11/7/17
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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.
Corrected link: The
Federal Election Commission (FEC) is considering taking action to require
online political advertisements to include disclaimers on who paid for
them http://slate.me/2ghWpMn While
TV and print ads already have this requirement, online advertisers have gotten
away with self-regulation. We have until Thursday, November 9th to
submit a comment to the FEC. Let's read through the information and sample
comment in this Google doc, courtesy of RISE Stronger http://bit.ly/2hHgIUn Then,
let's be sure to leave a comment with the FEC:
http://sers.fec.gov/forces/addcomments.htm?pid=74739
2.
As @KenJennings said on Twitter on Sunday, “The
problem with not talking about gun policy in the wake of a mass shooting is
nowadays we’re never not in the wake of a mass shooting.” Five weeks after the
massacre in Las Vegas, 26 people were killed while attending church in
Sutherland Springs, TX: https://apnews.com/863d8b25ac5b4a0980e37f2fafd7c02c/26-killed-in-church-attack-in-Texas'-deadliest-mass-shooting Trump referred to this as a “mental health
problem” not a gun issue: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/358902-trump-texas-shooting-a-mental-health-problem-not-a-guns-situation Other countries have citizens with mental
health issues, but their gun death rates are significantly lower than ours. Let’s
let our MoCs know that “thoughts and prayers” are not saving any lives and that
we expect more of them before the next mass shooting. While not yet updated
with the recent mass shooting, this site gives us 30 things we can do now: http://www.30guncontrolactionsyoucantakenow.com/
3.
Trump’s tax bill, at first glance, seems to give some
nice breaks to middle and lower income citizens, but looking closer, these
breaks fade away over time. Conversely,
the tax breaks that are given to the wealthy, grow over time. The inequity of the tax bill, for individuals
as well as businesses, seems to be the hallmark of this bill. When this inequity leads to an increase in
the national debt, one has to wonder why these piece of legislation is attractive
to anyone until one remembers that over 50% of Congress are millionaires
themselves. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/6/16614540/house-republican-tax-plan-paul-ryan-tax-policy-center Let’s
tell our MoCs that we want tax reform that champions equity.
4.
Trump and the Senate GOP have stated that they will not
be including the DREAM act or any other safeguards for DACA recipients in the
year-end spending bill http://bit.ly/2lIeh8L Congress
only has a few months left to protect DREAMers before they reach the March
deadline, at which point deportations may begin. We've seen with CHIP funding
that we cannot count on Congress to pass legislation on its own merits before
deadlines. Rather, we need to create an incentive for this bipartisan
legislation to be passed. With this in mind, the folks at Indivisible have
created the DREAMer Pledge: " If Congress hasn’t passed the DREAM Act
by Dec. 8th—when funding for the government expires—then they will insist
on it being a part of the December spending bill. The pledge is that they will
commit to voting against the Dec. “continuing resolution” unless it contains a
clean DREAM Act." If our MoC support the DREAM Act (S. 1615/H.R. 3440),
let's encourage them to band together and take the DREAMer Pledge. If our MoC
has not yet sponsored the DREAM Act, let's ask that they support its clean
passage. Indivisible Guide has call scripts and talking points available: http://bit.ly/2yAJEYY We
can also check out the current cosponsors of the Senate bill http://bit.ly/2gEgfkF and
House bill: http://bit.ly/2iz74mt
5.
Furthering its attack on immigrants, it looks like the
Trump administration does not plan on renewing Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
for hundreds of thousands of people in the United States http://wapo.st/2zb0avN http://n.pr/2zfx15a Without renewal, immigrants will
be at risk for arrest and deportation, regardless of how long they have lived
in the U.S., or how dangerous current conditions are in their original country.
Let's contact Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Elaine
Duke, and ask that she renew TPS protections. Dept. of Homeland Security
Comment Line: 202-282-8495 Mailing
address: The Honorable Elaine C. Duke, Secretary of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528 We can also contact our MoC and ask that they put
pressure on DHS to renew TPS, and/or propose legislation which would
permanently protect immigrants who are currently granted Temporary Protected
Status. For a simple explainer, we can also check out this video from United We
Dream and the TPS Alliance: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWeDream/videos/1968658456792583/
6.
In the wake of the mass shooting at the First Baptist
Church of Sutherland Springs, TX, Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, general secretary
of the United Methodist Church, has a checklist of actions for us. https://www.umcjustice.org/news-and-stories/called-to-be-peacemakers-568 Let’s
call our members of Congress at 202-224-3121 and demand that they: A) Lift the ban
that prevents the Centers for Disease Control from researching gun violence as
a public health issue https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/04/gun-violence-research-has-been-shut-down-for-20-years/?utm_term=.e7e04ab1aa18,
B) Expand access to quality mental health services, C) Expand background checks
for gun purchasers, d) Ban assault weapons
http://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/hardware-ammunition/assault-weapons/,
and E) Keep deadly weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers http://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/who-can-have-a-gun/domestic-violence-firearms/
7.
“Joshua James Frey is clear: “Without medical marijuana
I would be dead.” “This Marine Corps veteran is a two-time Purple Heart
awardee. He is among the former warfighters, led by the American Legion, who
are on the frontlines of the fight for a sensible, federal medical marijuana
policy. They are pushing a reluctant Uncle Sam to catch up with overwhelming
public opinion that favors allowing cannabis for medical use. During his two
years at Walter Reed, “I was given just about every chemical cocktail you can
imagine. When people look at that cocktail they want to know two things. One,
why am I still alive and two, why isn’t somebody in prison, because it was that
dangerous.” Many veterans, some using medical cannabis from other sources, have
asked VA doctors such as Katherine Mitchell in Phoenix about it. “I was not
officially allowed to discuss the subject,” she said. “Whether the
establishment wants to recognize it or not,” Mitchell added, “because marijuana
use has moved into the mainstream, health-care providers have an ethical
obligation to help our patients understand the potential positive and negative
impacts marijuana could have on their health.” Instead, she and other VA
medical professionals must act like medical marijuana doesn’t exist. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/06/veterans-tell-of-medical-marijuana-use-in-defiance-of-backward-federal-policy/?utm_term=.e5b33c32ec46
Marijuana is legal in 29 states and DC. Let’s
join our veterans and ask our Reps to allow Veteran Hospitals and doctors to
allow Medical marijuana use in those states where legal use is allowed to help
our Vets.
8.
“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
said on Sunday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions needs to
return to the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer questions about alleged
collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia after recent
revelations suggest that Sessions’ previous statements were false.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/358834-graham-sessions-needs-to-tell-us-everything-he-knows-about-russia Let’s
urge our MoC to call for Sessions to return to Congress to testify, and let’s
send our gratitude to Senator Graham (202-224-5972).
9.
As we endure tragedy after tragedy as a result of gun
violence, congressional Republicans are actively working to undermine common
sense gun safety laws across the country. They’re pushing forward a “concealed
carry reciprocity” bill that would stop states from setting their own standards
on who can carry concealed weapons https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democratic-state-prosecutors-unite-against-concealed-carry-gun-law
This bill is the NRA’s top legislative priority, and our elected officials need
to know it’s a priority for us, too. Let’s contact our reps and tell them we
want them to oppose H.R. 38. Let’s remind them that the 2nd Amendment
includes the words “well regulated”.
10. Women’s
health specialists have criticized the Trump administration’s new rule making
it more difficult for women to access birth control, and activists are
identifying it as a major challenge to reproductive rights http://religionnews.com/2017/10/11/critics-trumps-religious-exemption-on-birth-control-ignores-science/
Fortunately, this rule is up for public comment until December 5th. Let’s
follow the advice of Center for Reproductive Rights president Nancy Northrup
and file our objections, letting the Trump administration know why we think
birth control should be easily available and affordable at this link: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=IRS-2017-0016-0002.
(H/t Jessica Craven)
11. This
week, the Senate will be voting on the confirmation of Trump’s nominee to lead
the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Air and
Radiation, William Wehrum. “The nomination has angered environmentalists,
given Wehrum's history as a lawyer for industries he would soon be charged with
regulating.” Also this week, “the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
will hold a hearing on…Andrew Wheeler to be the EPA's Deputy
Administrator and Kathleen Hartnett White to lead the White House's Council on
Environmental Quality….Wheeler is a former coal industry lobbyist…Hartnett White is a prominent and outspoken skeptic of climate change.”http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/358701-week-ahead-controversial-epa-air-nominee-to-get-senate-vote andhttps://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings Let’s
contact our Senators urging them to oppose Wehrum’s confirmation, and if our
Senators are on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/members)
let’s ask them to oppose the nomination of Wheeler and White.
12. Trump
insisted, from Japan, that the Texas shootings were the result of a “mental
health problem” and not a “guns situation:” http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/politics/trump-texas-shooting-act-evil/index.html
While mental illness is indisputable, the Washington Post has reported that
Devin Patrick Kelley did not have legal access to a gun, and he had a history
of domestic violence, a crime often tied to mass shootings: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/06/investigators-hunt-for-motive-in-texas-church-shooting-as-the-grieving-spans-generations/ Nonetheless,
Kelley had an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, until 2004 banned as an assault
weapon. We must tell our MoCs that we want, at the very least, the
assault weapon ban reinstated.
1.
It’s Election Day in many states. If you are in
Virginia, please head to the polls with your friends to cast a vote for
gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam. Need more motivation? Here is a
Washington Post piece which describes Republican candidate Ed Gillespie’s
descent into “ethnic scare-mongering”: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ed-gillespie-wages-war-on-his-own-principles/2017/11/04/e713c148-c0c4-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?utm_term=.d9ca7765bf3d We
can do better than this! There is one last chance today to make phone calls to
Virginia voters: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgLkWwaW8Eo_guAdytQV0lIj9hXP5wwP_ETghQGOZHvyy9UA/viewform
2.
If we live in New Jersey, we need to know that if Sen.
Menendez is convicted that the governor will name his replacement. We need to get out the vote so that the seat
stays blue!
3.
For those of us with smartphones and a big list of
contacts: we can help get out the vote on (or before) Tuesday without
making phone calls to strangers! There's an app for that: "VoteWithMe is a
mobile app that uses your personal network to help you get out the vote on November
7th. VoteWithMe gives you a list of the highest-impact potential voters in your
phone's address book. Then, it's up to you to remind each of your contacts to
vote. Do your part to advance progressive goals and help get out the
vote!" Download VoteWithMe for Android or Apple smartphones here: http://votewithme.us
4.
The time for sitting out elections is over! Voting is
the ultimate act of resistance! If we’re not sure if we have an election or
where our polling place is, let’s use this tool:
https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/?polling-location .
Then, let’s go vote! Let’s make sure our
friends do, too!
State Actions
1.
WI: "A Wisconsin state lawmaker this week
suggested that abortion be made illegal to help add more people to the
workforce. Wisconsin state Rep. Scott Allen (R) made the suggestion during a
Wisconsin Assembly debate about a bill that would make it illegal to offer
abortions through state health insurance plans." (Read the full
story at The Hill.) If we are in Allen's 97th assembly
district, let's use his online
contact form to tell him that we want an apology for implying that we
and our children are the government's slaves. We can email Rep. Allen at Rep.Allen@legis.wi.gov .
Phones numbers are 888-534-0097 and 608-266-8580. Mailing address:
Rep. Scott Allen, PO Box 8952, Madison WI 53708-8952.
Other Actions
1.
“A record number of people signed up for ObamaCare in
the first few days of open enrollment this year compared to the same period in
previous years, several sources close to the process told The Hill.” http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/359011-obamacare-signups-surge-in-early-days-to-set-new-record Until
December 15th, Americans will be able to enroll or re-enroll in health
care plans for 2018 on the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov. (Note: 12 states run
their own marketplaces and may have longer open enrollment periods.) Even
though some state-run exchanges may have extended their enrollment deadlines,
the fact is that this will be the shortest open enrollment period ever, and it
is the only way for many uninsured Americans to get affordable health coverage
for 2018." Let’s keep up the good
work getting the word out about the shortened ACA enrollment time this
year. Indivisible has put together great,
state-specific resources here: https://www.indivisible.org/resource/open-enrollment-organizing-toolkit/
We can also sign up to help with the ACA
Signup Project
2.
It's being reported that U.S. Bank has ended its
relationship with Enbridge Inc.
http://bit.ly/2j2B7a1 Let's send U.S. Bank a quick
"thank you" for withdrawing financing for a company that so clearly
does not care about the environment or people's health
3.
With state-sponsored fake news (Fox News), Russian bots
and mass hysteria messing with our news, let's review this Breaking News Consumer Handbook on fake news from WNYC
and
onthemedia.org. Let's make a commitment not to share
or retweet anything without checking our sources first.
4.
From Postcards for
America: Send support and love to
the members, including Pastor Frank Pomeroy who lost his daughter, of the First
Baptist Church to the unspeakable violence of a mass shooting. Address:
First Baptist Church, 216 4th Street, Sutherland Springs, TX 78161
5.
Ever thought of hosting a social gathering to write out
postcards together? It can be fun and
productive. One of our own tells us
how: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZTd0SaSQNqD8Y_ZvRDk3RDKX37HFQiXC
Petitions
1.
“Please stand up against waste and hunger in the US and
ask Congress to mandate the Bill Emerson Act. Supermarkets should no longer be
allowed to waste food, especially when there are those who need it.” https://www.thepetitionsite.com/964/093/792/
2.
“The FCC, chaired by Trump appointee Ajit Pai, has been
peeling back decades-old policies that protect competition and a free press in
order to deliver on Kushner's promise to Sinclair and flood the airwaves with
pro-Trump propaganda. “Let’s sign this petition against the Sinclair/Tribune
Mecia merger that would allow the pro-Trump propaganda machine to reach 72% of
U.S. households. https://act.mpowerchange.org/sign/pai-fcc-do-not-reinstate-uhf-discount/
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms
to attend/organize
1.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby is sponsoring a National
Call-in-Day tomorrow, Wednesday, November 8.
They are asking us to call our legislators to amplify our voices
and help move Congress a step closer to legislation that addresses climate
change. Let’s use this link: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/call-congress-to-act-on-climate/#/38/
2.
This week, Indivisible has called for a National Week
of Action to stop “Trump’s tax scam.” 58 or more events are planned at
Congressional district offices over the course of the week. Every member of
Congress is a target for this action: we need Republicans to feel the heat and
Democrats to stand strong. We can find the events near us at http://act.indivisible.org/event/local-actions/search/
3.
Veterans for Peace and United for Peace & Justice
are calling for nationally coordinated local actions to demand diplomacy not
war with North Korea, and the abolition of nuclear weapons and war on Armistice
(or Veterans) Day, November 11. We can find their call to action,
resources, and ideas for actions we might take, from marching with signs at
Veterans Day parades to ringing church bells to writing an op-ed or tweeting,
at https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day/
Reading/Watching
1.
We cannot discount the danger that Fox News imposes on
its viewers, as well as the rest of the country. From Teen Vogue: "Fox’s
dissemination of propaganda has dire consequences for the health of our
democracy, the foundation of which is an informed citizenry. A 2010 study from
a Stanford University political scientist found that watching Fox News made
viewers less likely to accept scientific statements on global warming. That
same year, researchers at Ohio State University released a report saying,
“People who use Fox News believe more of the rumors we asked about and they
believe them more strongly than those who do not.” And a 2012 study by the
Poynter Institute found that Fox News viewers were more likely to be uninformed
than if they had watched nothing whatsoever." Let's read through this
piece by Lauren Duca, then consider taking part in the recommended action items
at the end of the article http://bit.ly/2zw5MUv
2.
Teen Vogue steps up once again with this article "5 Reasons You Need to Vote." Let's read
this article geared toward young people and relevant to us all. If we are
giving holiday gifts this year, subscriptions to Teen Vogue might be just right for some of our gift
recipients. Annual subscriptions are $10. Teen Vogue has just gone all
digital. We can read more about Teen Vogue at BBC
News.
3.
PBS Frontline: "Putin's
Revenge" tells the inside story of how Vladimir Putin came to see the
United States as an enemy — and why he decided to target an American
election. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/putins-revenge/
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