 22, in a
cynical bid to use the Thanksgiving holiday hubbub as cover for their betrayal
of the public trust). Our best bet to counter this outrage is to overwhelm our
MoCs with demands to stop this vote from happening, so let’s get loud! https://www.battleforthenet.com
5.
“A building "pets for vets" campaign to link troubled
war veterans with abandoned pets in shelters won a huge White House
backing Wednesday when Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law,
hosted an unprecedented West Wing meeting to get key Cabinet officials on
board.” http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/lara-trump-swings-white-house-behind-pets-for-vets-campaign/article/2638032 While
this sounds like a great program, Cabinet meetings shouldn’t be hosted by a
person who works for Trump’s campaign and is married to the head of his
business. Let’s contact our MoCs to ask them what they’re doing to fight
conflicts of interest like this.
6.
Polls show that most Americans oppose Trump’s proposed
US-Mexico border wall.http://time.com/4752746/americans-oppose-donald-trump-border-wall/ But
money is currently being spent on prototypes, in a bidding process that is
being mismanaged, with a haphazard and confused process. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/10/22/behind-efforts-build-prototypes-trumps-border-wall-emails-show-confusing-and-haphazard-process/787080001/ As
we encourage our MoCs to oppose the border wall, let’s make sure that they know
that we also oppose money being spent on prototypes and plans for this
misbegotten venture.
7.
An undocumented 17-year-old in Texas is being denied an
abortion, even though she has been trying to follow state requirements http://bit.ly/2yGEcAi As
her case plays out in court, time is of the essence, as Texas law bans
abortions after a pregnancy reaches 20 weeks. Under the guidance of Direct
Scott Lloyd, an anti-abortion advocate, the Health and Human Services' Office
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has been preventing minors from gaining access to
abortion services, instead sending them to crisis pregnancy centers which are
often full of false and unscientific claims meant to scare women and children
into forced pregnancy and childbirth http://slate.me/2yAU2MM We can call Scott Lloyd's
office and ask that he either defend the human rights of those in his care, or
resign: 202-401-9246 or
e-mail ORRDirector@acf.hhs.gov
8.
Trump has announced that his administration will stop
making payments towards cost sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies to insurers who
participate in the marketplace. While the legality of the Executive Branch ever
making the payments is a bit of a gray area, it is absolutely essential that
Congress pass legislation to guarantee funding towards the CSRs; something
which should have happened when the ACA was first implemented http://bit.ly/2irEDL2 The
Murray-Alexander bill would do this, yet Trump, Senate Majority Leader
McConnell, and House Speaker Ryan have all come out either outright opposing
the bill or not committing to bring it to the floor for a vote. The Indivisible
Guide has some helpful information about the bill, and what needs to be done to
get it to a vote. Let's read through this resource, then use the call scripts
at the bottom as we contact our MoC https://www.indivisible.org/resource/whats-next-health-care/
9.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation
of Teachers, has published the letter she sent to Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos, asking that the Department of Education take steps to render aid to
American citizens in Puerto Rico
http://bit.ly/2yBEv1M She lays out these steps, asking
that DeVos "automatically enroll all federal student loan borrowers
impacted by Hurricane Maria in an interest-free administrative forbearance for
six months, or until the island is no longer considered a disaster zone, and to
provide all of these borrowers guidance on other benefits and aid they may be
eligible for in both English and Spanish." Let's join Weingarten and
encourage the Department of Education to take these steps immediately. We can
call 202-401-3000 or
mail Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education 400
Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20202
10. Politico tell us that "Trump has nominated 50
candidates to lifetime appointments to the federal bench — including a man who
asserted transgender children were evidence of “Satan’s plan,” one deemed
unqualified by the American Bar Association and a handful of prolific
bloggers. No Republican senator has voted against Trump’s judicial
nominees so far this year, either in committee or in confirmation votes on the
floor. They are planning to pick up the pace even more in the coming
months." Here are three (3) egregious nominations that
Democrats are trying to derail: 1) Jeff Mateer, nominated to a federal judgeship in Texas who
in a past speech referred to transgender children as proof of “Satan’s plan.”
Mateer, according to comments unearthed by CNN, has also implied that the 2015
Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage is “disgusting” and could lead
to polygamy or bestiality." 2) Charles Goodwin, who has been nominated to the federal
bench in Oklahoma. He is the first judicial nominee since 2006 to earn a “not
qualified” label from the American Bar Association, which has screened judicial
candidates since the 1950s. 3) Brett Talley, who has been nominated to a federal
judgeship in Alabama, wrote a handful of blog posts with pointed views on gun
rights, including an item that urged readers to join the National Rifle
Association and calling gun control legislation rolled out in the aftermath of
the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012 the “greatest attack on our
constitutional freedoms in our lifetime.” We need to apply more pressure to our
Republican Senators to reject unqualified nominees. Let's contact them about
opposing: 1) Mateer - anti-LGBTQ extremist. 2) Goodwin - "Not
qualified" per the American Bar Association. 3) Tailey - gun
extremist.
11. Jeff
Session's Dept. of Justice continues their march to stamp out legal
marijuana. Evan Halper at the LA Times writes, "What has
become known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment constitutes a single
paragraph of federal law. It prohibits the Justice Department from
spending even a cent to prosecute medical marijuana users and sellers operating
legally under state laws. Since its passage, it has largely shut down efforts
by federal prosecutors or drug enforcement officials to interfere with
otherwise legal sales of marijuana in 29 states and the District of Columbia
that have passed legalization measures. But now, Congress may throw it
overboard amid pressure from an attorney general who views marijuana as a
dangerous menace." We need to apply pressure to our MoC's to extend or
make the Rohrbacher-Amendment permanent. We do not want our tax money
being spent to prosecute marijuana "crimes" and to send innocent
citizens to prison.
12. The
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program is funded through the EPA’s National Estuary
Program, which, if Scott Pruitt’s budget is approved, would cease to exist.
What is more, the EPA has canceled the speaking appearances of three agency
scientists booked to address the State of the Narragansett Bay and Watershed
conference on October 23rd. Scientists there will unveil a
report on the state of the bay, which E.P.A. scientists helped research and
write; it finds, among other things, that climate change is affecting air and
water temperatures, precipitation, sea level, and fish in and around the
estuary: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/national/epa-cancels-talk-on-climate-change-by-agency-scientists-20171022
We need to protest the blatant, if unavowed, censorship by the EPA of its
own scientists: @EPAScottPruitt or Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code
1101A, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460
13. The
Senate has passed a budget resolution to open the door for the Trump-Republican
tax scam. They can now pass their reverse Robin Hood bill without getting a
single Democratic vote http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/20/558944626/senate-passes-budget-resolution-seen-as-key-to-trumps-tax-overhaul
This means we need to step up the pressure more than ever. Let’s check out
these resources from Wall-of-Us on how to fight back, including more
information and resources to help us make our voices heard with our reps: https://www.wallofus.org/posts/209/fight-trumps-tax-scam.
14. Trump’s
executive order allowing employers and insurers to take away coverage for
reproductive health cannot be allowed to stand, and Democrats in Congress are
fighting back. Pro-choice champions like Rep. Diana DeGette, Louise
Slaughter, Judy Chu and Lois Frankel have introduced the Protect Access to Birth Control Act, which would override
Trump’s order and require employers to keep providing access to birth control http://wtnh.com/2017/10/20/sens-blumenthal-murphy-introduce-protect-access-to-birth-control-act/
Let’s contact our reps and ask them to co-sponsor this important legislation.
15. As
has been the norm, Trump has nominated a climate denier to an environmental
post. Kathleen Hartnett White, whom
Trump nominated last week to head the White House Council on Environmental
Quality, once “praised the burning of coal and petroleum for "vastly
improved living conditions across the world" and credited fossil fuels
with ending slavery.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-nominates-kathleen-hartnett-white-20171014-story.html Let’s let our MoCs know that we want someone
with a true science background in this job who acknowledges climate
change. Attitudes such as hers and degrees
in comparative literature and East Asian Studies are not proper credentials for
this position.
16. The
Sinclair group, a massive nationwide media conglomerate with a penchant for
imposing its political opinions on its employees and its programming (https://www.seattletimes.com/business/sinclair-known-for-conservative-political-tilt/),
has filed an application with the FCC to acquire the Tribune Media Group https://www.google.ca/amp/variety.com/2017/politics/politics/fcc-sinclair-broadcast-group-merger-tribune-1202563578/amp/
This acquisition would give Sinclair coverage of ~73% of all US households,
further quashing the diversity of media voices that has long been under attack
through waves of acquisitions and mergers. Comments on the FCC application are
still being accepted at
State Actions
Other Actions
1.
21st Century Fox (parent company of Fox News) is
evidently lightyears away from draining their own swamp. It has been revealed
that they settled another sexual harassment suit against Bill O’Reilly in
January to the tune of $32 million and THEN signed a new contract with him in
February for $25 million. It is important to note that Fox News has been
treating the Harvey Weinstein scandal as a design feature of the Democratic
party while this has been going on in the background:http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fox-oreilly/fox-signed-oreilly-again-knowing-of-new-harassment-settlement-report-idUSKBN1CQ0U0 Let’s
remind 21st Century Fox that sexual harassment is not a partisan issue and that
we expect more: 21st Century Fox,1211
Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10036
2.
In separate ground-breaking lawsuits, children in the
US and the European Union are suing their governments over climate change. 1) In
the US, the case Juliana v. US is scheduled for trial for Feb 5, 2018,
before US District Court (Oregon) Judge Ann Aiken. Let’s read about this case
here https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/us/federal-lawsuit/ ,
share it on social media, and consider donating https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/donate/ 2) In
the EU, children in Portugal, whose country is plagued by fires linked to
climate change, are gearing up to sue 47 European countries that, together, are
responsible for about 15% of global greenhouse emissions. The case will be
filed in the European Court of Human Rights and will demand that these
countries do more to cut emissions and reduce their use of fossil fuels. Unlike
the US case, which will proceed from trial to multiple appeals, the EU case
will result in a final ruling that will bind all 47 countries. Let’s learn more
here http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/19/europe/portugal-children-climate-change/index.html
and share on social media. A crowdfunding campaign is underway. Let’s help
these children and their lawyers reach their goal of 100,000 Pounds by donating
if we can and sharing this link with our families and friends in Europe: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/climate-change-echr/
3.
From one of our own:
Are you a candidate for office in 2017 in a red/competitive district?
Rapid Resist's affiliate LLC is offering GOTV support. Our volunteers are
texting 92k folks a week and would love to let voters know about your race. You
can learn more and enroll here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScgXhs0oGB9IkF_O3e5PnKwAHeW-HvMtEDt2kZi4Dn4ZViScQ/viewform
4.
A Republican party official in Montana, Karen Marshall,
said in an interview that she does not think Rep. Gianforte went far enough in
his violence against reporter Ben Jacobs because she would have “shot”
him: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/21/montana-gianforte-ben-jacobs-karen-marshall-would-have-shotMarshall
is the VP of Programs for the Gallatin County Republican Women in Bozeman.
Let’s let her know that there is no place in our society for violence against
the press:https://gallatincountyrepublicanwomen.com/gcrw/ (email
address is: galvalrep@gmail.com) and
then let’s express the same to the Montana GOP: PO Box 935 Helena, MT
59624 or http://mtgop.org/contact-us/
5.
The Movement for Black Lives has
announced that they will be launching the Electoral Justice Project (EJP),
which centers black voices in electoral strategy and grassroots
organizing http://bit.ly/2l9mcM4 The
first step will be hosting town halls across the U.S. in November 2017, in
order to "build our base, talk about Black civic power, and find ways to
build together and grow our Movement for Black Lives to seek electoral justice
for our families." We can check out the EJP, and either search for or host
a town hall at their website: https://ejp.m4bl.org/
6.
"DO THIS NOT THAT: How To Effectively Resist Trump on
Social Media" from Suit Up Maine gives us ways we can respond
more effectively on social media. To summarize: five (5) things we can do
are: 1) NEVER share, quote, or directly reference anything Trump posts or
says. INSTEAD: Control the narrative by crafting our own post that amplifies a
progressive message and/or clearly counters lies, misinformation, or
distractions. 2) NEVER click on the clickbait! And never EVER share that stuff!
3) NEVER feed the trolls! Never ever EVER reply or react to a Facebook comment
made a by a ranty Trump supporter, troll, or bot. 4) NEVER repeat right wing
words or catch phrases. When we repeat “GOP tax reform plan” we normalize the
phrase and give it power. 5) NEVER allow yourself to be pulled down into that
gutter with Kellyanne. INSTEAD: Feel free to liberally use factual examples
that demonstrate Trump’s incompetence, bigotry, lack of empathy, lack of
understanding of complex issues, or erratic behavior. These are powerful tools.
Let's use them and share this article with our friends and family. If we're in
Maine, let's join Suit Up Maine.
7.
In light of the #MeToo campaign, this is from the U.S.
Equal Opportunity Employment Commission:
“What You Should Know: What to Do if You Believe You Have Been Harassed
at Work” Let’s read up and share with
others who may need this information: https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/harassed_at_work.cfm
Petitions
1.
Let’s tell our legislators that it is time to stop
doing what is political and to start doing what is right. Here is an impeachment effort funded by Tom
Steyer, an American hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist,
progressive activist, and fundraiser. Let’s watch the short video: https://www.needtoimpeach.com/#media-cta,
check out the website, then join in signing the petition to impeach Trump: https://www.needtoimpeach.com/sign-the-petition
2.
We can sign with Progressive Turnout Project, a grassroots
Political Action Committee (PAC) dedicated to connecting with voters and
getting Democrats to the polls, to abolish the electoral college: http://go.turnoutpac.org/page/s/abolish-the-electoral-college
Marches/events/teleconferences/Twitterstorms
to attend/organize
Reading/Watching
1.
Last week’s Small Victories: http://us6.campaign-archive.com/?u=6270c05c515a81ad526eb34b3&id=97125691ca
2.
Experts in authoritarianism advise us to keep a list of
things subtly changing around us, so we’ll remember. Amy Siskind is
keeping that list for us. Amy writes, "This was one of, if not the worst
week for our country since Trump took office. As the length of the list
reveals, this was a week of complete chaos and eroding norms. There was an observable
sense of exhaustion, anger, sadness, fear and loss among Americans. With
Trump effectively driving the narrative around his handling of a fallen
soldier, there was little coverage or focus on most items on this list. Many of
these news stories would in normal times be front page coverage for months.
Investigations of Russian interference quietly progressed on several fronts,
and alarmingly Trump and some prominent regime members continue to deny the
existence of, and take steps to protect against Russian
involvement. " Let's review Amy Siskind's list week 49.
3.
RISE Stronger’s United States of Resistance
Digest: http://mailchi.mp/risestronger/us-resistance-10-20
4.
Tracking deregulation in the Trump era: https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-deregulation-in-the-trump-era/
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