11/13/17
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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.
This week in Congress. Sixteen (16) bills will be
coming to the House floor for a vote per the Majority Leader' Schedule. We can also check out the House's
scheduled committee activity. Let's review the bills we expect to
see this week. The Senate plans to covene on 4pm on Monday for a
confirmation vote on Derek Kan to be Under Secretary of
Transportation for Policy. Last week the Senate advanced Kan from debate
with a vote of 87-9. Among the Democrats who voted against cloture on
Kan’s nomination were Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.). At issue is the Gateway
Program, which is a top priority for Northeast-area lawmakers and would
construct a tunnel under the Hudson River and add a platform and station
capacity in New York's Penn Station. (Full story The HIll.)
2.
Using reasoning we can’t understand or accept, all the
Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the
nomination of Brett Talley for federal district court position for the Middle
District of Alabama, thereby moving the nomination to the full Senate. This man has been a lawyer for only three
years and has yet to argue a case. He
was openly anti-Hillary, openly pro-gun and was deemed unqualified by the
American Bar Association (ABA). http://theweek.com/speedreads/736777/republicans-hand-federal-judgeship-36yearold-blogger-who-never-tried-case-before Let’s tell our Senators that we want federal judges,
who get lifetime appointments, to have significant experience and to be
approved by the ABA, and not openly partisan.
3.
With full understanding of the probably backlash, two U.S.
Senators, Mike Lee (R-UT) and Steve Daines (R-MT), have retracted their
endorsements of Roy Moore who is running for senator from Alabama. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senators-begin-rescinding-support-of-alabama-candidate-roy-moore/
Let’s thank them for putting decency and country before party.
4.
The weekend brought a rough Tweet storm from Trump as
he continues his Asia trip:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/359962-trump-responds-to-kim-jong-un-criticism-i-try-so-hard-to-be-his and http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia/former-intelligence-officials-say-trump-is-being-manipulated-by-putin-idUSKBN1DC0TV Let’s be in touch with our MoC about
Trump’s unfitness to serve as POTUS.
5.
As the tax bill looms with a House vote likely this
week, the LA Times explains to us the five (5) major differences between the
House and Senate tax plans in this article. Politico shows us that GOP tax talks
have not always been successful or helpful to them here. Let's stay informed and tell our MoCs that a real tax bill
needs to be tweaked so it will be as advantageous to the middle class in the
long run as it will be to the wealthy.
Let’s tell them, too, that tax loopholes for the wealthy and large
corporations need to be fixed so that our country gets the money it is owed,
for the betterment of all of us.
6.
Nearly nine million children and pregnant women are
covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Trump and Congressional
Republicans are abandoning them, having allowed funding to expire, and are
showing no sense of urgency about getting it back in place. People will begin
losing coverage within days (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/359783-clinton-congress-playing-roulette-with-childrens-health-insurance-program). Let’s contact our members of Congress and
let them know we demand action now, and we will hold them responsible for kids
suffering because of their failures.
7.
Congress resisted cutting the State Department budget
by 30% as Trump wanted, but Rex Tillerson is inflicting the damage all by
himself: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-diplomacy/top-ranks-of-career-u-s-diplomats-thin-under-tillerson-union-idUSKBN1D839F Tillerson is systematically hollowing
out the State Department: the number of career ambassadors has fallen to two
from five; the next rung down, “career ministers,” has shrunk to 19 from 33;
and the next, “minister-counselor,” has gone from 431 to 369 and continues to
decline. Barbara Stephenson, head of the American Foreign Service Association,
has written to Tillerson expressing her alarm. “Intake into the Foreign Service
at State will drop,” she writes, “from 366 in 2016 to around 100 new
entry-level officers joining . . . in 2018.” Were the military faced with
this kind of “decapitation of its leadership ranks,” Stephenson goes on, “I
would expect a public outcry.” Let’s make one! We particularly need
the diplomatic corps to stand between us and an ignorant, war-mongering
president. Let’s contact the State Dept at 202-647-4000 or U.S. Department of State,
2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520, and let’s tell our MoCs that we expect
them to ensure that the State Dept. is able to do its job.
8.
Because of a glitch by the US Post Office, a
non-trivial number (dozens, perhaps thousands) of DACA applicants seeking to
renew their permits to stay in the US have been rejected by the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services agency and are at risk of deportation. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/nyregion/post-office-mail-delays-daca-applications.html?_r=0 The Agency is so far not budging from
its harsh and unfair position. Let’s contact our MoCs and ask them what they
plan to do about this. While we’re at it, let’s demand that they enact
legislation to protect the Dreamers, something they must do by December 15 to
save them.
9.
Given Trump’s recent visit to Vietnam, it’s high time
to ask if we’re going to uphold our responsibility to clean up the Agent Orange
contamination that’s causing birth defects in Vietnam https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/will-u-s-stay-committed-to-toxic-agent-orange-cleanup-in-vietnam Let's contact our MoC to urge them to
follow up on this clean-up effort.
10. The
more we learn about voting hacks and other problems, the notion of going back
to paper ballots is gaining attention. Sen.
Martin Heinrich (D-NM) has introduced the SAVE Act (S. 2035) which is designed “to provide increased security for the
voting systems of the United States, to protect against intrusion, theft,
manipulation, and deletion of voter registration data and ballots, or votes
cast, and to prevent cyberattacks from malicious computer hackers, and for
other purposes.” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/12/guardian-of-the-vote/544155/ The
bill is stuck in the Rules and Administration Committee. Let’s ask our own senators to sign on as
co-sponsors and let’s contact the members of the committee to help move it
along in time to save the 2018 election.
Committee members: https://www.rules.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=CommitteeMembers
11. Senator
Feinstein has introduced legislation which would ban assault weapons, bump
stocks, and high-capacity ammunition magazines http://bit.ly/2zu9PO9 The bill currently has 24 cosponsors.
Let's check to see if our senator has signed on to the bill yet, and if so
thank them:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2095/cosponsors If
not, let's be sure to give them a call and ask that they cosponsor and support
S. 2095: "A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to
keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes."
1.
Roy Moore has now added sexual predator to a resume
that already included homophobia and contempt for the rule of law. It would be
a disgrace to see him elected to the U.S. Senate in the December
12th special election in Alabama, especially against Democratic candidate
Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney who has brought KKK members and other
domestic terrorists to justice. But it remains a real possibility. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/12/alabama-slow-to-condemn-roy-moore-senate-215819 We
knew that Roy Moore did not belong in the US Senate prior to these
allegations. No matter where we live we can help: A) We can sign up to volunteer with the campaign
here: https://dougjones.bsd.net/page/s/volunteer B) We
can donate to the campaign here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/homepage-donate C)
participate in a phonebank here: https://www.phonebank.io/c/dougjonesal, .
We can learn more about where Doug stands here: https://dougjonesforsenate.com/priorities/
2.
The Postcards to Voters
campaign sent over 56,000 postcards sent in support of Doug Jones. Want to help in this way? We can either email join@tonythedemocrat.org or text HELLO to (484) ASK-ABBY
(275-2229). We will be given five
addresses at a time to which we can send postcards encouraging registered
Democrats to vote on Dec. 12. We can get
more addresses, if we want them!
3.
We can also support the upcoming special election in
Alabama on December 12th, 2017 with handwritten postcards to
help get out the vote in this critical Senate race! For $5, we can get 5
pre-stamped, pre-addressed postcards to critical voters in Alabama. After
receiving our set of 5 cards in the mail, simply add our own personal message
and put them right back in the mail. No need to get supplies or even leave
home! Follow the link to order: https://5calls.org/postcards”
State Actions
1.
VA: The Virginia
House majority hangs in the balance. If you cast a provisional ballot, or if
you know anyone who did, you need to submit your photo ID to your local
registrar by Monday at noon to verify your vote so that it can
be counted. Voters may submit a copy of their ID via fax, email,
in-person submission. Please share this message. If you live near one of these
districts (or know someone that does) please volunteer to help track down provisional
ballots and share this information. A) District 27 Larry Barnett https://barnett4delegate.com/, B) District 28 Joshua Cole http://www.jgcole.org/, C) District 40 Donte Tanner https://www.dontetanner.com/, D) District 68 Dawn Adams
http://adamsfordelegate.com/, E) District 85 Cheryl Turpin https://cherylturpinforvb.com/, and F) District 94 Shelly Simonds https://www.simondsfordelegate.com/
2.
AL: The voter
registration deadline for the Dec. 12 election is Nov. 27. If you, or someone you know, needs to
register, change address, etc., click here:
http://sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/register-to-vote Last day to make application for
absentee ballot Thursday, December 07, 2017 and the ballot needs to be
postmarked or delivered by December 11, the day before the
election. More info here: http://sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/absentee-voting
3.
AL: Indivisible
Alabama is still looking for help with the Dec. 12 election. Click here to see how to help: http://indivisiblealabama.com/flipalabama/
4.
MA—Last week, the Massachusetts State Senate passed, by
a vote of 33-6, S.2022, “An Act Furthering Health Empowerment and Affordability
by Leveraging Transformative Health Care.” The measure now heads to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives. It aims to: A) Reduce
avoidable hospital re-admissions and use of emergency rooms through
mobile-integrated health (that is, ambulance paramedics who can provide urgent
care in people’s homes), telemedicine, and expanded access to behavioral
healthcare, B) Keep costs in check by imposing fines on hospitals that exceed
spending benchmarks, C) Lower costs of post-acute and long-term care by
improving transition planning for patients and coordination between providers,
D) Make medication more affordable through greater oversight and state
bulk-buying arrangements. http://cindyfriedman.org/friedman-joins-senate-passing-sweeping-healthcare-reform-bill/ If
we’re in Massachusetts, let’s look up our State Rep https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator and tell him/her to support this
sweeping, innovative health care bill.
5.
OK—Three special elections are being held Tuesday,
Nov 14, 2017: A) Oklahoma State Senate
District 37. Let’s vote for Democrat Allison Ikley-Freeman, http://www.ally4ok.com/, B) Oklahoma State Senate District 45.
Let’s vote for Democrat Steven Vincent, https://www.vincent4senate.com/, C) Oklahoma House of Representatives
District 76. Let’s vote for Democrat Chris VanLandingham, http://www.chrisforchange.com/ If
we’re in these districts, let’s use this tool to find our polling place, https://services.okelections.us/voterSearch.aspx, and let’s be sure to vote!
6.
VT: Let's Grow Kids is a campaign fighting to help
Vermonters get the high-quality, affordable child care we need to support our
children, families, communities and economy. Let’s sign the petition to
prioritize children and increase “public investments in high-quality,
affordable child care to ensure every Vermont child has a strong start” http://www.letsgrowkids.org/#pledge and learn about what else we can do
at http://www.letsgrowkids.org
Other Actions
1.
Apparently, some GOP members think it is better to vote
for a racist, child molester than a Democrat, or at least that seems how it
looks in Alabama for the U.S. Senate race there. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-11-10/the-sick-defenses-of-the-sexual-charges-against-alabamas-roy-moore Let’s let Alabama State Rep Ed Henry know
what we think of his comment that charges should be brought against Roy Moore’s
accusers: ed.henry@alhouse.gov
or (256) 260-2146. Let’s also let
Alabama State Auditor Jim Ziegler know that his comparison of Roy Moore and his
underage “dates” to Mary and Joseph (parents of Jesus) is not at all
appropriate: Jim.Zeigler@auditor.alabama.gov or (334) 242-7010. Fortunately, other GOP members can stand up
for what is right, like Mitt Romney: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/359773-romney-roy-moore-is-unfit-for-office-and-should-step-aside
Let’s thank him: https://www.mittromney.com/contact/
2.
It seems that the registrar of Stafford County,
Virginia, Greg Riddlemoser, did not pick up the mail on time and consequently
scores of ballots from military will not be counted in the Virginia election
because they were not received on time. http://www.wusa9.com/news/politics/elections/in-razor-close-election-military-ballots-tossed/490942366
Let’s contact the electoral board there and insist that the military
ballots be counted. The wrongdoing was
not on the part of the voters, but on the county official: https://staffordcountyva.gov/Directory.aspx?DID=107
3.
It’s working! At
least five companies have pulled their ads from Sean Hannity’s show on Fox due
to his supportive coverage of Roy Moore following the sex misconduct
allegations. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/11/12/keurig-others-pull-ads-fox-news-hannity-show-over-roy-moore-coverage/856424001/
In
addition, Shannon Coulter said that she will add all Fox News advertisers to
her Grab Your Wallet
campaign with initial major areas of focus for boycott being Mitsubishi (@mitsucars), @SandalsResorts, @trivago, @CapitalOne, @ATT, and @Cigna. Let’s continue to use
our wallets to talk for us. We can also
follow Shannon on Twitter to keep up with her efforts: https://twitter.com/shannoncoulter
4.
If we are interested in finding a new way to work with
other civic-minded people around the country, let’s consider checking out RISE
Stronger. We could be part of our state's chapter to
have impact on-the-ground impact in your community. We could support RISE
policy working groups. We could learn more about RISE initiatives nationally. Let’s take a look at the opportunities
available, and fill out
this brief member interest survey and RISE will get back in touch with
us over the coming weeks.
5.
It is unfortunate that Hannity defends a pedophile
candidate, but do his advertisers agree? Use this click to tweet sheet to tell
them to drop this enabler now. Public pressure drove O'Reilly off, we can do
the same here. What did Hannity say that was so bad? He said that it is okay for a 32-year-old man
to kiss a 14-year-old child (Moore did more than that, but Hannity pretends
that that was all he did), and the age of consent does not matter. Click on this link to get started sending
prewritten tweets to all Hannity advertisers:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zJ_QE2Ze2iuI4QA-UDUJ1CUM5BLFVpZ3BwwMZl0k-zo/pubhtml We
can also use this to call, email
advertisers: https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/05/23/these-are-sean-hannitys-advertisers/216607
6.
Here’s a new innovative CTA (call-to-action) site
called #ActiontoWithstand that uses quick videos a few times a week to let us
know an action we can do. Check out
Kristin Brey’s site: https://www.youtube.com/user/kbrey10/featured
7.
Trey Ganem designs and builds beautiful custom caskets. He has offered to build caskets for all the
victims of the Texas church shooting, at no cost to the families. https://www.npr.org/2017/11/10/563317122/with-shiny-pink-and-camo-casket-designer-honors-texas-shooting-victims
Let’s thank this generous artist/builder: Trey Ganem Designs, 304 N. East Street, Edna,
TX 77957
8.
A new toolkit from Women’s March EMPOWER teaches high
school and college students to become effective activists for progressive
change in their communities. “The goal isn’t to reach one certain goal or fight
back against one certain policy,” explains an article in Teen Vogue:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/womens-march-toolkit , “it’s to empower young people with
knowledge and know-how to achieve their own social justice goals.” Let’s check
out the toolkit and share it with our high school and college friends,
neighbors, students, and children: https://www.womensmarch.com/empower .
9.
After numerous e-mails, Facebook Marketing VP Carolyn
Everson has still not responded to inquiries over whether Breitbart violates
Facebook's Community Standards http://read.bi/2mfNNLY Meanwhile, Breitbart is still one of
the websites where Facebook's Audience Network advertises for various
companies, thereby allowing Facebook to profit off of the website's bigotry and
hate speech. Sleeping Giants is asking that we e-mail Everson, with screen
shots of content on Breitbart, to ask if she has reached a decision on whether
Breitbart violates Facebook's Community Standards. Vice President of Marketing
Carolyn Everson e-mail: carolyn@fb.comSample e-mail, via Sleeping
Giants: "Hi Carolyn,
Have
you had a chance to reconsider whether Breitbart is violating your monetization
rules by demeaning or disparaging people, groups, or causes? If not, here are
some examples to help you with your decision. Thanks, [Your Name]"
10. The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has a new tool which tracks hate in the
White House. The resource shows a monthly timeline of extremism in the Trump
administration, bringing to light the many instances which fall out of the
realm of normal. Let's check out October's roundup: https://www.splcenter.org/hate-in-the-white-house-october
Petitions
1.
Let’s join Sum of Us in fighting the genocide of Rohingya Muslims by signing a
petition asking Cartier to stop sourcing gems from Myanmar https://actions.sumofus.org/a/tell-cartier-to-stop-using-gems-sourced-from-myanmar
2.
“Trump vowed to put America first. Instead, his
climate-destruction and polluter-first energy policies are putting us dead
last.” Let’s join the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) in demanding that Trump restore America's leadership on
climate change: https://act.nrdc.org/sign/climate-action-restore-leadership/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1.
December 14th will be the 5-year Anniversary of the
mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Vigils are being held
nationwide through the Newtown Foundation.
Let’s check here to see if there is one near us: http://foundation.newtownaction.org/2017/11/01/2017-nationwide-vigils-events-endgunviolence/
Reading/Watching
1.
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 that, "This week started and ended in
chaos, with a respite in-between as Trump traveled to Asia and stayed on
script. The length of this week’s list is testament to how broad-based the
attacks on, and erosion of norms and our democracy have become — well beyond
Trump as the sole actor. The Resistance that started as Trump took office
has grown in both impact and power, as evidenced
by Tuesday’s elections, which were a wipe-out for Republicans and an
amazing display of diversity. A revolution around sexual assault and harassment
is gathering steam, with offenders being outed daily. All the while, the
Mueller probe progresses. This week more ties between the Trump campaign and
Russia were exposed, and questions surfaced as to the knowledge and engagement
of senior people on the campaign, including Trump." Let's
review Amy Siskind's list week 52. We can now find all Amy's
lists at theweeklylist.org.
2.
“The Resistance Helped Democrats Win on Tuesday. Now They're
Turning to 2018” -- http://time.com/5017525/the-resistance-helped-democrats-win-on-tuesday-now-theyre-turning-to-2018/
3.
And as always, our weekly dose of Small Victories: http://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-hear-our-voice?e=86890239c4
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