Contact Federal Government Officials
Find senator’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/RLiotu
Find representative’s contact info here: https://goo.gl/5i7SXC
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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
are being considered in the House. Let's review the Majority Leader's Schedule so we know what is coming up this
week. It looks as if the House will be voting on the tax bill on Tuesday. The Senate will convene at 3pm on
Monday to resume consideration of the nominations of J. Paul Compton, Jr.
to be General Counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and
Owen West to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense. Both the House and Senate
will continue to move forward with the tax bill. It appears that the
Senate will vote on the tax bill on Wednesday.
2.
We many not be someone who uses the ACA and we
know it needs some fixing. We may not be
on Medicaid or Medicare for ourselves. We all know that corporate tax loopholes
divert many dollars away from what those companies really owe and could benefit
us all. We all know that our
infrastructure needs funds to perform needed updates. This tax plan, the text of which was made
public last Friday evening, and is to be voted on early this week does not
address any of those issues. http://thehill.com/policy/finance/365177-republicans-release-final-version-of-tax-bill In
fact, it will make them worse. We also
know that the GOP plans to go after Medicare and Medicaid in order to offset
the tax breaks to the wealthy. We cannot give up. Keep contacting. We can A) Use this handy call list from one
of our own (tabs at the bottom): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LgdtGmpTkWzogjsSjnhvaj7nYVR79COrBLADSh4XmqA/edit#gid=1537917689, B) Co-sign
the letter of Women of Wealth Speak Out against the tax bill: http://wowspeakout.org/, C) Reach out to five people we know who
are passive allies in this fight and give them really concrete information
(contact links, Twitter handles, etc.) and an invitation to reach out to their
MoC about this bill and remind them that they can be brief if they are unnerved
by the process.
3.
If we have friends and family who think that we
are overreacting to the authoritarianism of this administration, this would be
a good (though highly disturbing) piece of news to share with them: words the
Trump administration is banning the Centers for Disease Control from using: http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/healthcare/365204-trump-admin-bans-cdc-from-using-evidence-based-and-science-based and at other agencies: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/365292-words-banned-at-cdc-were-also-banned-at-other-hhs-agencies-report Let’s send a postcard to Trump with the
words listed on it: evidence-based, science-based, vulnerable, entitlement,
diversity, transgender, and fetus: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave,
NW, Washington, DC 20500. Let’s also let
the CDC know that we are supporting them:
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ContactUs/Form Let’s also join in this Facebook event, “Banned
words should be heard! (Flood Washington with Post Cards)”. More
information and directions here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1827622907308985/
4.
On Friday, seven DACA recipients were arrested
on Capitol Hill demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act as part of the
year-end spending bill. They are now in custody and are refusing to identify
themselves — so as to remain in jail — until Congressional leaders confirm that
they will block any spending bill without protection for DREAMers. They
are asking that we join them in actions in cities nationwide between now
and December 22, when Congress will vote on the spending bill: https://fightforourdream.org/ If the bill as put forward does not include a clean Dream
Act, let’s ask our Democratic legislators to vote against is. Let’s
contact our members of Congress and encourage them to take this opportunity to
ensure we keep our promises to these young people. Maybe only a government shutdown will
convince both the Democrats and the GOP that we intend to protect these and
other immigrants.
5.
Congress must approve a budget bill by the end
of the year to fund the government and keep it running. Republican
leadership needs the support of Senate Democrats to make that happen. If
Senate Democrats form a united front on passing a clean DREAM Act and
reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) during budget negotiations,
they could force a vote on a must-pass spending package that would save
millions of children’s lives and protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from
deportation. https://fcw.com/articles/2017/12/14/shutdown-update-congress.aspx Keep
calling to say that these two important programs cannot be lost unless they are
replaced with something that meets the needs of these two groups even better.
6.
Currently in the Senate, there is a bipartisan
bill which would reform the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and
authorize funding for three years
http://bit.ly/2CKIc4q However, the TSA Modernization Act (S.
1872) would also authorize the collection of biometric data through facial
scans and other technology, in order to help cut down on security line wait
times http://bit.ly/2AZVVXP Slate explores how dangerous this
could be for citizens and immigrants in this country, especially when looking
at how biometric data can be used against us to dampen free speech and increase
surveillance http://slate.me/2hJrKeE Let's read through the article, then
call our senators and ask them to only support the TSA Modernization Act if it
no longer includes the utilization of biometric technology.
7.
Due to a particular Senate rule, a Congressional
Review Act resolution, Democrats will be able to force a vote about the FCC
repeal of Net Neutrality: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-vote/senate-democrats-to-force-vote-on-fcc-net-neutrality-repeal-idUSKBN1E92TC Congressional Republicans have shown
zero hesitance about using their Congressional Review Act powers to stop rule
changes. Now they have an opportunity to actually do so for good reason. Let’s
contact our reps and ask them to overturn this repeal as soon as
possible. Let’s take this as an opportunity to be clear with our MoC
that the actions of the FCC do not in any way represent the will of the people.
We can also fight back against the FCC's ruling by reaching out to other
constituents in our area with Battle for the Net's Team Internet. Through Team
Internet, we can help organize or find events to support net neutrality, like visiting
our MoC district offices. Let's check it out and fight to save net
neutrality! https://www.battleforthenet.com/jointeaminternet/
1. “Arizona
has the 5th largest number of Latinos eligible to vote in the country. Yet only
about half of the state’s 1 million eligible Latinos are registered to vote.
Spanish-speaking volunteers in CA will reach out via text message to unregistered Latinos in AZ to encourage them to register, and will provide the support to do so. We will conduct a pilot of 100,000 texts in December. Based on the results and how much funding we raise, we will grow the project into other critical states for the 2018 election cycle” It we can donate to this cause, here is the link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/az-text-bank.
Spanish-speaking volunteers in CA will reach out via text message to unregistered Latinos in AZ to encourage them to register, and will provide the support to do so. We will conduct a pilot of 100,000 texts in December. Based on the results and how much funding we raise, we will grow the project into other critical states for the 2018 election cycle” It we can donate to this cause, here is the link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/az-text-bank.
2. Postcards to Voters
Campaign #37 is for Margaret Good in Florida!
Let’s see how we can help: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1T-dnfww03aCoN5YWsvhxn2JctR1mQHfEYDyIS7barIU
3. We
are also invited to participate in Postcards to Voters campaign #36 in support
of Phyllis Hatcher in Georgia Senate District 17. Let’s find more info and how we can
help: https://postcardstovoters.org/2017/12/14/postcards-to-voters-campaign-36-phyllis-hatcher-in-ga/
4. Doug
Jones’ victory in Alabama was in no small part thanks to a massive effort to
turn out African-American voters. This push demonstrated once again that when
we get progressives to the polls, we win (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-months-long-campaign-that-drove-historic-black-turnout-in-alabama). Now as our attention turns towards 2018,
let’s join the drive to make sure another group of reliable voters for the
change we need come out: environmentalists. The Environmental Voter Project is
doing outreach to make sure that green voters show up in 2018. We can sign up
to take part in their efforts at http://www.environmentalvoter.org/.
Other
Actions
1.
The Alabama election was a reminder that we need
to be supporting black women. Teen Vogue details concrete actions we can take
to do this: Support black female candidates, amplify organizations led by black
women, serving black women, fund black women and the groups they lead, trust
black women, fund black women, listen to black women. Let's do more than pay
lip service. We can check out Teen Vogue's "How to Support Black Women
After the Alabama Senate Election," then let's get to work http://bit.ly/2jdvnY9
2.
From one of our own: [I’ve been prepping] resistance
packages to help friends with a New Year’s resolution they may not know they
were making. Included are A) 10 pre-addressed & stamped postcards to
various representatives, B) a card to keep with rep's contact info and some
great postcarding resources (including Postcards for America and Postcards to Voters,
of course), and C) an explanatory card to encourage participation. Hoping to expand the ranks of the resistance! Let’s all do this for our somewhat-reluctant
friends and family.
3.
For those of us writing postcards for Postcards to Voters,
we can take a hint from one postcarder and write a similar letter to the editor
of our local paper: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/letter-locals-alabama-effortscan-be-easily-replicated,526971
Let’s make sure that after the primaries in our states that we get
Postcards to Voters involved in our campaigns, too! Let’s let them help us ‘pull an Alabama’!
4.
If we like Amy Siskind's weekly lists, we'll
love that publisher Bloomsbury told The Associated Press last Thursday that
Siskind's list-compilation book will be released in April. (source: ABCNews/AP)
Siskind began what she calls The Weekly List soon after Trump's election.
Siskind is co-founder and president of the women's advocacy group The New Agenda and a former Wall
Street executive. Amy says in a post on her Facebook page, "So many have expressed concern that
the lists would get hacked and disappear, now they will be preserved as a
historical document...Something that really drew me in to this project was the
idea of opening a book on to Week 1, and being able to live back through the
eroding norms that we experienced in real time, and remembering. It’s the
ability to understand what we have lost which will allow us to trace our way
back to normal when this is over. She plans to donate a portion of profits
to charities involved in the anti-Trump resistance. We can pre-order
Siskind's book "The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First
Year" at our favorite bookstore. Let's help preserve history.
Marches/events/webinars/Tweetstorms to
attend/organize
1. ALERT
to New Yorkers and Washingtonians: A big effort is being made to get people
down to D.C. today to help stop the #GOPTaxScam; if we can be there,
let’s show the Republicans what the resistance looks like: https://www.facebook.com/events/171649466913533/ Many of us can’t go to Washington on
such short notice, but if we’re in New York State—and probably elsewhere—and
want to be involved, we can check out: http://mailchi.mp/actiongroups/where-were-heading-229247 and find rallies throughout the state all
week, many of them tomorrow. Maybe if the Republicans who are so
willing to enrich themselves and their friends and donors will take note if
they are faced with opponents in the flesh rather than mere statistics showing
we don’t want their tax bill.
2. Senior
Democratic Congressman on the Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, is sounding
the alarm with concerns that Republicans will try to prematurely close the
Russia investigation: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/16/republicans-trying-to-kill-off-trump-russia-investigation-says-adam-schiff And former director of the Office of
Government Ethics, Walter Shaub said on Twitter: “This weekend I’m stocking up
on portable phone chargers, warm clothes, & gear needed for when we take
the streets. I’m concerned the assault on the rule of law is coming over the
holidays when we’re distracted. It’ll be a defining moment for the Republic.” (https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/941767481563254785) Others have also suggested that dramatic
actions against Mueller during Christmastime would count on the distraction of
the American people. There is a nationwide call from many of the logistical
#resistance members for public rallies everywhere if it happens. Let’s sign-up to be ready to respond as
needed: https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org
3. Let’s
take part in the “Need to Impeach Trump” Thunderclap. We can sign up here and fine more info: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/65998-need-to-impeach-trump
States
1. Various: The ACLU has responded to a new report from
the Office of the Inspector General to ICE--https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2017-12/OIG-18-32-Dec17.pdf—detailing the serious problems it found in
immigrant detention facilities. The OIG concluded that these problems
“undermine the protection of detainees’ rights, their humane treatment, and the
provision of a safe and healthy environment.” Disregarding this report, the
Trump administration has stated its intention to roll back existing detention
standards and has moved to further expand immigration detention. ICE has
already requested proposals for detention facilities in the Midwest and south
Texas, which would expand the system by up to 3,000 beds: https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/watchdog-agency-issues-report-ice-abuse-agency We
need to tell our local officials they will lose our votes unless they oppose
proposals to build new detention facilities in their jurisdictions. And we need
to demand that Congress not spend one more taxpayer dime to expand a system of
suffering and misery.
2. CO: Huge budget cuts crippled outreach that lets
people know when, how and where to sign up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA
Signup Project is spreading the word through social media. They have 8
days to get 21 more supporters. We can them reach their goal to set off a
Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast. First, we can click,
add our social media support on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN cut,
paste and share: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/64859-colorado-enrollment-alert Find out more about how Thunderclap helps
grassroots organizing here:
3. RI: Huge budget cuts crippled outreach that lets
people know when, how and where to sign up for the ACA, so Indivisible ACA
Signup Project is spreading the word through social media. They have 8
days to get 48 more supporters. We can them reach their goal to set off a
Thunderclap, a social media flash mob message blast. First, we can click,
add our social media support on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. THEN cut,
paste and share: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/64554-rhode-island-enrollment-alert Find out more about how Thunderclap helps
grassroots organizing here:
Reading/Watching
1. “Alabama
Election Confirms What Now Counts for White Evangelicals in Politics” - http://billmoyers.com/story/alabama-election-confirms-what-now-counts-for-white-evangelicals-in-politics/
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 week the country braced for
radical actions by Trump relating to the Mueller investigation. Trump, his
regime members, elected Republicans and conservative media turned up the
rhetoric and attacked the credibility of Mueller, the FBI and the DOJ. In the
seven months since Mueller was appointed, his special counsel has already
charged four Trump regime members, with more expected from Trump’s inner
circle. Also of note this week is the broad-scale attacks on norms in our
fragile democracy. Trump’s regime is actively deconstructing the agencies they
run, stripping away rights and regulations, and making science and educational
information disappear." Let's review Amy
Siskind's list week 57.
3.
And, as always, our weekly dose of Small
Victories: http://mailchi.mp/peaceisloud/small-victories-when-we-fight-we-win?e=86890239c4
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